-No, they don´t, thank goodness, says Arne Friberg, Trelleborg Model Airplane Club, who has had model flying as his hobby for more than half a century ! A fairly widespread hobby, although it can take a lot of time and sometimes get rather expensive. The outlay for our youth activities is very small, and well worth every penny. Apart from giving nice relaxation together with lots of friends with the same interests, it gives you a good social togetherness. A strong father - son relationship is very common in this hobby. You simply fly together. In the summer, every day is flying day on the field, Thursdays in particular, with the R/C school and the Thursday Barbecue.  | Looks wonderful !Even if you are a technical novice, you can still appreciate the wonderful sight of a R/C airplane at great height, looking just like it´s full scale counterpart. Fascinating - and fun ! But costly ? It depends on what you compare this with : Golf, sailing - not for free, for sure. Starting out with a sailplane is a cheap and easy way to start model flying. That is why our young ones start out with a sailplane ! |
Starting from zero, a basic outfit will cost you around 4000 SEK (= about $550). You then get a good airplane kit, an engine and radio equipment. You can manage on a lot less, building a free-flight sailplane for a few hundred SEK. Whatever your choice, you will need help. Starting out all on your own with great enthusiasm at home, ( by the kitchen table) often develops into frustration and despair, before the real fun has even begun. This is really not a complicated business- but it easy to get it wrong anyway. We recommend all and everyone to start in this hobby by joining a club. That is were the experience is, and you will get all the help you need.
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A fun hobby - that is the model. |
There are a lot of competitions in model flying, although most model fliers are quite happy with just flying. There are classes for sailplanes, where often the goal is to fly the plane a specific time (or the longest time!). Pylon racing - means just that - fly as fast as possible round a course of pylons. Aerobatics - do those strange maneuvers in the air, and do them better than your fellow pilots. Scale - build your airplane to resemble a real plane as closely as possible, and have it fly like the full scale plane would. Building model airplanes takes many skills : carpentry, painting, electronics work, fine mechanical work etc .. 
Proud builders and pilots with AMA Cubs (58K, jpg)