Pilot Profile - Len Sabato - Page Two

Len with the new JR Venture 30CP

9. It's oftentimes a dream for many of us to turn our hobby into a full time job. As a product manager for one of the world's leading RC companies you'd be in a position to play with the latest toys well before the come to market. Tell us a little about your role at Horizon and maybe an example of a typical day at the office.
Well Si, my position is anything but playtime. Although this is sometimes how the market views people in the RC industry, I can tell you that it is extremely rare for me to have time during the business day to even test new products. Most of my R&D flight testing, and all of my F3C practice is done after hours, just as if I had a job outside the hobby industry.
Since my position at Horizon is to be the key contact person for all JR business, most of my time is spent communicating directly with JR Japan on new product development, and overall managing of the daily line issues. The majority of my time is spent with paperwork, etc.
Horizon has a full time R&D staff that are on task to perform most of the sample testing. The only time I get involved in an R&D role, is during the development and refinement of the new JR helicopters we release to the US market. I am also on task to develop the majority of the Air Radio and Heli instruction manuals for JR products.

10. You were heavily involved in the development of the JR Vigor with Curtis Youngblood, please describe how the Vigor evolved from design time to manufacture and some of the challenges associated with designing a new machine.
Well, as with the development of any new product, you must first determine the place in which it will fit into the market, and then keep this target in site throughout the development.
With the Vigor, Curtis was in charge of the initial design, development, communicating directly with JR Japan. Once the design was in the prototype stage, Horizon (I) then begin to take over and work through all of the details that will bring the product to market such as: final design details, testing, pricing, packaging, instructions, marketing, parts supply, etc, etc.
There is sometimes an overwhelming amount of details involved to bring a model like the Vigor CS from prototype to market.
I think that Horizon has a slightly different role with developing projects like this than some of the other importers, as JR Japan developed this model from the ground up specifically for the US market.

11. How does Horizon choose which JR models they will offer on the US market, given that many of the JR range available in other regions is not marketed in the US?
These are sometimes tough decisions. The JR Heli division produces a large variety of models, but many of these models would not have a large appeal to the US market due to the fact that our market is a direct opposite of the Japan market for which these models were developed.
In Japan, Contest type flying is dominant, where in the US, 3D/Freestyle flying rules the scene. Since JR develops most products for their Japan market, many of their designs just do not match up to our US customers needs.
We also try to keep the range of models logical, and we try not to overlap models with similar, but different models. This type of marketing only helps to confuse the consumer, as well as to create a larger burden on the dealer having to stock many different parts for virtually the same model.
Right or wrong, we try to pre-select the models for our market that will give our customers the most satisfaction.

12. In Japan, JR market the Venture 60 which could be compared to the Standard Vigor, why would JR have two machines competing against each other in the same market segment?
In Japan, JR does not offer the Vigor kit, so the Venture 60 makes sense for their market since they are now marketing the Venture name in replacement for the Ergo series.
For our market, to offer the Venture 60 will only cause a confusing overlap as I mentioned above, so we elect not to offer this model to our market.

13. When designing a new product, how does JR consult with the likes of yourself for product ideas and development (please give examples)?
Well, Horizon has enjoyed a very open and close relationship with JR over the years. With both Radios or Helis, JR willingly accepts our input during the early planning and development stages.
One example would be the JR Venture 30 CP. I received the original sample of this model nearly 1 year before we announced the model to the market. After evaluation, I provided JR with a list of changes that needed to be made to the model for it to be acceptable for the US market. JR made the requested changes, which helped to make the Venture 30 a success in the US. You may notice that some of the items in the US JR Ventures are different from the rest of the world (clutch, fan hub, etc). When you see a difference in a product like this, it is likely due to a design change request from Horizon.

14. You're in charge of the Team JR sponsored pilot program in the US, can you tell us a bit about the structure and operation of this program?
As the team manager, it is my responsibility to both manage, and select the individuals that I feel that will best represent our products in the market.
I try to run a very close knit team, with an emphasis on helpfulness and team comradery.
When considering a new pilot for the team, I actually consult existing team pilots for their opinions on the new prospects. I have found that including the current pilots in some of the decision making helps all on the team to gel as one. No hidden agendas, just a group of people with a mutual respect and passion for the hobby.
We also try to keep our team small, rather than some programs who believe in strength in numbers. This helps with both my administrative time, and the effectiveness of each member.
When I am able to be with the team at events, I really also just try to be one of the guys while we are together, heck, I really just work for them!

Len at the US F3C Team Trials

15. You are heavily involved in F3C style competition at which you have been having good success. In the last few years 3D has taken some of the attention away from the contest flying style. What is your view on the different flying styles and the future of contest flying?
Well, I think that our culture is more geared to the 3D/Freestyle way of thinking, rather than the discipline required for contest flying.
I personally do not feel that contest flying will be on the increase any time soon in the US. The current commitment level to achieve good results at contest flying just does not appeal to our culture and work schedules.
Honestly, I can really see the motivation for pilots to gravitate to Freestyle flying. It takes less practice to be enjoyable, and also requires less maintenance and setup than with contest flying. I am not belittling freestyle flying, I just have experience on both sides of the coin.
On the other hand, pilots who are of a more disciplined nature (like myself) would naturally gravitate to contest style flying. Take the Japanese. Their culture is more conforming and structured, and what type of flying is the most popular over there??
I really hope that at some point, some pilots will begin to tire of 3D flying, and will give contest flying a look. If they do, I truly think that a little contest practice and discipline would help to improve the precision of their 3D flying. Pilots like Curtis and Scott Gray (and myself) do both styles of flying, and I think that it both helps and shows with their flying.

16. Our hobby can be very trying at times, we all sometimes have runs of bad luck, give us an example of a frustrating run you had.
Well, outside of the 2 flights, 2 boom strikes I started out with, I would say that the worst run of bad luck happed to me the day before the 1999 Nats when I nearly lost both models the day before I left.
I had put 150+ flights on each model that season getting ready for the Nats, and all was well. The day before I was leaving, I was out practicing as usual, when all of a sudden I lost Aileron during the pull-up to a 540 stall turn. Somehow I was able to get the model on the ground without a crash, and I found that the aileron control rod had vibration fatigued and broke.
I counted myself lucky, then proceeded to take out the backup to finish practicing. On the very next flight, I broke an Elevator rod! I was again able to get the model on the ground without damage (must be due to good clean living).
Had things not gone my way, I could have likely missed competing at the 1999 Nats.

17. What would you describe as some of the highlights of your flying career?
That's a good question! The first thing that comes to mind would be the 2003 US Team trials last September when I learned before the last round that I had already made the USA team! I had a really hard time focusing during the last round as I could not stop thinking about the fact that I had actually accomplished a dream that I had had for many years. Although my father did not live long enough to see me make the team, his and my long time friends and pioneering Heli pilots Ernie Huber, Horace Hagen, and Ralph Dalusio were all in attendance at the Team Trials. Having their presence at the event was very comforting to me, and something that I will never forget.
Jumping back to the beginning of my contest career, I would say that the success I had at my first contest, the 1989 Schluter cup paved the way for my enthusiasm for contest flying. After reading about the top contest pilots in the magazines, I decided in the spring of 1989 that I would practice all summer, and enter the Intermediate class at the Schluter cup at the end of the season (September). I built 2 nearly identical Schluter Champions, and started flying every day by myself. I studied the AMA rules on this class, and tried to duplicate the diagrams of each maneuver. When I arrived at the contest, I hardly knew anyone, and vise versa. I ended up leading the intermediate class until the very last round, when the favorite to win the class pulled off a good flight to edge me out of first by just a few points. I then went to the next contest in the area and won the event, pointing me out of the Intermediate class, and into FAI. This success early in my flying career really inspired me, and gave me the drive and desire to feel this type of success again.

Practising at the US F3C Team Trials

18. What are some of your short term, and long term goals for your flying?
Well Si, my short term goal is to practice as hard and as often as I can, and to try to figure out a way that I can position myself to win the World Championships in June! This is a tall order, but I am going to give my full effort to be flying at my career best at this event. If I cannot pull of a win, you can be sure that I gave my best while I was there!
As for long-term goals, I would like to continue to improve and fine-tune my flying. I realize that at 38, I probably have another 5-10 years of being at the top of my game, before my flying skills start to deteriorate, so I need to keep focused on flying for now.
I also want to continue to modify, design, and innovate the models that I am flying in the hopes that some of my mechanical improvements will find their way into production so that all modelers can benefit from these efforts.
The great thing about this hobby is that unlike many others, you can continue to enjoy modeling in various capacities no matter what your age is. I look forward to growing old doing what I have been doing practically all of my life, building, flying, and enjoying RC Heli's, and meeting others with the same passion for these crazy things as I have.
Comic writer Dave Barry wrote: "There is a fine line between a hobby, and a mental illness", and lets just say that I know what he is talking about!

19. Any closing comments?
Well Si, I would just like to thank you for the invite and opportunity to do this interview for LittleRotors! I very much enjoy sharing my past, knowledge, and experiences with others. If anyone reading this interview wants to learn more about my background and equipment or has a question, please visit my website at: www.LenSabato.com.

Len