How it started

[Mikep]

Thought it would be interesting to start a thread to see what got everyone into this hobby.(apologies if its been done before)

So I guess I should start, when I was a lad.... I remember there being a series on the TV about radio control cars, boats & planes, I would have been watching it probably between 1983 & 1986 I reckon & it seemed dated so it was probably made in the 70's - I just wish I could remeber what the series was called as would love to get hold of a copy now.

I can only remember that the theme tune was trains & boats & planes, if anyone remebers it let me know..

Anyway I remember being facsinated by these amazing flying models & not long after remeber catching a film that also featured RC planes (must have watched too much telly) & I caught the bug.

at the age of about 14/15 I had saved enough to by a trainer from my local model shop and had lessons locally

Remeber going to a few model gatherings and seeing the helicopters flying (usually scale from what I remeber) & that was it - helis all the way for me from that point on.

[Bigbellypopper]

Mine is quite a sad reason that I started, although I am glad I did

My parents bought a smallholding in Wales a few years ago along with 10 acres of land. In late 2003, my dad passed away. I realised that as my Mum was not in the best of health herself, I would need to vist her more often as she lived alone. As I live on the south coast, it would mean spending the weekend with her. I decided that if I was to spend more time there I would need something to keep me occupied and as my mum had the land I decided that I would have a go at RC Helicopters. I still take a heli when I visit, but more often than not its either windy or raining so don't get many opportunities to fly up there.

[marktigere1]

My Helicopter history (short version).

1981 - At a Lotus open day at Hethel Norfolk. Guy flying a JPS model Helicopter which I thought was the best model I had ever seen.

1998 - Finally bought a Shuttle Z and started hovering

2000 - Gave it up for financial reasons

2004/5 - Started up again with same financial problems

2009 - No longer have the Shuttle but still hovering

Cheers

Mark

[Sao]

Raced Rc buggies in the 1990's at club level and one of my club mates was a local BMFA examiner and bought his shuttle down to the rugby club to show us one year. I was quite amased at it and dreamt of one day owning a heli.
Never bought one as they looked too expensive and hard to set up and fly.

Then in 2001 I was watching supermodels on one of the discovery channles where they built HMS fearless and they featured an Ikarus piccolo FP one of, if not the first micro helis. I had to have one did some research and found you could get an Airwolf fuz for it, I was deffinatly going to get one!

Bought an FP pic, went with the CP head and then thru 50+ sets of blades trying to learn and I havent stopped buying new helis since

[matt27]

i have only been flying for just over a year

i hadnt decided on the present i wanted for christmas but my bro knew that he wanted a rc car. we went to the model shop and he got what he wanted but i wasnt paying much attention. instead i was looking at the heli's lined up and thought 'thats what i want for christmas!' so after talking to the gentle man about the best option (cx2) he showed be it then he flew it in the shop. i was sold. after about 2/3 months of flying tbh i got a bit bored and wanted a new heli. it didnt happen and so i lost interest. i was still a member of this fantastic forum however and then i looked into the blade 400. i was going to have it for my birthday but that didnt happen but i still really wanted one! this christmas it happened and now im loving flying a more challenging model and with all the different ones available i know i wont get bored! the 400 has sparked life into my heli flying again and so has wayne (cambs flyer). he has helped me out a lot and we meet up quite a bit as well. (cheers mate!)
all i have to say is if anyone is thinking of taking it up, do it! it is extremely rewarding and you can meet up with some fantastic people. although it might be a bit wallet crunching it doesnt have to be if you plan your next move.

[Cyclicscooby]

Been into RC Cars since I was 8 and got a Tamiya Fox.. Took some bartering to get an expensive 'Boy's' toy, but I won...
Got bought a glider for passing my GCSE's.. ?? Only built the fuse and one wing, got bored..

Given an old .48 IC engine by a friend, which only had a choke, no throttle..

Made an Air buggy... (Holiday buggy, engine mounted above, on wood, with 10" plane prop). Failed..

Bought a trainer for upto .32 IC, fitted my .46, crashed plane.. Failed...

Many cars later, got a Zoom 400.
I was just learning to hover at the time, I was at Martins (Rotorsport) buying more new blades, when a bloke walked in with two heli's and a wife, saying he HAS to sell them..!?
One was a bare frame, the other was a Bell230 fused JR VE, brushless, lipo, ready to fly... So I bought it there and then, even tho I couldn't fly it..

Promised I wouldn't fly it, but you know how it is.. I did, and haven't looked back..
Learn't everything past the hover on a fused up heli, which certainly makes you more careful as the fuse is £130 alone..
Last year bit the bullet and got a Graupner Bell 230 fuse, but have only got that far as money was required else where...


Luv
Chrisie...

[Xige]

I been a bit into rc cars growing up as a young lad, had a few rc cars through the years, really enjoyed just racing around the house/street with them as a youngster.

I tried to get into airplanes(planks) a few years ago but that didn't really happen as i kept crashing and eventually got bored.

Then last year around march/april (i think), I saw the movie "National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets" and in that movie there was one scene with a heli ( i think it was a raptor 30) and it was hovering with a cam attached to its belly taking video. I said to myself "Wow! That looks cool! I'd like to have one of those! =)"

Then after that been on the net watching loads of vids & reading many articles of helis and then seeing top pilots such as Jason Krouse & Alan Szabo doing those insane 3D Stunts among other heli enthusiasts got me hooked!! I thought there's tonnes of people into helis!

So then I started out with a Twister V2, then PicooZ, then blade cx2, then a belt cp, then a pigeon 450m1 (which never flew as was too scared of it, eventually sold it), then more PicooZ's(loads of fun buzzing around), then a Walkera 1#B(first ever heli i flew and hover fine), then given a blade mcx for christmas 08(great fun!)then now I've progressed into building my first ever TREX 450 SE heli, set it up and got it in the air, with the help&advice from people/experts.

Needless to say I really like this hobby! =) and am really into them!

[paddle]

how i started

Well i was flying fixed wing from the age of 8 years old then about 1973-74 i saw a guy trying to fly a heli and i just had to get one got my first heli in 1974 it was a micro mold lark powered by a .19 glow engine, fixed pitch,and no gyro but it was great fun to fly as long as the day you were flying on was not to hot as the poor old lark would not take off.Bean in this hobby since then and never looked back,the heli,s have become part of the family.

[Sqwidge]

I started Xmas just gone, other half bought me a 2 channel, i mastered that and actually flew it around my room instead of up and down, then i got a 4 channel twister coastguard, after 4 bunny hops i was in the air flew it everywhere, i got that good i tooko it outside and tackled the wind and won...........until it bit me in the ass and blew my heli onto the roof 5 houses down, had to make her fall off the roof to get her back, damaged canopy but still going i bought a honey bee fp for £30 flew it got bored of the twitchy fp bee, so sold everything and bought a belt cp about a month back, this heli taught me a lot but all along i really wanted a blade 400.

So i bought one this morning with enough spares to build 2 more blades just waiting on delivery, im gonna enter flight a little different this time as before i didnt want to crash it, but now i KNOW i will crash at some point so instead of trying to fight it and smashing it up im just gonna relax and enjoy until i do crash.

I think Heli's will be with me for a long time despite the cost of owning one, although if i learn to fly properly soon they wont cost much anymore will they lol

[mark lane]

Well I also started our with Tamiya rc buggies. My first a hornet at 9 years old. I wanted it more than almost anything i have ever wanted in life since! that bad really. I went on to have a fox and a big wig.... all state of the art in the late eighties!

I used to go to London on day trips with my mother and had to go to Harrods and Hamley's every time. On the top floor of both you would find the RC section and the highlight was always the helis hanging from the ceiling (gone these days due to the specialist nature of our hobby) I guess they where shuttles and the like. Very very expensive and well as we know..... not toys which added to the dream factor

I always prommised myself that when i was a big boy i could have one.

As i grew up i forgot the hobby and never touched anything RC for 15 years, then i went to a car boot sale with my wife (boring) and decided the only way to pass the time was to find a toy to purchase. Ended up buying a picoo z 2 channel heli and did not put it down for a week. All my memories of RC excitement came back and i thought.... wonder whats going on with proper rc helis these days

End of story....... never looked back, all my dreams from a kid come true!! hooked for ever.

For me it offers everything i need as a big kid

[Craig33]

Alan Szabo

Randomly came across this video one day during my lunch break about 15 months ago.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8t41avFuCc[/ame]
Emailed it to greig and proceeded to discuss how it must be fake and speeded up. He spent the next few weeks specking a raptor 50V2 and after i seen it knew i had to buy one.

Bought a DX7 just shy of a year ago and second hand rappy 30V1 rtf minus battery and Rx for £50. Bought a 600 NSP about a month later and here we are.

[waveydavey]

Do you know what, not really that sure. For some reason browsing ebay and a nexus stuck out like a sore thumb. I've always fancied one of those upright lawnmowers I thought and £200 later I've just sh#t meself in the garden when I eventually got Russias' best engine (MD38) started. Join a club young man I thought and looked around, at the same time I saw Sceadu on the same generic auction site, £300 later and the proud owner of a once hovered 30. Joined said club and hovered the sceadu erratically, ooh that looks nice as I perused the net a knight 3D, spent more than I should have and more time on this forum than I should do, bloody helicopters! Unfortunately, blow the DIY, garden, etc etc etc. I'm away up the field to spend a few hours in the cold with a couple of more idiots. Wouldn't swop it for the world though

[machasm]

Used to fly model gliders around 15 years ago with the WSA (wessex soaring association).
Eventually got fed up with the politics of the club and left.
Sold all the gear and that was that.

Just under a year ago (March) the missus cam back from ASDA with a £17.99 PicooZ.
That was enough to just kindle my interest to then get a HB FP.
Learnt to hover in the kitchen with it.
From there went to a Blade400 followed by a S/H Trex 450 V1.
Bought my first kit a trex 450 SE V2.
The 500 was next and the rest just followed!
It really is an addiction and had hooked me early
Here is a quote from a post on the 18-04-08 from me as proof

"Hi All,
Just ordered my trex 500.
Have a couple of 450SE already a cx2 and I can't even fly properly yet!
I must be mad.
Adrian."

If I thought I was mad then I am positively certified by now.

Adrian.

[DAZZ]

Worked away for 4 years starting in 2004 .....................I was a regional mangeer of Anglian home improvements running the largest branch in the company .....................

When you work away you either drink or find something else to do ...........i have been bodybuilding for 23 years so I didn't go on the lash every night .............

I remember sat at my desk one evening looking for things to do on the net and I came acroos a model shop with RC helis Not to far away from my branch .........

The next day I went out and bought a Hummingbird ..........I had 20,000 sq foot of warehouse so weather wasn't an issue ..........I trashed 2 in a week then bought Realflight ................then within a month I built my first heli ........ HORNET FP ( still have it).........the rest is history .......


DAZZ

[adamwantstodoaeros]

Randomly came across this video one day during my lunch break about 15 months ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8t41avFuCc

I saw that video a little while ago too. I was wondering what I wanted for christmas at the time and thought I want to do that!!! After spending a bit of time on a free sim, I was sold!

I knew I wanted a CP heli and ended up getting a blade 400!

I'm hooked