Bobe's Hobby House
5719 North "W" Street, Pensacola, FL 32505


New Radio Control Announcements for 2003-4!!!

Probably the biggest announcement in Radio Control this year was from Hobbico. They announced the NexSTAR Select RC Trainer. This looks to be the best way to get started flying RC Gas planes yet! It is an ARF that is easier to build and fly than anything else previously on the market. This includes an OS .46fxi engine, and a Futaba 4YBF already mounted. It also includes a CD with the RealFlight R/C Simulator NexSTAR Edition. This is a flight simulator for your PC that hooks to the radio in the set so you can practice flying your plane without ever leaving the house! It is programmed with all the features of your trainer so that you can get a feel for flying without the risk of crashing! The set also includes the AFS Active Flight Stabilization module. This is basically like an auto-pilot of sorts! If you start to get in trouble, just take your hands off the sticks, and it will return itself to level flight! Another headache for beginners is eliminated by the addition of a limiter on the needle valve on the engine. This keeps the beginning flyer from leaning out the fuel mixture too much. The plane itself also has several improvements over previous models. The wing is mounted witha new pivotflex mounting which combines the advantages of rubber bands and nylon bolt mountings previously available. The wing features SpinControl Airfoil Extensions to help fight stalls at low speeds, and SpeedBrakes Training Flaps to limit airspeed and increase stability. The CenterCore main wing rib makes for a secure, aligned, and easy fit to the wing halves. The tail mounting system has also been improved. The landing gear is Duraluminum and simply snaps into place. And one of the neatest features of all this, is that the features that make it such a great trainer can be adjusted or removed as you gain skill, making this a good second plane as well as your first! Stop by the store to get more info! These should be arriving in early November.

A couple of other neat items at the show were from Megatech. They have released a new Electric Park flyer for the lower priced end of the spectrum. We already carry the Firebird Outlaw, at about $50.00. The Outlaw is a twin engined, thrust vectoring aircraft. Basically it turns by changing the speed of one motor or the other, and climbs or drops based on the speed of both motors. Megatech's Cosmic Flyer will be a somewhat more traditional design for the same basic price range. It is a single engined pusher with a traditional tail. Rather than the V-tail of the more familiar Firebird series, this has an actual rudder and tail! Look for these soon!

Another interesting release from Megatech is the Helichoppers 2 channel Radio Control Helicopter. This is a completely assembled RC helicopter for under $100.00! It has independently controlled main and tail rotors, a 500 foot range, and can fly over 70 feet high. This looks like the least expensive and easiest way ever to fly an RC Helicopter!

Estes has announced a new Hydrogen Fuel Rocket that runs off tap water! This sounds like a great science project. The rocket even has a helicopter recovery system!

Another growing area in the RC world is the tiny toy type RC Vehicles. This year I found a new line of small RC boats. We have just received the shipment of 47' Coast Guard Cutters that are approximately 1/100 scale (5" long). They were demonstrating them in a fish tank size pool! Another amazingly small RC item was the 1/144 Tiger II. This should be arriving soon. Speaking of tanks, we also just got in a set of 1/35 King Tiger's that have infrared battle action, and sound! We also have received the world's smallest RC car at 1 1/4" long. It's amazing what they're doing these days.

While we are on the trend of smaller things, that was true in RC Cars as well. Losi showed their 1/18 Scale Electric RC Cars, and they looked good! There will be hop-up kits for these as well.

There was of course far more at the show, but that is the highlights as I saw them

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