HELL BLOG

The Rolling Stones Join Team Hell?

So I fly at a little local field it has been there since 1928. It's historical. The guys there are very cool and very laid back. They were cool with 3D when everyone else would have thrown you off the field and out of the club. There is a guy that would show up and ask for help on his planes, help flying, etc. He is a great guy and I also enjoyed helping him out. Well it turns out that my friend Bobby Keys does more than fly RC. He starting playing the sax at the age of 14 for Buddy Holly. You might know him better for playing the sax with the Rolling Stones on Brown Sugar. Bobby has been playing and touring with the Stones since 1968 and has more great stories than HBO on Saturday night. He is also famous for throwing TVs out of hotel rooms with Keith Richards. Bobby told me that after he got off the sex, drugs and ... well he kept the rock and roll, he was looking for something that was interesting and gave him that old adrenaline rush. He finally found it with RC airplanes. Right now he is back on tour, 3 months on the road, 3 months off and on the months off he can be found at our local field. So did the Stones really join Team Hell? They each have Team Hell shirts but Bobby is a true Team Hell member and a good friend. Rock on Brother Bobby.
Billy Hell

FOAMHESIVE IS BACK!

Foamhesive was flying off the shelves and I'm happy to say that I have a large quantity in stock. I had it with me at Toledo and I will give you the answers to the questions most people asked me:

1. It is a rubber based glue for foam.
2. It is not like CA. It doesn't have an instant bond and it doesn't create a brittle joint.
3. Foamhesive can be affected by temperature and humidity. Keep your foamhesive room temperature.
4. LESS IS MORE! The more Foamhesive you use the longer it takes to dry.
5. There are people out there that swear by this glue.
6. Foamhesive has it's own web site. Go here to learn more about Foamhesive:
http://www.foamhesive.com

Chris Chianelli's 1,000 Mile Stare...

Chris Chianelli is the host of Radio Control Hobbies but he is also a cool guy. I bet you guys didn't know Chris had purple spikey hair back in the day. I have worked on a few RCH shows with Chris over the years and we run into each other at trade shows. When I leave for an RC show my 5 year old daughter always assumes that I'm going to hang out with the "airplane guy from the TV".
I went out to my local field and guess who was there? That's right brother Chris. We hung out and I even got him to do the 1,000 mile stare. Be sure and check out his show and ask him about his purple hair.

Here is a link from the last show Chris and I did together:

The Chinn Yakk is here!

Can I brag for minute? I hang out with some of the coolest RC guys on the planet. I get to go to the RC shows and see some of the best flying in the world. I have a group of friends I call the Pro Bros that meet all over the country to fly and have fun. How can you top that in the RC world? How about being able to offer some of the best handling 3D planes on the market through BHRC? Jeremy Chinn is a close friend of mine and a helluva a designer. Paul Swany (Mojo), Gary Caruso (Sabre), Jeremy Chinn (Yakk) and I just got back from Toledo. We debuted the new .40 Chinn Yakk at the show and now it's available on the site. Watch the video and decide for yourself.
The envelope just keeps getting pushed harder and harder thanks to guys like these.
http://www.billyhellrc.com/chinnyakk.html
Billy Hell

BILLY HELL RC AT TOLEDO

Hey everyone. I'm excited to say that Billy Hell RC will be at the Toledo Weak Signals show in Ohio.
The booth number is 38 on the main floor and will be manned by Mojo designer Paul Swany, Yakk designer Jeremy Chinn, myself and Charlie Funk.
We will have a new kit that a lot people have been waiting on. I will release the new kit at the show as well as on the web. So even if you aren't at Toledo you can still get your hands on the profile that is pushing the 3D envelope to the bleeding edge.

LOOK FOR THE HELL SALOON
SERVING UP HEAPING HELPINGS OF 3D

ALERT - Foamhesive will be in stock at the show - ALERT

UPDATE - People have been asking about what will be at the booth. Here is a list:
NEW - Lipos by Common Sense RC - that includes TX and RX lipos
Phat Boy kits
Skeeter .30 kits
.40 Mojo kits
.25 Mojo kits
"The Double Secret Kit"
Sneak Previews on upcomming kits
FOMOJO
RCGROUPS FOAMY - Watch it compete in the X Games (pilot Dan Landis)
Foamhesive
Torque Motos
AXI Motors
Airboss Speed Controllers
Jeti Speed Controllers
Billy Hell Shirts
Billy Hell Stickers
Great Attitudes

SEE YOU THERE!
Billy

The Field Box from Hell V2

The Field Box from Hell V2
By Billy Hell

NOTE - This is the long version an article I wrote for 3D Flyer magazine. You can check out 3D Flyer here.

If I see something I like my brain forces me find ways to make it better. I can’t help it. This is what made me create the “Field Box from Hell” over three years ago. I wanted a field box that I could haul around in my car but would also carry just about everything I might need in the field. I posted that first field box on a web site and there have been over 68,000 views of the box since then. I would say I’m not the only one trying to find the perfect field box.
Time has passed and the “Field Box from Hell” has seen better days. I have been collecting bits and pieces over the last year to create version 2 for an even better field box. The time has come!

THE BOX
If you are like me you are always in the toolbox section at Home Depot looking for the next tool box design that will make your life easier. I stumbled on a stacking toolbox that is made out of plastic. The plastic part is important because you have to do a little cutting and drilling to dress out your field box. The one pictured is still the best design I have found in 3 years. I have carried mine around with me constantly and it has held up 100 percent. I tried to find a new box to use but none were better than my stackable box from Home Depot.

THE POWER PANEL

The heart of your new box is the power panel. It’s the brain of the box. Any good power panel will do. My original one was at least 7 years old but this is the “Field Box from Hell” baby! You have to go all the way! I ordered a Cermark Power Panel Plus. If there is a better power panel please email me and tell me about it. This thing does it all. It has an LCD screen that provides you with all the information you will need. It has the standard features as well as a top off charger for your TX/RX and glow starter. It also has a radio battery checker. The LED shows the 12V battery charging status, glow plug currents, and battery voltage under load. How much more could you ask for? I paid for this unit so this is an unbiased opinion.
The panel hooks directly to a 12V battery.

Installation
Installing the power panel was pretty simple. The back of the panel has a protective piece of plastic to keep your connections from touching any metal. I made a template of it and placed it on the front of the bottom box to make sure it was level. You want to make sure that the power is not too close to the top of the box. If you get it too high it will interfere with the tray that sits over the top.

After I made sure the template was relatively straight I traced around it with a pencil. I then drilled a few holes that would allow a jig saw to get in there. I then cut out my hole.

I had to go back and trim a little to get the power panel to fit but it went in easily. I then used the supplied screws to attach the panel to the box. The wood screws went right into the plastic and held tight. I have never had a problem with wood screws backing out of plastic in my other box. IT LOOKS GREAT!

THE FUEL TANK
In my old field box I used a standard one gallon glow fuel jug but to do that I had to cut a big hole in my top tray. This allowed tools to fall into the bottom of the box and just didn’t seem like a great idea after I did it. For version 2 I found a 1.4 gallon plastic fuel tank. The box has a wheel on the front. To make the fuel tank fit I heated the corner with heat gun and formed it to fit around the wheel. It not only fits but the fuel tank is locked in now.

Plumbing the Tank
I had modified cap on my old box that just screwed into the standard glow jug. I found that this same unit fit the fuel tank. This has a fuel
line with a clunk that goes to the bottom of the tank and two fuel lines going out to the fuel pump and filler

 

I plumbed one line out the side of the box simply by drilling a hole for the tube with a drill.

This line goes out to the fuel pump. Any fuel electric fuel pump will work. The Cermark panel has connectors to run a fuel pump. I ran the fuel pumps wires to the 12V battery. Coming out of the fuel pump is the filler line. I bought a new curled fuel line. The curled fuel line gives you more distance for filling your planes.

The fuel line has a fuel filter on the end and connects to a fuel line going back into the fuel tank. I used a fuel connecter that was threaded on the front with a plastic nut. I did this to keep secure the fuel line that the filler line attached to.  The filter in the filler line lets you plug into the line coming off the box when not in use and allows you to plug into to your plane’s fuel line to fill it.

BATTERY
I have a standard sealed 12V battery. I have tried all kinds of batteries for field use but these little 12V RC batteries are simple to use and fine for a field box.
Here is a photo of the internal setup of the box. I have a piece of wood between the battery and the fuel cell to keep everything in place.

FINAL TOUCHES
At this point you could take your box out to the field and start flying but this is the “Field Box from Hell’, so we aren’t done yet.
I added a 4 way wrench to the outside of the box. The function of this for me is that I will always know where it is. I tend to throw tools around when I’m ready to fly and then I have to search for 10 minutes to find them. If it’s mounted on the front I can’t loose it (lets hope).
The holder for the glow driver was something I found in the shop. I think it’s made to hold a broom. You can buy glow driver mounts at the hobby shop as well. I used two screws to mount mine. I doubt the glow driver will live there all the time. The mount gives me a place I can put the driver while I’m flying. You know how it is; you start your motor and then throw your glow driver in some general direction. This will give me a place to put the thing instead of throwing it.

I also mounted a set of hex drivers on the side of the box. I don’t really have a good reason for this one. I have always wanted a hex set like this and that looked like a handy place to put it.

 

YOU ARE DONE!
This really didn’t take very long to put it together and when you’re done you will feel like you bought a new truck. Some guys will think that the thing is too big for practical use. I usually leave the top part (tool box) in the truck and carry the bottom part out to the flight line. The bottom box has a handle and is really sturdy. The “Field Box from Hell” will ride in my SUV put together or seperated. If you do need everything in one place the ability to wheel this bad boy out is great. This box really works for me and I hope it is something that will work for you.

EAC LIVE STREAMING

RC event coverage has just been turned up to 11. I have been broadcasting streaming images from shows for the past 6 months but I was never able to get great video/audio quality and even if I could the bandwidth it would take was going to cost some serious bucks. Jim Bourke, owner of RCGroups.com contacted me and asked if I would be interested in being the host of RCGroups Live! This is a live streaming broadcast for RC events. The first show was the EAC indoor in Memphis, TN.  I had multiple wireless cameras as well as a DV cam that could be used for great close ups of the action. RCGroups Live! can stream out to 1,000 people at once. There is also a live chat feature so the people that are watching the video can chat with one another as well as myself. It was very cool to be interviewing Jason Shulman and ask him questions that the viewers posted in the chat.
What's next? Stay tuned to RCGroups.com to find out.

Pro Bro and Team Hell member Jeremy Chinn competed at the EAC and finished 4th against pilots like Chip Hyde and Mark Leseberg. CONGRATS JEREMY!!
- Nice thousand mile Hooters stare.

Brandon Chitty had a little accident. While I was doing an interview I saw Brandon doing a little dance. It really got exciting when smoke started billowing out of his pants! A lipo lit off in his back pocket. Luckily for him his wallet took most of the heat. I am not kidding when I say smoke was literally coming out those funky boxers. Brian is now known as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Hot Pants" and "The Fire Guy".

Girls at an RC event?! These girls were not interested in dating RC pilots until they found out the average income is 50k a year, then they seemed more interested. BLAINE - don't you know our wifes expect no women at events? Keep this up and we will have to stay at home!

The EAC indoor is in Pro Bro country. There were plenty there to help keep things interesting. Thanks for the transpo around Brother Haler.

Hey it's Paul Swany and Johnny Mojo! Check out Johnny Mojo's spify suit. I wasn't sure if he was there to fly or represent someone in court. Swany did his job to take as many planes out of the air as possible.

Behold THE PHAT BOY!!

This is from Quinn Coldiron the designer of the Phat Boy:

I called Billy Hell one day and told him about this
idea I had.  My wife was buying these cool Hot Wheels
cars for my two boys during her shopping trips around
town.  She kept saying “Aren't these just the coolest
little cars!”  They were fat bodied with really big,
fat wheels and they kinda reminded me of the old
Cartoons comics I read as a kid with those drawings of
hot rods with exaggerated features, like huge pipes,
big, fat tires and motors with blowers that were five
sizes too big.  I decided I wanted to try that style
with a little electric 3D plane.  I already had the
wing from the Skeeter 30 profile that was big and fat.
 I just needed a big body and cowl.  I started
sketching out things, but nothing looked right until I
just let it all go and drew PHAT.  Before my eyes I
saw the Skeeter 30 Phat Boy appear with it's big, fat
cowl, wide, tall fuse and big round canopy.  I could
have taken it a step further, but I still needed this
thing to fly well and 3D like a raped ape.





It's been a lot of fun to do something different. 

I've been hard at work drawing 3D profiles for nearly
2 solid years and I needed to break out of the routine
and broaden my horizons.  I had no idea if it would
work, and honestly, I really didn't care.  The Phat
Boy did not start out with the sole purpose  of being
financially lucrative.  I wanted a new plane to fly,
and if it worked out, I'd share it.  Along the way I
learned a lot of new skills.  Mainly, I learned the
art of forming and molding plastics.  I searched and
searched for a cowl and canopy that was already on the
market that I could just purchase and use, but I
quickly found that their just aren't many full fused
3D electric planes on the market.  Most were foam, or
had extremely narrow and small fuselages and plastic
parts.  I was forced to learn how to vacuum form
plastic.  Just learning this skill alone has made this
project worth every minute that I have spent on it.

Quinn ( Quicker )

OFFICIAL RC GROUPS FOAMY

Jim Bourke of RCGroups.com and I have been threatening to do a foamy together for a while now. I'm proud to announce that the official RCGroups.com foamy is now a reality. It was designed by ETOC winning designer Eddie Noble of Nikitis Aircraft (his Animal foamy won ETOC in 05). The bird is made of 3mm Depron and has carbon fiber in all right places. We debuted it at the Great Planes E-Fest. It is a bad little piece of foam. Here are some pictures and some links:
http://www.billyhellrc.com/rcgroupsfoamy.html
http://www.billyhellrc.com/RCGFOAMYCLAYMORE.WMV

 

The E-Fest Report

Things at BHRC have finally settled down after attending Hobbico's E-Fest. Bryce and Liz Custer went up and took care of the booth. The heavy hitters were all out for the the event. Top name pilots were everywhere as well as the major RC magazines. There were Pro Bro and Billy Hell shirts all over the place. It is still kind of a weird feeling to see someone I have never met wearing a Billy Hell shirt. Cool but weird. Speaking of shirts we sold a bunch as well as BHRC stickers. Thanks go to Ms. Liz, she can work a booth. Bryce has been in RC since he was a kid and he taught me to fly in the early days. You don't have to worry about much if Bryce is around.

RCGroups.com was there as well. Jim Bourke had live video and audio feeds streaming to the web. I have always wanted to get coverage to that level and now Jim B. has done it. BHRC was proud to show the first official RCGroups.com foamy. The boys from FlyingGiants.com were on hand as well. Mad Max and Bob Sadler were roaming around doing the BIFFcast and helping to create a good vibe.

 

After a long day (7:30AM to 11:30PM) we missed the after hours fun but the HELLwagon did attract a bunch of Bros. We drank a few beers, picked some guitars and just BSed for a while. I streamed live images streaming of the "debriefing". That was a good time. The HELLwagon kept us nice and warm. The funny thing about the HELLwagon is that when you initially step in it feels like you are in a big box sitting in a parking lot, but in about 15 minutes it feels like you are in nice warm cabin.

   

We said our goodbyes to everyone and got the HELLwagon on the road. The snow started to fall and pretty soon we were passing wreck after wreck. I counted 7 in all. One SUV got between a guard rail and a semi. It was literally hanging off the side of an overpass between the semi and the guard rail. It looked like someone had taken a hammer to it. Needless to say we drove very carefully. We made it home late and I slept like a baby.

Thanks to Amanda Price and Frank Noll at Hobbico for putting on a great event. You would never have known it was the first year.

BHRC COVERAGE OF E-FEST!

The HELLwagon is rolling in the morning to IL for the Great Planes E-FEST. I'll have the HELLcam rolling as we head up and will have live streaming images of the event during the weekend. We are debuting a new foamy and I have a special demo surprise. It should kick ass!

Go here to check out the live stream:
http://www.billyhellrc.com/livecam/cam1.html

MOJO ARF DEBUT AT COLUMBIA

It was a meeting of the profile minded this weekend at the Columbia RC swap meet. Pro Bros Swany, Gator, Matchless, Matlok, Roger, JimD, Jim Noshey, Bryce, Liz, and more were all there. We had all our tables together in one place and so we could hang out while we peddled our wares.

The most exciting part of the day was getting to see MOJO ARF No. 1. I fly a Mojo, I had a framed up MOJO .40 but seeing the ARF really opened my eyes. This really is a profile ARF design that you have to see. It is very different from your standard profile ARF, I'd have to call it sexy.  I had it out on the table so those in the know could have a look. It was a 100% success and made me even more excited about the whole project.

Thanks to Pro Bro JimD for hooking us up at the show and to the whole club for putting together a great swap meet and indoor flyin. I sold a few Fomojos during the day but as soon as Gator and Swany got started tearing it up in the air I had to keep going out to the truck to get more. Jeremy was really looking good with his Kestrel. I have a video of him flying up the stairway, on to the upper balcony and doing slalom coarse around the poles (I'll have that up soon). Too cool.

You know how some people get a certain look on their face when you mention 3D? I have found a much worse thing to fear...SLOW STICKS. They took to the air like acid crazed pterodactyls in search of prey! They would get closer and closer to our heads. I finally got a Fomojo box to knock them out of the sky with. The moment I put my box down to talk to one of the club members one of the damned things tried to get me! It went right over my head, skimmed the wall and clipped a guy in the leg. Luckily they all beat themselves to death pretty quick.

 It is always great to get to talk to people and find out what they think about things. I also get great feed back about planes, motors and the hobby in general. The thing that amazes me is when someone I have never met walks up to tell me that they support what I'm doing 100% and expect big things from Billy Hell RC. Talk about a boost of confidence! It was a great experience.

TEAM HELL

There I was, about to head out of the house for a good day at Billy Hell RC, when the dogs went crazy. When they hit a fever pitch like that it can only mean a few things:
1. A crazed killer is walking through the yard.
2. The neighbor is walking through the yard.
3. A stray dog is walking through the yard.
4. The UPS man is waking through the yard.
5. My neighbor, who is a crazed killer, is walking across the yard with a stray dog and the UPS man (he's not really a crazed killer - that was just a joke).

It turned out to be the dreaded UPS man (woman in this case) and in her hands were two big white boxes. I immediately pulled out my CRKT Bladelock knife and proceeded to crack them open to see what was inside. Oh, what a beautiful site and not just because I did the design myself. It was my first shipment of "TEAM HELL" short sleeve, red, t-shirts with authentic, simulated, distressed screen printed logos front and back. I thought Christmas had already come and gone but this was a great present.
So if you are so inclined to sport a cowboy hat wearing skull with the words "TEAM HELL" trailing off into flames, they are available at the BHRC store.

Let your freak flag fly!

Home Field Advantage

My RC addiction started many years ago. I was the president of a music label here in Nashville, TN. I had the bright idea in 2000 to buy the digital rights to music and sell it online. This was during the dot com boom. I raised 1.4 million dollars and started a company called Groovetone. The concept was great but ahead of it's time. Most people didn't own an MP3 player at that time and there was no way to tell when the market would boom. Fast forward to the dot com bomb. Dot coms were dying left in right and pretty soon Groovetone didn't exist anymore. The investors got scared and pulled out of the deal.
So there I am, new house, baby on the way and no company. I was working on a pretty good ulcer! I wandered across the street one day to a garage sale. There was big plane made out of balsa and the asking price was $5. I didn't know what it was but I had to have it. What I bought was a Savana .40 and I found out there was an RC field not 2 miles from my house. The guys at the field welcomed me and not only helped me get my first plane in flying condition but also helped me learn how to fly. Edwin Warner is a laid back field with a bunch of laid back guys. I was lucky that 3D was never a big deal at the field. If you were safe you could fly the way you wanted. I credit the attitude of all of the members at Edwin Warner Model Aviators for my intense RC addiction. Without them I may have just given up.

Every year we have a polar bear fly and this year was great. The weather was in the 50s and the wind wasn't too bad. I showed up in the HELLwagon and brought along some of the new BHRC products. One tradition is that people bring chili. We had about 5 different kinds to choose from.

I would eat a little bit and then someone would want to talk about one of the BHRC planes. I think I got to sample 3 different kinds before it was all gone. I'm from Texas so I love good chili. This is the one event where almost everyone in the club shows up. This isn't a huge club (100) members but it's a pretty tight club. I call it perfect in size.

I brought the .40 Mojo ARF, the Fomojo and the Matrix. The guys at Edwin Warner were on to the foamy craze when you had to cut your own foam. They are always looking for the next plane.

Richard Rust is the grand poobah of the club and is also the first person I walked up to and asked if he could help me learn about RC flying. He has always been supportive of all my crazy ideas. Here we see him delegating chili duty to the veteran members.

The HELLwagon was great. If someone wanted to talk planes we would get out of the cold and hang out. If someone had a question about a BHRC plane they would go in the trailer and check out the web page or the video. It is just a great place to be able to visit in...plus it has a bathroom!

It was a great time and good to see all my home field friends. Thanks Edwin Warner Model Aviators!

Billy Hell on DIY?

I was kicking back last night and the phone rang. It was a buddy of mine that said he just saw me on DIY. Back in the early part of the summer I was invited by DIY to help with an episode of Radio Control Hobbies with Chris Chianelli. Chris and I had done a show together the year before and we run into each other at trade shows. For a while whenever I would leave for a big RC event my then two year old daughter would assume I was going somewhere to work with "the man from the TV". Randal Shuptrine, the producer, made all the arrangements. We spent two days at a flying field just outside Chattanooga, TN and flew various electric powered planes. Chris, Randal and the whole crew are great folks and it was really a fun time. When Chris found out I had started my own company he called just to congratulate me and offer his services if I ever needed them. There is nothing like having support like that.

You can check out the web site for show here:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_rch/episode/0,2046,DIY_14330_41618,00.html