Wrongway-Feldman

Just like the models available to us, the variety of differences in how and what we buy must be quite extreme.
Some of us buy a single plane, fly it for years and are perfectly happy with that. Others buy a plane a week and that works for them.
What makes you guys tick?
I for one buy multiple planes, 4 or 5, once or twice a year. And i buy cheap. Really cheap. I buy stuff that gets bad reviews on forums, mostly reviews by people that have never owned the plane but are giving lip service to whatever popular opinion is stuck to a manufacturer.
Keep in mind I've owned three Lada's ( Russian cars) and loved them.
For example, last week i ordered 2 vmar arfs, a phoenix 2000 arf and the f3a patternish from hobbyking.
Mostly i do this to get a large variety of aircraft styles to land on the style I'll enjoy most.

How do you guys buy, and why?

Don Sims

Gotten into DLG's and powered gliders more and buy the less expensive stuff. At my new place will be looking at some back yard flyers and micros to toss out in the yard.

AEAJR

I am a very active thermal duration glider pilot and I fly a lot of contests so I tend toward the higher end molded gliders, both pure (winch/hi-start) and electric launched. With a glider costing $1000+ and then adding the electronics I might pick up a new one every third year.

These kinds of gliders are not available at the local hobby store so I do most of the buying on-line, from Kennedy Composites. I do go to the local hobby shop for accessories and to give them some of my business. They are valuable and we need to support them.

I am always looking for a good deal on a used high end glider so the fleet does grow. But even the used ones are $800 to 1100 each. Those are picked up off the Forum Buy/Sell or purchased at contests from other pilots. Picked up a beauty at an estate sale last month. Can't wait to get it on the winch line and send it soaring. Did I need it? Well, define need.


I have matched pair of Futaba 9C super radios to fly them on the Futaba FASST protocol. If something goes wrong with one I can use the other. When you travel 8 hours to fly 2 contests over the weekend you bring 2-3 gliders and don't want a radio problem to take you out of the action. I also have modules for 72 MHz and Spektrum DSM2 for the Futabas.

I will point out that my Radian RTF gets a lot of air time because it thermals so well and it is so easy to just grab the box and go. I fly it on the included DX5e and keep all the things I need to fly it in the box. Putting my "big" gliders in the air with a winch takes a lot of time and work for packing, set-up, breakdown, repacking, get it home and unpack. But the Radian is just grab and go.

My electric planes tend to be small and either BnF or RTFs. They are purchased from the LHS, Horizon Hobby, Amazon or at trade shows. They don't get a lot of air time so no point in investing a lot of money in them. They are impulse buys and a lot of fun but not a serious hobby focus. The gliders are my real focus.

Same with micro helis and quad copters. I have a few but they are more toys then hobby grade. Amazon and RC shows are the source. Fly a micro helis or a quad in the basement when I have extreme cabin fever and it is 10 degrees outside and the wind is howling. But I have no plans to get into large helis, quads or FPV. Just not real interested.

The gliders are my passion.

gerrynj

Only have one plane at any one time. I look at my flying needs and buy the appropriate plane. Almost always buy the larger (>60") balsa built type of aircraft. At the moment I
have a low wing acrobat - each plane usually last me about 6 months or 100 flights (I get cocky.........). I like to learn new maneuvers - sometimes I succeed and sometimes
the ground comes up to quickly.

My next plane will be 70" High wing that I will add floats and fly off a pond nearby.

Gerry

JetPlaneFlyer

No pattern really, i just buy whatever takes my eye at the time. Lately it's big helicopters which I have often picked up 'second hand' but unflown and/or unbuilt. Even if I can afford the full sticker price on these helis I'd much rather someone else take the 33-50% depreciation that you are hit with as soon as you walk out of the dealer's door.

I need a new and bigger man-cave before I make any more purchases, I've ran out of space

carpetbagger

I buy balsa, plywood, spruce, basswood, silk, and a variety of glues. Oh yeah, box of #11 blades and a variety of other tools. No ARF/RTF for this guy . . .

fhhuber

I see it.... I want it... If I got the money it ends up hanging from my ceiling.

thepiper92

I buy until I fill up the space, and when one crashes badly enough, I replace it with something usually completely different. I have really gotten into helis lately, like JPF, and have been selling some of the helis that I have no interest in fixing because I find them terrible in some respects (MCPX Bl: Board can't take a crash, Nano CPX: Board can't take a crash. 450x: Philips screws, constant problems, overall cheap feeling. Hobbyking 450GT: Just didn't feel right when flying it.) The selling of the stuff opened up some room and allowed me to purchase a Gaui X3. Yes it is four helis only to get one, but it will be worth it.

Leadchucker

$1600 sailplanes, scratch built old timers to $80 foamies and bunch in between

pcm10xmode

I buy very few planes (design and build foamys), but when I do, I look for something totally different. When carbon arf's first came out, I bought a 50 cc gasser that weighed 12.6 lbs. The thrust/wt is out of the park. A dream to fly and hover.
The latest is Sebart's Mig 25 which allows hovering(cw-ccw EDF's) and does knife edges. Now that one is different.

Eddy

Scratch build only here. Gimme some wood, some glue, and some plans; and away we go.

ARF's are for weenies !

Now aren't you glad that you asked ?

Eddy



( Flame suit on ! )

tobydogs

i buy to much stuff,really need to chill out and enjoy whats in the hanger.....i could wreck a dozen planes and still have a dozen more to gosheeesh,and all the odds and ends to keep stuff flying has me hitting the buy now button way to often.

my favorite purchases are balsa kits to build. unfortunately every kit equals many purchases to complete. my wife learned a long time ago if i tell her the kit cost $100 i will spend many times that before i'm done...lol

birdDog

Normally I purchase something that will compliment a crashed model that I can cannibalize the electronics from. I like balsa building but foam can be a riot in the air.
Mostly sport planes at this point. Trainers can be a nice relaxing fly. Some acrobatics is always fun to shut up the gas/glow snobs at the field (These are not "toys" as some there would like to call them) and I'm too old (and cheap) for 3d

Wrongway-Feldman

That's how my latest purchases happened.
I was actually looking for a bobcat similar to what is in your profile picture, but smaller.
Couldn't find one at a price I was comfortable with. That led to to thread after thread on forums which got me distracted and I ended buying a bunch of other stuff.
Just pulled the trigger on a multiplex tucan earlier tonight.

Siberianhusky

Not too many impulse buys here, my first plane was a rtf foam cub, everything else has been scratch built, all about the same size, still have lots to learn so when they get crashed too many times I can scavenge for parts for the next.
For me building is probably my favorite part of the hobby, soon as I get one dialed in I'm planning the next one, searching plans and looking for build threads.
Kind of an RC pack rat, still have my first control line plane from 1975 - Swordsman 18, have 1/12 scale pan cars from the 80's, my original RC10 buggy by Associated, a few race boats from the 80's.....

Rockin Robbins

Well I don't do the impulse buys either. I generally fly my planes for years and enjoy them more the longer I own them. I have only about five planes, plus a Radian fragment (don't ask) which needs rebuilding. I'm also interested into going DLG, thermal and slope gliding more than any other aspect of RC.

My next plane will be the new Eflite Whipit to catch some of those micro thermals 30' from me that Ed has been torturing me about. What an elegant little plane that appears to be! I'm sure a 1M DLG will be next to the tune of quite a bit more money.

But one step to ruination at a time. RC is like that!