Ron Gray Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Personally I believe that Tony has a good point, a lot of posts do tend to come through as criticisms of a person’s choice not to fly something he has built. In fact some of the ‘opinions’ come across as blatant statements, I cite, for example, this one which just so happened to be the responding post to the OP: Posted by supertigrefan on 23/10/2018 22:40:52: My feelings: If you won't fly it, you're in the wrong game! Unfortunately the thread then degenerates into a mud sling fest as a result of patronising comments such as this: ‘Here’s how a forum works’. Now the only good thing about that sentence is the apostrophe is in the correct place. Hey ho, the joys of a forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Ron, as ever, well said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison 2 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Posted by Don Fry on 25/10/2018 15:41:21: Tony, I don't think the responders are being unhelpful, or unsympathetic.But the successful flyers are determined fatalists. Bottom line is, if you can build them faster that you break them, you are winning... Don, thanks - though I don't especially want to be a "determined fatalist"! I suppose I am indeed building them faster than I break them: just been in the workshop fixing the props on the glider I slightly damaged, ready for the next attempt; my trainer awaits another go; and I have a DB 58" Tiger Moth on the stocks... One day I shall fly this, it's just the in-between likelihood of accidents I find depressing. If they cost pennies it wouldn't matter so much, and I'm not a pauper (I've spent an awful lot more on shooting & fishing) but putting a decent kit together with all the elctrics etc ain't cheap! rgds Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison 2 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Posted by Nigel R on 25/10/2018 16:24:20: Tony H - I think you've got the very wrong end of the stick. Most of the early responses...snip... Nothing macho or arrogant about it, just a recognition that is what is. Nigel, I take your point, and I am aware some of the responses were helpful - I was making the point that some here were less than helpful, and just came across as arrogant, macho (in their dreams) and frankly boneheaded. rgds Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Posted by Ikura on 25/10/2018 18:20:35: It's such a pity that there seem to be a fair number of opinionated people these days who think they are right and unless other people do and think what they do, they are idiots. Each to their own, and if someone wants to build a model that they never dare fly, at least they have had the pleasure of building it. They have also probably extended their building skills and enjoyed what they have been doing. Back in the late 60's and 70's I build lots of scale models for lots of people but I never got to fly any of them. I couldn't fly in those days and could not have afforded to buy radio engines anyway. I loved building and was very content just to build nice things. These days I build and fly but I enjoy building far more than flying. I second that Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Regarding opinions-- You can please some people some of the time, others all of the time , but not all, all of the time --and the rest will let you know where you are going wrong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Who's the macho ones, some cracking insults being chucked about ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Tony, off post, you need the cheapest, simpleist thing that ever flew for your reintroduction to this game of blood. When you break it, sort out the recyclable bits to rebuild the same flying machine. You are ahead, if the rudder is the only survivor. Ad infinitum, until you are bored with flying it. Then move on. As someone said above, start building the replacement machine, before the old one is broken. Think Model T Ford. A production line. Bye the bye, the 58 inch Tiggie, leave it in the stocks. Lot of work, not forgiving to fly. It is a well trodden path to failure to plan what you can't yet fly. Invest in the hours, break it, and abandon the quest, because the hours have been spent on a dream, rather than a flying hack to sort some skills out. As the original poster stated. The tiggie either gets left in the corner, or launched and broken. Neither is productive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Harrison 2 Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Posted by Don Fry on 25/10/2018 19:26:48:... ...Bye the bye, the 58 inch Tiggie, leave it in the stocks. .... The tiggie either gets left in the corner, or launched and broken. Neither is productive. Don, I hear what you say, but I have no plans to finish the TM quickly then try to fly it! I came across it just started (initial bits very well built) and got it for half price - and I wanted a Moth to build as an RAF example flown by my late uncle, listed in his logbook. It's for at least 2-3 years' time, and in the meantime I enjoy the building. So is the low-wing monoplane I bought complete (except for electronics) on Ebay dead cheap: something to modify and finish off when I can fly properly. My two "starter" planes are ones I built, the electric glider and the light high-wing trainer, both quite forgiving, lightweight so should survive a crash or two, not horrendously expensive if one were to be destroyed... rgds Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Posted by Tony Harrison 2 on 25/10/2018 13:53:42: Some rather dismissive, even arrogant responses here! I sympathise with the OP: I still can't fly properly, personal circumstances make it difficult to line up with experienced flyers for tuition, and yes, I hate the thought of smashing something over which I've laboured. I got into this game again in part because I enjoy building: yes of course I want to fly as well, but... I thought I had practiced enough with others to fly my Radian Pro solo - that flight lasted a few seconds before it went wildly (really) out of control and dived to destruction. Previously, I'd crashed and mended it once. Had to repair the nose of my self-built trad electric glider, flew it briefly solo, slight crash destroyed a prop blade, plucking up courage to try again when it's windless. Built another lightweight trainer monoplane, flies well, plucking up courage to try that solo... Etc. I don't know how much time, effort and money these bold macho "shouldn't play this game if you're scared of crashing" types put into their first models; maybe they have very thick skins, or only fly RTF plastic jobs, and/or have very deep pockets. rgds Tony Each to their own, nothing wrong with that - some do enjoy building more anyway. The OP doesn't seem too offended, he hasn't posted a single response! Oddly, when I started in my teens, I had no money, and I had to build from kits. And yet, I taught myself to fly by going out flying, crashing, repairs, and repeat! And it didn't bother me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Tony, you miss the point, the trainer is all. The projects are dreams. Sort the trainers out. The projects and dreams are the point of this post, too expensive to break. Now, you are starting to think, this bloke is labouring the point. I've just spent a couple of years failing to teach someone to fly, with his dreams. Yet in the same years, taught four kids to fly, no dreams, no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Posted by Don Fry on 25/10/2018 19:54:05:... ... I've just spent a couple of years failing to teach someone to fly, with his dreams. Yet in the same years, taught four kids to fly, no dreams, no problems. My experience is similar Don. Kids learn to fly fairly quickly, older beginners take much longer to learn. Some never get the hang of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josip Vrandecic -Mes Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 Posted by Martin Harris on 24/10/2018 00:05:10: My philosophy is that I spend the whole build anticipating the flying and seeing the completed result. At the end of the build, that time is simply history and I just look forward to seeing the model in the air and hoping it handles as well as I hope without too many tweaks (hoping any needed can still be made before the next flight!) - complete with all the little details I've spent hours adding and are probably never seen by any casual observer. I do take copious photographs to remind me of the end result, should the worst happen. Should I make an error and write it off, then after some initial regrets, it's simply a part of the hobby which we must accept if we wish to pursue it. Disappointment, to me, is not the loss of a model but one which doesn't live up to expectations in the air. I built a 1/3 scale "golden age" racer which looked great on the ground and in the air but I found it rather uninspiring to fly - in fact taxying out and back after a flight gave me more satisfaction...it looked so realistic to my eyes. It had a high wing loading and eventually, after a very heavy landing (I should really admit that it stalled in level after an engine problem in an awkward situation) which did little apparent structural damage but damaged the u/c and split the wing covering (Solartex) in several places, I've never felt the need to repair it and it sits unloved in my attic forlornly awaiting a change in heart.'' Wonderfully and wisely thinking... dear Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 @STF - I think that you may well have misunderstood the OP's question, he quite clearly asked 'at what point would you consider not flying'. I'm guessing that, in your case, as with others, the answer is 'never, I always fly what I build', but I accept being corrected if that isn't your what you mean. Unfortunately your response was, if you don't fly you're in the wrong game. Hence why this thread has, in certain cases, deviated. Let me put it another way, who are you to decide if someone is in the right or wrong 'game'? Oh and by the way, I haven't yet given my answer to the OPs question, neither have I given my opinion (despite you stating otherwise) other than to say that it is everyone's right to do what they want in this sport without being criticised for it. Goodness me, there are people who like to put electric motors in big warbirds then add a soundtrack to the beast to make it sound like an I/C. Some may find that strange or may think that those people are in the 'wrong game'. Likewise there are people who like to throw models of jets and prop 'planes off cliffs even adding 'false' rotating blades, are they too in the 'wrong game' But finally, in answer to the OPs question, there hasn't been yet a point at which I wouldn't consider flying any of the models I have built, be they foam, ARTF, kits or plan built (to date numbering over 40 are in my hangar and all have been flown). Who knows if that will change as models get increasingly more expensive, what started off as a self imposed limit of £150 has now risen to 'almost' no limit with the next project, being a twin, looking at being well in excess of 10x that. Time will tell. Re-joinder over! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted October 25, 2018 Share Posted October 25, 2018 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wright Stuff Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Posted by Rich too on 25/10/2018 19:37:01: The OP doesn't seem too offended, he hasn't posted a single response! Quite often the case with these sorts of threads, isn't it? It's much more fun to sit back and watch the ensuing battle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engine Doctor Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Q. When does it become too expensive to fly ? A. When the cost exceeds my disposable income and flying abilities . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I have been watching this thread with interest because I am guilty of completing 100`s of hours model builds then wondering why and being scared to maiden them, in some cases justified. My o/d 81" electric Lanc. is actually fine and only met its demise when it got shot down at an event, now repaired and flying again. My 96" 50cc powered Hurri. was a bicycle clips job for the maiden but I need not have worried. It seems to have more lives than a cat, having suffered many motor cuts but makes a very reasonable 28lb glider. So much for `reliable` petrol motors. My TN Mossie flew but suffered an ESC failure on the second attempt. Repaired but I very much doubt if I shall try it again in the forseeable future. I ran out of excuses with my TN 132" Lanc., i/c powered, and had to make the maiden in front of most of the club and under the watchful eyes of Ali Mc. who had just completed a demo day for us. No pressure then. This took me five years on and off, being built to win the club class 1 scratch build event. On scale day I knew that I should not have flown in the cross wind but did anyway. It immediately weather cocked into wind, heading for a large tree. With only a few feet of height and low speed I managed to stall it. Nothing left to repair so shrugged my shoulders, left the wreckage where it was and continued the comp. with another model. Innards stripped the next day and straight down to the council tip with the rest. The only one which has not been flown is my 54" Hawk, this being due to the small wheels needing a tarmac surface. I suppose that when another insane project takes my eye I shall just get on with it, otherwise I would be in the wrong hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 since 1988 when I started R/C flying I've had a couple go in on the maiden flights...its really down to ,what goes up must come down,either in one bit or a few bit's...all part of the hobby.. bit's =£'s ken anderson...n..1 ...bits dept. Edited By ken anderson. on 26/10/2018 10:29:25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Walby Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 OP chap here watching and learning (If I have nothing useful to say, why post). IHMO Its not about money, its about investment in time. Martin made a good point regarding the pleasure of flying being significant element. I haven't built or flown as many different types as most who post on here so I was interested to see various comments. I'll press on building my balsa bash and see how it flies (while its too wet/windy to fly), then if its disappointing it will be a case of moving on to something else (I have already by-passed it with other models over the last 2 years). Cheers to all those that posted relevant comments. Edited By Chris Walby on 26/10/2018 10:30:50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan p Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Chris carry on doing what you enjoy and the enjoy the way you do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Maybe it depends whether or not you regard the time spent building as an investment or as a fulfilling exercise in itself. If you are 'investing' your time then you may well be reluctant to fly it, if you enjoyed the experience of building then the logical next step is to enjoy the experience of flying it. **Trainers should never be an investment, not unless you are classified as a high risk taker! Ideally they should should be well maintained but battered, ugly, patched, badly re-covered mongrels that no-one could love. Crashing them can only improve the appearance. Save the pride and joy bit for when you are confident of a good landing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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