Is Rc Just a hobby or can it be converted into career(IN INDIA).....?
Whats the Current and future scope......?
What are the options one can look forward too...?

I humbly request each and every member to participate in this topic

Specially KK Iyer Sir, Shobhit Sir, Gusty Sir,Anwar Sir,  Vishal Rao Sir, Sunil Sir And other experienced people

PLs kindly enlighten Us .

Child= interest+ energy +time- no money
Adult= interest+money+ energy- no time
Old= interest+time+money- no energy
This is the usual situation. If it is to be taken as a career, dedicate yourself into teaching/marketing ; for that one needs to find time , attach to school/college , engage in teaching science behind. If you do it properly, many students will try for NDA exam/ wish to become pilots. Even my 5 year old son wants to become a pilot! 😀😃😃😅

The Truth .....!!!!

Wow he is lucky that his dad is into such activities......
He will have a great time learning new things and experimenting etc....

And i wish him luck Sir

Hmm....  Actually i was thinking about the career opportunities in Flying Rc plane......I mean getting paid for what you like to do An amazing thought..! Isn't it.....!!!
I guess i am being too greedy than being practical 

Really keen to hear about the opinion of others as well.. Just wish that they see this thread and spare a few minutes to put some light on this topic..

@Sukhpreet, aerial photography/ video is the newest trend in almost all major functions/ marriages at least in Kerala. So if one is interested/ skilled in that, this hobby has great prospects as a career.

Keep it as a hobby.
However, it can be a good option for career, but not a respectful one.
Hope you understand.
Seriously!

RC may not be a viable career in India as of now but what we know today as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are! UAVs if not more atleast involves everything you can learn from RC as a hobby. Being one of the fortunate ones to be able to convert this hobby into a successful career today I can assure that this still is in very early phase in India but it has a lot of scope ahead! Just go through diydrones.com and suasnews.com , you may come across many like minded people coming together and making an effort to do something worthwhile.

-Pravin

@S174  Yes sir.......A few people are making Aerial photography based drones here and they sell them to the photographers...This is Indeed Adding A Great New Perspective To Marriages Making it more fun, more memorable .... And moreover people are actually buying these...These are having better support here in india...And are a lot cheaper...!!

@globalmilind  Yes sir....! Completely agreed with what you said Sir

pravinp404  Right Sir :)For news people These are DRONES Sorry...! "Dangerous Drones", For politicians and actors these are hidden cameras which can hinder there privacy........For parents this is waste of time ..... For neighbors these are toys.....(to be precise Khilonai ) For military these are UFO which they have right to destroy with missiles  

But being honest these have great potential/ great uses.... If used by good people

@sukhpreet,
I'm know only one person who is actually employed as an RC pilot. By a high tech company in Bangalore, run by some US educated aeronautical engineers. I'll request him to see this thread.

There is one in Delhi who has been building (advanced) models for people who can afford it but don't have time. In this business for at least 30 years, before which he was an NCC instructor. Not an RCI member.

There is a member in Pune who builds/instructs professionally. He has also done some interesting projects with some institutes there.

Our club Secretary here also build/instructs professionally. He is a world class 3D pilot, both fixed wing and heli.

Don't know of any others who earn a living from aeromodelling (though there may be many I've not met)

And if you really want inspiration, plan a visit to Sharma Models in Jodhpur, the oldest (40-50 years) aeromodelling business in India!

Success in this career probably needs 10-15 years building up a good reputation 
(However I don't know anything about aerial photography as a career.)

Best of luck.

Yes, right Iyer sir, to take this as one's sole profession, you 'll have to be an instructor and a builder. If you plan for sales only, there is tough competition in this era of online marketing. Aerial photography/ videography is an unavoidable part of film industry/ advertising agency.

In India? Only because we are "narrow" minded? Would this apply to film/ advertising industries as well? To earn respect from public, there should be a need , like a search ,for a missing person or so ,where there are limitations by human workforce .

@Iyer Sir......Awesome Sir .........!!!!!   
Your post cleared many of my doubts....
Thats why i am always keen to ask an experienced person ... Because you people can show us "The Path, The Reality!!!!!"
Thank You Sir

@Sunil Sir A.K.A S174 Sir what if We think about incorporating both the worlds 
I mean A company selling such stuff and  also giving training related to rc, aeromodelling and building these things......Bringing best of both the worlds.

Dont you think this will promote RC in higher extent

As mentioned earlier there are very few choices to make a career. Marketing, Training and commercial point of view, Ariel Photography. But as a part of Defense Strategy we can have Professional Pilots involved in UAV operations carried out by the Defense Agencies. But how they Recruit these Pilots I am totally unaware about it.

@miginstruments Remarkable fact......
ThankYou soo much for sharing this thought Sir.........

You'll get an answer if you talk to say Vishalrao of Kinetichobbies!

But then there is at least one company (in Mumbai, I think) supplying target drones to the air force at around Rs 25 lacs a piece! And one in Coimbatore or Bangalore (called UMS?) building 7 cylinder radial engines for a US hobby shop.

So, opportunities exist, if you have the guts, the expertise, the experience (and some money)

Ohk Sir

Right...! to get better opportunities and to make "most of its use/"career, we need to devote our complete resources...........I think I need to gain " the expertise, the experience (and some money)" 

As i think i have guts (as one needs guts to agree on the fact that he lacks in above written points )

I will try to find more ways to get into the career related opportunities....of RC

Meanwhile if any one gets any info/update/knowledge about this topic then do comment
I will too, if i get to know more

 Truth  

We may be one of the very few RC shops who sell stuff as well give training related to aeromodelling, though we don't make a big noise of it. Most people who come here to buy parts get free advice and tips on building and flying. In fact we encourage people to build their own models instead of buying ready made ones.

Regarding prospects as a career out of aeromodelling as such (building, training, etc.), I'm not very positive about it here. This is a hobby and will most likely remain so. People jumping into it in droves looks very unlikely. This hobby requires lot of patience, energy, passion and money, which is not possessed by everybody, especially here. You can trust me when I say this. I'm not degrading the people here but people simply lack the passion here. May be its the generation or what I don't know. I'm not here for just the money. It's my passion. Even if nobody comes, my shop/workshop will remain open. If you have this attitude, then it doesn't matter if there's scope or not. Life will be interesting though not economically lucrative.

Things such as commercial aerial photography, etc. is too risky to be made as your sole bread winner. Side business may be. Unless you have really long hands and deep pockets, making a long standing business out of it is very unlikely, in India. For research and development, may be yes - software/hardware development.

100% in agreement with Vishal.

I don't think situation is going to change for RC, it will remain a hobby for adults.
Financially it is still out of reach of common man & his kids.

and even if someone gathers confidence and invest in buying a RC plane with TX RX ... the very first experience of crash will shake the confidence to a sub zero level.

@a3ruz Indeed it is....!

@VishalRao Sir...
Yes Sir.....I have always seen and always admired the way way you work, the way you advice....!That's why I always recommend the newbies to try your "MINI FLOATER"..... Because its something worth every penny. It can teach a newbie alot....

"we don't make a big noise of it"-->- Well you should....Because you have "The Mini Floater" just like the avengers have "The Hulk". Hope you are getting the point. And i am damn serious about this thing.....Your mini floater has that capability....
I really wish we had such LHS over here......the one like that, of yours and Rcbazaar....


Yours because, you are promoting the RC hobby without thinking about profits (you are selling rc products, you are training people, you are guiding people)... the best part is that Your passion is what is driving you...And we all can see this .........

Rcbazaar because, they are really serious about Rc, They have employees for every department(And there are a lot of departments in their company to organize things well and to think about all the aspects...)They are really serious,(I had a great conversation with Sujju sir.. Really learnt a lot from that conversation...)


If they started teaching as well or your Kinnetic hobbies Started to flourish like them, then i think it may lead to a great BOON in Rc

JUST AN OPINION...

@rastsaurabh Well Sir, I believe the situation can change if we have better clear rules related to rc, If we have a few more RC shops/Training centers, If we all together keep promoting RC....Keep making people aware about this hobby

If it's a working formula
The best solution is the addition of 1 and 2
A collab of child and an adult
{ Problem Solved}
me waiting for this solution to happen

@Sukhpreet Thank you for your kind words Much appreciated!

Honestly speaking, I'm at a stage in my life, where money doesn't motivate me any more. My needs are limited and wants few. I derive the greatest pleasure when others are able to benefit from me. And unfortunately, at least for me, commercialization and satisfaction don't go together. I don't want to make life complicated and stressful by growing my business so much that I'm not able to derive pleasure from what I actually love doing. I'm pretty content now and would like to keep life that way - building models, helping students and flying during weekends

@VisharRao Sir......True......
Totally got your point

@ Vishalrao, hats off to you.

@Vishal, but do this ideology satisfy your family  as well?

@S174 What is your definition of "Satisfy your family"?

If you mean monetarily, I'm nearing 40 now, and fortunately have enough savings to take care of the needs of my family. Like I said earlier, my needs and wants are limited. Whatever I earn, it is for my family only.

If you mean emotionally, I couldn't ask for a better lifestyle than this. And a happy and satisfied person will keep everyone around him happy. Isn't it?

perfect . You should be proud that you have a perfect partner , unlike many   
@ sukhpreet , hope this clip decipher your enigma  https://www.ted.com/talks/raffaello_d_andrea_meet_the_dazzling_flying_machines_of_the_future#t-670476

Already seen this....
And i have also seen the ones Balancing the dynamically thrown sticks

Sorry Sukpreet i saw the thread no

As a career in india, legally ? impossible

That means only a few people are lucky enough to get paid for what they love to do....

@sukhpreet,
You should check out who sent reply number 27. You'll get a pleasant surprise!
He gets paid for doing what he loves, but in exchange, he puts his life on the line, for you and me.
BTW, that Raffaello is not an RC guy, he's a physicist!

Gusty Sir Thank You  for the reply sir
Really humbled to see your reply on my thread.........

Still can you put some light on the topic....I mean how you got into this profession
That may act as an important point in our lives
It may help us to opt this career and to  get  through this career 

And Thank You K K Iyer Sir .... Can you share your story as well...? If Possible........

And any source to know about the ways to get into the profession which you are living

 (#FlyLikeAButterflyStingLikeABee)

Started with building a Electric powered Balsa model,became mad in to this,even my professional course helped me out in some extent to proceed with things,ending up making a ambitious project ( At that period of time with little support) to finish my engineering which lead me to pursue higher studies on the same lines.Now some where in this small world developing flight control systems!

I am happy now and I am working on what I like most but still in different perspective.People are trying hard to make this big.And I feel this topic interesting read.


Thank you



 

Wow Great story Sir.
What type of higher studies you went for

Did my Masters in Flight Controls ,from Czech Technical University,Prague.

I will put it this way.. you create what you want.. if you have to think logically for each n every thing then the creation dose not take place.. & this is fact..  If you say hobby as a career there can be 100's & 1000's of possibilities if you can think imagine.. but you have to take the first step..  may be many different steps.. to get success..

To Bhanuflyig
Very interesting to see that you guys are working on flight controller.
BTW which controller is it.
We used APM and now using pixhawk for mapping.
I would like to give it a try.
Maybe you can develop some FC to meet our requirements.

@ Antriksh

I can't really give you much details about our Fc at this point of time, soon we will be testing. Still in R&D phase,I will update once we are done with our testing.Please send me a email to bhanu.rvb@gmail.com I can save yours and we can be in constant touch.

Thank you