Pilot Profile - Malorie Zastrow

1. Tell us about yourself, where you live, occupation, etc
I am 37 years old. I was born and raised in north central Wisconsin, yup a farm girl / cheese head. I have always been interested in technology. As a child I was always taking things apart to see what made them tick. My intrest in technology and figuring out how things work took me from being a high school graduate into the IT(information technology) industry. Through the years I have worked with cable companies and telephone companies in Wisconsin and Michigan. The past five years I have been working for AVAYA Communications (formerly Lucent Technologies Bell Labs Innovations) as a telephone technician. I spend my days maintaining a very large telephone system at an international corporation's world headquarters in southwestern Michigan.

2. How did you get started in RC helis? When did you start? What equipment got you started?
Along with my obsession to figure out how things work, I have always liked the idea of flying radio control, especially helicopters. Quite a while ago, I think about 1986, I tried to get into R/C helicopters. I saved up every dime I could muster and bought a GMP Cricket, a Futaba 4 channnel radio, and all the field support equipment. I attempted to fly that little monster for a couple of years but never got it to hover for more than a few seconds at a time. It would beat itself to death and shake parts off practically every flight or attempted flight as it were. I finally gave up as I could not afford to keep supporting that money pit.

About five years ago I got back into R/C with lowered expectations. I bought an airplane and joined a club only to find out just how far R/C had come in ten years. I had to buy all new radio equipment as my old Futaba radio was completely outdated with the new narrow band requirements. After getting all my radio equipment updated (I bought a JR XP642), I took my first and last lesson. I took one buddybox flight at the club on a Wednesday night. Then I had the club trainer set up my plane and I took one flight with it under his supervision. I was so excited that I actually got to fly my plane that I soloed myself out the next night.

After flying planes for a couple more years I started getting bored with them. While they are fun to fly, I was to a point where I was hot-dogging them right on the deck. This caused me to build and rebuild about nine planes in one summer so I decided to try helis again. I figured maybe I'd take them more seriously, and I was right.

I consumed every bit of information I could find on R/C helis and I bought a Nexus and JR 450 gyro and started learning to hover. I had just broken into forward flight after my first gallon when I attended my first heli fun fly in Watervliet Michigan in 1999. I watched in amazement as I saw what these things were acctually capable of. I saw Dave Storey wring it out and perform some of the smoothest flying and most amzing stunts I had ever seen. I also fell in love with that blade noise and was completely hooked. I had pretty much decided then and there that I really wanted to learn to fly like that. I also decided that my Nexus and JR XP642 were just not going to get the job done.

I joined the Michianna R/C Choppers to learn more and to fly with other heli folks. One of the club members had a Bergen Intrepid 46 new in the box that he was willing to sell cheap. I bought it and went out and bought my JR 10X and the gyro that everyone was flying and had suggested that I buy (an Archamax Heading Hold gyro). The rest of the time has been an endless tank of fuel, collecting more helis, and leaning about good setups.

3. What do you think have been some of the greatest advances in RC helis?
By far the biggest advancements have come in the electronic end of the hobby. With the advent of heading hold, gyros have become so stable, reliable, and easy to set up that anybody can learn to fly without the worry of all the tail hassel. I fly Futaba GY 401/9253s on all my helis. They are very simple to setup and hold the tail through any maneuver.

The simulators have also come a long way. With the advancement of computer graphics and all out speed, you can literally learn to fly an R/C heli without ever touching one. I have had the Dave Brown simulator and the CSM 3 in 1 simulator. None of them can hold a candle to the Great Planes Realflight G2 on a fast computer. I fly my G2 about 6 to 10 hrs a week depending on the weather.

4. How many gallons would you burn in a year?
Living in Michigan I only get to fly a lot during the three to four months of summer. Last year was my first really serious year of flying and I burned over 30 gallons. This year I switched to an Intrepid Gasser and lost track of how much gasoline I've burned, but I would guess it's been about the same as last year. I've only burned about 10 gallons of GLOW fuel this year.

5. What do you enjoy most about the hobby?
Besides the mechanical aspect of the helicopters, I really enjoy all the great people I've met. I really can't say enough about the people in this hobby. There really is a lot of comrodery and fellowship. Most of the manufacturers are quite accessable and friendly people to speak to and work with also. I find it most enjoyable to help out others with what I have learned and the information about R/C helicopters that I have accumulated. It is especially rewarding to help out beginners to get thier first flights in and helping them to understand how these machines work. I truely enjoy sharing this wonderful hobby with anyone that shows an intrest.

6. Developments such as Heading Hold gyros, large capacity engines, digital servos and such have accelerated the growth of RC helis, what do you think has been the main contributor for the growth in popularity of our hobby?
The lower expense and higher quality of the smaller machines has done a lot for the growth of our hobby. A person can now get into a basic 30 size helicopter for around the same price as getting started in R/C airplanes. This has made R/C helicopters very accessable for the average income hobbiest where it used to be out of reach for all but the higher income hobbiest, well, unless you were willing to starve to fly helis.

7. What advice do you give to someone just starting out with RC Helis?
My suggestion would be to get yourself a simulator first. Decide weather you really enjoy it before you invest the money. The simulator will be an invaluable tool throughout your flying career.

Once you decide you want to fly R/C helis get involved with an R/C helicopter club. Ask a lot of questions of the those folks. They can be a wealth of information and have probably been through all the pitfalls you may come across. They can help you determine the right equipment to get you started.

Also learn all you can about setup. Don't just let the local pro setup your heli while you watch. Get involved with what and why they do things. The more you know the faster you will advance.

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