John Wagg Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 (edited) You do NOT have to be in a club to fly. You do NOT need BMFA insurance, but a wise investment, your house insurance may cover for 3rd party as mine did when I first started. You do, by law now, have to be registered with the CAA for models over 250gms in weight. (£10 per year currently). Can be done easily online.🙄 https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/individual There are lots of "Park fliers" who buy some "toy" plane and fly/crash who have no idea about any regulations. You can buy a cheap Park-Fly from China and go to an open area and fly. (Having said that China is no longer a cheap place to buy from.) Your Rec' ground may or may not allow flying. Again only by asking will clarify that. There may be some byelaw concerning what can and cannot be done if it's public owned. The "Drone" guys may know any rules and maybe they know someone who flies planes in your area. They might even be the same guys who flew there before ? By the way I do belong to a club. I have BMFA insurance and CAA registration. Clubs do usually have a stipulation for BMFA insurance. My son does not belong to a club but we fly (slope soar) on our local-ish hills. He is CAA registered. Cheers John Edited December 19, 2022 by John Wagg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 Do not give up Greg. Goto Lidl, buy the terradactyl ( hopefully come down in price from £20 ) which is free flight. I have one ready for a sunny dry flat calm Xmas day ! Buy the mini drone. Buy bmfa insurance and seek official permission to use rec park. Have a word with the drone guys. Keep looking in here to learn of the Lidl £10 kids chuck glider that converts well to RC. Guys, what's the average all up wieght of an RC Lidl glider, under the 250g limit ??????? There are loads of free plans on outerzone. Research foam board for model making, the modern alternative to balsa. Learn how to make foam wings... 4 max basic motor, prop, ESC and 3 small servos for £25 ! Bargain !!! You have radio gear, even new RC gear is cheap these days. BUT You must be prepared to take your 100 hours in the making model plane home in a bin bag and give it a Vikings funeral, at least once. If you cannot tolerate that then aeromodeller is not for you. I like model boating, model sailing preferably as the fuel is free. BUT I never really know if I am Gunna have to go for a swim or not ! Brrrrrrrrrrr. Because of your hosting skills and experience, you are at least half way, a good half way, to making and flying a slope soarer and/or electric glider. If you want a good stable reasonably capable basic glider that is cheap to make and easy to fly, pm me. Home design, wing robbed and extended from a free flight rubber powered "found". Basically a box with a wing and tail. Don't give up yet, just do it on a very tight budget. It's amazing the raw materials you can acquire that people just throw away. I fill all my boats "hull air" with free white foam. Eventually I will make a titanic, that sinks, and resurfaces....under RC. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 Sorry, but I have to note that the advice to buy a Lidl free flight Terradactyl and a mini-drone to someone seeking to build and fly an RC electric glider really isn't helping to address the questions raised by the OP. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 3 hours ago, Rich Griff said: Do not give up Greg. Goto Lidl, buy the terradactyl ( hopefully come down in price from £20 ) which is free flight. I have one ready for a sunny dry flat calm Xmas day ! Buy the mini drone. Buy bmfa insurance and seek official permission to use rec park. Have a word with the drone guys. Keep looking in here to learn of the Lidl £10 kids chuck glider that converts well to RC. Guys, what's the average all up wieght of an RC Lidl glider, under the 250g limit ??????? There are loads of free plans on outerzone. Research foam board for model making, the modern alternative to balsa. Learn how to make foam wings... 4 max basic motor, prop, ESC and 3 small servos for £25 ! Bargain !!! You have radio gear, even new RC gear is cheap these days. BUT You must be prepared to take your 100 hours in the making model plane home in a bin bag and give it a Vikings funeral, at least once. If you cannot tolerate that then aeromodeller is not for you. I like model boating, model sailing preferably as the fuel is free. BUT I never really know if I am Gunna have to go for a swim or not ! Brrrrrrrrrrr. Because of your hosting skills and experience, you are at least half way, a good half way, to making and flying a slope soarer and/or electric glider. If you want a good stable reasonably capable basic glider that is cheap to make and easy to fly, pm me. Home design, wing robbed and extended from a free flight rubber powered "found". Basically a box with a wing and tail. Don't give up yet, just do it on a very tight budget. It's amazing the raw materials you can acquire that people just throw away. I fill all my boats "hull air" with free white foam. Eventually I will make a titanic, that sinks, and resurfaces....under RC. Nooooooo, if you don't want to build, buy something kike a Phoenix, a cheap FlySky tx, a couple of LiPos, basic charger, and practically guaranteed success for a couple of hours effort...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 Greg, You asked for advice and you’ve certainly received plenty! I think that all you’ve received has been in good faith, but there’s no right or wrong way to start flying models. I understand your confusion and your preference to go it alone, especially if you’ve had a bad experience. What I would say from my own experience and many years on this forum is that the majority of people get on well with their clubs and find a warm welcome, plenty of willing help and make strong friendships. On the other hand, a minority of clubs attract negative comments so, as in all walks of life, you can be unlucky. What I might suggest is to contact a local club and arrange to visit them and just have a chat about how they operate and advice about models and equipment. I’m sure you’ll quickly get a feel for whether you’d enjoy learning and flying with them and their advice may save wasting money or experiencing disappointment. It’s a small investment in time that may introduce you to an absorbing and satisfying hobby. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban8 Posted December 19, 2022 Share Posted December 19, 2022 I reckon the free trial flight offerings that many clubs offer is a great idea - no cost, no risk and no obligation to join anything. Not very nice at this time of year, but a pleasant afternoon out on a nice day - what's to lose? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted December 20, 2022 Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 16 hours ago, John Wagg said: You do NOT have to be in a club to fly. You do NOT need BMFA insurance, but a wise investment, your house insurance may cover for 3rd party as mine did when I first started. You do, by law now, have to be registered with the CAA for models over 250gms in weight. (£10 per year currently). Can be done easily online.🙄 https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/individual There are lots of "Park fliers" who buy some "toy" plane and fly/crash who have no idea about any regulations. You can buy a cheap Park-Fly from China and go to an open area and fly. (Having said that China is no longer a cheap place to buy from.) Your Rec' ground may or may not allow flying. Again only by asking will clarify that. There may be some byelaw concerning what can and cannot be done if it's public owned. The "Drone" guys may know any rules and maybe they know someone who flies planes in your area. They might even be the same guys who flew there before ? By the way I do belong to a club. I have BMFA insurance and CAA registration. Clubs do usually have a stipulation for BMFA insurance. My son does not belong to a club but we fly (slope soar) on our local-ish hills. He is CAA registered. Cheers John Thank you John for clarifying that. When you are completely new to the hobby all the well meaning help and advice does get a bit confusing at times. Best regards, Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Had you joined the forum in the spring/summer there would not have been so much response, everyone out flying. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted December 20, 2022 Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 15 hours ago, Rich Griff said: Do not give up Greg. Goto Lidl, buy the terradactyl ( hopefully come down in price from £20 ) which is free flight. I have one ready for a sunny dry flat calm Xmas day ! Buy the mini drone. Buy bmfa insurance and seek official permission to use rec park. Have a word with the drone guys. Keep looking in here to learn of the Lidl £10 kids chuck glider that converts well to RC. Guys, what's the average all up wieght of an RC Lidl glider, under the 250g limit ??????? There are loads of free plans on outerzone. Research foam board for model making, the modern alternative to balsa. Learn how to make foam wings... 4 max basic motor, prop, ESC and 3 small servos for £25 ! Bargain !!! You have radio gear, even new RC gear is cheap these days. BUT You must be prepared to take your 100 hours in the making model plane home in a bin bag and give it a Vikings funeral, at least once. If you cannot tolerate that then aeromodeller is not for you. I like model boating, model sailing preferably as the fuel is free. BUT I never really know if I am Gunna have to go for a swim or not ! Brrrrrrrrrrr. Because of your hosting skills and experience, you are at least half way, a good half way, to making and flying a slope soarer and/or electric glider. If you want a good stable reasonably capable basic glider that is cheap to make and easy to fly, pm me. Home design, wing robbed and extended from a free flight rubber powered "found". Basically a box with a wing and tail. Don't give up yet, just do it on a very tight budget. It's amazing the raw materials you can acquire that people just throw away. I fill all my boats "hull air" with free white foam. Eventually I will make a titanic, that sinks, and resurfaces....under RC. Hello Rich, Thank you for the encouragement. I do apricate it. It is very interesting what you have said and does help a lot. I will PM you about the basic glider you have mentioned. I might not be able to PM you today as I have a lot on. Thanks again. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted December 20, 2022 Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 11 hours ago, Martin Harris - Moderator said: Greg, You asked for advice and you’ve certainly received plenty! I think that all you’ve received has been in good faith, but there’s no right or wrong way to start flying models. I understand your confusion and your preference to go it alone, especially if you’ve had a bad experience. What I would say from my own experience and many years on this forum is that the majority of people get on well with their clubs and find a warm welcome, plenty of willing help and make strong friendships. On the other hand, a minority of clubs attract negative comments so, as in all walks of life, you can be unlucky. What I might suggest is to contact a local club and arrange to visit them and just have a chat about how they operate and advice about models and equipment. I’m sure you’ll quickly get a feel for whether you’d enjoy learning and flying with them and their advice may save wasting money or experiencing disappointment. It’s a small investment in time that may introduce you to an absorbing and satisfying hobby. Hello martin, I agree with all that you have said. Each person has a different take on what they do. There is no right or wrong way to many crafts and hobbies. I also like to paint in oils. I am self taught and the no right or wrong way rule applies to art as well. With regards to clubs, the one I visited one evening for model railways was embarrassing. I arrived said who I was and sat in a corner all evening and not one person spoke to me. Come the end of the meeting I just got up and left and never went back. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted December 20, 2022 Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 48 minutes ago, J D 8 said: Had you joined the forum in the spring/summer there would not have been so much response, everyone out flying. Yes, that makes a lot of sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 2 hours ago, Greg said: Hello Rich, Thank you for the encouragement. I do apricate it. It is very interesting what you have said and does help a lot. I will PM you about the basic glider you have mentioned. I might not be able to PM you today as I have a lot on. Thanks again. Greg Watching with interest Greg, as so many others our age, will read and stay in the background. You are helping others take the plunge too with your open mind to the hobby So not too many PMs please, as We are all watching your progress, and believe me, you are moving forward And we want to read about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted December 20, 2022 Author Share Posted December 20, 2022 4 hours ago, Denis Watkins said: Watching with interest Greg, as so many others our age, will read and stay in the background. You are helping others take the plunge too with your open mind to the hobby So not too many PMs please, as We are all watching your progress, and believe me, you are moving forward And we want to read about it. Hello Rich, Thank you. I will certainly keep the dialogue coming on my journey as I make progress. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted December 20, 2022 Share Posted December 20, 2022 Point taken about PM's so will endevour to post stuff in public space. I may even start a thread about "homebrew found red glider" . I made it years ago with economy in mind, IE minimum balsa. As said the wing is an extended wing from the aeromodeler mag free plan ' centenial found free flight rubber powered model. Its on outerzone as a free plan. The original found i made, sabre powered 2 channel, flew off the board and really well. I have made several converted to RC free flight models, all flying vice free. Several more in the pipe line to come. That's the bueaty of this hobby ( and boats ), once you can made a model and fly it, you will make more. You don't need lots of money. Foam board is very inexpensive and is just as good a balsa. Boats can be even cheaper, raw materials dragged form skips ! Reuse, repurpose, recycle. It's a pity fruit boxes are made from cardboard these days. Corrugated cardboard wings for control liners. Cloroplas....even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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