ANOTHER Expensive Hobby?! - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

Shannon · 07-10-2003, 10:59 PM

Copied from an email Justin just sent to friends & family:

Quote:

My nephew Tanner asked me to take him to HobbyTown USA – off Austin Highway – last weekend. He’d been to the store previously and knew I’d enjoy what they had to offer.

Shan came along for the ride.

Suddenly, we’re leaving HobbyTown USA with TWO remote controlled aircraft in tow.

Tanner couldn’t believe it.

We couldn’t believe it.

I told him not to tell Grandma how much we spent.

He didn’t keep the secret.

Here are our birds…

Mine…The AEROBIRD…

…and Shannon’s…The COMMANDER

We hope to launch these puppies this weekend...

Wish us luck! Hehehe

- Justin

Now, we've just got to find someplace around San Antonio that has the wide open spaces required for two NOVICE RC pilots to not immediately destroy their $100+ toys. I know there's an RC club's "airfield" off 1604 & Bandera, though our little planes would get blown outta the sky by the gas-powered models the serious RC pilots fly! I think we'll try launching someplace quiet, to minimize our embarassment at how awful we fly... especially Justin, as a licensed private pilot of REAL aircraft.

07-10-2003, 11:06 PM

O MAN!! This is so weird. Like everything you post, I have a response.... watch out! haha.. but my cousin flies model planes as his hobby too. His room is filled with them. There is a place in Victoria, but I know that is WAY too far for you. Why dont' you just go out to an open field somewhere and fly them? I think that will be your best bet! But those planes are awesome and what was even cooler about your post was finding out that Justin flies a REAL plane! WOW!! For SA International Airport?? OR what planes? That is awesome Shan! WOW! :eek:

Shannon · 07-10-2003, 11:35 PM

Justin's life-long dream was to learn to fly, so in 2001 he began his ground school and flight training to get licensed as a private pilot. His training was interrupted briefly due to the September 11 attacks, but in March 2002 he completed his training by passing his FAA Check-Ride and obtaining his Private Pilot certificate with a single-engine, land rating. Since we don't own an aircraft (though if we won the lotto, you can bet that's the first thing we'd acquire!

), we rent aircraft for every flight -- typically, a Cessna Skyhawk (172). We used to fly out of Stinson Municipal Airport, but since the flight school/rental service we rented from there recently went bankrupt Justin's currently renting from International Flight Center based at San Antonio International Airport. Soon, we will also be renting from the new flight school/rental service, Ace Flyers, Inc. that's opened up at Stinson Muncipal Airport.

I have not actually gotten to fly with Justin in a month or so due to scheduling conflicts and weather. I hope to get up in the air with him tomorrow or over the weekend, as I'm starting to get anxious -- I don't want to learn to fly, myself, but I love being in the air in a small aircraft and taking photographs.

If you or anyone else would like to learn more about general aviation and flying, check out Justin's exceptional (OK, I'm a little biased) NoticeToAirmen.com aviation website to see photos and read about some of his flights and things he's learned along the way. It's a terrific resource. Oh, yeah, it has some of my aerial photography, as well. There's lots more where that came from, but it's not online yet!

Thanks for the tips about RC aircraft. We emailed one unnamed local flying club but are a little put off by their response to our email. It seems we didn't buy expensive enough starter aircraft to warrant their interest/enthusiasm in two new hobbiests.

07-11-2003, 01:19 PM

That's awesome about Justin! Glad his dreams came true! I will make sure and tell my cousin about his site. Thanks!

And that is so rude about the RC thing and flying them in that area. See I say just go out to a pasture or field and fly them there. That is always the best way to go!

ploddinTod · 06-28-2004, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shannon

Now, we've just got to find someplace around San Antonio that has the wide open spaces required for two NOVICE RC pilots to not immediately destroy their $100+ toys.

Ground Control to Major Justin. We've lost sight of you on the radar...... Can you give us a quick update on your position? Shannon, you did ya'll ever launch?

Shannon · 06-28-2004, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ploddinTod

Ground Control to Major Justin. We've lost sight of you on the radar...... Can you give us a quick update on your position? Shannon, you did ya'll ever launch?

We launched the more expensive of our two RC planes during a "lull" in the winds on a gusty day shortly after I posted here. Our take-offs were performed on the track & football field of Barbara Bush Middle School on the NE side of San Antonio.

Justin, myself and our brother-in-law all took turns piloting the craft and it made it relatively unscathed through one flight, each. However, I still have bad memories of nearly flying it into the portable buildings at the school! It would have been doubly embarassing since behind the portables were the basketball courts, and the local fire department was on court at the time playing hoops. :eek: "Uhm, sorry... I hope this didn't hit anyone on its way down?!"

The final flight was also the plane's highest and longest flight, and Justin was impressing us all with his piloting skill. Unfortunately, the technique for pulling out of a stall in an RC aircraft is not the same as the technique required in a real aircraft, so the plane sort of got driven into the ground at the end of the flight. It somersaulted after a good nose hit and that's what snapped its polystyrene wings.

We bought new wings shortly thereafter but Justin's been wanting to do a dual flight with my RC aircraft and his now-veteran aircraft. We almost did it the other day, but the weather was bad enough for Justin to cancel his real flight so I begged off on flying the RC aircraft in the same weather.

We're looking for a larger field with fewer obstructions (like portable buildings, firemen and the like!) but are coming up a little short still. I wish we knew a farmer with a large, fallow field we could use as that would be ideal. If we could find an unoccupied soccer or football field, that seems to be the best bet -- assuming the likelihood of hitting the plane into a travelling vehicle on nearby roads can be minimized(!)

It was a lot of fun, and we just haven't gotten back around to doing it. For one, we knew if we got too carried away we really would be into another expensive hobby and, well, we've got quite enough of those (though at least one of them is graduating into self-supporting business).

ploddinTod · 06-29-2004, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shannon

We launched the more expensive of our two RC planes during a "lull" in the winds on a gusty day shortly after I posted here. Our take-offs were performed on the track & football field of Barbara Bush Middle School on the NE side of San Antonio.

Justin, myself and our brother-in-law all took turns piloting the craft and it made it relatively unscathed through one flight, each. However, I still have bad memories of nearly flying it into the portable buildings at the school! It would have been doubly embarassing since behind the portables were the basketball courts, and the local fire department was on court at the time playing hoops. :eek: "Uhm, sorry... I hope this didn't hit anyone on its way down?!"

The final flight was also the plane's highest and longest flight, and Justin was impressing us all with his piloting skill. Unfortunately, the technique for pulling out of a stall in an RC aircraft is not the same as the technique required in a real aircraft, so the plane sort of got driven into the ground at the end of the flight. It somersaulted after a good nose hit and that's what snapped its polystyrene wings.

We bought new wings shortly thereafter but Justin's been wanting to do a dual flight with my RC aircraft and his now-veteran aircraft. We almost did it the other day, but the weather was bad enough for Justin to cancel his real flight so I begged off on flying the RC aircraft in the same weather.

We're looking for a larger field with fewer obstructions (like portable buildings, firemen and the like!) but are coming up a little short still. I wish we knew a farmer with a large, fallow field we could use as that would be ideal. If we could find an unoccupied soccer or football field, that seems to be the best bet -- assuming the likelihood of hitting the plane into a travelling vehicle on nearby roads can be minimized(!)

It was a lot of fun, and we just haven't gotten back around to doing it. For one, we knew if we got too carried away we really would be into another expensive hobby and, well, we've got quite enough of those (though at least one of them is graduating into self-supporting business).

:cool: Well, at least the firemen added a little eye candy to that potentially embarrassing moment of crash landing courtside.

Shannon · 06-29-2004, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ploddinTod

:cool: Well, at least the firemen added a little eye candy to that potentially embarrassing moment of crash landing courtside.

Actually, I saw more of the RC plane taking its near-deadly nosdive toward the portable buildings than I did of the firemen. That, and I'm a married woman so if I did look it was "just a peek", yep yep yep ...

It was too cool a day for them to be shirtless, anyway...

4runner · 07-10-2004, 07:06 PM

A group of folks used to fly their RC planes/helicopters on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings at Alamo Downs business park. There is a nice open field there with no buildings, power lines, etc. I used to see them while I was out running around at work. In fact, I would take one of my breaks and go watch them fly. It's been awhile since I worked days, so I don't know if they still meet there.

The location is Culebra rd/Alamo Downs or Culebra rd/Fairgrounds Parkway, just inside Loop 410 on Culebra.

HTH