Considering a RC Website

[SamS]

I am considering/in the process of building a RC Helicopter site, where people can source pretty much any info they need related to RC Heli's.

I know you have forums for that type of thing and such, but feel like making a site where people can find direct articles on Helis, Brands, Reviews, Upgrades, Videos, etc.

Pretty much a site where people can just find out about new products and gain more knowledge about the RC Heli industry. When I first started flying it was a very daunting hobby, so technical and so much to take in and learn, and I feel the site would not only benefit the newbies but also could be a great site where the pro's can find out about other people set ups and maybe learn a bit themselves.

The site would be split into simple categories and sub categories:

Heli's being the first, you can then choose the brand of heli you wish to search, then there'll be Sub Categories.

Other Categories will probably be Radios, Lipos, Upgrades, Reviews, Brands etc.


As for how I will source the information, basic info like Specs of products will be sourced via manufacturer sites. But as for reviews, set ups and videos (etc) I am hoping that like-minded hobbiests like yourself can help to provide information like your setups and reviews on new products.


Well, this is just a very brief idea of my plan, I'd like to know all your thoughts and whether or not you think it will take off.

The outlook I have on it is BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE .. If you get ma drift


Cheers

[Steve]

Reinventing the wheel as far as I can see. Have a look at helituning.

[SamS]

Reinventing the wheel as far as I can see. Have a look at helituning.

But could I make that 'wheel' any better ?

[Liam B.]

Good idea, you could have a people with said heli e.g MCPX, being able to upload their own little few paragraphs, set ups etc, then there could be a decent database with many peoples set ups etc.
Liam

[brin]

thats quite an undertaking .wish you the best of luck with it.

[kroozing]

Sounds good but it will take all your time in keeping it current.
What kind of platform are you thinking? (user contributed direct to the site)
The reason i ask is the amount of coding that the site will require, are you a web developer?
cheers

[Cagey]

Ain't going to knock your dream Sam, wish you success with it in fact. But----well y'know---"RC Heliaddicts" ? Am I missing something here ?

[jimmyhorns]

But could I make that 'wheel' any better ?

In the nicest possible way, probably not, unless you make it your job (and then depend on it financially)

I've had to set up a few e-learning website, and people tend to significantly underestimate the amount of time that actually goes into even relatively small changes.

If it doesnt take off, no pun intended, then you are looking at days of work for something that doesnt get used. There needs to be a need for it, and although it sounds good, its pretty much already out there, so you would be 'competition' rather than a go to source. The way people source information these days is changing, and regardless of what you are actually looking for, most people will turn to google or similar and just type in what they want, often in fairly specific terms, taking them straight to the goodies;

type in compass 6HV review, and you get about a dozen reasonable quality reviews to choose from
type in compass 6HV video and well, you see what I mean
type in compass 6HV manual and you get a pretty direct link to the manual.

I suppose what im trying to say is, if people want to ask a question and get many people answering it, they will come here. If they want to know what people have said before, reviews, setup guides, manuals, they are just going to google it.

[SamS]

Cagey, it's not a dream of mine, just an idea I had that I thought would help.

Also, i know what you mean about 'we already have RCHA', but I mean a site where you can find direct information/facts on products, stats and set ups, without having to ask. It's a completely different concept that just a forum, forums are not only about flying but about the community, but the site i'm proposing is just a website for direct info and help, no forum too it.


I am beginning to wonder though if i'd be taking on too much ..

[KnifeEdge]

Re: Considering a RC Website

just do it mate, don't listen to negativity

[rudi]

The most successful sites are those that have new content, rather than those that simply collate content that already exists. Google is so easy to use, it isn't necessary to have a single site with collated content any more.

This is why forums are successful, because new content is generated by lots of people.

If you're planning on writing articles and they are well written and educational, or writing your own reviews, I think it would be successful. If you're simply considering gathering facts to store in one place, I think the upkeep would be very time consuming and difficult, and there would be little point. It would be better to take the Wiki approach if it is simply facts you're collating.

[Boggy]

If you really want to do it Sam then have a go however as others have said its a massive undertaking,be under no illusion about the amount of work involved. You will also be playing catch up on a lot of sites already out there.

I'm not 100% positive but i think this one is run by "unwind protect"(Neil) from HA.

Main Page - RC Helicopter Wiki

Have you thought about maybe helping by contributing to something like this?

[Boggy]

Maybe drop Neil a pm?

[meggark]

Re: Considering a RC Website

I'm in the process of launching a new website at

http://www.modeltrader.co.uk/

It's called Model Trader and it's a classified adverts site I'm hoping will make it easier for sellers to reach a larger market and provide a centralized marketplace to make it easier for buyers to find d what they are looking for. It's completely free to use.

I'd be happy to help you out with some of the technical aspects of your site and I'd happily let you use some space on my server to get it set up and running free of charge. Let me know if you are interested. It is a lot of work to set up that kind of site, I'm trying to do something similar for microlight flying. It's a mammoth effort, like writing a book, and then you need your graphics too.

[SamS]

KnifeEdge, Thanks for the words, but I'm not taking it as negativity