Friday, July 15, 2011

Remote-controlled hobby airplanes, an intro

I have never seen remote-controlled hobby planes up close let alone take control of them to fly. L. and her new rocketry 4H club were invited to join members of the Propsnappers RC Club to try flying these planes. It was a good time.

The adult members of the Propsnappers talked about the model planes and explained how the remote control units worked. L. was nervous to take a turn with the remote because she didn’t want to crash the plane (it was clear they were expensive). But the dual remotes - two remotes connected to the same plane - with a club member ensured nothing bad would happen to the plane.

Although I don’t think she aspires to purchase a model airplane, it was a great experience for her and her friends to learn about aerodynamics and handling a large remote controlled plane. Even though there was only a little bit of wind, it still affects how the model planes react to the direction changes made with the remote.

We were at the Propsnappers’ field in Scarborough, which is not far from the Jetport. At one point an actual airplane came in to view and it didn’t look that far off the ground. I was mesmerized by the proximity of the large airplane to the model planes in the air. It looked very close from our viewpoint on the ground. But of course, they weren’t. But when I looked around, all the kids were watching the big plane fly overhead just as I was. 

The Propsnappers Club is a membership-only group (for adults and youth) so you can not just drop in to a fly day. But they do host public events. I read a flyer at the field yesterday that advertised a ”Float Fly” at Kiwanis Beach in Standish on September 17 & 18. Admission to attend the event was listed as $10 per day, $15 for the weekend. If you have a plane enthusiast, or a curious kid who likes to learn how things work, this will likely be a great introduction to the hobby.

The members of the Propsnappers were a friendly, helpful lot and the 4H club very much appreciated they took the time to give the kids a hands-on experience with their model planes. 

The kids get an introduction from Propsnappers club members about how the planes and remotes work.

Although nervous at first, L. had a great time flying the plane and seeing how it reacted to the remote control and wind factor.

L. did some low-level flying initially.

There was some higher flying of the planes and they were just little specs from our perspective at a few points.

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