About / Contact Me

My name is Steve. You probably guessed that already. I have been involved in RC since 1979. It started when I was a junior and a class mate found out I liked to mess around

with electronics. He asked me if I could fix his servo for his airplane. I had no idea what a servo was, but I said I would give it a try. I was not able to fix the servo at the time, but

I did gain the friendship of that class mate, and a love for RC airplanes and cars.

Skip ahead a few years to 1982, I was living in an apartment with no where to fly airplanes. I decided to sell all my planes and buy a helicopter. Perfect I thought, I do not need a

big runway. I just need a small yard, that I had. Knowing nothing about helicopters and having no one to ask about them, I just picked one that looked cool and I could afford. I

forget the name now, but it was a 40 inch rotor span, fixed pitch heli. I was using my airplane radio and things were not going well. I started going to flying fields looking for anyone

crazy enough to be trying one of these frustrating machines. After many dirty looks from airplane pilots I finally found a man who flew helicopters. I met up with him with my heli

and he said that the heli I had was very difficult to learn on. He told me to buy a Kalt Baron 28. So I sold my fixed pitch whatever and spent my life savings on the Baron 28. I had

it a couple of years when a family of my own starting developing and the helicopter went into deep hibernation.

Skip ahead to 2005. Now I have been in a house for many years, wife, kids and pets all gone. I needed something fun to do, ( I did buy two 1970 Dodge Charger 500's before this

point in my life), but I wanted something to fly. Technology had come a long way since my first helicopter. E-Flite had the Blade CP for only $200 ready to fly right out of the box.

No month long building process, just charge batteries and fly. With only a 20 inch rotor span and being in the middle of a Minnesota winter I figured why not fly in the house. How

cool would that be. Well it is very tough to keep the little bird from rearanging your living room and kitchen. Time passes and I am not getting any better at controlling this little beast.

Frustration is setting in again. I conclude that my hands are not neurologically connected to my brain. Someone else has control of them.

The next spring my buddy, who always buys the same stuff I have, tells me to take it outside and fly. So I do and it is a lot easier to manage, except for windy days. In the meantime

I had bought a smaller coaxial helicopter, the Lama V3. This heli is smaller for indoor flying (no wind to worry about), and a lot easier to fly for me. So I switch between the two helis

and spend lots of money on broken parts. Finally by the fall of 2008 I am actually doing some forward flight with the Blade CP outside. Yippee!!!! It is an awesome feeling that I am not

able to describe in text form. Hard to see my animation.

Backing up a bit, in the spring of 2008 I also bought the newest Blade helicopter, the Blade 400 3D. A fully aerobatic helicopter. I bought it because is was bigger than the Blade CP

so I figured it would handle the wind much better. None the less the first time I spooled up the rotor I about wet myself, I have never heard a rotor head spin that fast, and it was not

even trying to get off the ground yet. This thing scared me so it sat a little while. I eventually got used to the high rotor head speed and have been practicing hovering, and tiny steps

towards forward flight. I don't want to pile it into the ground just yet. I save that for the Blade CP.

Last fall in 2008 I bought the Walkera 38#, a coaxial chinook helicopter. I think chinooks look so cool. This thing flies strange due to the gyro control system. You end up porposing

all the time with it. I have yet to bring it outside and try flying it around. Hopefully spring of 2009.

The newest heli I just bought this January of 09 is the Trex 500 3D. I am told it will handle like a dream and outperform the Blade 400 by miles. It should though, it is three times the

price+.. Ouch!!! At the time of this update I have only spooled it up a little, enough to get light on the skids. I decided it is too big to try in the house. So it will have to wait a few months.

Well that briefly sums up my RC career with flying helicopters.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my story.

Have a great day.

Steve

If you would like to email me you can do so at Steve@stevesheliadventures.com