Ep 0 – Introductions

Welcome to the Aviation RC Noob Podcast. You found us! Listen in to meet Matt and Joe, the Mentor and the Noob. In this episode we introduce ourselves and talk about how we began in the hobby, why we are starting the show, and what we hope everyone can get out of it.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome to the Aviation RC News Podcast. You found us. My name is Matt on Money, the places around the Internet, forums, YouTube, whatnot I have managed to call myself Foamy DM. So sometimes you’ll see me there, and let me tell you how I got started. About three years back, for my birthday, I saw these drones. They looked really cool, those little pocketsized ones. So I went to my local hobby store. I picked one up, and while I was investigating which one to pick up, I saw this really cool video on first person view stuff, which is this tiny little camera stuck on top of this itty bitty drone flown inside, and it was done by flight test. And if you don’t know about flight test, we’ll talk about it in more detail. But they’re a company that basically said, we’ve got to make this more accessible. And they ended up making a video after going down the rabbit hole with them. They have a video 100 miles an hour under $100. I said what? That’s baloney. So I watched the video, and I said, wow, that’s incredible. That’s too good to be true. I kept researching, and sure enough, for $100, I could get all the components I needed battery charger, transmitter, all the motor stuff, and enough foam and components to put a plane together and fly it. And so I said, all right, I’m in. And at that point, I haven’t looked back. Okay, I’ve looked back, but it’s been full steam ahead since. How about you, Joe? Well, to be fair or to be honest, you got me involved in it. We’ve been playing D and E together for two years, probably. And I remember you were getting involved in the RC aviation stuff, specifically flight test and their stuff, and you were getting involved, and you were super excited. You’re like, Man, Joe, you got to do this. You got to try this out. And at the time, I just couldn’t really get into it. But recently, I’ve been able to, and I’ve always loved flying flight sims, so being able to get into a hobby that lets me build and fly planes relatively cheaply has so far been an enjoyable experience. Awesome. And I can kind of tell that when we were talking, it’s part of why I kept going, come on, Joe, you should do this. So with introductions out of the way, matthew, you wanted to start up this podcast. I’m curious, what can the listener expect moving forward? I guess we can start off with, why did you want to host a podcast in the first place? Okay. When I started this, I kind of ran into a bunch of hurdles. Not even hurdles, just a bunch of hiccups and little things that everybody runs into. And I’m stubborn and I don’t listen. And I pretty much did everything they said, don’t do this. And I went and did it anyway and found out exactly why shortly afterwards. And so while I was going through all that stuff, I’m like, man, I should be documenting this. So that somebody who’s like what should me as a noob learn from other people who did dumb things and maybe I can avoid doing some of those things. And I’m thinking what a great way. But then to build a podcast that says, hey, you’re new. I was new, this is what I did and it was a bad idea, don’t do this. And here’s maybe some things you can try that might be better. So that way when you’re going through it, it’s not such maybe either a financial hardship or an emotional hardship or time hardship that it can be anyway. And the other thing is, recently I’ve noticed that there’s all these podcasts that I was listening to and like three out of the five that I was listening to having to do with this hobby ended up just stopping. It’s the natural progression of things. You kind of do it, it’s a lot of work, but you start running out of topics or life moves on. It just becomes something that they just had to stop for one reason or another. And I’m like, wow, there’s not really many people to listen to. I’m like, maybe this is a good time to do that documentation. And it happened to be at about the same time is when I saw this really well priced everything. A used kid, basically a guy who started, got everything and then went, I got too much other things to do, I’m never going to get into this. Here’s all my stuff real cheap. And I looked at it and I saw this is everything a new person wants. I’m like, I know a guy and I’ve got two kids and maybe they’re the ones who are going to have this. I said, either way, let me get a hold of this kit and I’m going to find somebody soon enough and hopefully get them going and it’ll be a lot of fun. So I got that started. That kit ended up coming to me. I bought that kit from you, which was my real introduction into it and getting started and being able to build and craft my first plane and fly it. The next question I would have for you. I was laughing because technically your wife bought it when you weren’t looking. I had to tell you that it was already sold and you were so disappointed. And I’m like, I can’t tell you because it’s a surprise. She definitely bought it out from under me, but it all works out. That means you have her blessing, which makes everything so much easier. Yeah. Okay, so you had a question. So with introductions out of the way, I’m curious, what can our listeners expect from this podcast? Why did you want to host a podcast in the first place? That’s a good question, Joe. Well, I’ve been an avid consumer of nearly everything having to do with this hobby over the last three years. It’s something that I’ve really enjoyed getting into. And I’ve listened a lot of podcasts over the time and tried to find new ones as I go. And I’ve noticed that while there’s a handful that have been there for a while, most of them kind of come and go. And lately a lot of them have kind of just left the podcast field and there’s almost like this big gap. And I thought maybe this is the time to do that idea I had way back when I started this. And you’re wondering, what were you thinking of it? My point was I was like, man, I should record all this stuff because if I can stop anybody from making the same mistakes I’m making and man, I swear I made everything. I have Bill’s loss syndrome. One of the guys on the forum, his name is Bill and he has this thing where everything that can go wrong will go wrong for him no matter what everybody else says would likely happen. So as I continue, I see more and more benefits of, boy, if I just kind of, like, captured that experience, maybe somebody else coming into the hobby can listen to it, listen to me talk about it, and kind of go, oh, wow, okay, mental note, don’t do that. Or, I was just about to do that. I don’t think I’m going to try this other thing that he suggested. Or maybe they’ll do like me and go barrel ahead and do it anyway, but at least they maybe knew better anyway. But I wanted to capture this long while back when I started, and I wasn’t able to. I was in a very different spot. And so the point of this is then I want to reduce the barrier to enter into this hobby, much like flight test does with the way they do things. They make it very inexpensive materials and they’re they really take your hand and hold it through the whole build, design and release process. They try to get it so that you don’t have to rebuy things as you learn, boy, that was a mistake. I can’t use this ESC with this motor or this transmitter is worthless. This is really a bad choice. So I want to reduce it with that. But I want to reduce the barrier to entry of experience. Like it takes a lot of skill to be able to get into the air and have a plane stay there and bring it down to the ground. I mean, heck, it always will come to the ground eventually, but one of the things is you don’t want to come down very fast, otherwise you won’t have a plane tomorrow. But crashing is part of the deal. I mean, anybody who’s ever picked up a simulator and tried to fly a plane has probably crashed at least a dozen times before. They got the hang of it. And then there’s a lot of things to know and there’s a lot of great resources to go to, to learn more. I’m not going to be the end all, be all. Heck, I’m still learning a ton of things. But if I can help anybody kind of cut to the chase or head the gaps off at the path, as it were, and learn a little bit more or know where to go to get what they need to know to be able to succeed, man, I want to do that because this is a lot of fun, right? Right. You got to know failure is part of this. You’re going to try stuff and it’s like you might be like, hey, I can fly. I can fly good, and you’re flying good. And then you go, let me take I want to try this new thing. And of course that’s when it doesn’t go like you thought and you crashed into the ground, that’s just part of it. Any time you try something new, it might not work like you thought. And in aviation, failure means it’s probably going to crash. So it’s okay as long as you know that that’s part of it, you accept it and go, okay, but if you learned how to build it, you can learn how to repair it and you could keep moving with the hobby. And then of course, the other half I wanted to know is I’ve been doing this mostly by myself as far as like, I joined a field, but I don’t really hang out with anybody there. I’ve joined a couple of forums, but a lot of people it’s easy to be alone and hobby, right, or feel you’re really alone. And that’s one of the great things about listening to some of the podcasts is that I realize I’m not alone. I’m not the only one taking my planes and tanking into a tree or on a building into a concrete patch, like the only concrete patch in a field. And I find it like, yeah, it happens. And to hear other people talk about it made me feel a little bit better when I did it, too. And then, of course, when you hear everybody talk about their experiences and other podcasts and I’m hoping that they’re going to hear the same thing here, is that despite all these difficulties and all these trials and things amidst it is elation, pure joy. And it’s a lot of fun when you get something that you’ve been trying really hard to succeed. And it does. It’s amazing. And then when you find that plane, it’s just your jam. It’s like the kind of flying you love and you find a plane that matches that. Then you go, you know what I want to do? I’m going to go out and do this. And I know it’s going to be awesome because it’s what I love and so it’s going to be a ton of fun. It’s going to be part of that thing that it’s a hobby, it’s a thing you like to do to pass your time. So that’s what I want to pass. I want my listeners to kind of take away from this if they can learn from me, learn from us about how much fun it is and learn that they’re not by themselves and that we can hopefully get them there a little bit cheaper and faster than they would have on their own. Right? Well, other than not wanting to do this alone and wanting to be able to enjoy the hobby with somebody else, why did you want me to join you on this journey with this podcast? Well, that’s because you’re just starting out. Like, was it not even a month ago? You got this about a month ago, you got all these components, you got them all all at once, and you like, anybody starting with a pilot, new went, what is all this stuff? And you were excited about it, so you dove in headfirst and you were doing the same thing I think almost all of us do when we decide to commit to this. And we’re like, we’re going to do this, we’re going to try it again for 100 or $150. It seems like a lot, but considering what you’re trying and where you’re going with it, it’s pretty reasonable anyway. But my point is, you’re just the beginning of this, and this is my opportunity to document that thing that I wanted to when I started. Is all those questions, like, what in the heck is this thing? What is an ESC? Just a bunch of letters, like, why do I care if it’s 20 amp or 50 amp? Or why does somebody pick 120 amp? That’s ridiculous. The things like a giant metal brick. Who cares? It’s got to be good. Yeah, it’s got to be better than 30, right? And you learn maybe through experience and wasting $35 on 120 FPS, realizing that one’s for a boat and it’s water cooled, which is useless in an airplane for various reasons, or it’s a weight issue. You know, planes fly better when they’re light, so the lighter you can make it, the better and more enjoyable experience you’re going to have, and the more likely you’re going to be to succeed when you’re trying something new. But until you know that, you are going to make those mistakes. But I wanted to kind of capture that because I wanted other people to see. Yeah, it happens to everybody. I’m almost at the edge of I’m almost done making some of those mistakes, and I say some because I make a bunch of mistakes all the time. So on top of all the things you mentioned before, like, you’re my friend, and we have a blast when you come over to play D and D. Like, we sit on the porch and talk for hours about all sorts of nonsense. And I could tell that if we’re going to sit here and talk for a half hour or 45 minutes or an hour, however long it ends up being, it’s going to be a good time. And I hope that that good time translates to something that listeners want to hear or want to hear us talk about what it is they want to know. Because I’ve heard I listen to a lot of books on tape, and there are some authors that aren’t really good readers. Their book might be amazing, but I can’t get through it. And there are other people who are amazing readers, and the books are mediocre, but the way they put them, it’s awesome. I just want more of it. And the same thing goes with podcast, and I think what we have, hopefully, is something that listeners want to hear. And then, of course, the other last piece is when we talk, you’re very careful about how you respond in the sense that you articulate your thoughts pretty well. Like, if something is like, hey, I had an issue with this, you don’t start with, like, my stuff doesn’t run. That doesn’t help anybody really kind of get to what it does because then we can talk about that feeling. You bought this stuff, you put it together, it doesn’t run. And sometimes that’s what happens. As a matter of fact, we were just talking about some of that tonight. But my point is that you will get to share that. But then when we get into it, when I ask you more questions, I know you’re going to be able to help me get to the heart of it with precise answers. Okay? And that’s really important when you’re trying to troubleshoot something or when you’re trying to figure out, you know, hey, what I went to the field and I was doing this thing and something happened, and then we talk about what it is. I know that we’ll probably be able to get to answers that might help somebody else who has a similar problem or might be worried about having that problem on their end wherever they’re flying. Why don’t you take a moment and explain sort of our format and what listeners can expect from this podcast. Okay, well, I think we’re aiming to have this be a family friendly show. So I’ve got a sailor’s mouth, but I’m trying to get it to a very low square count, and we’re going to try to bleep those out. If not, no swears. I want kids who are starting to be able to listen to this and, you know, learn on this journey with us. I wanted to share our blunders and successes in the RC aviation hobby. So I also wanted to talk about talk about a topic or an aspect of the hobby. Like each week kind of cover something new. For example, what the heck are motors? Why are there a bunch of numbers? What do they mean? Are they just a bunch of Zubrish? Maybe not so that kind of thing. Try and bring in any experts in the field to be able to help us explain some of these more confusing issues or to discuss different aspects, like what does it take to get a ready to run airplane kit from Idea to a kit that’s sold in the store? Also, I wanted to cover any interesting bits of news, like if something comes up. I know the regulations have been a hot button topic. They’ve been in and out, as well as new, exciting advances in technologies. Sometimes they come through like a new battery tech would probably be something we’d want to cover because it may change how we do planes, how we build them, or the kinds of planes we can build. Also, I wanted to cover our personal projects in RC. So, like the project you just took on and succeeded at, as well as the number of things that I tackle on a yearly basis. Just kind of talk about what we’re about to do to see if other people might get inspired by the kind of projects we’re willing to tackle. Okay. Yeah, you definitely got a lot of birds sitting in your dining room. They’re gone from the dining room, aren’t they? Yes, but I have a lot of birds. So, Matthew, I think it’s about time for us to start winding this episode down. But before we do, I think it’s worth briefly summarizing what experience we each bring to the discussions that we’ll have moving forward. Well, I have been involved with flight test style building, which is a cheap, quick dollar tree foam board creations, starting with flight test plans. And for last three years I’ve been building those. I’ve been trying to fly them, and I’ve certainly been crashing those. And over the handful of years since I started, I’ve participated in a number of the design challenges and consequently probably put together from three view plans of existing planes and even some that were just kind of thought up on a whim as a fantasy plane. Probably about a dozen designs myself, some of them based off of balsa and changing them into like, existing known balsa planes, turn them into dollar tree foam plans that you can literally print out and throw on top of a board and cut out and fly that’s if I succeeded. And so I’ve been doing that and that series of experience for the last three years, I think will be invaluable as we move forward. How about you, Joe? So, as we’ve discussed, I’m just getting started in the actual RC flight hobby, but I’ve always loved flight. I’ve had the opportunity to go up in a plane a couple of times and have my hands on the controls. I’ve got, shoot, several hundred hours in actual Microsoft Light SIM. Wait weeks worth of time. Yeah, if you want to put it that way. Okay. It was back in high school, junior ROTC. We had an Aviation Flight club or what was it? It was an after school club we had that we would find Flight Sims, largely Cessnas. We did get to play around with some bigger planes once we got our certification within the program anyway. So I’ve got a lot of flight SIM time, and from that, just a good general understanding of aerodynamics and what it takes to generate lift, why lift generates center of gravity and all that. That stuff is critical to having success in this hobby, for sure. All right, well, thanks again for listening to the Aviation RC News podcast. We hope you tune in next time for more Aviation RC shenanigans with Matt and Joe. If you haven’t, please subscribe and leave it to review. We’d love to hear what you’re up to. Until next time. Remember, crashing is part of the Noob experience.