neilg.

i know it seems silly, but i do not know anyone who flies, except for you guys . i actually have cold feet, i tend to stand in the background. forums are the only place my brash personality comes forward .

Angler-Hi

I actually prefer NOT to join a club. From what the majority of the people I HAVE HEARD say, all the gas guys want to discourage you from electric. In my eyes, that is NOT a way to support a fellow member or new hobbyist. Besides, I'm a member of the best RC club in the nation..."Wattflyer"!!

Mike

Heli Jim

Please don't ALL clubs by a bad experience.

I know of two clubs in our area that welcome electric
right along with the nitro boys.

Angler-Hi

You may need to reread my post friend. I never said "ALL" clubs. I made it clear to say, "that the majority of people I HAVE HEARD". I was talking about a negative issue within the hobby, not someone or some club as a whole!

But to let you know, I've been reassuring confidence to a fellow Watthead who has been getting bashed by his fellow club members for flying electric. That gets under my skin. Anyway, good winds friend.

Mike

Dorsal

There certainly does seem to be an elitist attitude toward fueled models at the clubs local to me, but that's their problem. My dues money is as good as theirs and I'll fly whatever I have.
I am somewhat spoiled though, in that there is a group of folks that fly at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, and ONLY electric planes are allowed at that park. There are some ducted fan guys that are really pushing the limits I fear with the screaming motors on a couple of the models, but until the park threatens to restrict ALL flying, it seems none of the regular fliers are concerned.
That's how and why flying privileges are lost - I sure hope someone over there wakes up soon.

firemanbill

Well ya'll need to move to my area and join my club!

We have a great bunch of guys and gals who really don't care what you fly, as long as you fly it.

We have quite a mix of glow, gas, elctric, and even a turbine every now and then.

I can honestly say, other than joking around, I have never had anyone talk down to my electrics and I don't plan on talking down theirs stuff either.

We do have the comraderie to hack on each other though. I'll dig on this one guy about always cleaning on his stuff... gotta get the slime of of them... But he sure does come in handy when I need some paper towels! He always has a roll or two.:p

I awlays hate to hear of the clubs who do not get along like that. A lot of it is hearsay though because I was told the same thing about this club! I sure am glad I didn't listen and went anyway.

http://www.newportnewsrc.org/

Grasshopper

Both of the local clubs around here welcome anyone that fly regarless if it's electric or glow. Great bunch of guys that really don't care what powers it.

Figure.N9ne

thats exactly how my club is, most of the members dont care for electrics for themselves, but if thats what you fly, thats fine. we dont bad mouth each others planes, just the unexpected landings when the planes meet the earth and not on its wheels lol. great bunch of guys to fly with and we all push each other further and further in our skills.

www.makosrcjetclub.com

firemanbill

What's even better is our welcomes my 12 y/o son just like one of the guys.

We joined when he had just turned 11. One of the instructors had seen him fly at the electric fly in we had (which is what prompted me to join) and gave him full pilot status from day one!

Yeah we have a great bunch.

Neil, give the club a shot, don't go in with negative thoughts and hopefully you'll come across a club like some of these that have been mentioned.

Figure.N9ne

again like my club, we have a 7 year old that flies giant scales!

firemanbill

Sweet! My boy isn't quite there but he does have a 50" Jenny!

theecoop

The club I join also manufactures both gas and electric heli's. Great group of guy's and gals

Figure.N9ne

just give your son a short amount of time and you'll wishing you could fly like him! i'm shocked at how quickly they learn when they start really young.

firemanbill

who you tellin?! I already wish I could fly like him!:o

gfdengine204

Ahem....that would be the 50" Jenny his FATHER crashed.....:p

Neil, like others have said, go check it out. Worst case, it's an hour of your life you'll never get back. Best case, you make a ton of friends and have great times in the future! I know this firsthand, trust me. I joined, and I am (as far as I know) the ONLY 100% electric flyer in my club, but I am treated with the same respect as any other member. Heck, I've been there a year, and already a former president of our club is talking me up to run for president next year. (We'll see how THAT goes.....:o)

amt

I have had several bad experiences with clubs. I went to an open lot one morning and was flying. A club moved in. To show I was willing to work with them, I put a frequency pin on there board. They took it off and put it on another persons frequency that was flying and one of there members turned on their radio on my frequency and their member wanted to fight! The same club had a field in the North part of town Fontana, Ca.) and I was watching them fly. They asked if I wanted to buy raffle tickets for a motor. I asked if I had to be there to win. The person laughed like I was an idiot and said I could win as I was not a member of their club. I asked why I would buy tickets if I could not win and was told that I should be willing to help their club out! Personal that is why I try to find places that no one is flying at. There must be many people that feel that way as when I find a place, I have had several people come by and park several car lengths away and start to fly after they ask if I have a problem with them flying there. I have always been willing to help people out when flying and the clubs I have run into are exactly the opposite. I was going to fly in the sepulveda basin one weekend, the field is clearly marked as a city flying field. One of the men on a job I was working on was also a rc flyer. He told me that I could not fly there as it is his clubs field and no one else can fly there. I told him that I would call the city to check on that as it is marked a open field. He turned pail and said that the city lets their club take care of the field. He stopped talking to me when I told him I would check with the city! The city said any AMA member could fly there and that the club did not have any say on the matter. Other places I have gone to fly and talk to members have told me they do not want any new members as it is hard enough to get frequency time. Myself, I will stick to the open fields I find. I wait until everybody leaves and then fly!

tobydogs

the clubs I've joined are made up of a strange lot....many different personalities co existing in a love of RC flying. the first club i joined seemed like a less friendly bunch....but in time they became more friendly. i think clubs are very protective of their fields and this is understandable in NJ where fields are few and far between near the NYC area. the second club i joined is made up of many older slimies [glow/nitro/gassers] who don't do lectrics...,but many members in this club fly both and one of the countries top rated pilots flys electric 3d planes . we joke about fuel vs electrics and the glow pilots wish they could pack up as quickly as i do..lol..., I've heard of bad behavior at both these clubs and only once had a run in with a senior member[the president] at the second club i presently fly at ,but like any argument i get into its water under the bridge and fun times return.

the thing i love so much is to fly around and enjoy sitting in a long row of chairs chatting/joking away the day watching others fly ,today was a beautiful day to kick back with a good bunch of pilots and leave the field to do home repairs feeling totally refreshed from a week of work. now if only the winds stay fair for a lil more air time after church....

kyleservicetech

Funny, when I fly one of my several Kilowatt models at our clubs field, no glow or gasser pilots are laughing!

One club member wanted me to help him put electric power into a scale model F7F World War II twin model. Weight would be some 35 pounds or so. On a wing with 900 square inches. That thing would have a wing loading of some 65 or 70 ounces per square foot. It would be easier to put electric power on a cast iron man hole cover.

That model will be a real problem, even with glow or gasoline power.

MicroFliteDude

Same here! Larks is a great groups of people who fly everything, and welcome everything. Everybody I know there Flies both.

MicroFliteDude

I Joined when I was 12, and soloed my trainer in 10 flights. They really welcomed me.


www.larksrc.com

weathervane

I am a member of two (2) clubs.

The first club has 130 plus members. Most are a great group of guys. They don't care what you fly, glow, gas or electric. A very large handfull are always more than willing to lend a hand if you need it. Just a lot of fun to be around. Now, don't get me wrong. There will always be people that you just don't get along with. We have a few members like that.

The second club that I belong to only has 35 members or so. I have yet to be at the field with more than 3-4 others at the same time. At first some were a bit stand offish. They warmed up after a few times and good flights.

I like flying with a big crowd and having all the extra support from all the members. I also enjoy flying alone every now and then. Just a nice way to relax.

-Andrew

gramps2361

I enjoy the club I joined folks there have no problem with me and the electrics. I am the only on that flies electric the rest are old timer's that have been flying nothing but gas. Funny the first time I flew with them I had just got the plane up and one them said just loud enough so I could hear " hey first time here and he's breaking the rules all ready" my ears perked up and now I got nervous another guy said what rule and the one that started it said he doesn't have a muffler on his plane. After that I knew things where going to be fine.
Most of the time I am by myself when I go there, but I always enjoy when the group is there. I get a little teasing from them when I have a plane up they will say stuff like let us know when your flying we can't hear the plane. All I can say just give it a try like any group /club there is going to be one or two that can be a pain just ignore them and have fun. Tell you it beats what I had to do before and that was drive around till I found a spot that was not being used for sports.