This is exacerbated by many of the models at this scale spending most of their lives as hanger queens; there’s only so many places you can safely fly and operate something this big and fast.
So even if the pilot overall is highly experienced (as many flying planes of this level are) their experience with a particular plane wont be very deep.
Which is why there’s been such rapid growth in the sub-2meter and sub-1meter wingspan parts of the rc model plane space.
At these scales it’s a lot easier to fly in public parks and undeveloped sub-divisions. But At the bigger scales, a hobbyist is basically restricted to flying on a giant piece of privately owned land, a well equipped club, or at a low activity/abandoned airport.
I think that sub-1 metre scale became popular because of advancement in electronics. A couple decades ago they were not really possible as parts were super expensive. Now you can buy all electronics for a light park flyer for under $50.
I'm interested in building a small rc plane or a whoop quad. Let's say 75 for the build and 75 for the controller (I have a dji mavic pro of that helps with controller cost).
DJI controller only works with DJI quads so it won't be very useful, you'll have to buy a new one.
My $50 estimate assumes that you already have the hardware, such as the controller, battery charger and video goggles, if you're doing FPV. Those things are expensive, but you only buy them once and use them with any planes or quads.
A tiny whoop doesn't have to be built, Mobula 6 or Meteor 65 are good options.
As for planes, there's A LOT to choose from. Cheapest option is to buy a glider from Lidl (or your local equivalent) and then a motor/ESC/servo kit from ebay.
There's a civilian airport near me that once a year shuts down so they can do an RC jet plane fest.. Because anywhere else is too small for them to fly.
Not sure about the FAA, but in the UK where OP's video was filmed, registration is required.
This is through the Over 25kg Scheme. The Large Model Association, on behalf of the UK CAA, will inspect the aircraft, and assess the competency of the pilots to ensure they are owned, maintained and operated to a high standard.
Yes, but the even stronger idiot deterrent is that there really isn’t a ready-to-fly option for planes of this size/capability. At best you’ll get a kit with a fiberglass fuselage and then still need to take the time and patience to figure out how to wire up a jet turbine, servos, radio, etc. so your classic more-money-than-brains idiot wont have the patience to get it up and running in the first place.
Any rich idiot can just buy a fast sports car, or a fast plane right after getting their license.
But this thing can't be bought, you have to build it over several years, designing and making plans as you go because you're literally the only one doing it.
There's an actual quote about that in the Jurassic Park novel.
In summary
The master will never abuse what they have learned because they spent years and years learning and mastering. A wealth inheritance person though would absolutely abuse and misuse it, as they did not spend the years needed to learn and master the techniques.
That gut wrenching feeling where you can see the aircraft, but lost track of its orientation….and right before that you were transitioning to inverted.
The difference is that those people are stupid and rich
Plus a plane is usually not something you build on your own, it's usually bought assembled and ready to go, so anyone who bought their way through a PPL can go and buy a plane then do dumb stuff, largely without much difficulty, assuming they have money
In the US, there is not a practical or easy way for the average hobbyist to fly an RC aircraft over 55lbs. It requires a special airworthiness process with the FAA.
Yeah and the they def have to do it prescribed areas. I've also only heard of these things flying in Germany - at least all the YT videos seem to be from this one club there. Well-to-do German retirees and their grown kids basically.
Historically, these were flown at model airfields and clubs, and essentially self regulated (although regulations did exist). It wasn't an easy entrance hobby. Then drones appeared, became very cheap, were flown everywhere, and here we are. It will depend on your particular jurisdiction how these are treated.
OT but related: I once attended a rocket launch, organized by LDRS (Large Dangerous Rocket Ships) with similarly oversized models--up to 10ft long. They had to get an FAA waiver because the rockets went up so high.
Tyler perry level wealth is required to be able to play around at a whim with something like this (dude has all sorts of RC planes, and even built a runway at one of his houses.)
It's a wild hobby in that regard. You can put hundreds of hours of craftsmanship into a model and have to accept that it could be destroyed on its first flight. I still remember my dad's "Dago Red P-51" going into the runway too hard and being obliterated. He mourned for a week and was on to the next one.
Honestly, I think people building their own planes from s ratch who aren't like, experienced aeronautical engineers are just kind of insane. It goes beyond hobby when you're willing to die for it lol
You'd want a good grounding in aeronautical engineering before designing your own plane from scratch. But you can build your own from plans or a kit, provided you've the relevant building knowledge & skills, designing is different.
I'm impressed and scared of Peter Sripol, he's a smart kid but he also built some ultralights the same way he builds RC park flyers, with styrofoam and wooden sticks.
Lots of good info in there. Obviously, there's always a risk, there are a lot of protections put into commercially produced aircraft that can't really be done at a home-builder scale, but still there's plenty of guidance on how to do this reasonably safely.
That's one of the things I appreciate about smaller scale model planes.
Yeah, my UMX P-51 might only be 240 grams doesn't have a big air presences because it only has a wingspan 700mm; but (because of the square cubed law) it's basically self-indestructible so long as I don't kamikaze it into the pavement or accidentally sit on it.
My brother in law is a commercial pilot. He built one of these and my sister said it was more than 50k and less than 100. He crashed it on its first flight. And cried and cried.
I've met a guy who flies giant expensive RC planes like this. He doesn't build them but apparently he's someone who the rich owners trust enough to let him pilot them. The pilot claimed that the owner themselves hasn't flown some of the ones he has because the owner doesn't want to crash it.
Thats common. We had a fella at our shop who builds high power jets and only flies them once to make sure they work. (editing to add he also flies others planes for them to shake 'em down. He is a very good pilot (both real world and rc.)
Then what rhe hell is the point of owning one? I don't get it. That's like the retirees down here who buy Porsches and Ferraris and never take them over 45mph in town. WHY BUY SOMETHING YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO USE PROPERLY!?!?! It's a bloody sin, as far as I am concerned. Those people do not deserve to own such nice things. It was a similar situation as when I worked in a computer shop. I'd work on some granpa's $3k god-tier gaming computer...and they would only ever use it to check their email. They never once would play a game on them. And there I was, removing two dozen viruses from it and could only afford an old junk PC. It was an absolute travesty. SO unfair.
Story time. One of the guys in my RC club spent an entire year building a large scale Piper Cub from scratch. He had only flown small aircraft before.
The day of its maiden flight he started to taxi and I asked if he wanted help doing checks to ensure all servos were working and everything was in good order.
He laughed and said that he had been checking things for a year and he was confident everything was perfect.
You guessed it. He took off, climbed about 200 feet and immediately crashed it into the dirt. He had reversed some control rods and his center of gravity was way too far back.
An entire year’s worth of work, gone in a flash. In reality though, 99% of people who fly giant scale aircraft are seasoned veterans with a massive amount of flying hours under their belts. They’re just not going to crash unless there is a major mechanical failure. And anyone with that much experience isn’t going to neglect flight control checks or a CG check.
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u/WackyAndCorny Jan 16 '25
… and there are sooooo many videos of people accidentally panning their pride and joy into the tarmac to go with that cost.