When the winds of change were just gusts gripping gangsters ... lovely humour .. the captain really makes it look easy and the plane appears just tight . Cheers from Germany 🌻:)
That was like me aged 22 and my late Dad, he built them and I flew them, usually at Sunderland airport. We had a Crescent Bullet (very similar to the first plane in the video, powered by a webra speed 40) which I thrashed around on full throttle all the time. I always flew it until the fuel ran out then did deadstick landings. I still have it in the attic with scraped wingtips and a cracked canopy. But mind the second plane in the video was a vintage model even then, it's more like something from the 1960s.
I have a Sopwith Camel with a snoopy pilot my dad made in the 60's with silk span (in the attic), and I still have a CG Eaglet 50" I built as a kid around 85 or 86 (which I still fly from time to time) . I remember using a Circus radio in the 75Mhz band(US) which was pretty high-tech at the time (compared to the heathkit radio we had). Think we were using K&B and the new cheap engines from Enya. That was a cool video, brought back some memories of flying in that era. Cheers!
I started flying in 1983 and flew at the Chester-le-Street Radio model Club. First model was a Leicester Model Centre Hunter 29, three channel trainer with Futaba 5LK radio and OS Max .35 engine. The biggest model I built was a 1/6 scale B-17 in 1994. Still have my aircraft and radio gear, but havent flown since 2009 having got into fullsize military vehicles in 2005. Two Jeeps and a Dodge Weapons Carrier take up all my time now.
Thanks for sharing this great film. It brings back memories of 1986 when i got my first model aeroplane, an MFA Yamamoto with an OS 40 two stroke engine. My first radio was a Futaba Challenger and 37 years later im still enjoying the hobby and im still flying my planes with a Futaba 9c super radio 2.4 . Those were happy days.
Thx for sharing that. '83 was good times for sure. Been doing flying models since the mid 60's. FF, CL, R/C. Anyone remember Western Associated Modelers aka WAM? Or Aero Modelers of San Jose ( CA )? Did CL for a few years with them. How about Wavemasters of San Jose ( still going ). I'm out in Colorado now, was in Arvada Associated Modelers for a while, but now I'm 'freelancing' lol.
В 1984 я начал заниматься электроникой на Станции юнных техников в СССР. На заднем дворе был бетонный круг, где летали такие самолёты. Однажды я нашёл выброшеный двигатель в цилиндре которого было отверстие с резьбой и болт. Попробовал завести его используя все горючие жидкости, которые нашёл у дедушки. Ничего не вышло и я вернулся к электронике.
Wow what a blast from the past!!! I started in RC around 1983 as a 15 year old kid. I spent months building a balsa plane only to have it destroyed in seconds!!! Good times...took me 30 years to get back into it and be successful!!!
Indeed - me too Jack. We must be the same age. My start was in control line at 15 (in 1983), and we could introduce our planes to the landscape with great efficiency and a high angle too! Now, all these years later I have made something of a return and enjoy RC with my son, having recently co-designed and built a plane, which is a real treat. Cheers from Sydney - Dave
Same, started at 13 in 1986. First model was crushed on the building table by a modelling catalogue that fell from the bookshelf above. Second one crashed on its maiden. Only the third survived intact long enough to see its successor's maiden flight. What really hit me was the sound of the servos that now somehow sound more aggressive, snappier.
Built a 5ft wingspan balsa frame glider with my best friend in '80. I flew beautifully. For 30 seconds, before deconstructing itself between two trees. But, that was always the risk!
This is sounds like my story. 1984 (15 years old) I build a Graupner Taxi just to crash it into a tree on 2nd flight. 2006 I decided to give it another try with a foam model. Today I'm 54, flying 500 Helis soft 3D and FPV drones freestyle and cinematic.
Nice clip. It brings back memories, especially the bandage on the guys finger. Building an airplane made out of balsa and fabric the whole winter, just to crash it on the first flight.😅 I'm glad l got that experience on model airplanes. Now im just about to retire as an airline captain. Maybe I'll pick up that hobby again..
I still have my original gangster wich was built in 82 or 83. I recently recovered it and still fly it to this day. Guess 40 years old now.. great video!
Awesome! Makes me with my 19 years of age really appreciate what we have today regarding model capability's, radio equipment camera technology and so on. Thanks for sharing!
I am 70 and I remember flying planes with wires strung between the plane and a handheld "controller" You just flew in a circle and had to spin around but that is how it was done in the 60s. I cannot imagine how things will change in the next 50 years.
Thank God for brushless motors and foam tech. I love to fly the old glow engined balsa planes once in awhile but you kinda have to be committed to that for the whole day which is fun for those days you want to do that. but 95% of the time I just like to grab a foamy electric, throw it in the car and can have many flights within an hour. EPP foamies for acrobatics which are almost indestructible and those foamie EDF jets are too cool.
@@wormhole331 Yeah, absolutely! I spent the past years developing a tandem-wing with printed frames and fancy belt driven surfaces and such, but threw together a foam plane in three days recently... Including building the wire cutter equipment. A couple of servos laying around and a completely overpowered electric engine slapped onto it with hot glue in a few hours and just sent it. Fly's perfectly. And then the advances in fiber reinforcement and resign tech. And if you want you can put an ArduPilot into the thing by swapping 10 wires, spend half an hour on the computer and have the craft automatically return to launch and fly itself if you so desire. Just mind blowing in comparison to what was possible 40 years ago. On the other hand the most Cessna 172 in flying school are much older than this and are still the most common plane 😂
Same! At 18, I am building a 2,4m wingspan composite ultra long-range UAV platform. In the 80s, CFD and CAD programs didn't even exist, not even mentioning any flight controllers. Gyroscopes were 2kg chunks of metal back then. A self-flying RC plane was probably like science fiction back then!
Brilliant, brought back a lot of memories of flying at Barry Buddon outside Dundee in the late 70's when I was 14 and the fantastic older guys who took the time to teach me. I feel very lucky to have been a kid at that time. A lot of years later and that early interest has taken me from RC to a full sized instrument rating but the love of RC has never left and never will!
And note how much leaner people where back then. They all looked as thin as rakes. Simple times. Thanks for sharing. Bell bottom trousers and hair mullets. Happy days.
By 1983, I had been involved in model building and flying for about three years. Still going strong. Although my training was quite a bit more formal than this, the feeling of flying something you've built yourself is the same... incomparable. Gear down and locked!
I've often thought that Richard. The advent of ARTF models certainly brought lots of people into the hobby who may not otherwise have bothered trying it. Sadly though, it often means the skills associated with building (and repairing!) gradually fade away. I've seen perfectly repairable ARTF models burned on the flying field after a crash, simply because the owner has zero repair skills. And yes, the feeling of flying something you built yourself can't be beaten. I personally feel many of those who fly only ARTF's, are potentially missing out on 50% of the satisfaction factor of the hobby. But still, each to their own.....
@@Brian-om2hh Hey, Brian. There's so much I could say about this topic, I should write a book. I've always felt an inherent responsibility to promote the hobby. Until recently. Traditional aeromodelling is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. So much so, it's becoming less of a hobby and more of a pastime. Sad but true. It's the lack of airmanship that concerns me the most. Because teaching yourself how to fly, is teaching yourself bad habits. I was fortunate enough to have not one, but two instructors, both of whom were pattern flyers. I'm just glad I got in when I did. Are you building anything right now? I'm currently working on a Stinson Voyager from a Dumas kit. Perfect for electric park scale. Also, I have a Sig Kadet Senior in the bones, waiting for another turn at the bench. "Always something on the board." Peace! AMA 550442 (ret.)
I was lucky enough to be a young adult through the 80-90s, my heyday, I'd say in this current cycle history will show it as the best time to have been alive. I pity youth having to endure the current mess. Thankfully we are near a reset and this set will be had soon, and we start over. The cycles appear to run 200 years. That's on average how long it takes for the state to f things up. Free markets are great but they do require resets.
I remember being a kid just as excited to be trusted to bring the plane in, and when I was big enough to hold the frame when the old man tuned the engine. Some of the happy moments of my childhood. Thanks. This video brings me back.
Fabulous, I had my first RC plane in 1978 with a four channel Futaba radio. In 1980 I bought a seven channel Kraft radio and it served me well for two decades. Great memories.
Started with same gear, then bought absolute trash Skyleader 7 - damned useless servos that would stick at full throw. Had to re buy Futaba servos after binning to aircraft due to problem.
Hey david '71, those were the best times. Still have a trophy from a club C/L contest, but it was for ff handlaunch glider!. Some folks still do C/L, great. I went R/C and stayed R/C lol.
1983 was the end of my aeromodelling having been brought up with free flight, control line. Progressed to single channel and then digital proportional. I watch young children today with their RC boats and cars and planes and they have no idea what went on before to get them where they are today. I feel privileged to have been a part of the early days of RC with my father who started RC modelling in the 1940s.
What a great video, so many memories too of me and my late dad back in the 80's. Good old days of balsa and spruce, polly pins, fibreglass, solar film, fuel, flight case making:-). Futaba challenger radio gear and making sure we had spare crystals. I remember the Gangster model, I had similar, it was the Magiacian, the smaller one to the Mystic. I could talk about this for hours, thank you so much for sharing this video.
Locally out back of local village. A bit of farmers land, fields a club goes to, seen and heard them when been up that way on the bike for a drone video (enough away and lower so ok!). Old skool fuel motors and that daft long antenna 27 mhz or so. Was what a remote control buggy I had was in 2004 or so. Nasty big antenna even 20 years after this. No smart phones and GPS. easier times but more toys now to make it so anyone can do, thinking drones with hovering. I would not want to try and plane that has to keep moving, A skill and looks like all was having fun. David there then. A comment person, 62 now. The boy be about my age now. A touch early for a camcorder as we think of it. Bet that was a camera and a separate VHS recorder in a holder, shoulder strap. Big heavy beast. Uncle Harry had one in 1982. Good video.
I got into RC planes around then (83) this video with the cold wind swept field in the middle of no where brings back a tons of memories (not this field). I tallied up the cost RC flying then went and got my PPL and flew for real which is a lot easier and comfortable to fly than models planes, I then made the expensive mistake of getting in to RC helli's also. When brushless motors and lipo batteries came out it was like the holly grail for me, loved it.
Great nostalgic clip, live the venerable Kamco Kadet, plane #2. This takes me back to 1978 79 at the Ivel MAC in Bedford, happy simple days. I still fly, my current flagship is an 11 foot span vintage Southerner repowered from an OS 91 FS to electric. My most recent project is an FMS P51 800mm, ready to maiden in the next few days. Happy times!
Similar, Started with RC planes in 1978, got a Commercial licence in 1986, now flying a Global 7500 Corporate Jet internationally but still love anything RC that flies.
Nice video, sweet memories. I started age 12 in 1980 in a club in Bruges, Belgium. Really taught me a lot. Also to have patience, especially while building. Had about 10 models, last one was a Glasfiber Hawk MK2 I ordered from England. Great plane, only flew once, still exists in perfect condition. Had to stop because of poor study results at the time. My ❤ remains there
I started flying in the mid 70's with Skyleader 2 channel very different to todays models. And much more expensive it took me 6 months saving with a full time job to buy this 2 channel set and a KeilKraft kit.
Good old days... no gyro, no flight controller... just pure fun flying : ) Oh, and no brainless fellow flying a FPV multirotor just meters away from a departing airliner. No wonder this fantastic hobby is in trouble.
I started in rc planes in 2000, no big differences from this movie. In fact my first 2 landings, resembled these very much. I had (still have) a 4 channel FM Futaba, and a Kyosho trainer. Now the last 20 years is a completly different story, in terms of RC planes evolution.
Just like my! But first, for few years I flown gliders,- Thats was big experience which gave me a solid foundation - thanks to this, later when I was flying acrobats and warbirds, there were crashes not much.
Love it, complete with authentic plaster on damaged finger. He did have an electric starter, but its still easy to get bitten adjusting the needle valve!
Brilliant video! That was a Precedent High Boy later on in the film - the plane I learned to fly on in 1983. That died on my school playing fields when I was showing off doing loops and the wings folded. Also had the bigger Gangster 63 (plus countless other models). I used to fly up at Penalt club by Monmouth as a kid and looked forward to Sundays so much, rushing through our Sunday roast so me and my dad could get up the club and usually sit in the club caravan because it was raining 🙂 So many fantastic memories. I tried to get back into flying a couple of years ago, but it just isn't the same. Too many rules and regulations and I really cannot get my head around the electric models. Still have about 15 powered models in the loft (Mystics, Wot 4's, numerous gliders etc). Maybe one day when I have more time I shall start again........ thanks for bringing back the memories!
Just go fly in a quiet park. I have returned to the sport too and find it's much more enjoyable this way. I thought I would dislike electric too but it has its advantages. I don't miss having to wash castor oil off everything after a morning's flying and, unlike an old OS46, won't randomly quit on you at the worst possible moment!
The most important part of electric rc flying imho is getting to know how lipo batteries work and how they charge and get to recognize a healthy battery from a deteriorating one. Luckily today we have brilliant 'intelligent' battery chargers for cheap prices, you just need to learn how to interpret the charger data readings: Cell voltage, charging current, battery capacity, battery cells internal resistance etc. It's not that difficult if you read a lot on the subject, of watch TH-cam videos. My dad's been into rc (mainly boats) since the 1950's and that's how I got into the hobby, thanks to him. He is 81 and still drives his boats every Summer. I have rc cars and trucks, a speedboat, and 4 planes. Speedboat had a nitro engine originally, but we later converted it to electric ⚡ power with a beast of a brushless motor. Nice video ... gets me a bit nostalgic about those simpler times the 70's 80's and 90's ..... no internet no bloody mobile phones and no toxic social media. Cheers and happy landings!!
It reminds me of when I was a little kid around that time and my grandad used to fly rc planes. I have a few of his old glow plug and diesel engines. I did build a super cub plane that was pretty big when I was a teenager but never ended up flying it. I still have my early 90's futaba radio gear and servo's but I reckon the batteries will be no longer any good. Back then I stole a great book from my school library 'Modern Aeromodelling by R G Moulton' which was from the mid 50's and is a great book if you are into RC aircraft. Reading that book used to really inspire me.
Looks like a Gangster 63. My late father's Gangster 63 is still in our garage, with its HP 61 engine. I was a kid when he used to fly it, 40 odd years ago.
Ahh, the sights and sounds bring back a flood of memories. My older brother and I got into R/C planes back in the late 60's. I started out single channel with the old galloping ghost system that was rudder control only. The smell of nitro fuel and castor oil would last on my clothes for days ;-)
Ah the bad old days, with screaming and greasy two strokes and crashes because of crystal mix-ups. But still fun, dan't get me wrong 😉 I don't fly anymore myself (maybe when the kids are older...) but with brushless electric motors, lithium batteries, and frequency hopping radios things have gotten much better. Nice to see this view into the past. Hi from the Netherlands.
@@mythrillium2 While that seems very cool to me, and I love watching YT videos about people doing that, it has two problems for me: 1) I get motion sickness sitting in front of running washing machine. Someone let me watch FPV once of a drone flying calmly around the room, and I had to take off the FPV goggles within a minute. It's not for me. 2) In my country (the Netherlands) it's not allowed to fly beyond line of sight. Flying FPV is legal, but you have to have a spotter to maintain direct visibility.
Sanwa Black Custom transmitter on the floor. The best radio Sanwa ever made..... My first decent new set was a Flight Link Sovereign, bought new in October 1975 (I still have it).......it cost me £175. Would be £800 to £1000+ now..... First decent new engine was an OS .30, which cost me £10.99 in 1973....... I've been flying 100% electric for years now. Even the sound of those engines on the video made me wince.....
Thank you for sharing. I wish my kids were that interested in my planes. But at the same time, I enjoy the quiet solo visits to the field and occasional club members.
Yes, it's a challenge. A couple of years ago I put it to my son (11 at the time) to design and scratch build an RC plane together, which we did. To my delight, he became quite interested, learned to fly RC on a sim and next year, at 14 he will start actual flying lessons with the Australian Air Force, first gliding then in a DA-40. Perhaps a build together might kick things off! I wish you luck - cheers from Sydney, Dave
So much fun to be had. Following from my post above, here's a short vid my son and I made of the build and attempt at flight (too gusty on the day) if you're interested: th-cam.com/video/_hjK549euos/w-d-xo.html He remains very interested in the whole RC thing, building etc. and we enjoy doing these things together. Speaking as a dad, one of the secrets is no passive tech - our kids have dumb phones, no iPads and no computer games. They are both at top selective schools in Sydney and are having a ball, while many of their friends are exhausted all the time, getting unfit, hopeless at sports, bored all the time etc. having become slaves to their devices. My tough stance on this stuff has paid well and my kids are very grateful. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the vid! Cheers - Dave
@@deldridg Yeah! I've been developing UAV systems for one and a half years now. Currently, I am working on a 2.5m wingspan 4kg fiberglass laminated ultra long-range UAV, with an estimated flight time of 3 hours. It was rather difficult to get started at 16 with no prior experience. It has been an incredibly complex journey. From learning what components are needed to learning to solder to building a hotwire CNC machine for foam wings to learning CFD and CAD design, laminate fiberglass and build an antenna tracker system. Luckily, with the help of the internet and thousands of hours of research, trial and error, sweat and tears, anything is possible nowadays!
The good old days when you could find an empty field miles from anywhere and fly without any issues, 1983 i was just starting on planes (a Junior 60 to learn with) after a few good years racing model cars.
Hand launching a glow plane? Wow, pretty impressive but boy if there's an issue that wouldn't end well. Great video though. Brings back memories of my getting started with a Sig Kadet MKII back in the late 80's.
Wonderful, thanks very much for sharing, somewhere like what I come from in the Westcountry. I was flying gliders then because I couldn't afford a motor.
That third plane looks like an "Astro-Mite. A neighbor gave me an unfinished model and I finished it before I ever had a motor for it. It ended up being rekitted. About ten years ago I found another one, unbuilt. One of these days...
That looks like a Mick Reeves Gangster. A very good flyer which I had back then. An updated version of the kit using laser cut parts is still available. He’s using Flightlink R/C, a British made high quality system.
It was actually a Sanwa Black Custom radio in the video. I owned 2 Flight Link Sovereign sets ( I still have one I bought new in 1975) and there are no silver or chrome circular details on the front of them. They were all completely black, apart from the FLC logo in the bottom corner of the transmitter case......the aerial also exited the transmitter case to one side of the top of the tx case on Flight Link sets, instead of centrally, as on this Sanwa set..... the aerial was extremely long on FLC sets too, at around 6 foot in length. FLC used analogue signals rather than digital. It was the only set around with a built in integral failsafe.....FLC servos were relatively inexpensive to buy, despite being high quality. The servos contained no electronics, only the motors and the cut brass gear trains. All the servo electronics were in the receivers......
@@Brian-om2hh I was confused by the black colour which was unusual for the period. I flew Futaba M (buff colouri), Fleet (blue) and Skyleader (yellow). Flightlink was high quality but, as I recall, expensive.
Yikes! Brings back memories! 1985 I started flying. After coming home from the Army. (I was bored). 60 size telemaster. Went thru everything including 50 size thundertiger helicopters. Quit early 2000's. Got back into flying 11-2019. Everything changed🤦♀️. TBH, I don't miss my fuel days & pcm/fm, cleaning nitro off everything including me, etc.
Interesting to see how things were back in the olden days! I started building long-range UAVs at age 16, 1.5 years ago. Now, I'm CFD, CAD designing and building sophisticated 2.5m wingspan composite ultra long-range UAVs with autopilots, digital radio systems, antenna trackers, gimbal cameras, and everything. It's crazy that a regular person can do these things for relatively cheap. The technology of today, including computers, flight controllers, batteries, cheap Chinese electronics, open-source CFD and CAD programs, and everything else, is absolutely insane! I am excited for what the future will bring! Flight controllers will probably have an AI implemented in them soon too. I still have over 50 years left on Earth, hopefully! No matter what the regulations are going to be by the bureaucrats, the police will have to drag me to jail for me to stop flying.
Love it,,,, I had a gangster 52, with an OS 40, which I flew at Sutton park, near Bham. My Dad would hand launch it inverted, as it was easier to hold and throw. But pretty nerv-racking.
I was flying back then I had a super sportster that looked a lot like this plane i made it like a 30s racer and called it the 8 ball special loved that plane
Brings back memories of my time in GB. Flying field with no amenities because anything left behind would be stolen or vandalised. Grass area often too long to take off from and anway uneven. Good comradship and the weather was not always that bad. Has anthing changed?
when I entered this hobby in 2008 the price per model was still very expensive because everything had to be imported, I imagined 1983 might cost a house for that plane 🙂
Ah the good ol' days, the smell of nitro fumes, 27mhz controllers hoping that nobody is close by dxing on their CB rradio⚠️😲😳 Not a lipo in sight... Look at those haircuts and 'retro 'outfits!😲😳 All we're missing is a Depeche Mode soundtrack... Best decade by far, things were so much simpler.
I think the radio is a Sanwa "custom" which i had in the mid 80s second hand and lasted for years until I replaced it with a JR Apex 8 which was a whole different world!
![เปิดบ้าน โคตรสวย ป๋องกพล รู้จักตั้งนาน เพิ่งรู้ว่ารวย!!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tmgCF_2HfYI/mqdefault.jpg)
Hand-launching a Glow . . .truly epic, 1983 is the year I started in this great Hobby at the ripe old age of 9 lol, great video RC flying in the UK!
Good memories, back when flying anything took real talent and sacrifice, it’s too easy for us now but I appreciate it both ways❤
When the winds of change were just gusts gripping gangsters ... lovely humour .. the captain really makes it look easy and the plane appears just tight . Cheers from Germany 🌻:)
That was like me aged 22 and my late Dad, he built them and I flew them, usually at Sunderland airport. We had a Crescent Bullet (very similar to the first plane in the video, powered by a webra speed 40) which I thrashed around on full throttle all the time. I always flew it until the fuel ran out then did deadstick landings. I still have it in the attic with scraped wingtips and a cracked canopy.
But mind the second plane in the video was a vintage model even then, it's more like something from the 1960s.
I have a Sopwith Camel with a snoopy pilot my dad made in the 60's with silk span (in the attic), and I still have a CG Eaglet 50" I built as a kid around 85 or 86 (which I still fly from time to time) . I remember using a Circus radio in the 75Mhz band(US) which was pretty high-tech at the time (compared to the heathkit radio we had). Think we were using K&B and the new cheap engines from Enya. That was a cool video, brought back some memories of flying in that era.
Cheers!
Pops looked to be a very good and steady pilot. Considering the gail force winds that day, the model was remarkably well behaved.
I started flying in 1983 and flew at the Chester-le-Street Radio model Club. First model was a Leicester Model Centre Hunter 29, three channel trainer with Futaba 5LK radio and OS Max .35 engine. The biggest model I built was a 1/6 scale B-17 in 1994. Still have my aircraft and radio gear, but havent flown since 2009 having got into fullsize military vehicles in 2005. Two Jeeps and a Dodge Weapons Carrier take up all my time now.
Thank you for sharing. Made me smile and reminded me of my early days in RC. Your dad seemed like a top bloke .
@@bmidg4123 Thanks, I appreciate that.
Thanks for sharing this great film. It brings back memories of 1986 when i got my first model aeroplane, an MFA Yamamoto with an OS 40 two stroke engine. My first radio was a Futaba Challenger and 37 years later im still enjoying the hobby and im still flying my planes with a Futaba 9c super radio 2.4 . Those were happy days.
Thx for sharing that. '83 was good times for sure. Been doing flying models since the mid 60's. FF, CL, R/C. Anyone remember Western Associated Modelers aka WAM? Or Aero Modelers of San Jose ( CA )? Did CL for a few years with them. How about Wavemasters of San Jose ( still going ). I'm out in Colorado now, was in Arvada Associated Modelers for a while, but now I'm 'freelancing' lol.
В 1984 я начал заниматься электроникой на Станции юнных техников в СССР. На заднем дворе был бетонный круг, где летали такие самолёты. Однажды я нашёл выброшеный двигатель в цилиндре которого было отверстие с резьбой и болт. Попробовал завести его используя все горючие жидкости, которые нашёл у дедушки. Ничего не вышло и я вернулся к электронике.
Wow what a blast from the past!!! I started in RC around 1983 as a 15 year old kid. I spent months building a balsa plane only to have it destroyed in seconds!!! Good times...took me 30 years to get back into it and be successful!!!
Indeed - me too Jack. We must be the same age. My start was in control line at 15 (in 1983), and we could introduce our planes to the landscape with great efficiency and a high angle too! Now, all these years later I have made something of a return and enjoy RC with my son, having recently co-designed and built a plane, which is a real treat. Cheers from Sydney - Dave
Same, started at 13 in 1986. First model was crushed on the building table by a modelling catalogue that fell from the bookshelf above.
Second one crashed on its maiden. Only the third survived intact long enough to see its successor's maiden flight.
What really hit me was the sound of the servos that now somehow sound more aggressive, snappier.
Built a 5ft wingspan balsa frame glider with my best friend in '80. I flew beautifully. For 30 seconds, before deconstructing itself between two trees. But, that was always the risk!
This is sounds like my story. 1984 (15 years old) I build a Graupner Taxi just to crash it into a tree on 2nd flight. 2006 I decided to give it another try with a foam model. Today I'm 54, flying 500 Helis soft 3D and FPV drones freestyle and cinematic.
Nice clip. It brings back memories, especially the bandage on the guys finger. Building an airplane made out of balsa and fabric the whole winter, just to crash it on the first flight.😅 I'm glad l got that experience on model airplanes. Now im just about to retire as an airline captain. Maybe I'll pick up that hobby again..
I still have my original gangster wich was built in 82 or 83. I recently recovered it and still fly it to this day. Guess 40 years old now.. great video!
That's great to hear 👍
Awesome! Makes me with my 19 years of age really appreciate what we have today regarding model capability's, radio equipment camera technology and so on. Thanks for sharing!
I am 70 and I remember flying planes with wires strung between the plane and a handheld "controller" You just flew in a circle and had to spin around but that is how it was done in the 60s. I cannot imagine how things will change in the next 50 years.
Thank God for brushless motors and foam tech. I love to fly the old glow engined balsa planes once in awhile but you kinda have to be committed to that for the whole day which is fun for those days you want to do that. but 95% of the time I just like to grab a foamy electric, throw it in the car and can have many flights within an hour. EPP foamies for acrobatics which are almost indestructible and those foamie EDF jets are too cool.
@@wormhole331 Yeah, absolutely! I spent the past years developing a tandem-wing with printed frames and fancy belt driven surfaces and such, but threw together a foam plane in three days recently... Including building the wire cutter equipment. A couple of servos laying around and a completely overpowered electric engine slapped onto it with hot glue in a few hours and just sent it. Fly's perfectly. And then the advances in fiber reinforcement and resign tech. And if you want you can put an ArduPilot into the thing by swapping 10 wires, spend half an hour on the computer and have the craft automatically return to launch and fly itself if you so desire. Just mind blowing in comparison to what was possible 40 years ago.
On the other hand the most Cessna 172 in flying school are much older than this and are still the most common plane 😂
Same! At 18, I am building a 2,4m wingspan composite ultra long-range UAV platform. In the 80s, CFD and CAD programs didn't even exist, not even mentioning any flight controllers. Gyroscopes were 2kg chunks of metal back then. A self-flying RC plane was probably like science fiction back then!
Brilliant, brought back a lot of memories of flying at Barry Buddon outside Dundee in the late 70's when I was 14 and the fantastic older guys who took the time to teach me. I feel very lucky to have been a kid at that time. A lot of years later and that early interest has taken me from RC to a full sized instrument rating but the love of RC has never left and never will!
And note how much leaner people where back then. They all looked as thin as rakes. Simple times. Thanks for sharing. Bell bottom trousers and hair mullets. Happy days.
By 1983, I had been involved in model building and flying for about three years. Still going strong.
Although my training was quite a bit more formal than this, the feeling of flying something you've built yourself is the same... incomparable.
Gear down and locked!
I've often thought that Richard. The advent of ARTF models certainly brought lots of people into the hobby who may not otherwise have bothered trying it. Sadly though, it often means the skills associated with building (and repairing!) gradually fade away. I've seen perfectly repairable ARTF models burned on the flying field after a crash, simply because the owner has zero repair skills. And yes, the feeling of flying something you built yourself can't be beaten. I personally feel many of those who fly only ARTF's, are potentially missing out on 50% of the satisfaction factor of the hobby. But still, each to their own.....
@@Brian-om2hh
Hey, Brian.
There's so much I could say about this topic, I should write a book.
I've always felt an inherent responsibility to promote the hobby.
Until recently.
Traditional aeromodelling is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
So much so, it's becoming less of a hobby and more of a pastime.
Sad but true.
It's the lack of airmanship that concerns me the most. Because teaching yourself how to fly, is teaching yourself bad habits.
I was fortunate enough to have not one, but two instructors, both of whom were pattern flyers.
I'm just glad I got in when I did.
Are you building anything right now?
I'm currently working on a Stinson Voyager from a Dumas kit. Perfect for electric park scale.
Also, I have a Sig Kadet Senior in the bones, waiting for another turn at the bench.
"Always something on the board."
Peace!
AMA 550442 (ret.)
Brings back great memories of a simpler more enjoyable time in life! Thanks for the upload👍🏻✌🏻
Thankyou 👍 It really does.
It was always cold and windy. Resulting in return to kit form in 3 minutes
Couldn't agree more
@@grasub1 Or a RUD in today's terms. A Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly ;-)
I was lucky enough to be a young adult through the 80-90s, my heyday, I'd say in this current cycle history will show it as the best time to have been alive. I pity youth having to endure the current mess. Thankfully we are near a reset and this set will be had soon, and we start over. The cycles appear to run 200 years. That's on average how long it takes for the state to f things up. Free markets are great but they do require resets.
I remember being a kid just as excited to be trusted to bring the plane in, and when I was big enough to hold the frame when the old man tuned the engine. Some of the happy moments of my childhood.
Thanks. This video brings me back.
Absolutes Highlight. Da war der Pilot noch gefordert. Einfachste Technik ohne jeden schnick schnack.
This is a great old video. I started flying R/C planes in about 1980. It's fun to wonder about where all of these people are now 40 years later.
I know where one is 😊
@@dveater me too
@@dveater the surprising part is that you had a video camera in 1980 haha
@@dudeman_1970 Well 1983 ..(early adopter ;o)
And if they still have all of their fingers😂
How did we ever survive without compulsory registration, remote ID, tests and media oversight? Ah, happy days!
Great vid. Still got my Gangsta in the loft from when I was 13. I’m 48 now. You have brought back some great memories.👍
I first started flying just a couple of years after this. It's amazing how some things never change while in other ways is a different world
Fabulous, I had my first RC plane in 1978 with a four channel Futaba radio. In 1980 I bought a seven channel Kraft radio and it served me well for two decades.
Great memories.
Started with same gear, then bought absolute trash Skyleader 7 - damned useless servos that would stick at full throw. Had to re buy Futaba servos after binning to aircraft due to problem.
Thanks to all who have enjoyed watching this old footage, the views are amazing. Please like and subscribe for more.
I started RC in 1971. Before that built free flight, and hundreds of hours U-Control. Look where we are today.... simply amazing.
Hey david '71, those were the best times. Still have a trophy from a club C/L contest, but it was for ff handlaunch glider!. Some folks still do C/L, great. I went R/C and stayed R/C lol.
1983 was the end of my aeromodelling having been brought up with free flight, control line. Progressed to single channel and then digital proportional. I watch young children today with their RC boats and cars and planes and they have no idea what went on before to get them where they are today. I feel privileged to have been a part of the early days of RC with my father who started RC modelling in the 1940s.
Thanks for commenting, things have certainly moved on.
What a great video, so many memories too of me and my late dad back in the 80's. Good old days of balsa and spruce, polly pins, fibreglass, solar film, fuel, flight case making:-). Futaba challenger radio gear and making sure we had spare crystals. I remember the Gangster model, I had similar, it was the Magiacian, the smaller one to the Mystic. I could talk about this for hours, thank you so much for sharing this video.
Locally out back of local village. A bit of farmers land, fields a club goes to, seen and heard them when been up that way on the bike for a drone video (enough away and lower so ok!). Old skool fuel motors and that daft long antenna 27 mhz or so. Was what a remote control buggy I had was in 2004 or so. Nasty big antenna even 20 years after this. No smart phones and GPS. easier times but more toys now to make it so anyone can do, thinking drones with hovering. I would not want to try and plane that has to keep moving, A skill and looks like all was having fun. David there then. A comment person, 62 now. The boy be about my age now. A touch early for a camcorder as we think of it. Bet that was a camera and a separate VHS recorder in a holder, shoulder strap. Big heavy beast. Uncle Harry had one in 1982. Good video.
Simply fabulous. Those days were the best of times. 👏🏻⭐️😉
I got into RC planes around then (83) this video with the cold wind swept field in the middle of no where brings back a tons of memories (not this field). I tallied up the cost RC flying then went and got my PPL and flew for real which is a lot easier and comfortable to fly than models planes, I then made the expensive mistake of getting in to RC helli's also. When brushless motors and lipo batteries came out it was like the holly grail for me, loved it.
Great nostalgic clip, live the venerable Kamco Kadet, plane #2. This takes me back to 1978 79 at the Ivel MAC in Bedford, happy simple days. I still fly, my current flagship is an 11 foot span vintage Southerner repowered from an OS 91 FS to electric. My most recent project is an FMS P51 800mm, ready to maiden in the next few days. Happy times!
50 years ago I played with toy planes, it took me to retirement as an Airline driver👍
Similar, Started with RC planes in 1978, got a Commercial licence in 1986, now flying a Global 7500 Corporate Jet internationally but still love anything RC that flies.
Nice video, sweet memories. I started age 12 in 1980 in a club in Bruges, Belgium. Really taught me a lot. Also to have patience, especially while building. Had about 10 models, last one was a Glasfiber Hawk MK2 I ordered from England. Great plane, only flew once, still exists in perfect condition. Had to stop because of poor study results at the time. My ❤ remains there
I started flying in the mid 70's with Skyleader 2 channel very different to todays models. And much more expensive it took me 6 months saving with a full time job to buy this 2 channel set and a KeilKraft kit.
Good old days... no gyro, no flight controller... just pure fun flying : )
Oh, and no brainless fellow flying a FPV multirotor just meters away from a departing airliner.
No wonder this fantastic hobby is in trouble.
I started in rc planes in 2000, no big differences from this movie. In fact my first 2 landings, resembled these very much. I had (still have) a 4 channel FM Futaba, and a Kyosho trainer. Now the last 20 years is a completly different story, in terms of RC planes evolution.
Just like my! But first, for few years I flown gliders,- Thats was big experience which gave me a solid foundation - thanks to this, later when I was flying acrobats and warbirds, there were crashes not much.
@@Adek29Ma Yes, I also fly gliders now, I discover gliding 1 year after begining, and I find gliders much more interesting.
Fantastic to see back the good old days, reminds me off my days before, great video 👍🙂
The person doing the camera work does a good job of keeping the model in frame.
Brings back some warm memories of many years ago! And I see the landing skills of this pilot are not much better than my own landing skills...
Love it, complete with authentic plaster on damaged finger. He did have an electric starter, but its still easy to get bitten adjusting the needle valve!
Making adjustments with bandaged finger... my favourite bit of the film ;o)
That weather though.
Brilliant video! That was a Precedent High Boy later on in the film - the plane I learned to fly on in 1983. That died on my school playing fields when I was showing off doing loops and the wings folded. Also had the bigger Gangster 63 (plus countless other models). I used to fly up at Penalt club by Monmouth as a kid and looked forward to Sundays so much, rushing through our Sunday roast so me and my dad could get up the club and usually sit in the club caravan because it was raining 🙂 So many fantastic memories. I tried to get back into flying a couple of years ago, but it just isn't the same. Too many rules and regulations and I really cannot get my head around the electric models. Still have about 15 powered models in the loft (Mystics, Wot 4's, numerous gliders etc). Maybe one day when I have more time I shall start again........ thanks for bringing back the memories!
Just go fly in a quiet park. I have returned to the sport too and find it's much more enjoyable this way. I thought I would dislike electric too but it has its advantages. I don't miss having to wash castor oil off everything after a morning's flying and, unlike an old OS46, won't randomly quit on you at the worst possible moment!
The most important part of electric rc flying imho is getting to know how lipo batteries work and how they charge and get to recognize a healthy battery from a deteriorating one. Luckily today we have brilliant 'intelligent' battery chargers for cheap prices, you just need to learn how to interpret the charger data readings: Cell voltage, charging current, battery capacity, battery cells internal resistance etc. It's not that difficult if you read a lot on the subject, of watch TH-cam videos. My dad's been into rc (mainly boats) since the 1950's and that's how I got into the hobby, thanks to him. He is 81 and still drives his boats every Summer. I have rc cars and trucks, a speedboat, and 4 planes. Speedboat had a nitro engine originally, but we later converted it to electric ⚡ power with a beast of a brushless motor. Nice video ... gets me a bit nostalgic about those simpler times the 70's 80's and 90's ..... no internet no bloody mobile phones and no toxic social media. Cheers and happy landings!!
It reminds me of when I was a little kid around that time and my grandad used to fly rc planes.
I have a few of his old glow plug and diesel engines. I did build a super cub plane that was pretty big when I was a teenager but never ended up flying it. I still have my early 90's futaba radio gear and servo's but I reckon the batteries will be no longer any good. Back then I stole a great book from my school library 'Modern Aeromodelling by R G Moulton' which was from the mid 50's and is a great book if you are into RC aircraft. Reading that book used to really inspire me.
Looks like a Gangster 63. My late father's Gangster 63 is still in our garage, with its HP 61 engine. I was a kid when he used to fly it, 40 odd years ago.
Love the vintage footage.
Good show!
Ahh, the sights and sounds bring back a flood of memories. My older brother and I got into R/C planes back in the late 60's. I started out single channel with the old galloping ghost system that was rudder control only. The smell of nitro fuel and castor oil would last on my clothes for days ;-)
Ah the bad old days, with screaming and greasy two strokes and crashes because of crystal mix-ups. But still fun, dan't get me wrong 😉 I don't fly anymore myself (maybe when the kids are older...) but with brushless electric motors, lithium batteries, and frequency hopping radios things have gotten much better.
Nice to see this view into the past.
Hi from the Netherlands.
True, the days of coloured pegs clipped to the transmitters, glad I recorded it all those years ago though. 😄
If you thought that was fun (don't get me wrong, it is lol), you should feel how it is to fly miles away from yourself with an hd fpv system on board
@@mythrillium2 While that seems very cool to me, and I love watching YT videos about people doing that, it has two problems for me:
1) I get motion sickness sitting in front of running washing machine. Someone let me watch FPV once of a drone flying calmly around the room, and I had to take off the FPV goggles within a minute. It's not for me.
2) In my country (the Netherlands) it's not allowed to fly beyond line of sight. Flying FPV is legal, but you have to have a spotter to maintain direct visibility.
@@mythrillium2 link a video .
Sanwa Black Custom transmitter on the floor. The best radio Sanwa ever made..... My first decent new set was a Flight Link Sovereign, bought new in October 1975 (I still have it).......it cost me £175. Would be £800 to £1000+ now..... First decent new engine was an OS .30, which cost me £10.99 in 1973....... I've been flying 100% electric for years now. Even the sound of those engines on the video made me wince.....
Something beautifulm, memories of those years came flooding back.Thank you and regards :)
need to see these folks now whoever left
no problem determining the wind direction...classic video and reminds me of the old days on 35mhz and one thing more to worry about...an ariel
1983 was the year I learned to fly RC planes I was 14 and I’m still doing it today
Awesome, my first stint in RC was during the mid 70's - it was a different time.
Awesome vintage footy! Gotta love hand launching a nitro plane! 83 was a good year!
Does anyone remember the Friday Film Special "Sky Pirates" ? This reminds me of that short film which got me hooked on model planes. Nice video.
I remember watching at Doncaster airport late 70s early 80s ,great days when you could still afford biscuits 😅🇬🇧🙏
Thank you for sharing. I wish my kids were that interested in my planes. But at the same time, I enjoy the quiet solo visits to the field and occasional club members.
Yes, it's a challenge. A couple of years ago I put it to my son (11 at the time) to design and scratch build an RC plane together, which we did. To my delight, he became quite interested, learned to fly RC on a sim and next year, at 14 he will start actual flying lessons with the Australian Air Force, first gliding then in a DA-40. Perhaps a build together might kick things off! I wish you luck - cheers from Sydney, Dave
It is unfortunate that more of us youth are not interested in this hobby. It's absolutely amazing, and utmost rewarding!
So much fun to be had. Following from my post above, here's a short vid my son and I made of the build and attempt at flight (too gusty on the day) if you're interested: th-cam.com/video/_hjK549euos/w-d-xo.html
He remains very interested in the whole RC thing, building etc. and we enjoy doing these things together. Speaking as a dad, one of the secrets is no passive tech - our kids have dumb phones, no iPads and no computer games. They are both at top selective schools in Sydney and are having a ball, while many of their friends are exhausted all the time, getting unfit, hopeless at sports, bored all the time etc. having become slaves to their devices. My tough stance on this stuff has paid well and my kids are very grateful. 🙂
Hope you enjoy the vid! Cheers - Dave
@@abcdefg4570 Great that you're into it! Do you build as well?
@@deldridg Yeah! I've been developing UAV systems for one and a half years now. Currently, I am working on a 2.5m wingspan 4kg fiberglass laminated ultra long-range UAV, with an estimated flight time of 3 hours. It was rather difficult to get started at 16 with no prior experience. It has been an incredibly complex journey. From learning what components are needed to learning to solder to building a hotwire CNC machine for foam wings to learning CFD and CAD design, laminate fiberglass and build an antenna tracker system. Luckily, with the help of the internet and thousands of hours of research, trial and error, sweat and tears, anything is possible nowadays!
Just like all the other comments, fantastic old video thanks for posting it 👍
Gosh where they not just the greatest of days back then 😀😀😀😀 thanks for sharing this 😀😀
Great memories. That's the year I started this wonderful hobby with a SIG Kadet.
The good old days when you could find an empty field miles from anywhere and fly without any issues, 1983 i was just starting on planes (a Junior 60 to learn with) after a few good years racing model cars.
Hand launching a glow plane? Wow, pretty impressive but boy if there's an issue that wouldn't end well. Great video though. Brings back memories of my getting started with a Sig Kadet MKII back in the late 80's.
This brings back some memories thanks guys 😂👍
The days before the local councils banned everything.
Ahhh yes ,the old band aid on the finger…..!
That takes me back.. the model looks like a Gangster but hard to tell which size
It's a gangster alright. Great plane..
Pretty sure its a gangster 52, which is a great plane, I still have my 52 and the 83"
Wonderful, thanks very much for sharing, somewhere like what I come from in the Westcountry. I was flying gliders then because I couldn't afford a motor.
Thanks, the guy launching was a glider flyer also, usually off Draycot Steeps perhaps you know it?
The good old days!
That third plane looks like an "Astro-Mite. A neighbor gave me an unfinished model and I finished it before I ever had a motor for it. It ended up being rekitted. About ten years ago I found another one, unbuilt. One of these days...
Thanks for sharing! Good flying in that wind.
That looks like a Mick Reeves Gangster. A very good flyer which I had back then. An updated version of the kit using laser cut parts is still available. He’s using Flightlink R/C, a British made high quality system.
Yes, I thought it looked like a gangster 52.
It was actually a Sanwa Black Custom radio in the video. I owned 2 Flight Link Sovereign sets ( I still have one I bought new in 1975) and there are no silver or chrome circular details on the front of them. They were all completely black, apart from the FLC logo in the bottom corner of the transmitter case......the aerial also exited the transmitter case to one side of the top of the tx case on Flight Link sets, instead of centrally, as on this Sanwa set..... the aerial was extremely long on FLC sets too, at around 6 foot in length. FLC used analogue signals rather than digital. It was the only set around with a built in integral failsafe.....FLC servos were relatively inexpensive to buy, despite being high quality. The servos contained no electronics, only the motors and the cut brass gear trains. All the servo electronics were in the receivers......
@@Brian-om2hh I was confused by the black colour which was unusual for the period. I flew Futaba M (buff colouri), Fleet (blue) and Skyleader (yellow). Flightlink was high quality but, as I recall, expensive.
Yikes! Brings back memories!
1985 I started flying. After coming home from the Army. (I was bored). 60 size telemaster. Went thru everything including 50 size thundertiger helicopters. Quit early 2000's. Got back into flying 11-2019. Everything changed🤦♀️.
TBH, I don't miss my fuel days & pcm/fm, cleaning nitro off everything including me, etc.
My pcm tx was the futaba 8UAH.
When I was younger, if you were lucky you got to clean off all the castor oil blown down the fus and wings 😅
I just finished building a Telemaster 72. My third one since the 1980's... One of the nicest flying models ever....
the days of, if you wanted to fly you had to build
04:48 love the bandage on his finger :) good vid
I started in control line in 1973, RC n 1981. Biggest plane I had was a Christen Eagle with a K&B .40.. Futaba electrics.
What a blast. A great upload !
Nice job brings back memories of when I first started thanks
My first low wing airplane, the Gangster 52.
I remember these days very well
Interesting to see how things were back in the olden days! I started building long-range UAVs at age 16, 1.5 years ago. Now, I'm CFD, CAD designing and building sophisticated 2.5m wingspan composite ultra long-range UAVs with autopilots, digital radio systems, antenna trackers, gimbal cameras, and everything. It's crazy that a regular person can do these things for relatively cheap. The technology of today, including computers, flight controllers, batteries, cheap Chinese electronics, open-source CFD and CAD programs, and everything else, is absolutely insane! I am excited for what the future will bring! Flight controllers will probably have an AI implemented in them soon too. I still have over 50 years left on Earth, hopefully! No matter what the regulations are going to be by the bureaucrats, the police will have to drag me to jail for me to stop flying.
Love it,,,, I had a gangster 52, with an OS 40, which I flew at Sutton park, near Bham. My Dad would hand launch it inverted, as it was easier to hold and throw. But pretty nerv-racking.
awesome nice, that old school, greetings from Remi from Belgium
The golden era my time.
‘Hope everybody on this video remain in good shape 40 years later down the road.🤗🥳
I was flying back then I had a super sportster that looked a lot like this plane i made it like a 30s racer and called it the 8 ball special loved that plane
Brings back memories of my time in GB. Flying field with no amenities because anything left behind would be stolen or vandalised. Grass area often too long to take off from and anway uneven. Good comradship and the weather was not always that bad. Has anthing changed?
Beautiful landing. Those old gas engines sound really cool.
Nitro fuel*
2:50 - The first recorded "You're not putting this on TH-cam, are you?"-moment.
when I entered this hobby in 2008 the price per model was still very expensive because everything had to be imported, I imagined 1983 might cost a house for that plane 🙂
Ich liebe diese alten Videos... 👍👌🇩🇪
I remember those days. When we had to run with plane and throw it in the air.
Except we use to run at the landing speed so we could catch it easily..
He landed like I land my drones.
In those halcyon days we built our own models and wouldn't have dreamt of buying them ready-built from China!
Brings back GTA Vice City memories...
Ah the good ol' days, the smell of nitro fumes, 27mhz controllers hoping that nobody is close by dxing on their CB rradio⚠️😲😳
Not a lipo in sight...
Look at those haircuts and 'retro 'outfits!😲😳
All we're missing is a Depeche Mode soundtrack...
Best decade by far, things were so much simpler.
These guys are heroes.
I think the radio is a Sanwa "custom" which i had in the mid 80s second hand and lasted for years until I replaced it with a JR Apex 8 which was a whole different world!
I think you are right 👍
Joyous video...thanks
The best days 👍
Those where the days. I had a gangster back then too, they were very popular in the 80s .
Good launch! I can almost smell the fuel