Diseasel or Leccy?

[Stew]

Hi chaps.

Would you consider yourself a die-hard diesel head? Do you love glow power? Or do you like clean hands and models and you've gone all electric now?

[Sundancer]

From getting y first engine - the inevitable E.D. Bee at the age of 11 I was a rabid power enthusiast for many years graduating through racing diesels to Cox TDs, but since I first started flying R/C Thermal contests in 1975 I have hardly flown an IC powered model; when giving up contest flying in 1990 electric was the natural home for me, first of all with electric soarers and then adding sport, scale and vintage "power" models,so I have not owned an IC powered model for over 30 years and I certainly don't miss the mess or the noise problems and can get all the performance I could ever want from my electrics. I do admit to having test flown the odd IC model for other people, but I am very careful not to handle them until they have been cleaned down!!! Odd to remember back in the late 1950's when we used to travel home by bus from team race practice sessions at Doncaster Airfield covered in a glistening coat of castor which made us very popular with the other passengers!

[Colonel Blink]

Electric all the way! Considering that I have spent 40 years of my working life with the technical side of the infernal combustion engine (mainly diesels), my relationship with model aircraft engines has not been a happy one. I primarily had dealings with only two in my schooldays - a DC Merlin (actually owned by my elder brother) which I struggled to start at any time, and which ended up flying away pulling brother's KK Snipe behind it; and a McCoy 049 which I could start easily at home, but which I never managed to get running for more than a few seconds when up the local park. Having said that, I have recently inherited a vertical intake 1.5cc PAW which I have felt duty bound to build a C/L model around (Mercury Viper - bigger brother to the Mamba which turned in and chased me on its first flight, the DC Merlin hated me that much). I'll give it a go, but I expect to convert it to electric (R/C on/off throttle) in fairly short order.

Hence as a youngster, I mainly flew gliders; one exploding rubber motor was enough, thank you. I would even go as far as to say that model aircraft engines reinforced my absence from the aeromodelling scene for a large period of my adult life; it's only since the advent of viable (and affordable) electric setups that I have returned.

That's not to say that I don't like models with I/c engines (especially Vintage diesels), but it's not for me, thanking you most kindly............!

[PaulJ]

A large part of what we do is nostalgia and "going back to our roots". For me, a huge part of my modelling roots was castor oil, the smell of ether and struggling to start reluctant diesels. So for "retro" models, electric just doesn't do it....... a Poppet, Debutant, Tomboy or whatever, just HAS to have a diesel and building and flying these models is just a way of flying my diesels!

Paul

[RON]

building and flying these models is just a way of flying my diesels!

Paul

I can understand that, similar for me, the aircraft is just a way of flying my radio gear so electric is ok for that.

Ron

[Stew]

I am an Aspergers 'Sufferer?' so for me I have to constantly fight against what I see as right and proper, and what I see as unacceptable. (to me).
When I build a model it has to be 'pure', so for my Poppet for example, it has to be built as Free Flight, and it would have to have a Diesel engine, as that is what it was designed for.
I may fit an electric motor and R/C later, but I wouldn't ever be totally happy with it. I'd want to be, but it would never 'sit' right with me.
If I built a Sharkface, it would have to have the escapement as on the plan. and a buzzy little glow motor, If I built an RC model, it would have to have been designed for RC.
These things may cause me hassle, and be difficult to achieve, but the purity has it's reward.
I may divert from these ideals, but I would never be quite satisfied. I'm always looking for the pure experience.
I love diesels, the smell, the sound, the simplicity, but unfortunately I simply can't afford to put a diesel in every model I build. I really only like to buy them new, or from someone I really trust.
When you have this level of thought and involvement in things, its hard to keep a hobby fun, but I do get so much out of it. It's not just the models, but the people and the places too. There's so much to like.
I love diesel, electric, glow, rubber, Co2, but they have to be in the right model! I wish things were different!

[PaulJ]

building and flying these models is just a way of flying my diesels!

Paul

the aircraft is just a way of flying my radio gear
Ron

That too! Phil's various emulators and encoders have enabled me to fly with many of the radios that I coveted back in the day and these simple models are just a way of doing that.

I think one of the great things about this hobby is that it encompasses so many different facets. You can just do whatever feels right for you and nobody else will pass judgement...... and frankly, I wouldn't care if they did!

Paul

[Stew]

I don't think I'll ever loose the fascination of pressing a simple button and seeing the rudder flipping this way and that. It feels very right, bringing something right down to it's essence. An on-off switch, and a button, in these days of endless menus and complication it's a true tonic to commit aviation with something so simple.

[Colonel Blink]

I am an Aspergers 'Sufferer?' so for me I have to constantly fight against what I see as right and proper, and what I see as unacceptable. (to me).

You have my greatest admiration for your daily fight against yourself. I am a bit OCD (I insist on all my work shirts being at one end of the wardrobe and all facing the same way, socks always have to be pegged on the line in pairs etc; and I'm uncomfortable if they are not) and I find even this a real pain in the backside a lot of the time, so what you have to go through I don't envy.

[Sundancer]

Well Colonel, as I am probably as far from OCD as it is possible to be - at least that is my dear wife's view as my untidiness and general casual approach to life drives her to distraction - I am in awe of people who are (un)naturally tidy. My general view of vintage models is that I simply want to fly them, and electric power and current radio makes it incredibly easy and satisfying to have many of the models I built first time round back in the day, such as my KK Bandit, flying so beautifully and safely with little or no chance of loss or damage unless I do something stupid. Yes, I enjoyed these models first time around, but I also acknowledge that if the wonders of affordable out-runner motors, lipo batteries and featherweight proportional radio had been available to me back in 1955, I would DEFINITELY have been using them! However if, for whatever reason, people prefer to stick with the original power and flight mode then fine by me as long as they are enjoying themselves.