R/Cast

The FORCE Combat Helicopters have provided a great way to get into RC heli flight while offering a totally different level of fun and performance. Kevin Wilson from FORCE calls in to talk about the helis themselves, some of their capabilities and about how you can save more money than ever before. The guys also discuss Traxxas' new officially licensed truck for Kyle Busch fans, HPI-Racing's update to the Blitz ESE and, as always, answer your comments and questions.

The Spektrum DX7s breaks new ground and builds on the tremendous legacy of the DX7 and DX7se. This feature-rich radio combines exclusive Spektrum AirWare programming and software with the exceptional balance and feel of the DX8 to create yet another industry-leading 7-channel radio. Spektrum's Matt McCarty stopped by the studio to discuss the newest telemetry-equipped aircraft radio from Spektrum.

John's had a busy few days, first off to SEFF and soon heading to the Mississippi Afterburner Jet Meet. Before he gets ready to take off again he's here in-studio and he brought Peter Goldsmith with him. The guys sit down to talk about SEFF and look forward to some future events. One such event is the JR Aerotow, coming June 2-5. Peter's been one of the leading men behind this event every year and we're excited to have him on the show to once again talk about this great fun-fly.

With a week off the guys are well rested and ready to return with a new plane from the folks at E-flite. Mike McConville is one of the best aerobatic pilots and designers in the world and his newest creation really performs. The Sbach 342 has been faithfully recreated in Ultra Micro scale and really performs. Mike joins John and Gary in-studio to talk about his latest creation that you can see this weekend at SEFF!

With the Weak Signals show this weekend in Toledo we have a number of exciting announcements on the air side of the fence. Quique Somenzini stops by the studio this week to talk about his newest project, one that will surprise many in the new ParkZone Stryker F-27Q. Bringing this beloved platform to the next level Quique discusses what he loved about the original, what he wanted to improve upon in this newest version and what some of the key design elements of the latest addition to the Stryker family.

Gary is out in Ontario, California this week to provide coverage of RCX 2011 and to work with the guys from Losi and Team Losi Racing. While he was out there he managed to catch up with Jukka Steenari, long time member of Team Losi Racing and designer extraordinare. Gary sat down with the former 2-time IFMAR World Champion to learn more about him. From his early days in racing, how he moved up, challenging for world titles, re-locating to the US and more there's a lot to learn about this week.

We've had a blast with the two previous Electrix RC vehicles, the Circuit and the Ruckus, and we're sure the same will be true with their latest effort in the Boost 1/10-scale 2WD Buggy. Featuring the same durable and capable design elements combined with buggy innovation, there has been perhaps no-better RTR buggy than the Boost. We?re joined this week by Mark Reed, Electrix RC product developer. Mark shares some insight regarding the design of the car, how it comes equipped and much more. We also preview some of the other gear heading to RCX this weekend including the Spektrum DX3C and nVision series of engines.

The Losi XXX-SCT has really been quite a hit since it started shipping several months ago. Losi has taken what they learned with the XXX-SCT and come out with something quite different and unique. They?re calling it the SCB or Short Course Buggy. Combining scale looks and awesome handling, Losi is hoping the SCB does for 1/10-scale buggies what short course trucks have done for 1/10-scale off-road truck racing. Keith Whisler calls in this week as the man behind the scenes who made the SCB happen. The guys find out what makes this a special and different car.

The folks at Blade have been quite busy lately working on some very cool helis. The first was the announcement of the Blade mCP X at the Nuremberg Toy Show a few weeks ago. Blade had another heli there that has just been announced for here in the US. The Blade 450 3D is the newest heli from Blade and this one packs quite a punch. From a new MEMS gyro system, powerful brushless motor, belt drive tail and a stylish canopy the Blade 450 3D really delivers. Blade?s Mikel Graham stopped by to talk to the guys about this new heli from Blade.

The folks at Blade have been quite busy lately working on some very cool helis. The first was the announcement of the Blade mCP X at the Nuremberg Toy Show a few weeks ago. Blade had another heli there that has just been announced for here in the US. The Blade 450 3D is the newest heli from Blade and this one packs quite a punch. From a new MEMS gyro system, powerful brushless motor, belt drive tail and a stylish canopy the Blade 450 3D really delivers. Blade?s Mikel Graham stopped by to talk to the guys about this new heli from Blade.

Matt Andren is back in-studio and we?re excited to have him back. Along with sharing his experiences at last weekend?s E-fest Indoor event Matt?s also the man behind the ParkZone Mosquito MkVI BNF. This plane packs quite a punch with dual counter-rotating props, larger capacity battery and what is sure to be a great flight experience. We also discuss the new Losi 1/24-scale Micro Trail Trekker, E-flite has several new digital servos, your comments and questions and much more.

Seth Arnold has made quite a name for himself in a short time here at Horizon Hobby with a number of top-notch planes. He's back again with one completely different than anything he's worked on before: a scale warbird. We spend a good bit of time talking with Seth about the historical significance of the included trim schemes and a whole lot more.

We have a special R/Cast this week thanks to all the new, groundbreaking announcements coming out of the Nuremberg Toy Fair. First up is James Haley from Blade visiting with us to talk about the new Blade mCP X. This new-from-the-ground-up helicopter brings truly aerobatic flight to the ultra micro helicopter scene.

The Spektrum designers have been hard at work developing the next generation of the DX3R. They've heard the requests from the racers out there and what they've wanted in the next generation of radio. From a backlit LCD display, dropdown wheel, integrated telemetry and marine technology, the call has been heard and the result is the new DX3R PRO. Combining these features with a 50-model memory, servo speed, ABS, traction control and even more, the DX3R PRO takes the DX3R-platform to the next level. We caught up with Blake Good of Spektrum to see what makes the DX3R PRO special.

It isn't often that we see something that really floors us and makes us take a step back and say "whoa!". When we first saw the Parrot AR.Drone at several consumer and trade shows in preceding months we were blown away. From how you can control it with your cell phone, the on-board camera system, hobby-grade technology and building materials and more, we?ve caught ourselves saying whoa a lot with this thing. Bryan Spears is the CIP Manager for Parrot and stopped by the studio recently to show us what this little quadracopter was all about.