NEAT Fair 2009 Report

Daniel Switkin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:41:21 -0500

The 10th annual NEAT Fair took place September 18th-20th, 2009 in the Catskill Mountains of New York. More than 300 registered pilots attended this all-electric show from all over.

Updated 9/27/09: Al Ramsdell from Maine Aerial Photography Service was kind enough to let me post these three shots of the Peaceful Valley Campgrounds. The last two are taken from his Swift 16 aerial photography rig, which he had way up there. Nice flying and shooting Al!

The fog burns off on Sunday morning.

An overview of the show.

From left to right: vendor row, pilots' canopies, and the flight line.

As always, the show is run by the Silent Electric Flyers of Long Island, who come up a week in advance to set up. Many thanks for their hard work, and especially to Tom Hunt for putting on the show.

Nice quad sea plane.

An unusual high wing model with working doors.

An assortment of planes including two Ellipsticks.

A dual-body Radian FPV machine.

A close-up of the camera and video transmitter.

Two beautiful Gee Bees.

Towing the NEAT Fair banner.

Not all landings are perfect.

An assortment of smaller models.

Although NEAT is primarily a fixed-wing show, there was a smaller helicopter presence who enjoyed the 2.4 GHz-only heli stations. Most pilots were 3D flyers, but we had a couple of scale models, and even one fixed-pitch Corona. At one point I watched Kyle Stacy do a warm-up flight with his Furion, which was so fast I couldn't photograph it. His reaction time is just amazing.

A scale Eurocopter with T-Rex 600E mechanics.

Another shot in the air.

Several full-scale planes came and went during the weekend.

My friend Gary from Bulgaria with his Logo 400.

Which he knows how to toss around.

Unusual heli angle.

Me and the Swift 16.

A test flight with the stock 520 mm woodies.

Much better with the 550 mm fiberglass blades.

The noon demos pack a lot into an hour and a half, showing off many styles of flying and a wide range of models. Unlike other shows, most pilots do not fly to music at NEAT, which allows the crowd to hear the planes in action.

Dan Landis and his Extreme Flight Yak.

Sitting pretty in a hover.

Showing off for the crowd.

A nice pattern plane from the noon demos.

An ME-163 Komet with fall-away landing gear.

The Komet in the air.

Are you man enough to fly a pink airplane?

Part of the crowd at the noon demos.

One of a pair of night fighters.

Gary Graf had an impressive first-person-video rig of his own design. He used a 72 MHz transmitter with a 900 MHz video downlink. His on-screen display provided heading, altitude, pack voltage, and more. I ran his video recorder as his flying buddy helped with navigation and held a second transmitter connected by a buddy box cord, as required by the AMA. Gary won best technical achievement at the show for his efforts.

Gary's home-made FPV setup.

Launching the FPV Maxi Swift.

Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!

Updated: Check out a video from Gary's Maxi Swift:

The NEAT Fair is also a great place to see some upcoming products up close, and in the air. There were more than 30 vendors present at the show, and many pilots had items to sell in their tents as well. There's nothing like getting face-to-face time with the designer of your plane, and NEAT brings out a number of smaller kit and ARF manufacturers.

The Hobby Lobby 12 foot Telemaster ARF (yes, it's an ARF).

Kids running out for the candy drop.

The Xero Gear booth (it was packed at night).

Shawn and the surprisingly fast Merlin.

The new folding Xeno wing.

The Funcopter, which didn't get to fly this time.

A new LiPo charger from Dualsky.

The Hobby Lobby F-35 jet.

The new Hobby Lobby A-10 with oversized fans.

Wow.

Even more wow.

The upcoming high voltage versions of the Castle Creations ICE ESCs.

A great collection of auto-gyros.

What a streamlined pusher jet.

A Gee Bee and a Carden Yak.

The NEAT Fair is a Northeast U.S. tradition, and I'm glad to see it still going strong in its tenth year.

For even more coverage of the event, check out Paul's photos for RCGroups, and the rest of the NEAT Fair 2009 forum.
read more »

IRCHA 2009 Report

Daniel Switkin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:20:33 -0500

The annual IRCHA Jamboree is the largest gathering of RC helicopter pilots in the world. This year was the 20th anniversary of the event, held as usual at the AMA National Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana.

Updated August 22nd: Check out our HD video coverage of the show:

This year had the highest attendance in the show's history. With 951 registered pilots as of the Saturday night raffle, I believe IRCHA 2009 takes the record as the largest radio control event of any kind.

Early morning flying.

Setting up tents Friday morning.

The flight line and the tents seem to go on forever.

A view from the other end.

The AMA headquarters when you enter the property.

The vendors on the west end.

The main flying site had 10 pilot stations, each set up for a 200 foot wide box. These were in continuous use during Friday and Saturday, with a few helis waiting in line behind the current pilot. Sunday is the best time to fly, as most people are packing up or have left already. There was also a second site for beginners and hover practice, with a shuttle running between them.

One of several turbines at the event.

Mmm, scale.

And more scale.

Nice scale tailblades.

No tail rotor necessary.

Nice MedEvac colors.

One seriously large chopper.

A collection of vintage helis.

Another view.

The show is a great chance to meet people from the forums and to make new friends. Everyone was friendly and willing to lend each other tools, electric power, or whatever help was needed. Spare parts were easy to find for most models for the inevitable crashes.

Is that a web cam on the side?

Tossing out t-shirts and goodies at the pilots' meeting.

A range of Bergen aerial photography ships.

A small fraction of the vendor tents.

Matching T-Rex canopies.

IRCHA is also a big show for vendors, who typically announce new products and show previews of what's to come. Curtis Youngblood had a prototype of the Total G flybarless system. This tiny, all-in-one unit contains a three axis gyroscope and a governor. It also accepts up to three Spektrum satellite receivers, eliminating the need for a main receiver. Interestingly, the governor can also be used on electric helis, by mounting the magnet and sensor on the main gear as usual. The price and shipping date were not yet announced.

Front to back: Rave 450, Rave 90, Henseleit Rigid.

Close-up of the electric Rave 90 prototype.

The Henseleit Rigid.

Curtis Youngblood's custom transmitter.

A prototype of the Solid G three axis gyro/governor/receiver.

A sweet looking FAI fuselage.

Continuing the flybarless trend, the Mikado Mini VBar and the new Rondo unit were on display. All three units can be programmed in the field with a small, hand-held LCD controller (each company sells a proprietary unit). I heard that Skookum is working on a three axis unit as well but didn't get to see it in person. Look for prices to begin dropping as the competition increases.

Castle Creations was showing the new BEC Pro and ICE speed controllers, all of which are now shipping. They also had prototypes of the upcoming 160 and 200 amp ICE ESCs on display. Steve Neu, whose motors are distributed by Castle, is now moving into chargers. He was showing the NeuEnergy X10, a 10S LiPo charger capable of 300 watts, with a built-in balancer. There was also an X6+ model, for 6S LiPo with balancing and an internal AC power supply.

Steve Neu motors come in all shapes and sizes, and are made to order.

The new Castle CC BEC Pro.

A high amperage prototype Castle ESC.

The new Phoenix ICE 100 ESC.

The complete Phoenix ICE line.

A new 10S LiPo charger from Steve Neu.

A new 6S Steve Neu charger with a built-in AC power supply.

The Aurora 90 electric and prizes on the raffle table.

The Mikado team works out a Logo.

Futaba unveiled a new transmitter at IRCHA, the 8FG. It's an integrated 2.4 GHz unit featuring 8 channels and a backlit screen. The most distinctive feature is a new control wheel reminiscent of an iPod, with no moving parts. It acts as five different buttons if you tap it, and as a wheel by sliding your finger in a circle. The middle button is confusingly named "RTN", as it acts as an Enter button, but other than that navigation was easy. The case styling is noticeably more modern than other radios in the line, and there are no visible screws on the front panel, indicating a more sophisticated industrial design. Lastly, the 8FG accepts an SD memory card for additional model memories, and more importantly, the possibility of user firmware updates. The radio will ship with an eight channel receiver in the next month or so.

The new Futaba 8FG transmitter.

A top view of the switches.

The new Futaba R6106 2.4 GHz receiver.

The Futaba FASST receiver line.

A couple of mean looking Mikado canopies.

A prototype of Mikado's Mini VBar.

Not a flybar in sight at the Mikado booth.

A prototype of the Jive 120+HV ESC.

Some tandem helis from Hirobo.

Perhaps even bigger news was the introduction (finally!) of an affordable 6 channel 2.4 GHz receiver with standard-size servo connectors. The Futaba R6106 will be available in two versions. The park flyer version has a short stub antenna like the older R616FFM unit. The R6106RFC is being touted as a mid range receiver, and has one long antenna, similar to the R617FS. Futaba says the mid range unit is good to 1500 feet, and is fine in helicopters. Both flavors of the R6106 also contain a second internal antenna, and will be available for around $60 USD.

Some pair practice flights.

Looks like an Agusta.

A range of scale Hirobo helis.

A very slippery-looking FAI fuselage.

More Hirobo scale helis.

The all-in-one Rondo flybarless unit.

The widow of IRCHA's founder was given a plaque celebrating the 20th anniversary of the event.

The pilots waiting for the raffle to begin.

Anybody want a free mCX battery?

IRCHA is full of other things to do besides flying and looking at new products. Manufacturers set up demo flights at center stage on Friday and Saturday, as seminars were held under the tents. A poker tournament, pilot raffle, autorotation contest, and a drag racing contest kept things interesting. The AMA also has a museum on site.

My personal favorite was the night flying competition held Saturday night, with nine contestants and a top prize of $500. I believe these were all sponsored pilots, but they were only announced by number so the crowd couldn't play favorites. They appeared to hold nothing back from their daytime routines, some doing piro-flips one foot off the ground (which did result in a couple crashes).

A nice auto to finish off the flight.

Flying very low...

Tossing the glow stick after crashing...

And doing the walk of shame back to the pits.

The most impressive routine was performed by two Mikado pilots who flew simultaneously with their Logos, doing very close high speed passes. At one point they climbed to several hundred feet and both helis went dark together, causing the crowd to gasp. The lights came back on, cycling through colors and blinking in perfect synchronization. I found out later they used a third transmitter and a second receiver on each heli for the lights. They made it to the final round but sadly crashed in their second flight. Nick Maxwell was the eventual winner, and fireworks followed the competition.

This duet was the highlight of the night.

IRCHA is really something to experience. It was hot, and far, and tiring, but completely worth it. Consider the event a pilgrimage for all helicopter pilots to make at least once. Just don't forget your sunscreen.
read more »

Helis Over Delaware 2009 Report

Daniel Switkin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:12:48 -0500

Helis Over Delaware is an annual, three day event put on by the Delaware RC Club. It features all sizes of machine from micro (T-Rex 250) up to enormous (turbine-powered).

Check out our exclusive, HD highlight footage of the flying on Saturday (make sure to watch it fullscreen):

Here are a few photos on the ground:

One view of the flightline.

The other end, taken from the same spot.

Attaching the ball-drop mechanism to a large gasser.

The ball-drop mechanism, activated by a second transmitter.

A Logo 400.

A flybarless Logo 500.

An upgraded tail on the Logo 500.

A Logo 600.

The Mikado twins (Logo 500 and 600).

The two extremes of the Align product lineup.

Not exactly a park flyer.

The JetCat-powered turbine heli.

My Swift 16 looks tiny next to it.

A Thunder Power MD530.

An MD500 scale heli.

In addition to lots of open flying, there was also a golf ball drop contest, an autorotation contest, and a balloon popping contest. Finally, there was a smackdown session on Saturday evening featuring the best pilots competing to wow the crowd.

My friend Yohann Coppel has also posted this huge gallery of flying shots from Saturday.

Overall the large helis dominated, with a mix of 50 and 90 size nitros, and a surprising number of gassers. There were roughly 115 registered pilots by the time of the raffle on Saturday evening. Prizes included a Solid G gyro, a Furion 450, and a grand prize of a T-Rex 700.

The field was great and the whole event was well run. I'd recommend anyone in the area to make the drive next year.

Precision Aerobatics Katana MD Build Notes

Daniel Switkin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:19:36 -0500

The Katana MD is especially good looking in red.

Continuing in our Builds Notes series, this is my experience assembling the Precision Aerobatics Katana MD. This 46" wingspan acrobat is a premium-quality ARF, with a substantial amount of work done at the factory, and a unique carbon fiber reinforced balsa and plywood design.

Rather than writing full reviews, these Build Notes articles focus on the build steps, kit quality, and workarounds for common problems you might encounter.

Pluses:

The ailerons are the best of any ARF I've built. They are not only hinged at the factory, but rotate in a pocket such that there's no gap.
The canopy is magnetic and factory-assembled, no work to be done at all.
The build quality is very good. Both the internal structure and the covering were well done.
The instructions provide a good amount of detail, but the photos are too small, and black and white.
The motor box is pre-drilled for the Thrust 30 motor, which just barely squeezes in from the bottom, but otherwise installs easily.

The cowl is very attractive, but it's a shame it's not magnetic.

This is how the ailerons come from the factory - very nice.

The magnetic, one-piece canopy. Looks great and makes changing batteries easier.

Minuses:

The wheels didn't fit on the axles. I had to ream them out to double the size of the opening.
The main landing gear hardware was different than in the manual, and it used large washers which hit the curve in the gear and didn't sit flat.
The pull-pull hardware did not have enough threads on it, so that it would not clamp down on the carbon fiber servo horn. I had to add some washers.
The aileron and elevator linkages are just too much work and not adjustable when finished. They require wrapping a z-bend with thread and using CA to glue it to a carbon rod, and then using heat shrink tubing to strengthen it.
Fitting the cowl was a hassle and the screws don't look very good. At this price I'd like to see a magnetic cowl, completed at the factory, that just snaps on like the canopy with zero work.
I installed both nylon wing bolts as described in the manual, seating the heads completely flat, but when attaching the wings, both bolts were off by 1/8 inch. I had to bend them significantly to slide the wings on.
The factory made light cuts for the control surface hinges, but they were up to 1/2" off between the control surface and the matching stabilizer. They should be cut correctly or not at all.
The rudder and elevator are supposed to be sealed with clear heat shrink, which is not only tedious, but many ARF builders don't own an iron.
The battery tray may not be tall enough for a 3S LiPo which has spacers between the cells. Plan on using thinner packs.
The carbon fiber stickers on the fuse were peeling up in a number of places.

Notice the washers added on the pull-pull arm.

The black stickers were peeling up in a few places.

Thicker 3S LiPo packs are hard to install and may not fit at all.

Tips:

Replace the aileron and elevator linkages with threaded rod and clevises. These weigh only 2.6 grams each, compared to about 1 gram for the stock hardware, but are much easier to set up.
Insert a wing half on the carbon spar before gluing the nylon wing bolt. Bring the wing close to the fuselage, so that the wing bolt can be aligned with its hole, before applying CA.
Use self-adhesive clear covering to seal the rudder and elevator hinge gaps.
Be careful when using a 2.4 GHz receiver in the Katana, due to possible carbon fiber interference. Make sure to use a full range receiver with at least two antennas, pointed at 90 degrees to each other.
The instructions suggest CA for attaching the stabilizers. I recommend using epoxy for a stronger bond.
Make sure that the lowest rudder hinge will not interfere with the pull-pull control horn.
Check that the servo extension to the elevator servo does not interfere with the pull-pull cables for the rudder.

A shot of the elevator servo wire and the pull-pull cables.

Notice how the washer hits the curve in the landing gear.

Provided linkages at top, replacements on bottom.

Then go have fun! You can also check out Katana MD videos on YouTube or the main Katana MD thread on RCGroups.

Big Apple Jet Rally 2009 Report

Daniel Switkin — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:52:59 -0500

The Big Apple Jet Rally is an annual tradition, put on by the PARCS club of Brooklyn, NY. As always, this event was held at Floyd Bennett Field, New York's first commercial airport, which now serves as a multipurpose park. The club flies from one portion of a former full-scale runway, offering plenty of space for even the largest models.

This year saw a good assortment of planes, with the majority being turbine-powered, and many being scale military aircraft. They ranged from entry-level wood turbines and smaller EDF planes, to massive twin turbine machines.

The event was very smoothly run with a control tower one story above the flight line. Four pilots' stations were available, and there were four jets in the air at times. Each pilot was required to be accompanied by a caller, as well as an event volunteer with a flag and a radio to the tower. This system was used to coordinate takeoffs and landings and no incidents occurred.

Flying was suspended around lunch time and all the pilots brought their planes onto the runway. This gave the crowd a chance to walk around the aircraft and see them up close. Several planes had fully detailed cockpits, air brakes, and fake armaments.

I had two personal favorites which seemed to agree with the crowd's interest as well. The first was a gorgeous BAE Hawk in red and white trim. It featured a complete cockpit, panel lines and rivets, and full scale markings, in addition to a machine gun suspended from the belly, which fired simulated rounds.

The second was an enormous A-10 Warthog, weighing 54 pounds dry, and just under 70 pounds fully fueled. This amazing plane had twin kerosene-burning turbines with propane starters. It was completely realistic in the air.

In addition to the usual food and drinks, a manufacturer named 2icrc.com was demonstrating their wireless buddy box solution, called the XPO Co-Pilot. This piece of hardware is mounted in the model, and connects to any two receivers. It allows traditional buddy box functionality, in addition to handing over only selected channels to the other pilot. It can also be used for redundancy using two identical receivers bound to the same transmitter. Check out this RCGroups thread for more details.

Because the local police department has an active helicopter squad based at Floyd Bennett, we were also treated to two fast passes down the runway from one of their choppers. If you're thinking those NYPD decals make this model look realistic, think again - this is the real thing!

Flying continued on Saturday afternoon, and we got lucky that the weather held out:

All in all this was a fun event featuring a relaxed atmosphere of open flying. Even better was free admission for spectators. Check out this video from 2008 to see more of the Big Apple Jet Rally:

And here's a few more photos from this year:

Maker Faire 2009 Report

Daniel Switkin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:31:23 -0500

The 2009 Bay Area Maker Faire was held in San Mateo, California on May 30th and 30st. This unique event combines electronics, robotics, radio control, crafts, sculpture, and much more, and has some of the coolest things you can find this side of Burning Man. I'm going to concentrate on the radio controlled projects I saw.

Some of the RC naval vessels, ready to fight.

A detail of the gun turrets.

One big feature of the show is radio controlled naval warfare. Scale modelers from a local club brought their World War I and II cruisers, destroyers, and battleships to duke it out in a makeshift lake. These feature working, CO2-driven weapons which fire BB guns and ball bearings in an effort to sink enemy ships. Some of the larger boats featured rotating gun turrets, automatic reloading, and water pumps to stay afloat as long as possible. The battle I saw had about ten ships fighting in two teams, as Axis vs. Allies. It was pretty entertaining to watch and we did see one boat completely sunk.

Some of the kites used to lift the camera rigs.

A home-made KAP mount.

Wireless video from the kite (must be on a different frequency than the transmitter).

Another larger SLR rig.

In one of the indoor exhibits there were a variety of kite aerial photograph RC rigs. Most had two servos giving pan and tilt control, with a third servo or an infrared trigger to trip the shutter. Several systems also had realtime wireless video transmission back to the ground to aid in composing the shot, using the digital camera's video output jack. The cameras ranged from small point and shoots to digital SLRs, presumably according to the lifting power of the kite and the budget/risk the photographer wants.

The Maker Store was also fun to browse. They had a seemingly endless variety of electronic kits, some radio controlled, some autonomous, and some just fun. I also met some guys from DIYDrones.com, who had a Multiplex Easy Star on display with an Arduino-powered autonomous setup. It was able to fly between GPS waypoints and even return automatically to the launch coordinates if the radio signal was lost.

An amusing dust buster robot.

Battlebots!

One well-armored vehicle.

Finally, I saw a few more unusual projects. There were several battle bots, each weighing more than 200 pounds. There were also some amazing metal spheres roaming around an outdoor area, playing music, avoiding obstacles, etc. Then there was the enormous, hydraulic-powered Electric Giraffe, which can both roll and walk. It was controlled by a Spektrum DX7. And maybe most impressive to your average Star Wars geek, were near-perfect, full-size, radio controlled R2-D2 models. These were easily realistic enough to be used in the movies themselves.

The roaming metal spheres.

The Electric Giraffe. Did I mention it was big?

R2-D2, with and without the skin.

I've only scratched the surface of what goes on at Maker Faire - it's well worth attending yourself. You can check out Gizmodo's Maker Faire coverage for more from the show, or check out some YouTube videos.
read more »

Futaba 2.4 GHz Compatibility Chart

Daniel Switkin — Mon, 25 May 2009 08:57:50 -0500

As pilots switch more and more to 2.4 GHz radios, compatibility has decreased significantly. Gone are the days of universal PPM receivers that can handle positive and negative shift from any brand transmitter. With 2.4 GHz, you must buy your receiver from the same manufacturer as your transmitter, or 2.4 GHz module.

That's not the only gotcha though. Within each system, there are some hiccups too. Futaba has a somewhat confusing chart on their site showing the compatibility of various systems. To make it more legible, I've removed the land systems and cleaned it up:

Futaba 2.4 GHz Compatibility Chart (air systems only)
		Receivers
Transmitters		R606FS	R6004FF R616FFM R607FS R617FS	R608FS R6008HS R6014FS	Protocol Selection
6EX 2.4GHz		Y	Y	N/A
7C 2.4GHz		Y	Y	N/A
TM-7(*)		INC	Y	N/A
TM-8(**)	7ch Mode	INC	Y		Via Switch
TM-8(**)	8ch Mode			Y	Via Switch
T10C 2.4GHz (with TM-10)	7ch Mode	Y	Y		Via Menu
T10C 2.4GHz (with TM-10)	10ch Mode			Y	Via Menu
T10CG 2.4GHz	7ch Mode	Y	Y		Via Menu
T10CG 2.4GHz	10ch Mode			Y	Via Menu
TM-14	7ch Mode	Y	Y		Via Menu
TM-14	Multi-channel Mode			Y	Via Menu
LEGEND: Y: Supported INC: Incompatible N/A: Not applicable (too few channels)

In truth the only incompatibility is when using the TM-7 and TM-8 modules, which don't work with the discontinued R606FS receiver. But it's also important to remember that you can't use a 14 channel receiver with a 7 channel transmitter like the 7C. Happy flying!

Flying An RC Helicopter With An iPhone

Daniel Switkin — Sun, 03 May 2009 10:22:39 -0500

Of all the unusual ways to control an RC helicopter, this has got to take the cake. A guy named Josh has figured out how to use his iPhone as an RC transmitter and has successfully hovered his T-Rex 450 using it. Check out the video here, and his site for the details:

As a fellow software engineer, I have to say that using SSH over WiFi to pull this off is really cool. Now he just needs to find a smaller router. Very clever and original!

ETOC 2009 Report

Daniel Switkin — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:14:23 -0500

The 2009 Electric Tournament of Champions (ETOC) was held in Toledo, Ohio on April 3rd and 4th. This indoor flying competition brings out the best pilots from around the world, and is held in the evenings on the same weekend as the Weak Signals Toledo Show.

The large main gym at Central Catholic High School.

The competition began with 16 pilots on Friday night, each performing a sequence of known maneuvers, as well as a freestyle routine to their choice of music. The known sequence and rules are available online.

Jason Schulman calls for Andrew Jesky.

The pilots watched each other's flights attentively.

Seth Arnold carries out a plane for RJ Gritter.

At the end of the night, 8 pilots had made it to the next round: Andrew Jesky, Seth Arnold, Ryan Clark, Gernot Bruckman, RJ Gritter, Jason Noll, Fabien Turpaud, and Ryan Archer.

To break up the competition, Jim T. Graham from RCGroups.com came out with a sling shot and fired t-shirt out into the crowd.

Pulling back the slingshot...

Having a tough time of it...

Sometimes throwing t-shirts is just easier.

There were several demo flights flown during both evenings too. Nick Maxwell and Kyle Stacy each put on separate helicopter demos.

Nick Maxwell flying hard.

And low.

Nick taking everything home in one piece.

Kyle Stacy getting ready.

And crazy.

And kicking up glitter from a previous routine.

Precision Aerobatics brought out their balsa/plywood Addiction outdoor model for a demo as well.

One of the most enjoyable things at ETOC is the synchronized demo flights. Gernot Bruckman and Fabien Turpaud represented the European pilots first.

Later, American pilots Andrew Jesky and Jason flew an equally impressive demo together.

On Saturday the eight remaining pilots duked it out for four spots, with Andrew Jesky, Seth Arnold, Gernot Bruckman, and Jason Noll making the cut. These four pilots then flew the known sequence and their freestyle one more time to determine the winners.

Jim T. Graham and Jim Bourke from RCGroups.

In the end, Seth Arnold took first place for his first ETOC win, followed by Jason and Gernot.

The prize table.

The final four wait for the results.

Gernot takes third place.

The pilots were very supportive of each other.

Jason Noll takes second.

Seth Arnold wins first place.

Awards are also given for the highest scores in the known and freestyle rounds. Gernot Bruckman took the trophy for the known sequence, and Jason Noll won for freestyle.

Gernot looks genuinely surprised to win.

Best known sequence.

Jason Noll wins best freestyle.

RJ Gritter shows off his variable pitch prop system...

... then tries to give Jason Schulman a haircut!

Don't try this at home!

The caliber of flying this year was incredible. Several pilots flew freestyle routines with variable pitch props as well, which allowed them to hover upside down and fly backwards. If you can make it to Toledo next year, you won't be disappointed.

The crowd examines RJ Gritter's VPP setup.

All of the planes flown were 3 mm Depron.

If you'd like to see these pilots in action, check out the video coverage of ETOC 2009 from our friends at Higher Plane Productions. You can also find many more photos and discussions at the RCGroups ETOC forum. read more »

Toledo Show 2009 Report Part Two

Daniel Switkin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:51:23 -0500

Welcome back! If you missed it, check out part one of our Toledo Show coverage.

Miniature Aircraft

Miniature Aircraft was one of only three dedicated helicopter manufacturers at the show (the other two being Hirobo and Thunder Tiger). Among other models on display was the new X-Cell Fury gasser. My apologies, I thought I picked up a flyer with the details, but can't find it.

The Miniature Aircraft booth.

The X-Cell Fury gasoline-powered heli.

I was drawn to the Razor 600E, an electric powered heli with an unusual gearing system. Rather than changing pinion gears, you change a pulley mechanism between the motor and the rest of the gearing. This should make it easy to change headspeed, and allow this 600 mm heli to accept power from 6S LiPo up to 10 or even 12 cells in series.

The Razor 600E electric heli.

A close-up of the Razor 600E frames. Notice the 120 degree servo placement.

The Razor 600E data sheet.

Precision Aerobatics

Precision Aerobatics, along with 3D Hobby Shop and Extreme Flight, is one of the top-tier ARF makers. I hadn't seen the recent Extra 260 before in person, but it appears to follow on nicely to their existing 46-48" lineup. It has the same carbon fiber reinforced frame as the popular Katana MD, plus an airfoil tail. Both models sold out on the show floor, but P.A. was offering free shipping for orders placed at the show. I caved in and ordered the red Katana MD I've been eyeing for about two years.

It must be Christmas: a tree of Precision Aerobatics ARFs.

The interior of the Extra 260.

The P.A. Extra 260.

Horizon Hobby

The Horizon Hobby booth was one of the largest on the show floor, encompassing all the Spektrum, JR, Park Zone, E-flite, and other family brands. They had two models of the Vibe series of JR helicopters on display. The Vibe 500E is a full-optioned 425 mm blade heli, which competes with the T-Rex 500 and the MSH Protos. In exchange for the $699 street price, the Vibe 500E comes with all the CNC upgrades you'd typically buy separately. It has one piece skids and a clean frame design, although the belt drive to the tail was surprisingly thin. It is designed for an E-flite Power 25 heli motor or equivalent.

The Horizon Hobby booth.

The Vibe 500E next to the Vibe 90.

A close-up of the Vibe 500E.

ParkZone had the new four channel Sukhoi SU-26 micro on display, which belongs to the popular Ember and Vapor line of indoor flyers. It's only available as a bind-n-fly, for use with your existing DSM2 transmitter. In theory it should work with the transmitter that comes bundled with the Vapor, but they recommend a higher-end radio with expo for the Sukhoi. E-flite was also showing the Celectra four port charger, which handles four of these micro one cell LiPo batteries at a time.

The E-flite range of electric micro helicopters.

The Sukhoi SU-26 four channel micro plane.

The E-flite Celectra four port battery charger.

The E-flite 4-Site F3P 250 ARF is a new 3mm Depron indoor plane designed for competition. This biplane has similar construction to the existing Enticement monoplane, including optional airbrakes. These planes are not designed for wind or outdoor use, so make sure you have a large venue to fly them in. The 4-Site will sell for $65.

The E-flite 4-Site ARF.

The revised Funtana 125.

The Yak 54 90 size ARF from Seagull.

The Funtana 125 ARF has undergone a redesign. In addition to new graphics, it now has an airfoil tail, which is to be expected in a 70" wingspan plane. Optional side force generators are included, and it will sell for $299. Also new is the Yak 54 ARF 90 size in a sharp yellow and black color scheme, for $199.

Thunder Tiger

I spent some time looking at the Thunder Tiger Innovator, a completely new collective pitch helicopter. This ready-to-fly pair of models is designed as a complete system, and doesn't look like anything else out there. This has both advantages and disadvantages. In exchange for proprietary battery packs, you get cell voltage monitoring, and a very cool battery tray which drops down beneath the canopy. The flybar has the paddles molded in for fewer parts and a perfectly balanced head. The Innovator is available in a semi-scale Hughes fuselage for more casual flying, and a pod-and-boom fuselage for 3D flying.

The two models of the Innovator.

The yellow battery tray pivots down below the canopy for loading.

Another view of the Innovators.

The Raptor 50 Titan SE.

A scale MD530 fuselage.

Two scale Cobra bodies to fit the 325 mm Mini Titan mechanics.

Saturn V Rocket and 60% Extra 260

One of the most outrageous things at the show was Steve Eves's 1:10 scale Saturn V Rocket. At 36 feet tall and weighing 1600 pounds, this incredible model isn't just huge - it's designed to fly. It is scheduled to launch on April 25th in Maryland. We wish the team the best of luck.

The enormous Saturn V rocket.

The 60% Extra 260.

Not exactly a park flyer.

Speaking of huge, Elie Houayes brought his 60% Extra 260 to the static display. Eli goes by Snapasaurus on Flying Giants, and does everything big. When I guessed if he was using the 3W 212 cc gas engine, the largest I was aware of, he laughed and told me he was using the 342 cc version! This engine is designed for ultralight full-scale aircraft, not RC. These photos don't do justice to how large this plane is in person.

Eagle Tree Systems

Eagle Tree was showing their new GPS V3 module, which is substantially smaller and lighter than the previous GPS Expander. They also had a web cam hooked up to a PC to show off the On-Screen Display Pro, which can superimpose a huge range of parameters over a video image.

The new, smaller Eagle Tree GPS sensor at top, compared to the existing unit.

A demo of the Eagle Tree OSD Pro.

A data sheet from Eagle Tree.

Hitec/Multiplex

I was very happy to see the new Multiplex Funcopter in person for the first time. This durable, fixed-pitch helicopter is larger than a T-Rex 450 and is based on the Lite Machines Corona design. This prototype was still the only unit in the U.S. so far, and is not expected to go on sale until August.

The new Funcopter.

The plastic frames hold a 3S 2100 LiPo with velcro.

These are tentatively the electronics that will be included in the receiver-ready version.

The huge, direct-drive brushless Himax motor.

The Funcopter is a good size heli.

A close-up of the Funcopter head.

My first impression was how heavy the ready-to-fly model felt. The front of the canopy slides off easily, and will either be retained with magnets or snaps. We could not determine how the tail portion of the fuselage comes off. I confirmed that the tail rotor is driven by a shaft geared off the unusual, direct-drive main motor. The head design looked strong and the landing gear felt resilient. I also determined that there is enough room behind the main shaft to mount a standard size gyro like the Futaba GY401 to the top of the frame, without hitting the fuselage. Overall I was impressed and am looking forward to flying it.

The Hitec/Multiplex booth.

The new Merlin powered glider, which is smaller than I expected.

Innov8tive Designs/Scorpion

Innov8tive Designs, the U.S. distributor of Scorpion products, had a large booth which a huge variety of motors and speed controllers. I got to chat briefly with Lucien Miller, the man who never sleeps, who was showing a few interesting upcoming products. Besides the enormous high voltage ESCs, going up to 250A, he had a sample of a Scorpion inrunner motor. From what I can tell, the goal is to address every electric power system need, from park flyer to giant scale. I'm using Scorpion motors in my E-flite Taylorcraft and Century Swift 16 with great results so far.

Miles of Scorpion motors, as far as the eye can see.

A prototype Scorpion inrunner.

This enormous ESC is rated up to 68V and 250A.

The Scorpion S-5545-16 outrunner.

Castle Creations

The Phoenix ICE data sheet.

Castle Creations had a display of the upcoming Phoenix ICE ESCs, which are due to ship in mid-May 2009. They will come in 50A, 75A, and 100A versions, and all feature a 5A switching BEC built-in. Maybe even more interesting is that they all feature data logging capabilities, similar to the Eagle Tree products. In addition to the standard voltage, amp draw, watts, and cumulative milliamp hours, the ICE ESCs also monitor motor RPM and ESC temperature without the use of external sensors. As with the rest of the line, USB connectivity to your computer is accomplished with the CastleLink interface, which allows downloading and graphing of the log files. Castle also plans a version of the ICE line with a large heatsink, meant for helicopters and other low-airflow applications.

Patrick also showed me the upcoming line of brushless motors, the details of which have not been announced. They will be using premium quality steel and bearings, and are designed for high efficiency. It appears Castle is jumping into electric motors in a big way. They will continue to distribute the Steve Neu motor line for those who want hand-wound boutique motors.

Other Products

Here's a sample of other products from the show floor.

Mike Fritz's asymmetrical Boomerang.

The ICARE booth.

The Magellan E, top, and Magellan XL, bottom from ICARE.

The Aero Model booth.

Hacker motors, growing on a tree.

The Hangar 9 Toledo Special 40-50 ARF.

Orest Drobey's scale B-36 with six pusher props.

A scale Navy bomber.

Sepp Viberlacher's Hawker Hurricane.

An F-15 Eagle.

Chris Wolfe's A-7E Prototype.

Tejera Micro Systems had a four port micro battery adapter for their Extrema charger.

The OMP booth.

Jeff Holsinger's gorgeous turbine-powered helicopter.

A close-up of the propane starter, ECU, and wiring.

A123 M1 packs for the T-Rex 500.

A view from one corner of the main show floor.

Swap Shop

The second floor of the SeaGate Convention Center features the annual swap meet. This ranged from individuals to smaller vendors, filling up hallway after hallway, and a number of smaller conference rooms too. I also saw many new products at 20% off the normal online prices.

One of the swap shop rooms.

The upstairs hallways were packed with swap shop tables.

Matt Chapman Talk

On Saturday afternoon, airline captain and full-scale air show pilot Matt Chapman gave a lecture followed by a Q&A session which was very interesting. By his own admission he's something of an amateur in radio control but still loves it, and works with Hobbico to build scale models of his full-scale planes. He told a great story about how the "paint ball" color scheme gave the Great Planes designers heartburn, but how they actually learned a lot from it. He also got more serious at times and talked about how many of his fellow air show pilots have been killed over the years, and how almost every accident was preventable. I won't spoil his other anecdotes, or what he thinks about Chuck Yeager, but if you get a chance to see him speak I definitely recommend it.

Matt Chapman with his Eagle 580 replica.

The program of speakers and talks.

A little bit about Matt's fullsize acrobat.

Conclusion

The Toledo Show, now in it's 55th year, is a very impressive event, and a lot of fun to attend. I spent two full days from nine to five on the show floor, and could easily have gone back Sunday. The combination of the show, plus the ETOC competition in the evenings, makes for a terrific weekend.

Throughout the show I asked vendors what they thought of the attendance, and the general feeling was that the show was as big as ever. I suspect the Toledo Show is far enough away from the AMA Show in California three months earlier to attract a large crowd from a different part of the country. My only disappointment was the small helicopter turnout. There were no booths from Align, Century, Gaui, Kyosho, Mikado, MSH, or Outrage.

Hope to see you in Toledo, Ohio next year, I'll definitely be back. Thanks to Mark Livingstone for his help. read more »

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