Flat Out RC

The Farnan name in Australia is synonymous with the hobby industry but Mike Farnan has been more than an industry pioneer. A record breaking RC heli pilot, world championship competitor and product developer, Mike has literally done it all. It was great to have a chat about his life in aeromodelling in all fronts.

You won't find a more committed husband and wife aeromodelling team than Richard and Patsy Brown. Labelled as the RAP Fun Factory, Richard and Patsy are gaining a name as Australia's best scale builders using composite technology. Their story is one of commitment and passion to model building and they are not afraid to share their knowledge. A great partnership doing great things.

You are in for a laugh as good mate Chris Rutter joins us on the Flat Out RC podcast. Chris is an avid RC aerobatic pilots who is also involved in the IMAC scene here in Australia. A great guy who enjoys having fun in the hobby.

It's turbine week with the Wang Jets event being held so we are joined by one of the organisers and avid turbine flyer Greg Estcourt to find out more about the event and hear about his hobby activity.

Servo selection and control surface linkage is an area where many struggle to understand. Steve Richardson joins us to look at servos and how to select the right one and also a bit about control surface hookups. This is a great episode that will give you some great insights into a key component of our model planes.

Peter Rieksts is a name that you may have read in magazines over the years but you may not know his aeromodelling story. This week we find out more about Peter's life in aeromodelling and what a life it has been. We also look at the new E-flite Draco which is set to be a top seller.

We have our first repeat guest joining us in Martin Pickering. Martin is a PowerBox guru so we asked him to come back and teach us all about them including why to use them, when to use them and what they can do. We also got a bit of an update as to what Martin is up to as well.

The governance of our hobby is led by our representative associations and there is none more influential in the aeromodelling scene than the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA)in the USA. Joining us on the podcast this week is Chad Budreau, the Executive Director of the AMA, the man running the day to day operations. We find out more about the AMA, what they are working on including and update on t...

We are back talkign turbine jets with our special guest Derek Pontarolo. You can safely say that Derek is a turbine tragic having now flown jets for over a decade. His fleet of jets is extremely impressive including a unique B2 Stealth Bomber. We find out more about the B2 and the man behind the jet. You wont meet a nicer guy that Derek so strap in and lets go on a high speed turbine jet journey w...

We are joined by youngster Brad Worm this week to hear about his aerobatic competition activity and in particular his first ever freestyle competition and the journey to get there. While other kids his age are playing computer games, Brad is either at the field or on the sim improving his aerobatic skills. A good friend and a kid on the rise so tune in to hear his story.

Ido Segev touched the lives of many in and out of the aeromodelling community. As we remember him on the one year anniversary of his passing, we were privileged to have Ido's brother Yonatan join us to share with us the Ido Segev story. It's a great story of a young guy that showed talent very early on but took it to the top heights in model flying while also being the most humble guy at the field...

There are some people that really make an effort to promote our hobby and Tony Wilson is one such person. As secretary of the Bairnsdale and District Model Aero Club he is working hard to promote the hobby and see their great flying facility utilised by as many as possible. Tony joined us to talk about his flying activity, the Bairnsdale club and some of their upcoming events.

We are back for 2021 with an international flavor. Tom Laird joined us from Scotland to talk about his modelling, the flying scene in Scotland and gave a few insightful thoughts on different approaches to training new aeromodellers. Tom is a very proactive modeller with a great mind and thoughts that may just change your point of view about a few things.

What a year 2020 has been. In this final episode for the year we cover some podcast highlights and hand out a few Flat Out RC awards. Thank you to all those that have listened to the podcast during the year. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Freestyle aerobatics is one of the most exciting disciplines in aeromodelling and this week it's our topic of discussion with our guest Tim McDonald. Tim is one of Australia's most committed freestyle aerobatics pilot and all round nice guy. We covered a lot of ground from Tim's start in the hobby, the influence of Ido Segev in his flying to FPV drones. It's an entertaining chat that is not to be...

We are back talking scale models with our special guest Phil Crandon. Phil has been an avid modeller for most of his life and has a penchant for scale warbirds. It is an understatement that he has become quite proficient at model building and his dedication to model building just keeps on getting stronger. We discuss some of Phil's models as well as his trip to the Top Gun event in the US.

This week we are talking F3A/pattern flying with one of Australia's best aerobatic pilots. Australian F3A team representative Dennis Travassaros is our special guest. Not only does Dennis talk about what pattern flying is all about but sheds some light on how to fly it better. If you are into aerobatics or trying to improve your flying skils then this is a podcast not to miss.

Some say kids nowadays aren't into flying model planes. Well on this weeks podcast we have 4 young guys from the P&DARCS club down here in Melbourne that will tell us their aeromodelling story. Cameron, Harrison, Balint and Guy not only discuss how they got into flying but give some useful tips on how to encourage more kids into the hobby. They are a great bunch that have definitely fallen in love...

We are talking RC jets this week on the Flat Out RC podcast with jet guru Levi Wagner. Levi is a prominent name in the New South Wales jet flying community that is involved in organising events and of course flying the retracts of a few jets while at it. For anyone that is interested in getting into RC jets or just want to learn more about flying them then this episode is not to be missed.

We love sharing the history of aeromodelling and there is no one better than John Lamont to do that. You may know John as the man behind the Australian Model News bimonthly newsletter or as a modeller competing in scale competition or control line flying over the years. No matter what, we were happy to have him as our special guest and to hear his aeromodelling story. We also had a look at the new...

Paul Bennet is known as one of Australia's best aerobatic airshow pilots but he is also is an avid aeromodeller. Paul joined us to talk about his aeromodelling activity as well as his full-size flying exploits. You could say he is leading the way in promoting aviation at every level. We also looked at the Booma RC Q-Switch and shared some thoughts on the crossover from full-size flying to models a...

This weeks podcast we head to South Australia to talk to local legend in the making in Ash Cox. Ash is an avid modeller that is involved in model flying from aerobatics to jets. He is also a great builder of models. Our chat covers a broad spectrum from his professional model building service he provides through to talking about the flying scene in South Australia.

It's our pleasure to have Chris Hebbard join us on the podcast. Chris recently was the recipient of the MAAA Service Medallion so we thought it would be great to hear his story about his life in aeromodelling. His involvement as a hobbyist and in the industry helped progress the radio control hobby here in Australia and especially within the state of New South Wales. We also took a look at the new...

This weeks Flat Out RC podcast is heading north! Our good friend Ray Younger hails from Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia and it was great to catch up with him and get a feel of the flying seen up north as well as his life in radio control flight. A great guy with an enjoyable and informative chat.

If you live in Australia and passionate about high quality RC gear then you know the name Desert Aircraft Australia. The founder of this exemplary hobby business is Ian Howard and he joined us on the Flat Out RC podcast to discuss his life in aeromodelling, Desert Aircraft ignition manufacturing and much more. Ian is a true gentlemen that is a great asset to our hobby.