Ep 130: Jim and Jeff from the Rhode Island Aeromodelers at Joe Nall

[00:00:02] Hello everyone and welcome to the RC Plane Lab podcast. I’m Ron and I’m Tom, and we are sitting here at or at joan all, at joan all. Yeah, we got some guests here with us too. Got a couple friends.

[00:00:20] Of ours decided to join us for an episode. Yeah, yeah, we got a repeat customer. Jeffrey arsno is here. Hello there, yep, and he brought a friend with him: james, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me. James botello, jimmy or jimmy, yeah, we call. We’ve been calling him jimmy. We’re assuming that’s okay. So I don’t know it works. Your cousin jimmy from boston. There we go.

[00:00:43] A little closer to the mic and we’ll keep on there that way we can hear you yeah we like all the.

[00:00:48] Shows leading up to this, we’ve been talking about how excited we were to get here and we’re finally here. And wow, I’m excited to be here, like yeah, and I’m so thankful to jeff for hooking us up with this awesome camping spot. He guided our trailer guy here and he is quite the travel arranger.

[00:01:07] He is travels a lot I think I do and if there was an opportunity to be a travel agent in my.

[00:01:13] Retirement. Well, who knows travel agent? I am a planner, I am a planner. You seem to have it down. You got us set up here and, like I said, it’s, it’s a good spot. I think yeah. Why the 3d line?

[00:01:25] Yep, and so jeffrey and james from the rhode island hero modelers club and you guys. You brought other guys with you too. They elected not to not to come because I think Ron was just too intimidating for them to sit down and talk with us. But it’s not for everybody, that’s okay, I think.

[00:01:42] They’re watching a mikhail’s navy marathon or hogan’s heroes or something on tv today. So what is the deal with mikhail’s navy like? We just wanted the old tv. We were looking for that the last time and we were joking last year. We needed something to watch. My son-in-law got me some discs and so it was all 60s and 70s nostalgic tv. We watched slap shot last night. Some of our younger guys had not seen that previously so they had no idea who the hansen brothers were. So I’m the youngest guy in the crew.

[00:02:08] And these guys are opening my eyes to black and white tv because they not only have I not seen that.

[00:02:15] I’ve not heard of it. You’ve never heard of mikhail’s navy. I’ve heard of that. Wasn’t it the slap shot, the movie? I’ll give you the disc. Oh no, never did. I have no way of playing a disc like.

[00:02:25] Anywhere so I appreciate that but welcome to the 90s yes everybody yeah exactly so I snuck into it.

[00:02:33] With a friend in 1977 as a 13 year old so wow well that just dated himself he did he did he did just.

[00:02:41] Date himself. That’s funny. So anyway, yeah, we’re a little bit of a rain delay, so we took the took the opportunity to do a little recording here, otherwise we would be flying. Yeah, actually, Ron’s airplane is.

[00:02:54] Still at the float line ready for it’s not going to last forever right well I mean we’ve been saying.

[00:03:01] That for a couple hours now, or actually almost all day, almost like we flew in the rain this morning. It’s true, we did, and I’m pretty sure the rhode island guys were on the electric line flying in.

[00:03:11] The rain as well. That is correct. Yeah, we seem to not like have met up with you guys like from the like morning time. It’s always like you guys are on the electric line, we’re on the float line or vice versa it’s been. We just not done a good job of, or runs on the main line drooling over the over the jets that are on the line. How can you not? You need to take paper towels with you next time. I’m just saying that’s a little low blow to wipe the drool off. I know what you meant, oh.

[00:03:40] Hopefully so rhode island aero modelers tell us a little bit about your club.

[00:03:44] So we are one of three clubs in our area. We have probably 65- 70 members, like most clubs. There’s about a third of the group is the active flyers kind of, and it seems like about all of.

[00:03:58] Them are here by the way there’s a lot of you guys yeah we got a nice contingent here yeah so we.

[00:04:03] Have a pretty neat field. It was built by- our understanding was it was a navy cbcb project back in the 50s and basically they built a quarter scale airport. So it’s raised, cross runways- nice, and we leased the land from the from the state of rhode island. We’ve done a great deal of improvements, so we have power, we’ve got permanent shade structures, we’ve now just voted in to have internet and weather stations. Yep, that is awesome, that is so. We’ve been very, very fortunate, so we’ll.

[00:04:33] Be able to watch live webcams when you get them up yep yeah even a cam on the even a cam on the.

[00:04:38] Windsock because how unreliable the weather station actually is it was supposed to.

[00:04:43] Have stopped raining a couple hours ago here by the way yeah exactly according to the yeah.

[00:04:47] Rhode island’s. Rhode island’s so big, so I’m coming from providence and clubs in east greenwich. It’s like 20 minutes away and I don’t want to have to leave if it’s windy down there.

[00:04:58] It’s a long way to go. It is 20 minutes. Is a is a long commute. Oh, stop it. I am so used to, especially when you just can’t walk out your back door and fly. Well, for here, this is nice, but

[00:05:09] Our mike well local club to me is 20 minute drive so yeah I’m used to driving so obviously you guys.

[00:05:18] Have power at your field correct that’s yeah I wish we awesome yeah paved or grass.

[00:05:26] Grass. So the one challenge is that we can’t. It is, it is quite smooth. Grounds crew does a great job being it’s a watershed area, so we really can’t dig a hole in the ground at all for anything. So even like the power we have to pull that out from an extension, from the container, but it’s still.

[00:05:43] Better than carrying generators with each week. Yeah, you guys, do you guys. So Ron and I have toyed with the idea of maybe getting a camper or something like that to do like weekend, not getaways, but like overnight trips to the field or whatever you guys do. You guys do stuff like that at your field.

[00:06:00] Like: so having power there would be, yeah, it would be awesome. Yeah, so a couple times a year, actually. Inspired by joe, now, all week, nice, jeff and I and a few others we’ll spend the night. Jeff has a great idea: we put a screen in the window, we get some air in the cars and sleep in the back of the suv, and

[00:06:19] But we typically do that for model aviation, model aviation day in august, so that’s typically our two-day fun fly for the field. So we do a sponsored lunch and then we chip in and we do a steak fry in the evening. Steak, again steak. What is it with? There’s a lot of steak here. Yeah, I love it.

[00:06:36] Yeah it’s this like living like kings here tonight will be our fourth night in a row for.

[00:06:43] Steak and I’m not complaining. I’m not either. Yeah, that’s awesome. So you’re running at me for what that’s stuff we should do. Yeah, right, exactly. So we need to buy a camper and we need to. We need to get on the board of our club -huh, get power out there, and then we can do stuff like that. Okay, I think that.

[00:07:05] Once the expense is made to bring power in. Our bill average is 22- 23 a month. So it’s: the meter uses as much electricity as we do. So yeah, yeah, sure it does. Well, there’s not a lot of.

[00:07:18] Usage out there to begin with you don’t have air conditioning running you don’t have anything.

[00:07:21] Right, that’s what I was just going to say. I mean, the only usage you have is when somebody’s out there, charging batteries probably, which is still pretty low. Still lights, led lights, I’m sure that. Yeah, we got.

[00:07:30] A couple of lights in the containers, that’s it. Yeah, now, when you say container, you mean like the big shipping containers. Yeah, we have two of those connex containers, so one of them is for the power equipment and then the other one has workbench charging stations in there, a real smelly refrigerator because somebody left a watermelon in it.

[00:07:50] Yuck that’s gross that is gross who found that yeah I would not be want to be the guy that discovered.

[00:07:57] That it was after our very our inaugural sleepover and somebody had a the good idea fairy hit him and says a watermelon would be good tonight be great, and nobody thought of it and

[00:08:10] Then four months later not so great.

[00:08:13] How do you that’s so bad.

[00:08:18] So when, when work is required at the field, I imagine you do it like most fields do, volunteerism or whatever, correct? Or do you pay somebody to, like, mow the grass? No, no, it’s, it’s volunteer, we actually.

[00:08:30] Just had. We had a great fellow that was the field marshal for a number of years. He’s taken a little step back, fortunately. Another member it’s- it’s typically a retired guy because of the amount of dedication and work that it is- and they’ll throw out an email: hey, we’re going to fertilize, we need some help. And the members have responded well to that, so yeah,

[00:08:50] Do I have to ask: do you so without calling out anybody? Do you pay that member to mow the grass? No, okay, I didn’t know if that was just a springfield thing or what. Yeah, I don’t know how all that works.

[00:09:07] But at least if I’m with him he doesn’t pay for a steak or a coffee so it’s yeah.

[00:09:13] Yeah, it’s one thing to, to volunteer to, to offer to pay them for their time, but not as a requirement for their services, if that makes sense, I see where you’re going.

[00:09:26] I know exactly what you mean but could you imagine speaking of mow the could you imagine.

[00:09:31] The upkeep at this place. So this place is over 400 acres. I think I read some correct here at joe noll triple tree, they’ve got nice mowers. Oh, dude, I’ve seen multiple mowers out. Yeah, they’ve actually been doing it while we’re here. Yeah, really, I bet they’re just doing it all the.

[00:09:45] Time. I bet whoever does that is always on a mower when they’re supposedly it’s. My understanding is it’s three full-time- three full-time employees that are managing this. So, because you got to remember, at the rest of it’s a full-scale airport the rest of the time, that’s right.

[00:09:59] Yeah, yeah, and I asked him: the guy that owns the place, I don’t remember what his name is it pat hartness? Yes, he came up. I didn’t know who he was at first and when tommy was flying, and asking how I was enjoying the trip and stuff, and I told him it’s my first time here and he’s like, oh well, I’m, I’m the one that owns, or owned however you want to put it, because I guess they ended up putting into some sort of trust that is correct or something several years ago. But yeah, he said there are a bunch of full-time employees that do the upkeep and then really rc versus full

[00:10:31] Scale events are about half and half which surprised me like I didn’t realize there’d be.

[00:10:37] That many rc events here. Yeah, it’s not just. It’s just not just joe knoll week in the spring. There’s joe knoll in the fall, which I think is a shorter event, but still it’s a minus of some chili fly in.

[00:10:48] For the for the full scale, because so jim and I had volunteered just to drive the little people mover carts for a couple of days here and we got our little indoctrination tour with one of the fellas that’s been around forever, so he had some great stories and he said that this entire area, when they have one of their big full-scale fly-ins, this entire area would be filled in with full-scale aircraft and people camping underneath the wings and that would be awesome.

[00:11:14] Like a miniature eaa, oh gosh, yeah, yeah, I can’t imagine, like I had no idea. I mean, you read the stuff, or I read some of the stuff on the internet, but I didn’t dig really deep. But when you and I were walking around the other day, Ron, we were looking in the hangar and there’s a lot of they.

[00:11:31] Have a lot of airplanes here like full-size airplanes. I had no idea, yeah, and a lot of models hanging too, yeah, which you were. You were a little upset about all the radials that were just. Yeah, there’s a lot.

[00:11:41] Of radials on those ones just hanging there no longer to ever be ran I mean I would be honored.

[00:11:47] To have any one of them and I just happened to see a lazy bee and I noticed that you didn’t bring.

[00:11:52] The lazy bee lazy bees gone I got rid of it yeah it was just not my thing it was it was coward oh that.

[00:12:00] Was a pleasurable night. I remember jeff, you and I at confita farms, which is one of the other clubs in rhode island a little bit smaller. It was just a dead calm day and jeff and I were just doing.

[00:12:12] Circles just well, and it has to be for that particular airplane because it has such a light wing loading and so much wing, it needs to be calm. Yeah, and it just. I didn’t. I didn’t think it flew.

[00:12:24] Badly. It flew okay, but there was just it. I don’t know if it’s just the wing tips not having like full dihedral on them or what, but it just didn’t center as well, like level out as well as I’m used to. Yeah, it’s very back and forth and I just that doesn’t do anything for me, like for some reason I don’t. I like having a little bit of control, which obviously that one didn’t over the control is good, but a little. I didn’t say a lot, yeah, but a little aileron control would have been nice and probably would have made that airplane completely different. I think maybe, maybe not, or.

[00:12:57] Full dihedral would have helped. I think a little dihedral would have helped it, probably with the what you’re talking about. But yeah, I flew it and I didn’t think it was that bad. Okay, it flies like.

[00:13:07] A lazy bee should fly well then big and you should have bought it. I didn’t have room for it. Whatever, you have room for what you want. I found that out well, but I have to make room for what I want.

[00:13:20] What do you have that I want? That’s usually what it comes down to, and it ends up in your basement and then you’re tripping over it and then you take it up to brian’s or toledo and that’s gone.

[00:13:32] That was a low blow. Yeah, anyway, for anyway. Yeah, I asked you, by the way, before I got rid of that if that was okay and you said yes, otherwise you would have gotten it back. Speaking of regretting things,

[00:13:47] That you’ve gotten rid of how about you guys you got anything that stands out that you’ve regretted.

[00:13:51] Getting rid of airplane wise. I mean not talking like wives or anything like that. I really haven’t had the opportunity to, on my own accord, get rid of anything. It’s all kind of been dropped from the sky really, and I mean I would love to be able to get rid of something and acquire something. But

[00:14:13] I don’t know, I’m not. Usually I haven’t had that luck. Wouldn’t that still be of your own accord? If you crash it, though not with, that’s a plan. Yeah, it wasn’t planned, but my expiration dates come up before I’m able to sell them, so I okay, I guess I don’t know your like history in the hobby and how many planes you have or what you fly, yeah, what? Yeah, we should probably talk about james.

[00:14:38] That would be good what I think? I think I followed the same path as most of us in this hobby, right, so I? I got my dad into it when I was younger, very young, when I didn’t understand the cost of the models, but you had dad to help, yeah. So we got this plane. I remember the first plane he got me- it was the carl goldberg. Electra looked great on the box. It really looked great the blue and yellow and we spent so much time and he taught me how to build a model. Lay the

[00:15:08] Paper down and the, the wax paper and everything and right did a great job and he really he taught me how to cover and everything. And we went to a, a really nice flying field up in north conway, new hampshire, very picturesque. I can’t remember the name of it, but it was right behind kent county high school and my father and my grandfather were there and there I was with the electra and there was no speed control. I didn’t know what a speed control was. What there was a switch on the side. You hit that switch and you off, you go full power and it was one of those black

[00:15:44] Giant bricks of a battery right and it lasted way too long. But what was supposed to happen was you turn that on and everybody’s ready and you send it and you go up to 400 feet and hopefully the battery dies and you come down and land and do it again, do it all over again. Yeah, that’s not what happened.

[00:16:09] So we got there and the excitement was there and I was man, I was, I had to be 10 and I didn’t fully understand how much control to put into the radio. Yeah, so my grandfather’s behind us and he’s watching because he knows this is going to be spectacular, and his father’s got the plane and I don’t understand why he did that. He should have had the radio, but I had the radio right and my father had the plane and he turned that on and he, like a pro, took like five steps with a run and he let it go.

[00:16:44] And it went three feet and then it went straight up and then made one of the most incredible loops that came up over our head and then I took my eyes off of it. But I remember the look on my grandfather’s face as we all started running because this plane was coming back. It’s coming back over us and I knew I was in trouble when my grandfather fell and then my father dove and I had the radio, didn’t even pay attention to the radio, I ran, fell and that thing hit the ground in front of us. The look on my father’s face.

[00:17:21] Was just all that work that we put into it. Oh yeah, we didn’t touch a plane. I don’t know how many years after that, but I always loved what could have potentially happened. Yeah, oh yeah, that was. I’ll tell you that was one. That’s one of the best memories I have of this, this hobby- and then later in life started working again with dress, and just more people came into my life that were into the hobby. I was more mature, able to handle the controls and not just jerk everything.

[00:17:55] Around at 100 all the time and we had this wonderful thing called the internet where you could teach yourself a lot of that information. Yeah, yeah. So once, once I was past the dating and everything else that these young kids get into, that always seems more important than the hobby. Yeah, all of a sudden, having work with these great guys and everything you realize one of the other biggest parts of this hobby is the camaraderie and the people that we meet. Like, you find folks that I didn’t know a week ago. Now I’m looking forward to having dinner with

[00:18:29] You. Yeah, it’s in this fine place, this is. But yeah, so now I’m back into it and I’ve joined the clubs and had I done that in the beginning and joined the club and realize what these guys do, like jeff is, I’ve seen him train some, some kids and the patients that he has, and I didn’t have any of that? Yeah, we had that on off switch on the side of that electric. Yeah, so right now it’s so much different, right. So now some of the foamies, right, the hobbies, progress so much.

[00:19:02] There’s a chance that I would have been able to fly again that day had it been a foamy or an electric or something better. A little more is better. It flies so much better, but it’s a one.

[00:19:14] And done. When you hit the ground it is yeah, yeah, it all has its place. Oh, absolutely, I’m realizing I’m teasing because I know two of us are on the same page, so three of us, like I- I’m a balsa guy, like I, I know most of the planes actually, wow, every plane I have. No, most of the planes I have here are foam. That’s just because of the ease of transport, understood. They’re in the box, you don’t have to worry about them getting messed up. I mean, it’s, it’s simple to throw in a car and you don’t have to worry about dinging the wings and all that kind of stuff. But traditionally, yeah, if I’m flying a model,

[00:19:47] That I want to look at more it’s going to be a balsa model so we know you’re a huge fan of the podcast.

[00:19:56] And we know you listen to every single episode and every detail. But I’m heard of us, but I’m going to go ahead and just gloss over this. So we, we normally like to corner our guests into revealing their number, and when I say that I mean like what is currently, we have our list broken down to airplanes that are under construction or in the hangar for repair or awaiting start of, or flyable. So, like, how many? Like what’s your number? How many airplanes?

[00:20:28] And it doesn’t have to be an exact number, but ballpark, I’d say, hanging from my ceiling and everything else in my museum, I’d say I’d say I like that museum. Maybe high teens, oh, maybe a 20. Oh,

[00:20:44] Okay so you’re a lightweight then I am a lightweight I’m no that is a respectable number it is absolutely.

[00:20:51] But like most guests that we interview their numbers have been much higher not all of them.

[00:20:58] A lot of them I mean I’m not I’m not I’m trying to make him some more than no I think that’s awesome.

[00:21:04] Okay, I’m a huge fan of, and I’m I don’t follow this logic, but I’m a huge fan of flying the ones you like a lot and not having all the excess. What I mean? I’m guilty of it. I have a lot of excess airplanes that I hardly ever fly, but I think if, if I had it to do all over- like, honest to goodness, if I had it to do all over- I would pick maybe one from each sort of discipline and fly the snot out of them and not have all the excess that I have now I think, as a smaller number is.

[00:21:39] Much easier to manage you need two from each discipline just in case some people subscribe to.

[00:21:45] That. But anyway, I guess if you consider the ones that are in boxes and pieces, I do fall into the. I can’t throw anything away, right? So that cub that hit the ground two years ago and the tail broke off, and the, there’s all kinds of work to be done. It’s still

[00:22:05] At my house? Sure, because I might get to it. Man, I’m, I hear you. Yeah, I have a v900 that’s in three pieces, that all it needs is some epoxy, whatever. When I get time to do it, yeah, eventually I’ll. But

[00:22:17] Yeah I feel that I think the problem with the v900 though is you never really mastered the launch.

[00:22:23] I was. It was my fault. It wasn’t there, like it has the safe or whatever. And if I had that turned on for every launch, it’s like I watched youtube videos after the fact. Oh, and that’s what I was doing wrong.

[00:22:34] Yeah, it’s my fault, not the airplane. Well, I knew it wasn’t the airplane, like I always figured it was you. Oh it’s, it’s absolutely me. But like when you have an airplane you like to fly, that something happens to it and then it goes away because of something that happened to it. You’re more apt to fix it if you really enjoyed flying it, but if it was something that was giving you problems, then you’re.

[00:22:52] Like I really don’t want to go back to it once the v900 was airborne- it was, it was a blast. Oh yeah, fly, especially on 4s- awesome, that was a quick one. It was so, anyway, 13 to 15 or so, yeah, yeah, but I my

[00:23:08] My thing is and- and- jeff will attest to this- even coming out here for joe. Now, the first year we came here, which was 2019, I bought the tundra and great flying plane. You take it out of the box and it’s just, it’s a foamy, it is what it is. But jeff and I absolutely love the float line. Yeah, I can stay there from first thing in the morning, me too. The sunset- I mean, I got some pictures the other day of the sunset, that’s just. Yeah, we had that incredible dinner yesterday.

[00:23:42] And we’re just kind of looking at it. Wasn’t that beautiful? Yeah, it’s amazing. Then we went down to the pond for two flights and it’s just amazing. Yeah, I was intending to use that plane this year for the combat, but it flies so good. Yeah, why, no, don’t do that something that you enjoy flying so much? I can’t, yeah, yeah. And then I also had the- and I don’t know if I’m supposed to be calling out plane names. You absolutely can. Sure thing the turbo timber, the night turbo timber. Yeah, and no, I’m sorry, the timber x. Yeah, the more cord on the way, I don’t know what the

[00:24:20] Difference is there what we’ve talked about it before there’s so many timbers that several.

[00:24:24] Jeff had the turbo timber last year at now and it has the longer wing, it’s a little shorter cord and it flies more scale. The timber x just wants to do the, the prop hang, or the tight rolls or it’s more extreme and it’s it seemed a little snappy for my taste. I enjoy flying scale and I love cubs and flying with jeff kind of trying to hold a formation, yeah, not so into the, the 3d style kind of monks, I’m not capable of it. I feel that I mean I’m really good at 3d when I have

[00:25:03] No intention of doing it, falling out of the sky at 900 miles an hour, but yes, I look real good damage. And then, if I save it, people are like whoa, yeah, I meant to do that, yeah, I meant to do that. Watch this guy, he’s great, nope. But flying the, the scale is more my thing and the timber x with the wheels on it just seemed very skittish and all over the place, but I put the floats on it and it tames it right out. And that’s another one I think I’ll end up going home with me again this year from.

[00:25:33] Yeah, yeah, I get that. Do you? Do you have a preference? Like so we talk a lot on the show about balsa flies better and the bigger they are, the better they fly, whatever. Do you have a preference?

[00:25:44] Balsa foam or just whatever flies good, whatever flies good, really, yeah, and I guess right now I’ll put myself out there. I’m really good at foamies, right, because I’m not. I don’t get all in my head about them, right, yeah, because when I pick it up from the truck and I put it on the ground, there’s no weight behind it. Right, clearly, it’s just, it is what it is, right, it’s call it whatever, a toy or whatever with a balsa model. You pick it up and you have some substance there. When that leaves the ground, that’s still more weight and that, when that

[00:26:21] Comes back to the ground if you don’t put it on the ground properly yeah fix time more weight more.

[00:26:28] Damage yeah understood but they’re definitely not as durable as foam that’s for sure absolutely so.

[00:26:34] I mean jeff will tell you I’m. I’m at that point right now where I’m. I think I’m over good for the foams- many of them- and I’m ready to take that. That step- and jeff was gracious.

[00:26:46] Oh you’re buying a jet no nope oh okay I thought that’s how that worked that’s how Ron.

[00:26:53] Plays it? I don’t know. No, so now, now are you calling me out just because so now you’re moving to balsa, then working into moving to balsa, but I have to remember to keep that left stick.

[00:27:06] Around the halfway point yeah well and I saw the space walker you had that’s a nice looking.

[00:27:10] Airplane, have you found? That’s the transition. Oh, that’s, oh nice, that’s a great transition. Have not, have not flown yet, okay, but again, and to that point that space walker isn’t very heavy, right, right, yeah, for a balsa plane, it’s very light, it’s, it’s a beaut and I think that’s going to.

[00:27:26] Be the one. Yeah, that’s going to be the one that’s gonna. I wish I knew who made that, because that’s a good looking model- it really is, and it’s very light. Yeah, for a balsa plane, that’s a great.

[00:27:37] Transition from foam I think yeah I think that’s a good choice I think you’ll like it I do too so.

[00:27:43] I’ve got a couple. Now there’s going to be that, and then when I go home, we got the escapade and there’s a couple of, and a good one. The thing is, I’ve had, I’ve got these guys, I can follow these guys and what they’ve done, and yeah, and these guys look at me and they’re like: jim, that’s a good plane for you. All right, I’ll tell you, I’ll do it, I’ll take it. So have you ever your?

[00:28:04] Pressure jeff. Yes, sir, pointed him in the wrong direction for funsies. Oh, that’s a good plane for you. You should try that and then just been. Or is that just something? No, he’s, he’s not at that level.

[00:28:15] Yet, but the rest of the group is at that level that will gladly stay. I think there’s one of them under my easy up here right now that you’re talking about. No, I, I think where it is for me is I’m kind of competitive, so a lot of the guys we fly both airplanes and helicopters and I call these guys jokingly, I call them drug dealers, because oh, here, have a taste, here’s a helicopter and the next thing you’re into another helicopter and

[00:28:45] And it’s just, it’s all competitive and in good fun, but it’s we’re in a good group- that everybody kind of passes things along. Or you get things for pennies on the dollar, just because what I don’t have room for it, the escapade. Here you go. Jim, I need to get you into balsa. Just take it receiver, everything, put a battery in it, there you go.

[00:29:06] And just go fly it. So hanging out with you guys feels very similar to the group that we have at home. Yeah, it really does, I agree, because everybody knows each other’s little quirks about flying and what they like to fly, what they don’t like to fly, and the ribbing and stuff like that goes on. It feels very similar, which I think is probably why we seem to gravitate towards.

[00:29:28] You guys everywhere you go out here we’re little followers I guess hey where are you now you text us.

[00:29:34] And say, hey, this is where we are, okay. Well, we have similar interests. Jeff and I, we like the, the balsa and the nitro on the, on the float line, which, by the way, that’s apparently the only place you can fly nitro at joan also, anybody listening? If you want to bring nitro, bring floats.

[00:29:46] Also or really big nitro and then you could fly it up at the main lines yeah right yeah exactly.

[00:29:53] Yeah, the main line seems to be: yeah, just reserved for the big, big planes, and I have no interest in trying to fly anything up there. Like I know you really want to get the trash, can Telemaster up there, and I absolutely understand that, but we’re running out of time, like well, so, because these guys are leaving, you’re leaving saturday morning, right, that is correct. So, like tomorrow is the last.

[00:30:13] Chance, I agree with you about the, about the main line being what you’re talking about just reserved for the, but not 100 of the time, like the few days before the show actually gets started, like there were other telemasters up there flying, I mean, and there were other planes, probably less.

[00:30:30] Valuable than our Telemaster up there flying oh I don’t know if that’s possible it’s well it did come.

[00:30:36] From a trash can, I guess? Yeah, but anyway, what I’m saying, there was definitely some airplanes that ours would have fit right in with. So I think, depending on your strategy and what time of day you decide to go up there to fly, you can fly almost anything you want up there. Yeah, I mean the business of like I don’t. So I read some stuff online that says 81 inches or bigger, or 60 if it’s a biplane. I honestly I didn’t see anybody up there with a, with a tape measure measuring wings and saying hey, you can’t fly that here. I think, if you’re respectful, right, and you, you sort.

[00:31:09] Of and this is going to sound wrong but if you sort of know your place you’ll be able to fly no.

[00:31:16] No problem. Well, there was somebody out. There was I don’t remember what morning it was that we were driving by and somebody was flying a stick. No, I didn’t see. Oh yeah, there was a stick up there too. No, the glider though. Oh, that was like a small, was it this morning? These days, I swear, these days, all just.

[00:31:33] Go together I don’t and they go by really faster they do and as the week goes on they go.

[00:31:38] By faster. Yeah, that’s strange, I have noticed that, and that’s terrible. It’s null time and I have absolutely no concept of time at this point. Yeah, it’s well today’s kind of an anomaly.

[00:31:50] Because it’s been raining all day and we haven’t really been able to get into a groove. But yeah, days, it seems like they’re getting more and more compressed the deeper we get into the.

[00:31:58] Into the week. Yeah, I agree, so we’re about done, unfortunately. But yeah, you guys need to get together then both fly your telemasters up there. Yeah, hopefully tomorrow. I want to very, very badly. I mean, we brought it all this way in my tiny little car. It needs a flight, I agree. So it does, it’s going to.

[00:32:17] Get flown somewhere, somewhere, somehow, like, even if I have to stop somewhere on the way home, if we try to, oh, stop in a parking lot next to the highway, a lot of Reggie, I’ll do it. Yeah, oh boy, so we have this, this, this gentleman, this gentleman, we can give you a listener of the show. Oh, okay, so all about Reggie then. Yeah, yeah, that was a Reggie reference- flying off in the parking lot next to the highway.

[00:32:43] Using the off-amp as your runway in his defense. When he ran into the jack-in-the-box sign, the motor did land across the highway, not on the highway, yeah. So yeah, he was lucky in that regard and that made it okay.

[00:32:55] I miss jack-in-the-box. Oh, that was a long time ago. We don’t have those out east. I went to dive school in seattle and we had jack-in-the-box, jack-in-the-crete. Very nice, yeah, I loved it. I loved it. Yeah, I’m really excited, like jack-in-the-box. No, we don’t have those in rhode island. No, no, we have mcdonald’s and burger king and

[00:33:18] When, yes, we have all those as well. We don’t have anything special in illinois and I’m really excited, being down here, that we have zaxby’s. I’m going to hit that zaxby like that’s a southern thing too, apparently, and I like their chicken, so I’ve never had it. But we are running out of time. Yeah well, you said that every day. This, I know, I know. Maybe on the way out of town, saturday, we’ll stop by.

[00:33:40] There and I’ll grab some chicken- and we’ll not a bad idea, right, and do that on the way home, yeah, so there we go. It’s not a bad directions, please. We drive right. Yeah, we drive right when we go get gas. Oh.

[00:33:50] At the gas station. Yeah, yeah, just yeah, it’s on the right hand side, on the right side, on whatever way, just as you make a curve- yeah, I don’t know, this is curved. By the way, yeah, we had lucky chom donuts the first year from there. There was some funky donuts in that store. Really, did they make you feel funny? No, okay, there weren’t those kind of donuts. All right, okay, nope, just with cereal on them. Huh.

[00:34:14] Sounds like a voodoo donuts. I have those out. Well, they have those out east, don’t they voodoo donuts? No, I know there’s one in dc, but they have funny donuts too. Sorry, weird. Yeah, that’s okay, make me hungry, I know. Well, it is almost dinner time. It’s pretty close to five o’clock here, so I keep.

[00:34:33] Looking. When I’m looking at you, tommy, I keep looking out the window and I still see rain. So, yeah, I can see it. Okay, and you find me too, so if you’ve never been to jonal like, I’ll just ask everybody.

[00:34:46] Here at the table. If you’ve never, what would be the one piece of advice? If you had to choose just one thing to recommend to somebody, what would it be? Jeff. Let me go first hold on Ron, find a jeff.

[00:34:59] Find a jeff- yes, somebody that’s been here before. That’s actually really good advice. I mean like seriously, that is that you have made it so much easier on us. Thank you, I’m glad to have helped really.

[00:35:09] We’re so passionate about it. We were just joking. One of our guys, don, is getting ready to leave in the morning and we’re just looking. It’s like, yeah, it’s like 360 days till.

[00:35:19] We come again. Yeah, I get that, I, I feel it. Yeah, like I, there’s no, I mean there’s definitely it’s, it’s on the list for next year to make happen. We need to make it happen again.

[00:35:33] So find a jeff. I already, by the way, have the approval from crystal to let me come back. So we are set on my. Well, there you go. Now you need to do the same. A lot is going to happen between now and then, so we’ll see. Oh, I get it, but let’s pre-approval, okay, oh, yes, yeah, yeah, be nice to.

[00:35:54] Your significant other yeah so that’s important Ron’s advice is to find a jeff and what would jeff’s.

[00:36:00] Advice be: just go with the flow, be nice, it’s. There’s so many good people here, yeah, is that? If you’re, if you’re not one of those, you stick out like a sore thumb here at the. At this event, I mean, yeah, 99 out of 100 people are. I’m so. So our, our next door neighbors, I’m so envious of them because they’ve got three, four generations are camping together, oh wow, including the grandkids, and I don’t think that the arsenal family is going to swing that one. So

[00:36:32] But I may drag my granddaughter, yeah, okay, see, if you ever do that, we should make sure we’re all here at the same year. I’ll bring piper. They’re the same age. Yep, they would have a blast. So what? I’m?

[00:36:44] Getting out of jeff’s advice is: don’t be a ding dong, go with the flow and be nice. No, I agree with that, like for the most. Like 99 of the people that I’ve talked to out here have been wonderful, like actually.

[00:36:58] I was gonna say I can’t think I mean less than pleasant or anything that we talked to that I’ve.

[00:37:03] Talked to. Oh, you guys have one, there’s always a few, right, yeah, but like jeff said, they stick out, even last night at dinner, the all the volunteers, ladies that are just handing out the food and everything. You just give them that extra little thank you, and they’re they light up? Sure, they really light up, and it’s like without all of them.

[00:37:27] None of this would happen, absolutely true. All I can say is from so being on the 3d line, we are far away from like mainline and that kind of stuff. We’re about as far away as possible, like the road literally ends before you get to where we are, to where we’re camping, yes, but so and that’s fine because it’s, it’s a great spot. I mean, yes, it’s a good spot here, but you just drive the golf cart a little bit more. But doing that, I tell you, your hand starts to hurt from all the waving that you do up and down, and up and down every time you pass a car. Yeah, but people smile and it’s a genuine smile, like they are just so, like happy to be here. It’s just, it’s a, it’s one of those, if you

[00:38:03] Haven’t been you can’t understand it and now that I’ve been I can understand it in ways that I didn’t.

[00:38:09] Before. Yeah, I don’t know how. So, like I thought I thought what I did for a living was hard to explain to people, which it is. It’s really difficult for me to explain my job to people. It’s even more difficult for me to explain this experience at joe noll, like I- I don’t know how you put this into words- what I mean, it’s just wonderful. Well, and if you follow the hobby at all right, like if you.

[00:38:33] Know names and if the people that are part of this part of the all the different team pilots and all that kind of stuff- they’re all here. You just see them all day, every day, and it’s, it’s.

[00:38:43] Cool to see and there’s a good chance they’re camping right next to you yeah oh there’s definitely a.

[00:38:49] Good chance that they are well like. See, we don’t see the other side of our camper but buka bowman, who? He is the, the jet guy that does all the 3d jet stuff right over here. He’s next, right next. That’s cool, yeah, I mean you just you don’t know who’s around and it’s, it’s amazing, yeah, from.

[00:39:07] People that are here. James, what about you piece of advice? Oh man, to build on that. So this is our third year, right, and? And looking back, the first year was just overwhelming. It’s just like this is the mecca of a hobby, yeah, in america anyway. But, yes, come back and see so many of the same people that you may have just again waved at in a golf cart or seen at the dinner last year or was on the line with them. They remember you and the greeting that you get from.

[00:39:43] These people that they’re so happy that they’re seeing a familiar face. That just solidifies the bond, yeah. And then being camped out with some of the best pilots in the world, right, but being on a level with them that you can just go up to them when they’re not flying right, go up to them and ask them a question and yeah, it’s just it. It brings some of the top, top tier people in the same vicinity as us low, lowly people. Yeah. And

[00:40:17] That’s that’s how it feels and it’s it’s just kind of neat like I understand that wholeheartedly you.

[00:40:22] Know the. The best thing that I can compare it to is I’ve been around a few really die hard nascar race fans, right, so they love it watching it on tv. But then when they go to the race and they can actually walk around the middle of the track and be surrounded by their top echelon- yeah, people of that, of that sport, that’s the same feeling we get here. Yeah, I love it, kind of reminds.

[00:40:50] Me going to sums it up nicely actually I feel the same way yeah like going the first time I went to the.

[00:40:55] Top fuel drag races down in st louis. Like I don’t follow that very much, but it’s close enough to where it’s worth the trip to see it once. But just how close you get to the cars, I mean you literally are six feet away from them, watching them tear the engines apart and put them back together in 20 minutes, yeah, and that like just the, the access, I think, like you’re not, you’re not kept thousands of feet away. I mean you’re in with them and that’s how it feels right here too. Yeah, like all these people that on youtube that you’ve seen fly, all the videos that you’ve seen, the people like

[00:41:25] The team, pilots and all that stuff. It’s just neat to see them and actually see it in person, because there are some people here- I can think of probably three right now- that anytime they fly, you want to watch. Oh yeah, and even if you see the same thing over and over again, it’s still amazing to watch how well they can do what they do. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I feel that way about several also. Yeah, so like,

[00:41:51] My piece of advice, james, you touched on it- the volunteers out here. It’s a, it’s a. I can imagine that it is a tremendous amount of work to prepare this place for this week, and it’s mostly volunteerism- retired, retired military guys or just retired pilots or what have you. Yeah, just I. My piece of advice would be just extend a hand and thank them, because the return that you’ll get out of that is genuine. They do it because they love it, right, yeah, and

[00:42:26] To acknowledge their, their dedication to what they do just mean. It means a lot to them and that we’ll spur them on, so they’ll be here again next year to help you out. So that would be my piece of advice. Oh, and bring a small foamy to fly on the electric line, and it’s everybody, it’s.

[00:42:46] Everybody from ginger up at the front the greeting center, getting your the right golf cart to the right people, or this year was kind of extenuating circumstances when we showed up a bunch of us that have premier camping sites, all kind of got displaced with all the weather and right and the rain, and I’ll tell you what it was. It was amazing the amount of work that they did and they shuffled everything around while we were standing there, put us into

[00:43:16] Another site and we got here on thursday, the first day, and they were, they were on it, they really they did the best they could and it turned out fantastic. Yeah, so I wonder what happened by the?

[00:43:27] Way to the people that were supposed to be where you’re at now. We don’t think that those were scheduled to be actually be campsites. Well, that’s baloney, because I, I want one of those campsites. I mean no, like seriously, I would think they would use like all. We would take that spot again, I mean.

[00:43:45] It’s a great spot, it’s super convenient, but, like I say we, we were looking at camping out at the top of the hill with no power in a camp camper. That was going to be mighty warm, so yeah, that wouldn’t be.

[00:43:59] Fun. I don’t like the heat at all. No, you don’t. I can deal with it a little bit better, but I’m- I’ll be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the heat, especially when you combine it with humidity. Yeah, and it’s humid.

[00:44:10] Here it’s very industrial. Well, it’s 100 humidity today. Well, yeah, for now I was gonna say I wanted to ask you what you can. I’ll remember what I was going to ask if you want to say no, that was another.

[00:44:23] Thing when people hear about jonal and camping out and everything else. This is one of the one of the most incredible places as far as facilities and showers and stuff. You come down here and you can- every night you can take a hot shower. There’s plenty of them. I think the shower house where we’re at has like 12, 12. Yeah, well, no, I think that back on that it has more.

[00:44:44] Actually two sides, right, exactly, there’s 12 on one side and I think there’s another three on that on the other direction, that other door. Oh is there? Yeah, I haven’t been all the way down. I didn’t. Yeah, I didn’t.

[00:44:53] Know it, until last night actually, I’ve. I’ve never had to wait. You go in, right, they’re clean. They’ve got a group of people that I mean constantly jeff. Jeff made a good comment this morning and I don’t fully understand it because he’s he’s absolutely right. Is the common thing is you wake up, you gotta use the facilities, right, I mean I do- and maybe take a shower.

[00:45:17] And they clean the facilities about nine o’clock in the morning there and it’s all women that clean.

[00:45:21] Them. So, oh yeah, that, yes, and to that, to that wonderful spanish woman who’s just an absolute sweetheart. I’m sorry the latch on that door didn’t work better. Oh no, yeah, so there is. There is one stall.

[00:45:39] In there I noticed that you cannot lock yeah that’s being a military yeah being a military guy.

[00:45:45] And being in some locations that, yeah, I’m sort of accustomed to that. But yeah, if you’re not used to a- you’re kind of a woman walking in on you while you’re doing your thing, that could be off-putting or at least surprising. I just we were talking about how they

[00:46:02] Could do a reality show about joe nal in the whole year leading up to it. Sure, and I’ll tell you, that would have been. That’d be a great closing scene. Seeing me- I mean, I’m not a, I’m not a small guy sitting there.

[00:46:16] Like johnny bench there’s an image I want to know whose eyes got bigger and who screamed louder between.

[00:46:26] The two of you. It was funny. I don’t, I don’t want to do the spanish in impersonation, but she was very quick to apologize and make sure that I knew that she didn’t see anything. Okay, I don’t know if that says much, I don’t know. I was gonna say I don’t know how to take that. It’s okay, we’ll just does. I’m yeah, but again, talking about thanking the volunteers, which she is a volunteer. Yeah, I made a an awkward moment a little more awkward when I left and

[00:47:00] Thanked her for her services. Thank you for all that. You do not that she performed any, just saying I’m just saying be careful. Just wonderful people there. You talk about the facilities.

[00:47:14] Here. I’m not trying to change the subject, but I kind of am. I did laundry last night. Oh, my god, there’s, there’s, there’s a washer and dryer. I don’t know if it’s like this at every bath house or shower house, whatever they’re called- here on the facility, because there’s more than one, there’s quite a few actually. But yeah, there’s a washer and dryer here and I did laundry last night like we’re camping, yeah.

[00:47:35] And it doesn’t cost. I mean right, yeah, and if they were open, you’re welcome and there’s like a commercial style. Yeah, sink outside, heavy duty, heavy duty, you can do your dishes in and all.

[00:47:47] That which I’ve done I mean the place is just incredible yeah I mean that’s that is a huge.

[00:47:51] Convenience but coming from rhode island I thought about it this year I’m still taking nine pairs of.

[00:47:59] Underwear oh me too like I don’t plan on doing laundry because I’ll come down here and.

[00:48:03] On day four or five I’ll be like I’ll go do my laundry now it’s not gonna work no it wasn’t.

[00:48:09] Granted, it was an opportune sort of thing, but I mean I had enough packed. But honestly it was just all about the RC Plane Lab shirts. I only have so many and I like wearing them because I want people to know that they can approach us and say, hey, listen to your show, or whatever. But yeah, I came prepared to not do laundry, but it was really refreshing to put that fresh shirt on.

[00:48:34] That says RC Plane Lab on it yes we had to go buy tide pods or whatever it was you got to do laundry.

[00:48:40] Well they’re just really super convenient that’s all that just speaks to the people yeah that’s.

[00:48:46] They really thought of everything. So I mean, yeah, yeah, I mean there’s. There’s no amenity that you would be leaving at home that you don’t have here. Honestly, like, if you come prepared, like for instance we, we knew we weren’t getting a premium site, yeah, so we brought generator to run the ac and, honest to goodness, I mean we have every. Like I don’t miss any right amenity that we have at home. I don’t feel like I’m missing anything either. Yeah, the place is just incredible. Like, if it’s not on your bucket list, it should be. If you’re into flying model airplanes of any kind, yeah, or.

[00:49:23] Helicopters. But why? But why would you? I do love the fact that the helicopter line here, oh my gosh, it’s like a chair at the very front corner of the property with like one or two people there. We’re not making fun of you, guys, guys, guys, no, just put them where nobody will see them. And yeah, we don’t need to give much other than a small tent. But let me tell you, whoever flies,

[00:49:48] That thing on the 3d line at night. I don’t know who that is, but, wow, what a show. The lit helicopter, yeah, led. Yeah, I’m not into helicopters and I’ll make fun of heli guys, but man, what a show that guy put on, or girl, I like. I don’t know who it was, but yeah, I have no clue who it was, either awesome, but anyway, yeah, if it, if you fly models of any kind, this place, this event should be on your list.

[00:50:13] Now, you made mention of a bucket list trip. So for us, we came down in 19, it was a bucket list trip. We weren’t here 10 minutes and said, yeah, this is an annual event. Well, just, I’m sorry, I’m not.

[00:50:26] Gonna be home mother’s day that was it yeah well that’s the thing right I mean it is it is over.

[00:50:32] Mother’s day. Well, shout out to my mom. My mom said the best, the best mother’s day gift she could have is me sending her nice pictures and just seeing how relaxed I am, what a good time having my friends.

[00:50:45] So I’ll make it up to when I get back exactly. I mean, a day can be celebrated a week late, that’s true. It’s not the end of the world, true. That’s kind of how my family acts, anyway. So, but I feel

[00:50:55] Like we, we had the same. We came to the same assumption- not assumption, conclusion, conclusion- within about an hour of being here, but we’re like, oh my, this is okay, this is really something. Yeah, I.

[00:51:09] Think it was as we were setting stuff up and you saw the first 3d jet on the line that’s. I mean, honestly, what is the 3d lines? 400 Feet maybe? I mean, yeah, not much more than that. It’s actually probably less than that than I think. Yeah for sure, yeah. So just seeing that, when you look up and hear the little yeah- I don’t even know what you call the thing they do when it goes around- yeah, the little flat spins, that’s, that’s when you’re like, oh, this is different, okay, so they’re doing that here, okay.

[00:51:39] Yeah, cool they’re doing. Yeah, like if you haven’t seen 3ds with a, an actual three 3d maneuvers, I should say I guess 3d maneuvers with a turbine powered airplane turbine even. Wow, like I’d never seen that.

[00:51:56] Before yeah and we’re looking out the window when it’s only 500 feet from here so yeah that flight line.

[00:52:02] Is literally that close, it’s super close. So anyway, and that was amazing too. My first time coming here- we I’ve seen 3d. We’ve got some guys at the club that can do 3d. That’s really incredible to me watching them do it. And then you come here and it’s like you got to put your jaw back up. It’s just, it’s, it’s mind-boggling. And then you see some of these others that are gifted and you realize it’s some of these. For some of these people like jace,

[00:52:34] Ducia, it’s, it’s the family coming all over the country and doing what he does. And, yeah, and it’s no matter where he goes, like you said, we can hear the throttle and his, the way he does what he does, and you just tell it’s like his fingerprint, now, yes, and then he goes up the main line and does the same thing, yeah, yeah. So it’s people like that, yeah, inspire you, while in the 3d doesn’t inspire me too much, just kind of helps me.

[00:53:08] If anything, it disappoints me, yeah, yeah, because I know I’ll never be able to fly at that level, but I sure do appreciate the skill it takes to do that. Well, in your defense, you don’t have, I was.

[00:53:20] Gonna say you don’t have the right kind of airplane for it, so we’ll blame that on it. Sure, yeah, that’s why I can’t fly like jace ducia, because I don’t have his hair. Well, 3d is what I’m saying, like not.

[00:53:32] At that level but yeah I don’t know I’d like to see some of these guys just fly a little cub.

[00:53:37] Yeah, just to see what they could do. What they’ll do, yeah, oh yeah, they’ll be. Yeah, they’ll be doing. Yeah. When they were doing the demonstration flights the other day, that’s exactly what they were doing with all the little flex jets and stuff or whatever they were flying from them they are. I mean, they don’t just fly like we fly. No, if it can flip and hover and all that stuff.

[00:53:58] That’s exactly what it’s going to do. Yeah, yeah, if it’s capable, they will extract every ounce of performance out of those airplanes. Yeah, amazing, so what I was going to ask you earlier by the.

[00:54:12] Way huh, james. You pointed at james, but our listeners don’t see you point. Oh sorry, jimmy, what I was going to ask you earlier, what radio do you fly with? And I asked this. Knowing the answer, he’s putting you on the spot. Well, no, well, kind of maybe, but I know you got a new radio this week and I was kind of interested a little bit in that one. So normally, and up to this point, I fly.

[00:54:35] Spectrum. I’ve been flying a, a dx7s, so that kind of probably tells you how long I’ve been flying with that. A while, a long time, a long time, and I’ve been trying opening my eyes to, to some of the new systems that are out there and came across the fr sky, and I was a little leary. It’s another one of those that kind of can use its own hardware or you can expand with the module, but everything is programmable. I was a little intimidated but, speaking to the

[00:55:12] The gentleman steve, who’s here, one of the programmers. He kind of kind of made me feel a little more comfortable. So I went ahead, I went, I bought the bullet and bit the bullet and I grabbed one, a couple receivers and it came with the module. I’ll tell you this one here. After an hour I had one of the planes actually set up and very close to being able to fly. And then this morning I finished it off and unfortunately, with the rain I that space walker would have taken to.

[00:55:43] The air but we want a maiden we want a maiden I know yeah no it does the coolest thing though like.

[00:55:50] I was kind of at the electric line. We were there briefly while you were kind of tinker with it, that transmitter, it must have a gyro in the transmitter or something because you could like in one of the modes or whatever it is. But you would tilt the transmitter and you could move the controls just by positioning, which I think is really freaking cool it. It is really cool, I don’t.

[00:56:13] Know if I’d be whatever I was doing. Unfortunately, I don’t know what I was doing. So it is. It is a feature, apparently. But no, what I did is I went ahead and, from the advice of our president of our club, joe banghorn- great guy- he’s like: hey, why don’t you turn off all your mixers? Good idea: turn off the mixers, and now when I turn the radio or tilt the radio, my control surfaces don’t move. Oh, that’s okay.

[00:56:43] So somewhere so it is it is somewhere there is something in the radio that will allow you to do.

[00:56:48] That there’s. There’s weird and cool. Yeah, it is so weird and so cool, but because nowadays we don’t get a full 30 page instruction booklet- I mean I’m not that old but I like a bulky instruction booklet so when I’m on page five and I’m trying to bind the receiver I don’t have to scroll on my four and a half inch screen on my phone. Yes, me too. But I gotta say with this radio here, the fr sky, I feel.

[00:57:26] Comfortable and what model do you get I got the x20s okay the red the red one it is very pretty it is.

[00:57:33] Really and it feels like I obviously I held your trainer and it feels really nice. I like the way it feels, so it has a quality feel to it. It really does. Yeah, yeah, it doesn’t feel like that. Oh, I know.

[00:57:47] When you’re talking about the one they gave away yeah what was it el cheapo it doesn’t feel like that one.

[00:57:53] That one yeah it feels it definitely feels substantial it does it feels like a jetty.

[00:57:58] Actually to me, and if you put it right next to a jetty, they look very, very similar. Yeah, very similar, awesome, except, like, obviously, the price point is a little different, which, well, yeah, and I mean for me. I mean I’m not, I’m not as well off as many of the guys in this hobby, so when I buy a 500 radio, I’m not afraid to do that, knowing that it could easily last me 10.

[00:58:28] 15 Years right the way I take care of my stuff right yeah still flies with a dx7s yeah.

[00:58:35] Obviously you take care of yourself because yeah most dx7s is probably haven’t lived this long yeah.

[00:58:42] That is so, yeah, so. So I think with a little, with a little more tweaking- and, yeah, it’s one of those, you got to use it, you got to try. I, I got it back and just jumped right into it and in the first, like I said, the first hour, it’s built up enough confidence within me that I’m looking forward to continuing excellent, yeah, I can’t wait to hear that or how that.

[00:59:06] Ends up yeah because I have no experience with anything other than spectrum yeah what else is.

[00:59:13] Very reaffirming is: the guys that I’m I’m flying around are very seasoned. Jeff’s been flying for years. You mean old? That’s a nice way of saying oh no, seasoned yeah.

[00:59:25] Just over here sleeping in the corner. It’s okay, jeff, wake up, we’re recording. Are you here, jeff? Jeff’s going to be like man. I asked him to come on the podcast and he hasn’t shut up. If you, if you hear snoring, no, but I mean even, like I said, talking to the president of our club, who’s who’s really a great pilot, and jeff, who’s also a very good pilot- them seeing this radio, they’re kind of looking to see how I make out with it. Sure, and well, I’m, I’m gonna try to keep.

[00:59:58] Track of it too. I’m always all are. Yeah, I’m always interested in trying something, especially something that looks like a jetty. It’s got to be good, it’s got to be. I mean because, honestly, I would try a jetty if it weren’t for the cost. Yeah, I mean because they’re outstanding.

[01:00:13] Radios. But I think my problem right now is I’m so into the spectrum side of things that just switching over is not worth even considering, other than for the learning aspect of it. Yeah, and that’s. I think that would be kind of neat to just know what else is out there. Yeah, I’m to a point where

[01:00:31] I probably could like with a module that I could use all my spectrum receivers. I could potentially make the switch. I mean, I don’t have any plans of doing that, but yeah, I’m not in as deep as others, yeah, like into spectrum, but understood great thing. One great thing about the fr sky with the module is that all the bind and fly stuff you can do that if you and I’m not bashing Futaba. I don’t want people to think that. But if you own a Futaba, what’s your option? Buy a?

[01:01:03] Spectrum cheapo transmitter so you can fly the bind and fly e-flight stuff well or I think put your.

[01:01:10] Futaba receiver in it, which it would make sense, like the re. I don’t know how to word this other than the reason I think that is because spectrum and Futaba, those are big brands, absolutely like these small guys. They have to have a way of being compatible, or else there is nobody that’s going to take the time and money to learn something new that they cannot use anything that they already own with. Yes, good. So yeah, I mean yeah, that’s a great point because you could probably get the Futaba like, does that?

[01:01:42] Come, or can you get a Futaba module for that too? I don’t. I don’t know exactly all the ins and outs yet, but it did come with a, a big a diagram of all the different third party or whatever they are, the ones that do work with it. Okay, I don’t want to. I don’t want to give bad.

[01:02:00] Information yet no I can’t yeah I do that all the time it’s all right I think I know something.

[01:02:05] Turns out I’m wrong. I do know that they’re. On some of the, on some of the newer Futaba stuff. There is a port on the back where you can plug in. I don’t know who makes it- it might be Futaba, I don’t know- but there is something that you can sort of plug into your newer Futaba stuff that will do the, the dsmss or whatever. The spectrum format is dsmx, so that, yeah, so that you can do the bind and fly stuff. But that’s really, I think, like I read that somewhere online because

[01:02:35] Somebody was asking on one of the forums about how can I use my Futaba and they asked him: well, what generation is it? And if it’s this generation, by this module, it works. But yeah, anyway.

[01:02:47] Cool, I get it and that, speaking of transmitters, that’s the other thing. Jeff, one of your friends was here. It didn’t work out as well for you, but horizon and spectrum are actually on site fixing radios, correct? Yeah, what he had, he had the x18 and he had a runaway trim switch on the rudder. Yeah, and they were able to do it on site. And was it a couple hours from the time that he took it up there to the?

[01:03:11] Time he got the call saying I was up there today I mean he was soldering switches I mean he was right in.

[01:03:16] The bowels of it. So that’s actually doing service here and just at no charge. Yeah, that’s amazing. I, I think that’s cool. Yeah, I mean I’m not a horizon fanboy, but kudos to them for the outstanding support for this, yeah, for this event, I mean awesome, awesome. I agree, cool. What else I don’t know.

[01:03:36] Anybody else. I mean Ron has that look on his face. I’m looking, I’m dejected at this point because the rain is raining so much harder right now and it just started like I mean, it was raining the whole.

[01:03:48] Time but it just picked oh it’s pouring right now so I’m assuming combat’s not looking good for six.

[01:03:52] O’clock. Well, yeah, so I have this note written on my notepad here and I’m just going to talk really quick about combat. Like so, Ron and I went to rc fest last summer- it’s called rc fest, right yeah, at the at the eli field that horizon puts on, and I just was beside myself. They had the ring of fire lit up and there were people were flying through the ring and every time an airplane hit that ring it just something inside, like the little boy just giggled and he was giddy and actually giggled.

[01:04:26] Yeah, I mean like it was impressive, like it’s every time an airplane and everybody’s hooting and hollering and nobody’s getting mad or anything like that because they destroyed their four hundred dollar airplane or whatever, just a blast right, and I had so much fun watching that. So last night here at joan all on the electric line at six o’clock they do the combat right and it’s a run. What you brung, it’s like a demolition derby on wings right in the air and I giggled the.

[01:04:58] Whole time like even there was no like there’s what would you say there was 12 maybe 15 planes like.

[01:05:04] When it got started, do you think more than that, like there was a lot more than I expected. There were a few sitting out like that were staging for it, but then all of a sudden there was a whole bunch.

[01:05:14] That showed up right at time. Well then they. They counted down like three, two, one go. And then let’s just say, 15 planes take off and there’s 15 planes in the air all at once trying- and I and I stress, trying- to run into each other. And it’s just, there are so many close calls and whoa and woo and

[01:05:36] I mean what a good time I don’t got it and the guy stuffed a plane right by my feet.

[01:05:43] There were a lot of me to crash my own I was gonna say there were a lot of them that were taken out by.

[01:05:47] Themselves. Yeah, yeah, a lot of guys took themselves out because they were either following the wrong plane or they were trying to dive and perform the. The ultrax maneuver pulled up too late or whatever, but anyway, within about two minutes of watching this in my head, I’m already thinking: man, what airplane could I bring next year to do this, because this is just way too much fun. Well, lucky for me, joe, you guys, is a club president. He brought a plane. Wait, I don’t know if he brought it specifically for this purpose, but it’s a. I don’t know what it is. It’s some float plane. It didn’t work.

[01:06:20] Out as a float plane that well right we flew it once yep from the grass it flies awesome from the.

[01:06:26] Grass, like it really does. So he flew this thing- this I’m looking at, I don’t even know what it is. It looks like to me. It looks like a laker, like an old balsa usa laker, but it doesn’t have the motor on the pod, it’s anyway. So he flew it in this thing and he managed to get hit by a flight test- I think it was a bloody baron, I think is what that was might have been- took an aileron off. He flew it. The rest, yeah, for three minutes with one aileron, yeah, and then finally the battery ran down and he had to land, and then, when he landed, the coup de gras was. He landed, and then

[01:07:03] On his rollout. Well, slide out from the landing. He managed to run over a cub or whatever that was, and then took the rudder off, yeah. So he was ready to throw in the trash, pull his stuff out. I’m like, no, don’t do that. And he had offered this thing to me earlier. So I’m like, let me fix it and if I get it ready, I’ll fly it tomorrow. So it’s, it’s ready to go. But- and to make a long story short, it’s raining and now we’re not going to do combat tonight. Well, you don’t know that. I mean, we still

[01:07:29] Have technically 20 no 35 minutes until combat supposed to start true but it’s looking pretty.

[01:07:36] Not good right now, yeah, but anyway, I’m like in my head, I’m still thinking: what have I got at home that I can bring next year? And then I’m already strategizing: right, because you want long fly time, because that’s all that, it’s not a lot of content, right? Right, it’s in it. So I’m thinking, well, and maybe a glider of some kind, or maybe, yeah, already, already, the wheels are turning. I was hoping.

[01:08:00] For my put my walrus up today I got the glider the hobby king walrus oh yeah okay yeah I had a.

[01:08:07] 10 Year old calypso that’s about to meet its expiration date so well maybe they’ll do it tomorrow.

[01:08:14] Instead, oh, they will, okay. So, and just like everything here at this place this week, they do it right, they, they, they do a kind of a safety brief before they hit the go button. Right, no flying behind the line. If it’s out of control, put it in the dirt before you hurt. I mean, just like everything you would expect here. That’s done right. So it’s done in a- I’ll use air quotes- safe manner. But golly, what a good time that was. Even just watching was I giggled the entire time. I cannot.

[01:08:46] Disagree. Yeah, and last year- I don’t know if they’re doing it this year, but they did a the 40 plane that was for the 40th anniversary, so you flew in that. This is 41 now: 40 planes in the sky at once. Yeah, on the main line. Oh, that was a s show right there. Nice, oh, it was more. There was more contact. Oh, really.

[01:09:10] Well, I can imagine, but it wasn’t designed to be contact. I was- oh it was supposed to just be- just get up there and fly. That was well. I mean, 40 planes in the air once you’re not going to take your best stuff.

[01:09:24] There, I would think you would have to kind of assume that perhaps something could, could with that many, most likely something right. But I’m sure they probably say they establish a pattern: right, left hand turns, whatever. Let’s just fly racetrack, or was it? That would have been good? Oh, they didn’t. That probably would have helped, okay, but no, there was none of that. And they did that on the main line.

[01:09:48] Yeah right on the flag and there was a guy with a draco that had like a 16-foot banner just flying.

[01:09:55] Through the middle just waiting for somebody to hit him, who, a couple get hit. Yeah, that was exciting, that was fun. Unfortunately- but I shouldn’t say unfortunately, because no one wants to see crashes, but we kind of do, and we’ve missed all of them it seems like, isn’t that? Well, no, there’s been a few that we haven’t. I mean, we’ve seen what we see. One I saw, like your, one that didn’t come down, were you?

[01:10:23] There. Oh yeah that’s. I mean, that wasn’t really a crash, that was just kind of a. There was dirt that came off the ground when he landed, so I call that a crash. Okay, well, that was non-optimal landing, but no, there have been. There have been several significant that we’ve missed. That we’ve missed.

[01:10:42] Because we were in the wrong place at the wrong time did you did you see that lazy b go in no.

[01:10:49] Yeah, that was on the main line, the acb of the gb, oh, the gb, the gb r3. So, yeah, I had taken a picture of that, like we had walked to the line and what a beautiful airplane that is. I’m gonna say is because I’m in my head, he’s gonna fix it and fly it again and I took a picture of it. And, yeah, shortly after I took a picture of it is when it went in, yeah, which is sad, but I’m impressed how quickly they have the

[01:11:12] Cherry pickers out yeah to go get these airplanes out of the trees yeah so on the main line it’s.

[01:11:18] Probably what 100 yards or so the tree line maybe not quite that far maybe I don’t know it’s so.

[01:11:25] Hard I bet it’s closer than you would assume right because that’s but it’s it’s a significant.

[01:11:30] Distance away, like if we were flying all those poor planes. We’d be like, wow, this is like heaven, no worry, yeah. But yeah, that, so the entire, so the entire facility is set in the woods, right. So it’s 400 acres and it’s surrounded pretty much by woods and, yeah, a lot of airplanes have made it into the woods. And I asked Ron the other day, I was like how many airplanes do you suppose are still maybe laying out there somewhere that never have been recovered? What I mean, there’s got to be some. I bet there’s at least one. Oh sure, that would be a. That would be a good number to know.

[01:12:03] Right, our great friend don sandburn says all the time he’s been coming. Oh yeah, don sanford, yep, yeah, yeah. Sanford always says if these trees could talk, yeah right, he’s seen they’d be cussing at us. Yeah right, yeah, so that was great. And then that have that giant green havoc that went in.

[01:12:28] Oh that was the first day I think it was the first day of flying so it would have been what monday.

[01:12:34] Maybe tuesday I don’t even remember like I said all the days go by it was go together I think it was.

[01:12:38] Sunday because we got here saturday oh that’s right we set up shop and whatever and I think it went in.

[01:12:43] Sunday. I think, yeah, that was bigger, that was, that was an expensive mistake. That hurt my wallet. Oh, the a10, I forgot about that one. That’s right. A10 went down. 10 Went down, engine out on takeoff- yep.

[01:12:56] And that went down close to the float line I’m surprised we missed that yeah I who knows where.

[01:13:04] We were. We don’t know what’s going on at the main line. Well, nothing now, but like: well, yeah, when we’re out here watching 3d stuff or going on anywhere right now- although I’m not seeing a lot of rain at this point- it comes and goes. Like every time we think, oh, it’s not, and then it is: yeah, all right, anything else you guys want to talk about it? You’re ready to get off here? Nope, it was an honor and a pleasure to be back again. Thank you. Yeah, don’t say honor, pleasure, I’ll give you pleasure. Yeah, we’ll give you.

[01:13:36] Honor yeah we’re we’re just no we feel like we owe you now yeah right we’re wasting your time.

[01:13:44] Tour guide barbie. No, no, no, bobby, I love it. New t-shirt: right, I’ll send you my address for christmas. No, it was. It was a pleasure, right. I’ve been listening since the beginning of your show and we’ve traded texts over running the last six, eight. Well, I guess it’s been over the last year. But really, you guys, for the listeners out there, these guys are the real deal. It’s been an honor and a privilege to spend a week with them. We’re about to split seven.

[01:14:18] Big stakes five ways. So yeah, yeah, thanks for the for the hospital, james, you too it’s. It’s been a blast this week hanging out with you guys and like- and I really mean it, you guys- that the group that you have feels so much like the group that we have at home. For that I’m thankful, and thanks for.

[01:14:38] Including us. I feel like we fit right in. Yeah, thanks for having me. This is my first podcast ever. Kind of following jeff nice a while ago he says, hey, you gotta listen to this podcast. And then it seems like every other week he’s like: hey, I, I was on the podcast.

[01:14:56] So now he’s got me here and he’s like a jeff is like a professional podcast guest kind of a maybe title, I don’t know. Okay, that seems like that could go on a shirt next to tour guide barbie. No, I like.

[01:15:10] That better and I look pink I love good and pink with blue eyes so there you go she’s got something to.

[01:15:17] Do now writing a note as you speak all right well everybody thank you very much for listening until.

[01:15:24] Next time I’m Ron I’m Tom I’m jeff I’m jimmy good night good night we hope you enjoyed this episode.

[01:15:32] Of the RC Plane Lab podcast for topic suggestions, to ask questions or to give any feedback. Connect with us at rcplanelab.com or email us direct at either Ron at rcplanelab.com or Tom at rcplanelab.com. You can also text us or leave us a voicemail at 818-351-9846. Please subscribe, rate and review us on your favorite podcast app until next time. May your landings be gentle.