On a quick skim through these posts, I - finally - feel a need to add a few simple thoughts...
..."Better" is a kind of "absolute" declaration, imo. What one person likes better, IS better, for that person... It is more subjective than objectively universal.
... I've flown some FF, including Indoor Peanut Rubber, and enjoyed it - to a degree. I've flown stinkpot and soaring RC, and enjoyed it, somewhat. Neither gives a full-time, physical sense of being involved in what the airplane does, as does even the tamest, least capable CL plane I've ever flown. Even if I had the money and the interest, I wouldn't buy a Gallardo for someone else to 'experience.' I'd rather control and direct the accelerations, sounds, and sensory experiences of such a machine, myself. That step of 'distance' from those sensations is where FF and RC fail - for me.
... Not knocking the provider as such, but the frequently mentioned attitude of many newby RCers about any "lesser" kind of model flight reminds me of the old comment about puffed-up Cadillac drivers: "As a matter of fact, I DO own the whole G.dd..n road; I paid enough for it." Change 'road' to 'sky', and some of those newby RC guys offer to show their receipt from Tower to prove it. Thanks be, there are still many 'good guy' modelers flying RC. I wish there were more of them...
... Perhaps a knock at the mainstream suppliers, after all, is the seemingly deliberate effort to DE-emphasize everything except big-bux starter kits, or phenomenally expensive jumbo-scale RC. If you think we yo-yo's have a hard time finding supplies at the LHS, consider the plight of the sport FF guys... Not knocking the LHS, but realistic in understanding that hobby supplies are a high-inventory thing, and unless the merchandise pays the rent, the shopkeeper can't keep his doors open. We get great service from both extremes: high-volume mail-order houses, AND small "shade-tree" specialty operations. Being aware of the sources of needed equipment makes us valuable to newcomers - most of whom don't know about such sources.
... Pilots of "full-size" airplanes fly from the center of the space their aircraft travels. FF guys stand way outside that, or chase cross country on a 'bike to get their models back. RCers stand in defined 'boxes' on the flight line, and watch their models - from outside their flight paths. CL fliers may not be inside their models, but can you deny that we fly from the center of the airspace our aircraft use?
... There is a necessary mutual trust and reliance among CL fliers. An old saw I've mentioned to many fellow ukies: "You have to be good enough to make friends you can trust, to launch and retrieve your models. You have to be a good enough person to earn the trust of other ukies to launch and retrieve THEIR models. ...Unless your arms are 60' long or longer - and if they are, you don't even need the lines."
... Spin-off from the above: We are obliged to be more open, sharing and concerned about our flying buddies, to make sure they find gratification in their improvement as fliers. If they don't find that, they won't be around next year, or perhaps the year after. Bored and unappreciated, unrespected, why should they persist in CL. (As an RC club officer on a few occasions, I was troubled by the rapid turnover of new buddies who reached a minimal level, didn't care to - and weren't encouraged to - go beyond, and dropped away after 2 or 3 years. Made a nuisance for keeping the AMA Roster current, at the least. I also rued the disappearances of nice guys so frequently... CL has so many varying types of challenge, at reasonable cost, that shifting emphasis occasionally can be lastingly refreshing.)
... Spin-off #2 from above: We are more concerned to introduce new fellow ukies to the range of personal 'involvement' in the activity. Merely standing in the middle of a defined circle, watching a noisy machine churn around until it is out of fuel, is the very least of it. The tactics of two-up flying, whether racing or combat, are a new challenge. The stunt pattern remains the Everest that cannot be ultimately mastered - continued improvement is a durable challenge! Scale? Carrier? Or even simply tying fantastic knots in the sky? ALL fun, physical and personal. As to introducing new pals, I've seen more happy welcoming for younger fliers in CL than at any RC field I've been to in the last generation of more. Kids are a nuisance, too often, there. Or, perhaps, as a substitute for Dad-Son 'bonding' - as soon as Junior's quicker learning curve leaves Dad in the dust, Dad finds it increasingly difficult to provide a ride... Not so in CL, in my experience. And if the family can't come up with the "wheels," a flying buddy - almost guaranteed - will! Families become trusted and concerned friends, too.
... We choose friends (and sometimes wish we could choose family.) The natural interdependence we CL fliers MUST observe makes us a good likelihood to serve as a supportive, concerned and out-reaching surrogate extended family to many fine young teens and even young adults. Unless our arms are 60' or so long...
... Experience and slyness don't always trump youthful reflexes and learning speed, but can always challenge them. That makes a solid reason for the Old Masters to stay active. ...Which, in itself, is a great experience for our younger guys: - They can see that the "legends" they've read about get prop nicks on their fingers, just like they do. ...That they sometimes blow a figure or a flight, just like they do. But also that the old goats are very concerned to share their knowledge and experience so the new guy can do better. ...And that they very supportively recognize the new guy's successes.
... And, for the truly involved, there is the concept that CL flight involves FIVE factors, where FF and RC are 'restricted' to the basic 4. To the Lift/weight, thrust/drag basic, we add the tether! (Check with Brett, Howard, or Igor - or until very recently (sob) Wild Bill, on this...) We may be restricted to control of "pitch" motion, but all the axes of flight are involved. Just how far do YOU want to go, into the science of CL flight?
So, what's to like about CL? Better question: What's NOT to like?
Topic: Why Control Line Is Better Than RC (Read 11998 times)