Shownotes:
We’ve met our neighbors before, but we’re not really the bonding with proximity types. Then on Saturday, we experienced serendipity in living technicolor. We left the apartment take our dogs out. As we passed our neighbor’s door, he walked out carrying a T-Rex 600 RC Helicopter. I’m pre-dispososed to adore RC helicopters. I’ve never seen anything like it. I had a faint understanding about the existence of serious radio controlled toys, but honestly, the really impressive stuff was completely off my radar.
I’m not the type of person that could spend $1,000 on a toy because I’d rather spend the money on production equipment so that I can shoot a video of the person who would spend $1,000 on a toy. Anyone who would spend $1,000 on a toy defines the word “geek”, because that person is passionate about the technology they love.
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November 11th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Great, can’t wait to see it airbourne :D
Thanks C ~
November 11th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Nice video. That’s one hell of a toy your neighbor has…
BTW: Wo said that lack of makeup was an issue?
:-)
Cheers !
November 11th, 2008 at 1:49 am
Great episode! I can’t wait to see what happens! GeekBrief has and will always be my favorite video podcast!
Mark
November 11th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Excellent video well done. Your neighbour was a natural at explaining the equipment. Another great adventure in geekdom :)
November 11th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Great episode. I think your best “interview” episode. You got really lucky catching your awesome neighbor. Keep it up. I look forward to the conclusion.
AD
November 11th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Great footage! Looking forward to see the helicopter get airborne! I always wanted to buy one of these but as you can see, it might get expensive.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Tell your neighbor, thanks. He seemed like a natural! Very comfortable and like Mark M said, great job explaining everything. can’t wait to see it flying.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Wow, nice RC helicopter… But too expensive too… I would spend the $1000 on an additional Mac mini for storage and remote access using VNC and SSH….
November 11th, 2008 at 8:48 am
You look just fine with or without makeup.
All that talk and preparation only to have it fail….
He should work for NASA :)
…. Sorry NASA….
November 11th, 2008 at 9:19 am
You’re sho kyoot without makeup! Go natural more often.
November 11th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Great show… And look – You’ve attracted a radio control helicopter ad. That’s just cute.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Cool, Hope to see it fly really soon. Next Step, mount a camera on it.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I sat through all that blah blah to not see it fly!!! Only joking, I have many years of flying model aircraft and sometimes you can have a very short day.
I wouldn’t call him a geek just yet, more of a geek in training (GIT). It would be interesting to know what the local laws are there for flying remote aircraft. Also it might be interesting to mention the controller is one of those in the 2.4GHz band.
November 12th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Forgive the lack of makeup? Please! Cali, you’re beautiful just being you.
As for the episode, helicopters are quite cool, but I have a strict rule about Christmas music (or Christmas anything) before Thanksgiving: it’s not allowed!
November 12th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Great show! Thanks!
-Paul.
November 12th, 2008 at 10:56 am
This was a great episode. I enjoyed the changeup. He was a great guest and did well.
GBTV is really becoming a mainstay of my online entertainment! Thanks!
November 12th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
A very fun and interesting episode. We’re looking forward to the rest of the story.
Cali, the general consensus among my students is that you’re still pretty cute, even without makeup.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Now you guys should rig a remote camera on it and take some cool ‘birds-eye-views’
November 13th, 2008 at 7:13 am
this is funny and spot on what owning a heli is like! You buy it thinking “hey I’m going to be able to fly anywhere…its gonna be great”. Then you find they take a LOT of practice, a LOT of setting up and when they crash (which they do all the time) its expensive and you really have to be happy spending 4 hours taking it all apart and putting new parts in!
November 13th, 2008 at 10:02 am
…one of my all time favorite episodes. COOL – Can’t wait to see it fly!
November 14th, 2008 at 5:10 am
I gotta admit I didn’t notice your lack of make up, you don’t need it! You are beautiful! And your neighboor… very cute…
Did he knew about the popularity of your show during the shooting? Or he thought no one was going to watch it, cause he was very natural and comfortable on camera!
Can’t wait to see more!
November 14th, 2008 at 7:57 am
I just came across this story of using radio helicopters to research whales (collecting their breath when whales surface to see what bacteria are in it).
Pretty amazing stuff – Thought you might be interested
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7723703.stm
(There is also an interview with the head of the team in the Science in Action -SciA 13Nov08 podcast at the end)
November 14th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Very cool! Thanks for the link, Blafin!
November 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Great piece — your neighbor gives a good interview, and RC helis are incredibly cool.
However, while enthusiastic, the neighbor seems /very/ new to helicopters. Unless he has had some prior experience and/or a few hours on a simulator (and the “training wheels” and prior crash suggest otherwise) his next flight will be measured in seconds. Or fractions of a second. As others have mentioned, RC helis are very difficult to control, and fixed wing experience does not translate well.
And a word of caution – RC helicopters of that size are very dangerous. There is enough energy in the spinning blades to break bones and make life-threatening cuts in softer tissue.
In the hands of an expert? Have a look at what 6 year-old Justin Chi can do… :)
http://www.justinchi.com/
November 15th, 2008 at 2:26 am
I’m a little behind, but I just realized I know where this is!!! My grandmother lives in the same apartment complex! I live near Dallas myself, but I thought that was cool. I hope I have the right area in mind though.
Great interview by the way!
Forrest [somerandombystander]
November 15th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Hello Cali:
Thanks for the interesting interview and exposure of our “Geek” hobby. :)
While watching the video, I noticed abnormal swashplate (roung thing on the main shaft :) ) movement with your neighbor’s left stick up/down movement. He should seek help from an experience RC heli pilot to minimize his learning curve and expenses.
Here is a sample YouTube video of how an RC heli is supposed to fly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVCnCVDe2Vk
Enjoy!
November 16th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Why are there only good posts posted?! That video is embarrassing and that guy needs tuition – he is going to kill someone. There is a whole community of RC heli flyers and we can all spot loads of dangerous mistakes with the setup – that heli is dangerous and no where near setup properly – there are parts missing – the servos are not working together and the blades even came off! They spin round at 35 times a second when at the correct speed and you’re happy to publish this newb! You’re damaging out hobby!
November 16th, 2008 at 6:11 am
PLEASE take this video down. He has no clue what he is doing. SO UNSAFE!!!!! Advise him to get help, before he hurts someone or himself!!! Your video is bad for my hobby. Again PLEASE GET RID OF IT!!!!
November 16th, 2008 at 7:42 am
@Cam, Jeff: It’s a self-limiting problem. After his second or third total loss, he’ll quit or learn more about what he is doing. They did seem to be giving it enough space on spool-up…
I’m going to be interested to see how many comments show up as this interview filters though the RC heli world. :)
Anyone in the Dallas area want to offer to mentor? (And maybe get to do your own interview…)
November 16th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Guys, of course he has an expert friend he goes to for help, but the thing I love about geeks is their need to figure it out. He might spend the next couple weeks tweaking, researching and figuring it out for himself before he goes for help, and since he knows the points at which he’d break it, he won’t go that far by himself. That process is the very essence of being a geek, and it THAT quality I love so much!
This is a celebration, not an embarrassment. I understand that if you already know what you’re doing, you might be embarrassed by the mistakes you can see, but take a moment to think back to when YOU got started in the hobby. I’m sure you took it out a couple times and it wasn’t perfect immediately, right?
November 16th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Sorry, perhaps we (the helicopter bunch) are over-reacting somewhat. We just don’t want to see anyone get hurt, or lose more money than needed.
Waiting for “Helicopter-Neighbor II — Flight of the T-Rex”!
November 16th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
This guy is just great! He embodies the “go-for-it” spirit of a true geek. Whether we’re talking about someone’s purported lack of make-up or a first flight that lacked a little flight, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about here! Let’s face it, Orville & Wilbur took a few stabs at flight before their first flight was actually accomplished.
I just got my first helicopter, too. Okay, so it only cost $25 and I can only fly it indoors…but, hey! Three flights in, and I’ve made huge progress!
This guy has the right attitude and the passion to succeed. He’s starting from the bottom. At least he’s not learning how to swim.
(3…2…1… That joke takes a second. Wait for it.)
I’m really interested in how his second attempt goes.
November 16th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
http://www.runryder.com is a great RC heli resource. check it out and be safe.
November 16th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I have seen first hand what a helicopter can do to a grown 250lb man. Its not pretty. The blades spin at 2000 RPM(200+MPH), with torque behind it. He took off in a parking lot where people live and lost radio contact!!! THEY ARE DANGEROUS!!!!
I knew from day one they needed to be respected. I drove 3 hours, yes 3 hours to get help when I first started. Well worth it.
Consider yourself lucky you did not get hit with anything. Like those flying blades that came off!!! All it takes is one screw, one link and all hell will break loose.
Just tell him to get help, there is no pride in killing or hurting someone. He is going to have lots to learn still. He just needs help getting started. Only a wise man would understand that.
Im all for him flying and having fun, Im not down for him hurting anyone though.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:58 am
There is somewhat of a order for getting into this hobby.
1. Purchase Computer Simulator (practice for 30min. a day for a month.)
2. Purchase Radio, Heli, Electronics and field Equipment.
3. Build Heli Properly and install electronics.
4. Find someone experienced flyer to perform a bench setup to make sure everthing is working in the proper order.
5. Have experienced flyer take it for a test flight, make adjustments and trim heli for stable flight.
This guy is gonna put himself or others in the HOSPITAL if hi continues.
November 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Your neighbor was not only a natural infront of the camera… he’s also very easy on the eyes!
November 17th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Shoot, Rich beat me to it. :-) You have one hot neighbor! Also, like everyone else was saying he is a natural in front of the camera. Even if he is not 100% on with what he is doing he will learn and his desire to do so is GREAT! Good for him! Actually, isn’t that the same spirit that brought us GBTV?
November 19th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Did he get it in the air yet? Please do a follow up on this Calli. :)
November 19th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Has he maidened it yet? Please do a follow up on his progress Calli.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:14 am
I just talked to his girlfriend today. He’s getting closer to being able to do a follow up. Soon, hopefully!
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:06 pm
OK, as a geek and a fairly new RC heli pilot myself, I love his go-for it attitude and your celebration of this attitude.
That being said, he really needs to start with a smaller helicopter or fly in a different area.
This size helicopter (and larger) are absolutely DEADLY, and not to be taken lightly!
I started on my own as well, and crashed many times.. I finally had help on a buddy-box, and setup help from pro pilots before I finally *figured it out.* It was on a much safer and smaller helicopter, however.
After the basics are covered, the sky is the limit!
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Oh yeah, and can we see this thing fly already?
:)
November 23rd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Oh yeah, and can we see this baby fly already??
November 24th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I am a pilot of rc helicopters…and watching this made me nervous… I could see in the video that the controls were not set up correctly and this heli will not fly as it is… if any of you are interested in this for real than seek good help… the web site http://www.runryder.com is a heli community that can help you… if the pilot reads this he should check it out and get some help.. then he wont be fixing so much and flying more.
Also there are great videos posted of helis that are flying ;-)
November 25th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
This video is good exposure to the hobby but please PLEASE PLEASE get some help. The guy has the passion and desire but he has so much more to learn. I really hope that he reads the responses that are posted here and do more research. Some things I want to point out…
GO BACK AND READ and FOLLOW the directions in the manuals before you decide to take it back out. Just from this video, I know you did not pay attention to the details. The paddles need to have the stickers on them (they are ineffective without them). Your servos are moving in the wrong directions (refer to manual).
MOST IMPORTANTLY! YOU DIDN’T LOCTITE ANYTHING! If you had done so, your blades wouldn’t have flew off. The fact that the most important part wasn’t loctited leads me to believe other parts weren’t loctited either. So next time, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was your tail blades that fly off. Or your engine comes loose and eats up your gears.
As stated before, the blades spin at 2000rpm. I’ve done the math, at this rate, the tip speeds are around 324mph. Believe me when I say, they’ll slice through flesh like butter (I’ve learned first hand what these things can do to flesh and I consider myself lucky).
Have someone check your setup! Given that you didn’t check everything over before you flew, I also question whether your gyro is setup properly. If it is NOT setup properly, there’s a possibility that the helicopter will spin WILDLY out of control the moment you lift off (and when I say wildly, I mean, it’ll spin so fast, it’ll literally be a blur).
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE GET HELP BEFORE YOU OR SOMEONE GETS HURT!
Also, it’ll save you some money too (you won’t crash as much, each one of these things I pointed out will cause a crash, guaranteed).
go to runryder.com. I’m on there as well as others who have replied here. We will all be more than happy to help.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Please listen to the other RCers who have given advice. You can learn to fly a .50 size heli, but you need to have it checked out by an experienced flyer, it is not setup correctly. Check with the local hobbyshop, get online and find a flyer/club in your area and fix it! I have a Trex600n and it flys great. BUT!!!, your’s is setup wrong and don’t use leftover wooden blades from your Raptor!!!
November 25th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I fly RC Helis….this guys an idiot. Never do you fly a Heli in a parking lot….he is real lucky that he didn’t fly it right into one of those apartments windows and kill someone. These are not toys. This is proved again when he started up a Nitro 600 heli and the blades flew off….again lucky he didn’t kill someone. Blades don’t fly off on start up unless he forgot to in stall the bolt that holds them on….loctite didn’t have any thing to do with that .
Tell you neighbor to fly that Heli only at an AMA sanctioned flying field and at a safe distance form spectators……and for gods sake have him get help from and experienced RC heli pilot t look over his machine before he kills someone.
November 25th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
It will be a short video when he does finally get it in the air.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Cali, here’s the chopper you REALLY want!!!
http://gizmodo.com/5107100/rc-helicopter-modded-45-caliber-handgun-will-probably-end-in-disaster
May 8th, 2009 at 3:32 am
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