Getting Started

GETTING STARTED

To get into this unique hobby, you will first need to find out some local hobby shops in your area and flying clubs. The local hobby store should be able to give you the addresses and contacts of flying clubs near your place of residence. You can also call MAAC Canada and they will be happy to give you the names of the clubs and the phone numbers of the person to contact in any club. Once you find the clubs, visit their field and watch people flying, ask questions you have in mind to the pilots flying. Most of the pilots are very co-operative and happy to show you and tell you about their planes and passing the information to promote the hobby.

The next step is to join a club and MAAC. Before deciding which club to join, if you have the choice between a few, visit each of them and look at the field and members and that way you can have a better understanding of which club to get into. Try to find one that has a good student training program in place. The flying clubs have a membership fee of about 60 to 80 dollars a year. There is also a one time membership initiation fee which is normally around 30 dollars. You also need to get MAAC insurance, so that if you hurt somebody with your plane, you have the coverage. You cannot fly in Canada without the MAAC insurance. For adults it costs about 45 dollars a year.

Next thing is to buy the plane and radio etc. You start off with a trainer type aircraft. There are many good trainers available in the market. Some of the famous ones are Eagle II and Eaglet from Goldberg Models. Eagle II takes a 46 Size engine, whereas Eaglet takes 25 Size. Both of these are available in the form of kits. That means you have to construct them yourself. Avistar 40 from Hobbico is another good plane to start with and it is Almost Ready To Fly, that means you have very less work to do before the plane is fly able. Other than these many other planes from different manufacturers are available to choose from. The best size I have noticed to start with is a 40 Size Plane. It gives you more stability and better control in windy conditions rather than a small sized plane.

For a radio to start with, the preferable choice would be a 4 Channel FM radio. It does not have to be computerized. But if you look at future perspective, by paying a fraction extra money you can buy a computerized one. For example the 4 Channel JR Costs 250 CDN dollars. Whereas the 6 Channel JR Computerized costs about 360 CDN dollars. So for about a 100 dollars extra you can get a far better radio which will last you for a long long time.

When it comes to the choice of Engine, as I said depending on the size of the plane, you have to choose the right engine, one word of advise is that it is better to have more power than less. So whatever the manufacturer recommends, always go for the higher size. For example if they say use .19 to .35 size engine, use .35. The Bushing engines have less power than the ABC Ball Bearing type engines. Bushing engines do not last very long and are not very fuel economical. The ball bearing engines drink less fuel and produce more power. There is quiet a difference in prices also. Normally for trainer type aircrafts, you can get away with a bushing engine, but after that Ball Bearing is the preferred choice. Different manufacturers make model engines, OS Engines seem to be the most favourite ones. Other brands are Thunder Tiger, Rossi, Moki, etc.

Once you get all the stuff gathered and joined the club, you can start putting your plane together following the instructions that come with everything, if you need help, do not hesitate to ask any club members. Once everything is ready you can start taking lessons from the instructors. To buy stuff, it is better to shop around and see which local hobby stores have the best rates. You can also shop on the internet. I have some stores listed under my Favourite links section. Check them out too.