1: Nearly 80 percent of our population is poor. Poor means, they could not afford proper clothing,shelter, etc. "BUT", most of the masterminds lie here.Money matters a lot.

2: Among the rest 20%, many are not interested, many think its a waste of time and money,etc.

3: Lack of awareness- many people doesnt even know about RC. even if they come to know, they doesnt get the source.

So finally its the only real enthusiasts who come up and last, which is only a fraction of a percent i think. Its not necessary that they may be among the above 20%, but they are among all 100% population.

the post may seem to be a bit confusing but:

"When there is will, there is the way".. 

Rajathv8,


I am not mocking at anyone. Just listing some practical problems faced. In Delhi, it is not uncommon for a person to travel 20KM upwards to get to the field and then the field may not be well connected by public transport (usually it is not). So if a person does not have a car or an assistant, then it is very difficult to carry the model along on a 2 wheeler.


This stems from the fact that due to lack of awareness, the newbie does not get exposed to local flying groups before he jumps in. So the advice from seniors is missing in this case.

Pankaj

Are there good RC clubs here in India..? And are they being recognized by the locals and governments..? I mean can't all the RC clubs groups and Hobbyist join together to show some good exhibition of RC Modeling, flying, Racing etc and bring more awareness to the public about what this hobby really is ?? And I am sure we may be able to find some good sponsors too...

Also one problem I noticed in the RC market in India is that there are really some cheap Chinese RC Helicopters and Cars ,which are from brands never heard of and may cost btw 400-2500 Rs. And the way they are marketed is as just cute toys for children. And most of them fail and break easily too.. Due to this people are not able to see RC Helis,Cars and Planes as sophisticated aero models..  They may  never understand the high level of technology and flying ability and mechanisms in Helis and Planes from Align,Thunder Tiger, Walkera etc...



PS:-(I am really sorry for my lack of knowledge in regard of RC Hobby in India. Yes I am going through this forum and I will try to find as much as answers I need from them)

One more reason i can think of for rc helis not popular;
because they are boring, over an out

The real reason with helis is that most people are not MEN enough to fly them  

When airplane folks get good with their toys, they start to hover them.  Heli folks start off by hovering their toys, and it only gets better from there... nuff said 

I've tried to influence a few of my classmates to get into hobby/RC ...only two attempts of mine were a success... the problem is that their parents think RC stuff are toys and wont help them in anyway & think its a serious waste of money.

Those people just dont know how fun RC is and how it can improve your motor senses and reflexes...

 lack of awareness must be a major turnoff

The level of understanding about things around people, compared to other countries is kind of negligible..
e.g. how many among the masses do even know about the number of cylinders in their car engine? some may even answer "one" (pointing to the cng/lpg cylinder in its boot)

But I have always said: "you wan't to hover, get yourself a heli"!

we need to use social media to spread awareness.

excuse me ?

have you tried them ? 

oh no its surely not over.......its an on going topic for a debate 

helis are a way of life for rc modellers 

Hey come on guys -  helis , planes , cars are all interesting. If all of us had similar taste life would be boring!

EXACTLY.

In a 6 months ceremony, when I gifted a RF RC Heli last friday (3 Ch 13" @ Rs.1100/-) all have come to see with curiosity and surprised and asked with RAnge, Flight time, and even channel, spairs, etc. Two have told that they will purchase the same (being RF, Outdoor Flying Possible in Sunlight).
If they just purchase and fly, others will definitely attracted and informed.

Now-a -days, beggars can also use cellphone as they use it for communication and communicate for different ceremony begging (Believe it or not, it's true). But what about Camera Phone + FM + Net if they use! they are Luxury and costs higher than basic cellphone. The higher margin in price is invested for Luxury.

Now, consider for normal person. A Clerk can afford 3 Cigrate/Day costs Rs200/PM and Rs2400/PY. They can buy computer for Rs 10k for basic learning but purchase 20k powerful machine for gaming then why not RC ? Different professional can afford blackberry then why not RC ?

An cheap 2 channel (Full Function i. e. Forward, Reverse, Left, Right) RC Car can costs as low as Rs200/- and a 3Ch. IR Heli Rs.650/- A Customized RC Plane on budget can cost RS.7500/- Appx [Ref : RCIndia.org/wiki]. Then with material costing Rs300/- to 500/- (SPAD with CA), he can made several plane models (At Least 2 Plane) with different models and can fly. Of course, costly models can priced as higher as 1.7L Morever tools can costs much more like mini CNC and so there is no upper limit.

Earlier for higher priced hobby, it was confined among a small group and higher priced for LHS.
The online purchase has changed the scenario.

Please also note that Kiting and Chuck glider are the basic for this hobby and costs not more that Rs. 20/- for starting.
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Please note that profession here mentioned for specify income group and nothing more. Please don't comment on this, I would not answer.

we need to inspire the youth.

Well think of it, where are the flying spaces (flying field). We have less places to fly and newcomers I have seen are not easily taken into the group. To promote this hobby senior members should guide and help new comers.

Mr Mehra welcome to the forum, actually space is seldom an issue, if you are ready to travel,

The restrictions for any1 to start with this hobby is the price involved.. and also lack of popularity..
I've never seen any1 flying a plane or Heli in my area.. Many ppl don't even know if such a hobby exist... In India RC stuffs are considered as Toys..

Most people do not even think of  taking up ANY hobby. It is considered  "a waste of time" or, as you have correctly said, "toys".

From the time my kids were born I would be on the lookout for educational, constructive toys, for them Again, all toys available were just intended to be distractions. "Go play with your toys and stop bothering me", if you get what I mean.

As Augustine has said, space and actually even money, is not really an issue. Most serious hobby pursuits would need a certain minimum outlay. Take photography, for instance. Start up costs would not be much more for aeromodelling, I would think.

Its primarily a mind set coupled with a lack of exposure.

Whats the problem with calling them toys
I also fell that these are just toys. I feel happy playing with them and thats all that matters

From my knowledge, there are more Surface RC Hobbyists in India than Air RC Hobbyists. I have seen several RC buggy, truck, truggy, events but not many Pylon Racers, Skills showdown, etc for Aircrafts.

Competitions (for both Surface and Air models) need to be hosted with attractive prizes like Large Prize money, RC Merchandise, etc...
This will create an interest in the public(mostly the young minds) to involve themselves in this hobby.

Yeah.. Even I feel there are more surface hobbyists then aeromodellers..

The competitions sound fun, but who'll sponsor them? 

Lower cost of products will help the hobby more than any organised competition can do.

Just happened to notice this competition was sponsored by Calvin Klein !!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1330671327092&set=a.1233023005945.25920.1840281719&type=1&ref=nf