Combatting the "RC Is Too Expensive" Beast

I gotta do this because I saw something today that just really irked me. First, some perspective:

http://money.msn.com/now/10-outrageously-pricey-hobbies

Go to #9, it's our hobby, RC. In this (hit) piece the author is making all the stereotypical points about the hobby. From being insanely expensive to overly complex to being outright dangerous. There's only one way to change this attitude and that is to change OUR attitudes regarding the hobby. Here's what I am talking about.

I remember a time when new people would walk around the pits at Trackside and ask how much it cost to race. To a person just about everyone, myself included, perked up and got all excited to talk about how much we've spent on our hobby. "Well I spent $500 on this Turbo 30, $600 on this Phantom Dyno and, well you know, you need a laptop to run the dyno so another $1500 on that, I need the best batteries and they're $100 a pack and I have 6 so there's $600", and so on. And in the past to run with the fast guys this is what you almost needed to do. The hobby has changed so much in the last 10-years we need to change the way we talk about it.

What I'm getting at is it is time for us to stop wearing what we spend on the hobby as a badge of honor. For us having spent thousands of dollars over the course of years makes sense. For the beginners however that's seen as a huge red flag and barrier to entry to the hobby. I've changed my tune over the last few years when people ask me how much it costs to get into the hobby from talking about the big expenses to talking about how affordable RC can be. Let's look on the car and truck side for a moment:

I think most would agree that a majority of beginners right now are buying some sort of RTR SCT, right? Well for under $300 you have a ton of options, and you even have a number of awesome options under $250 or $200. Some of these trucks now not only include a battery but also include a peak detection charger! Not a crummy wall charger that takes 47-hours to charge your pack but a real, honest-to-goodness fast peak charger! You also get a 2.4GHz radio in most instances, full ball bearings, a decent motor, pre-painted body and, oh yeah, you don't gotta build it! For less than the cost of an Xbox One, Playstation 4, the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (which I will be buying in a few weeks myself) an iPad MINI (not even the standard one) or countless other gadgets you can get into RC. This my friends is what we need to be trumpeting. This is how we grow the hobby. This is how we help bridge the perspective that it's insanely expensive to be involved in RC to it is a great way to spend time with friends and family.

So far I've just talked about cars. The air side of things in some ways is even less expensive. Someone can get a great quad copter for under $80 RTF. Battery, charger, 2.4GHz transmitter, out the door and ready to be successful. You want to fly a plane? $60 gets you going with something decent, you can get an awesome trainer with some remarkable technology for under $200. The new iPhone 5c costs $200, as does the Galaxy S4 and Nokia 1020. For $100 you can get an HTC One, iPhone 5c or a number of other options. As a society we accept this as "reasonable" but that's outrageously pricey for a hobby?

I'm sorry if this came across as soapboxy but this really frustrated me. We can help combat misinformation but we need to be active, not passive, in doing so. I ask others of influence in the industry, and I could tag you here but that would be obnoxious, please share this post with your friends and followers. Only we, as those who love RC, can change the perspective and drive home the point that our hobby is more economical than people think. Our hobby is also made up of grass roots small businesses thanks to our friends and extended families who run hobby shops, tracks, clubs and flying fields. Help our hobby grow, spread the good that is RC.

Fire-prone LiPo batteries indeed. To quote the brilliant Charles M. Schultz:



Good Grief!