RADIO CONTROL SCALE AEROBATICS
Mike Hurley
11542 Decatur Ct., Westminster CO 80234 E-mail: mike.hurley1@comcast.net
If you're an International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competitor, you've most likely made owning and building a quality Scale Aerobatics (SA) aircraft a priority. For years that meant choosing a kit or a set of plans and spending a considerable amount of time building your model. But in today's world of limitless leisure-time possibilities it's tough to dedicate so much of our extremely limited free time to one activity, not to mention dedicating a substantial amount of disposable income to it. That's why Almost Ready-to-Fly (ARF) aircraft have become so popular in the last several years.
Several large and small companies have joined the ARF revolution, but the company that has led the way and continues to set trends in the ARF-aircraft market is, without a doubt, Hangar 9. With the leadership and design prowess of Radio Control (RC) Aerobatics icon Mike McConville, Hangar 9 has hit the market with SA design success after success.
Some of those projects were risky endeavors from a business standpoint. For example, nobody had done a 1/3-scale SA ARF before, and no one knew if the company could sell an aircraft that had traditionally been considered marketable to only a small group of pilots. The risk paid off, and 1/3-scale (33%) models from Hangar 9 are continuing to dominate ARF offerings for serious enthusiasts and for those who are just getting into SA.
It has long been my feeling that Hangar 9 has had its success because of one talented and enthusiastic modeler. I thought it might be informative for you to get to know a little more about Mike McConville and Hangar 9, so I decided to talk with the man himself.
Interview with Mike McConville
MH: Mike, can you give us a little background on your participation in RC and then something on how you got started in the RC industry?
MM: My dad was and still is a modeler, so my youngest memories are at the flying field. I first flew when I was about four, but I didn't get really interested until I was about 12. That's when I first got into powered airplanes and soloed. I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and at that time Dave Brown was king of the hill in Pattern, and Pattern was kind of a big deal. I had a lot of exposure to Aerobatics—Dave was a multi-time US Champion, TOC [Tournament of Champions] silver medalist, and world silver medalist—so I gravitated toward that and got into Pattern in 1978 when I was 13 and competed continuously until 1996.
In 1992 I got my first invitation to the TOC, which was a disaster for me—I ended up 16th! It was an eye-opening experience—the first international contest I'd flown in—and I got a lesson in preparation. But I was lucky enough to get invited back to the next Tournament because I was flying well in Pattern F3A. I did a lot better the second time; I think I came in eighth. From that Tournament on, I kept getting invited back because I was in the top 10.
I moved over from full-time Pattern to full-time Scale Aerobatics in about the mid-'90s. After the second TOC I had a lot more success and really enjoyed that kind of flying more. I first started designing for myself in 1984, with a Pattern airplane called the New Wave. The first design I sold was called the Desire 60, which I did for a construction article in Flying Models in 1991. At that time I was working in engineering for GE Aircraft Engines.
I came into the RC industry in 1991 and then went to work for Midwest Products in 1994 as a senior design engineer doing designs full time. That was Midwest's entry into Scale Aerobatics. We did the Extra, the Giles, the CAP, the Super Stinker, and their little CAP 232, among many others.
I came to Horizon in 1996 to run the Team JR sponsorship program, and I did some airplane designs for Hangar 9 in my spare time. They ended up as Hangar 9 airplanes: the Edge 540, our sailplane, and the Ultra Stick. I also ran the sponsorship program through the end of 2000, then moved over to heading up product development for all our airplane product lines, including Hangar 9.
Contrary to popular belief, I don't fly airplanes all the time! I still personally design most of our SA airplanes, and I work very closely with our manufacturers overseas, with their engineering and production staffs. We've really spent a lot of time visiting and training them, and I tend to spend a great deal of time in Asia lately. We work with just a couple of select factories that produce the best quality and essentially work exclusively with them.
MH: What is Hangar 9's relationship to Horizon Hobby?
MM: Hangar 9 is not a separate company per se; it's a proprietary brand. Horizon Hobby is the parent company and is a distributor of products. All the Hangar 9 airplanes are produced overseas in various locations. The primary difference between us and other companies is that we don't take other products and brand them. We actually develop the product or concept, then go to the factories we work with and have them made to our specifications so we control everything that goes into that product.
MH: Hangar 9 has really hit the market hard in Scale Aerobatics and has emerged as one of the leaders with designs that work for a huge cross-section of fliers, from people just starting in SA to serious competition pilots. I've even seen a few of them flying in the top classes in IMAC. What made Hangar 9 decide to jump into such a niche market?
MM: We saw SA as an opportunity. The SA segment of the market went from a very small niche that could easily be served by some cottage industries to something that was a lot more significant. Popularity really started to grow, and it made sense for Horizon for a couple of reasons. It seemed like there was enough business potential for a company our size to justify the expense to market something in SA, and it also really served us well to grow the Hangar 9 name. Because if you do something in SA, it gets visibility — it gets press; it gets people talking. Even if it doesn't sell the numbers like an Ultra Stick, it's a showcase of quality for your brand.
That's really the reason behind our Ultimate biplane, which is one of the first TOC-size airplanes. The market for that airplane isn't very big by the standards that a company our size usually needs to see to get into a market. But the reason we did it is that if we did a really good job (and we did!), it helps establish the Hangar 9 name and helps show that we have the best-quality ARFs on the market.
MH: Horizon Hobby also employs and sponsors some of the big-name pilots in SA.
MM: Top pilots that we have working for us include Peter Goldsmith. Peter and his family moved over from Australia in 2000. At the time of the 1999 TOC, Horizon was looking for a creative director in our marketing department. Peter and I had been friends since we met at our first TOC, and I knew he ran his own advertising company in Australia. Fortunately things came together and he made the move. Pete's now in charge of the whole Team JR program.
John Glezellis is a more recent employee. He started two summers ago as a high-school intern and now he's full time.
MH: Who are some of the sponsored pilots in SA?
MM: Quique Somenzini is a sponsored pilot. That was big news at the beginning of last year when he switched over to JR. He's a great, easygoing guy who's been very willing to help anywhere he can. He's a real asset. Off the top of my head, we've also got:
- George Hicks
- Marc Moldowan
- Andy Kane
- Warren Thomas
- Gerry Neal
- Len Alessi
- Don Szczur
- Chris Laken
- Brian Huffmeier
MH: With the TOC out of the picture, do you see changes in the popularity or shape of Scale Aerobatics? If the TOC used to set the trends, who or what will set the trends now?
MM: That’s the $64,000 question. My opinion is changing. When the TOC first went away early this year, I didn’t really think it would have any impact. But I’ve changed my mind. It seems like it’s been kind of a flat year in IMAC competition. The Nats was way down. I think maybe the TOC pilots had more influence than I thought they did. I don’t think any of them showed up at the Nats this year. A lot of the guys who were regular attendees would bring people along with them. None of them showed up. You add all that up, and it’s a pretty significant number of people who didn’t participate.
MH: Do you think it affects SA sport fliers as well because their heroes aren’t in the magazines anymore?
MM: I don’t think so. I think the SA sport flier largely flies because he really likes the airplane. My rationale for why SA has grown so quickly and gotten so popular is because they’re such multipurpose airplanes. Twenty years ago Pattern was a big deal. There were a lot of competitors and they got a lot of press. The top Pattern flier was regarded as the top flier, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. Pattern airplanes are such single-purpose airplanes—you fly them in Pattern or you pretty much don’t fly them—whereas with the IMAC airplane you can do everything.
Unless you don’t like Aerobatics at all, you probably like SA airplanes because they’re just fun to take out to the field on Sunday and fly. They’re probably the best fun-flying airplane you’ve ever had, yet you can go fly the Nationals with the same airplane. SA airplanes have proven themselves as great-flying airplanes and they’re here to stay.
I don’t think the absence of the TOC will permanently reduce the SA numbers, but I do wonder what it’s going to do to the equipment because everything being flown today in SA airplanes—engines, radios, everything—is in large part because of the TOC’s influence. I wonder if the airplane size of choice (now the 40%) will change because of the TOC being gone. Will it maybe go smaller? Will something come up to replace it?
I’ve heard talk about an FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) class for SA. If that came to fruition, then whatever rules would govern that might have an impact on IMAC. Now we have the Don Lowe Masters, the XFC (Extreme Flying Championship), the Tucson Aerobatic Shootout, but so far nothing trendsetting.
MH: You flew in the XFC. That’s an entirely new format and an exciting style of competition. What did you think of that?
MM: I loved how the XFC was run and the format. I used to love the precision flying and thought of the Freestyle as something you had to do. But I flew in the XFC this year and had a blast. I found that when you didn’t have to focus on two disciplines but just one—Freestyle—it became fun! It totally changed my view, and now I really enjoy Freestyle flying.
As far as the format of the helicopters and airplanes flying together, it made the entertainment value of the event higher than anything I’d ever seen. The helicopter pilots did some amazing things, and the combined event was a great idea from both the competitor and crowd perspective. The neat thing about how the Freestyle is evolving is the big focus on choreography—flying to music. John Glezellis (who won the XFC) was incredible and so much more impressive than just flipping around and touching a rudder to the ground.
MH: How about future plans for Hangar 9?
MM: We have a lot of plans and we plan out pretty far. I can’t talk about it, but we’ve made a presence in SA and don’t intend to walk away from it.
MH
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
