Our latest obsession ..

[Jay Vaughan]

.. is building nutballs and crashing them into the lake:

	http://w1xer.at/nutball.jpg

I know a few of you guys are into RC as well, so I figured I'd share .. We got the FliteTest 3-pack Swappable, as well as a 2-pack of FT Spitfires last week, and this is the first we've made of the set .. up next, the FT Flyer and FT Delta .. which will give Flynn what he needs to be prepared for the Spitfire .. we shall see how long it takes before we're up there, dog-fighting .. ;)

If any of you are interested in this hobby, but nervous at the investment it requires, I can't recommend the FliteTest swappable series enough .. you build a power pod once, pack it with the electronics, then switch the pod around on any airframe you like.  For about US$100, we got 5 different planes with all kinds of skill-level gradients (from easy to hard) to fly/crash/rebuild/dry-out!  :)  And since the plans are free, we'll be laser-cutting our own versions as soon as we destroy the current air frames.  Anyway, I highly recommend this route for you budding Dads and Kids who wanna be Pilots - these kits are really easy to build and very, very fun to fly!

http://flitetest.com/


For the electronics, HobbyKing:  http://hobbyking.com/

The Turnigy 9X is a great transmitter, its the one we're using (see picture) and costs about US$50, comes with a receiver (which you'll need) and you can get servos and motor and speed-controller (ESC, regulator) for about another $50.  So, roughly US$200 for five different planes and full electronics.

Another thing you can do is get a ParkZone model of your choosing, (lots of lower-budget planes, my favourite is the Ember2 right now..) and then when it inevitably crashes and busts up into a bunch of little pieces, you can re-use the electronics .. the DSM2 transmitters that come with the "Ready To Fly" kits can be re-used easily enough, although not for huge distances, but certainly they're enough to keep the Nutball, Flyer and Delta in order (not sure yet about the Spitfire, which loves the sky)..

Anyway .. thought you guys might like to know these details .. :)




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Jay Vaughan