Remote Control (R/C)

In about 1996 I got my first awesome R/C vehicle. It was the Nikko Brat. A full function off road race car with real suspension, hobby grade battery, real acceleration, a high and low range transfer case, and even a replaceable FM crystal in the remote! I played with that thing hard, damaging it and fixing it, making sweet jumps and taking it all over the place!

Several years later I saw my first R/C plane being flown by someone and thought it was so fascinating. I would get a few toy R/C planes in high school and college but then as a senior design project I found a team that would need an R/C pilot. I joined the team and learned how to fly from a grad student on another team. I also was the lead “mechanic” for the team which meant I was in charge of purchasing our aircraft and getting them ready to fly and maintaining that status. Ultimately I also worked to fit the payload we had inside the aircraft.

After college, and with some expendable income, I purchased myself my first real hobby grade R/C truck and airplane. I would bring a work table and spare parts for the trucks, and drive them until they were too broken for a field repair. The airplane I treated nicer, until an accident. As with all my hobbies that vehicle list grew from just a truck and a plane to include a few more vehicles and vehicle types.

As with any R/C enthusiast I find myself constantly upgrading my vehicles. I also find myself coming up with small projects such as a sweet custom case to hold my Blade MCPX. I also have an idea to make a servo controlled flipper for the monster trucks since they spend so much time upside down! I’ve also considered coming up with various camera mounts for these vehicles. Probably to mount a Contour camera since they are lower profile than a GoPro.