Got remote, will fly

How does one deal with frequent planes crashes?

Obi Mapua is no stranger to plane crashes as a designer, builder and flyer of radio/remote controlled aircraft.

Since he was 12, way back in 1956 ’til today, at age 73, Obi has been and still is designing and building airplanes. Though in those days, there was no such thing as radio control.

“I was folding paper airplane gliders, making rubber-band powered airplanes, and as I grew older, I was flying ‘control line’ — that is where you have an airplane, powered by an engine, at the end of two steel lines, and you go round and round, making the airplane go up and down. It sure was lots of fun. Reliable radio (remote) control did not happen for me ’til 1974,” begins Obi.

“I was not exactly collecting planes. Most of the time, the airplanes crashed, and if they could not be repaired, they were disposed of,” he adds.

Explaining how he got started collecting planes, Obi narrates, “It was not a conscious decision. It just happened. Eventually when I got to fly better, I was not crashing as often. There were less and less wrecked planes. So, with like-minded friends, we set up an informal club, and we traded out planes. Then, when we were skilled enough to be competitive, we had planes for different purposes. So you can say that we ‘collected’ — the proper word would be ‘accumulated’ — some planes for different types of competitions.”

One would think all model planes were more or less alike. It was a real educational experience for me to realize that Obi had “accumulated” a rather diverse collection.

“I had around 20 or so planes for training, gliding, scale miniature copies of real airplanes and planes for aerobatics. We did research to see what kind of design would be competitive, and we would go ahead and build it,” explains Obi.

Obi has two favorites. One, called a Turbo Raven, which he designed and built for an aerobatic competition, came out rather well, so they still fly it once in a while. It proved several design theories he wanted to test. Another, called Darna, he designed for international precision aerobatics. He has been working on this for three years now. The design was a reaction to super expensive airplanes from abroad that were becoming “fashion modules.” He wanted a simple inexpensive model that could fly reliably. One pilot was assigned to fly this exclusively and he’s doing a great job.

Building planes is no easy task. Obi has put his heart and soul into it and, more often than not, has lost track of the cost of putting one together.

“I don’t do accounting because we exchange parts from one plane to another, so you would say the cost is rather fluid. The most expensive is the one we spent the most time on — those would be the planes for international competitions. You have to have a good motor and the more expensive parts are the good batteries. The least expensive is probably a control line airplane for combat, and that would cost about P500 for the airframe and about P2,000 for the engine,” continues Obi.

Obi has lost count of the number of RC planes he has. He also considers the label “RC” misleading. “The airplanes I made are under the genre of ‘aeromodeling.’ This includes hand-launched gliders, rubber-powered planes, control line models and finally, remote or radio-controlled airplanes. How many planes have I had since 1959? You must be joking! That’s a lot!” exclaims Obi.

“Our planes are made for flying and that’s what we do with them,” he adds.

As one of their members said, “Hindi yan parol na sinasabit lang. Lumilipad yan!”

He lets the good flyers (pilots) fly them to keep his models “exercised.” “Aeromodeling friends are the ‘pilots’ who fly these things. Sometimes they come from Cebu or Bacolod and they fly to get some practice. Planes that don’t get flown, we sell.”

Obi’s planes are hung from the ceiling and on the walls. They are wrapped in plastic to prevent rats from nesting in them. Their club of 20-25 members put together a bodega by the flying field where their planes are kept. Not all are in working condition. Those they don’t fly too often are used to “borrow” parts for other planes to fly. Others have their engines and control systems removed; the airframes are offered for sale.

To beginners looking to learn about these model planes and how to fly them, Obi advises, “Join a model airplane club and obey the rules. Be humble, ask for guidance and listen to the members. Remember, they know more than you do! The planes we build and are not the same as those one can buy at toy stores. They are as different as a toy tricycle is from a 1,000 CC motorcycle. The toy planes you can’t hold in your hand. Some of the big radio-controlled models weigh 10 kilos and have wings three meters long. They are definitely not toys,” Obi explains.

The “trainers” are flown by beginners who want to experience the joy of flying either radio control or control line. He also trains club members to become instructors, and they fly the more advanced airplanes. Flying is a lot about mood, according to this hobbyist. “Sometimes I don’t like flying on a certain day, so I am perfectly happy to let the instructors or the experts fly the planes. I like watching the good ones fly my planes off a real airplane airstrip in Batangas. Word of caution: these planes cannot be flown from the street in front of your house! There are already laws against that. Just because they are bigger does not make them ‘bigger toys.’ I think of these as reduced-sized real airplanes,” Obi says with a chuckle.

“My family is extremely supportive of my hobby. Our club operates in a farming community in Batangas and the children there of high school age assist us in flying our airplanes. In return, we teach them how to maintain the airplanes. We have discovered that these kids are very intelligent and hardworking. So, we put up a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project to help them out in their education and, in one instance, medical assistance. We also put together a control line team, and we trained these boys to fly well enough to compete internationally.” He hopes they can qualify as participants in the Philippine Team for the FAI World Championships in France in 2018.

“I want to project the image that we are not idle rich playboys with money to burn for big boy toys! We are heavily involved in technology, its development, application to aeronautical projects and the training of the people who are with us,” he adds.

The possibility of flight has fascinated humankind for thousands of years, from early civilizations to the present. The desire to build flying machines and control the skies is no longer a dream but a reality for Obi Mapua.