October 2011 The Inside Loop


Editor Jay Smith
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When I began flying RC airplanes back in the late 1970s, no one flew helicopters at our field. I really didn’t even know they existed until 1979.
Mike Mas changed all that when he flew his helicopter in sustained inverted flight for 54 seconds. He did it again on video on Thanksgiving Day in 1979 and that video circulated like crazy through clubs and hobby shops. It could have been considered “viral” if the term had been coined by then.
Numerous copies of the video tapes were made and distributed. If we had the Internet and YouTube back then, Mike would have owned it. I watched the video more times than I can count!
Mike and all the early RC helicopter pioneers had to learn to fly just like everyone else. They had to master the mechanics of flight and those of their machines. This allowed them to push the envelope and get the most performance possible from these challenging flying machines.

Mike had this to say about his RC helicopter beginnings “Little did I know that it would take over a year before I would be able to hover within the area of a football field or keep it up for a tank full of fuel, but I then set a goal: No matter how long it takes, I’ll someday achieve my ambitions and make the helicopter do exactly what I want it to do.”
Today we have a multitude of options when it comes to RC helicopters. If you want to fly indoors, outdoors, 3-D, or Scale, there’s a helicopter for that. Power systems include turbine, gas, glow, and electric power. We have terminology such as coaxial, tandem, fixed pitch, collective pitch, and flybarless. This seemingly endless array of options can be quite confusing to the beginner helicopter pilot.
Fear not! We have enlisted the help of Andy Griffith to assist prospective or newer helicopter pilots understand the lingo and wade through the options to determine what heli is right for you.
We also have better and more reliable equipment on which to learn and prefect our flying skills, not to mention RC simulators that provide a realistic flight experience to further hone our flying ability.
Most importantly, RC helicopters are safer and more accessible than ever. If anyone doubts their popularity, then they have never been to the International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association (IRCHA) Jamboree, a helicopter-only event that draws nearly 1,000 pilots each year to the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
In this issue, our own helicopter columnist and expert photographer, Mark Fadely, brings us all the excitement of the Extreme Flight Championships (XFC). This event, under the tutelage of Frank Noll, does an excellent job of combining helicopters and airplanes into a competition everyone should appreciate.
The AeroWorks Challenge air races were added to XFC last year and continue to build in participation as pilots navigate the course requiring gates to be flown through, and pylons to be flown around. If you have the need for speed, this is the event to attend.
If electric-powered aircraft are more to your liking, check out our coverage of the National Electric Fly-In also held at the IAC. This yearly charity event raises money for the Animal Rescue Fund and the National Model Aviation Museum.
This month’s issue also features two reviews: the beautiful and aerobatic Christen Eagle from Great Planes and the Stevens AeroModel WaterBoard. The WaterBoard should appeal to anyone who ever owned a Swamp Buggy, with the ease of assembly that Stevens AeroModel is known for. Best of all, it works with the RC gear you already have!
If you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out www.modelaviation.com. It contains expanded and interactive features to complement the magazine. Participate and let your voice be heard. You can also contact me directly through the “Write a Letter to the Editor” page.MA


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