Flying radio-controlled planes is more than a hobby. Since it started in HCMC, it has become increasingly popular.
It's a busy Sunday near the Giang Ong bridge in district 2. After a smooth landing, a red and yellow PT 19 glides across the runway, past its owner, slowing to a halt. A Scanner has already taxied a little away from the airstrip, which is actually a large street, in a huge open space without any constructions around. To the right, the arrival and departure lounges are bustling. It is no ordinary airport. A miniature model one so to speak, made of streets and vast flying field. All around, it is only wild grass spaces where the streets have no name yet. It should become a residential area in the future but things have stopped due to the economic crisis.
“This is an ideal place to fly our model airplanes”, Mr Bui Anh Phuoc says. “We come here every Saturday and Sunday. The space is quite vast and there are very few by-passers. That is the best place we have found so far.” Mr Bui Anh Phuoc is a wealthy 40 year-old businessman. He parked his black BMW car near the small group for safety reasons. “We usually gather here, at the crossroads of these two streets, he continues. This street over there is usually our landing strip. The one on which we stand is the take off strip. It’s important to keep things orderly. If not, it becomes messy and accidents can occur… just like in a real airport!”
Irresistible Passion
Today, his collection has swelled to almost ten models made of plastic and metal.
That does not stop the 45-year-old Mr Cao Tri from indulging in this hobby. ``I spend all the spare time and money I get in my workshop, he says. My hobby has become an all-consuming passion. The feeling of flying these machines is really awesome. Of course you identify with it and you almost have a sense of flying.” Mr Cao Tri works as an employee in a Vietnamese company.
To be a serious model airplane collector can be an expensive hobby to pursue. Some models can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars and it is not something that everyone can afford. However, this does not mean that people cannot be a collector just because they cannot afford to be one. It all depends on how you choose to define the term 'collector'. As for Mr Cao Tri, he likes to refer to anyone who collects something with passion. “Yes, the key word is passion, he says. Anyone can be a model airplane collector as long as you have the passion about what you collect or build, you are a collector in your own right. And the collection hobby needs not be an expensive one. In fact it can be a fun and educational experience too!” There are no children around. “Today, it is daddy’s hobby. But for sure, in the future, I will bring my children. But as we gather here with my friends, we really feel like children!”, he laughs.
Model airplanes are a true passion. At Nguyen Toy World, (223 Hai Ba Trung, D3) everything from the simple model to the radio-controlled plane, helicopter or car can be found. Customers come from everywhere in the city, and even from Hanoi. Not only can you find all of the products that you need but you will likely find that they are offered at more affordable places than you will find anywhere else. The other shops sell hand carried goods whereas Nguyen Toy World shop is the exclusive importer for infamous brands like Futaba, Kyosho or JR Propo.
Training, safety and fun
And the shop doesn’t just offer products for sales, they also offer the information and necessary training needed to enjoy model planes to the best of your ability, in a safely fashion for you and others. Nguyen Toy World’s instructor, Mr Nguyen Van Lam, 55 year-old explains: “when you buy a RC plane for the first time, you should take an instructor. Maybe in the west, people can learn by themselves, by starting to buy small electric planes and fly them in the garden. But in our shop, we prefer to teach all beginners as this hobby is quite new in Vietnam. I come here every Saturday and Sunday and provide advising and instruction for free.” There are indeed quite a few things to learn before you can fly: be aware of the wind, practice gentle turns and moves, let alone the acrobatics. “Most importantly, understand how an airplane flies is crucial, Mr Nguyen Van Lam explains. When the wing moves forward the air lifts it. Too slow, no lift and it falls out of the air it stalls!”
A customer calls him. Mr Nguyen Van Lam takes the radio command and executes the landing for him. “The only difficulty at the beginning is the landing. It requires a lot of precision. I have broken one or two planes when landing in the past.” He takes the plane that just landed in his hands and examines the wings carefully. “Always use common sense, keep it safe, be sensible and responsible – but have fun!”, Mr Nguyen Van Lam concludes.
