Hobbyists Get on a Different Track--Radio-Controlled...
Their starting line may have been Japan, but they took off in Orange County.
A few years ago, puttering around with radio-controlled toys was just another weekend avocation. Today “R/C cars” fuel a worldwide industry--thanks, in part, to Costa Mesa entrepreneurs Ron Williams and Mike Reedy.
Back in 1980, when radio-operated models were first beginning to roll across the Pacific Ocean, Williams--then a real estate salesman--happened to be spending a lot of time in hobby shops. His stepson had developed an infectious fascination with electronic “slot cars.”
“I got hooked on them,” Williams, 38, said. Soon he found his interest shifting gears to the latest Japanese innovation, R/C cars, which, unlike slot cars, are not confined to an electric track.
So hooked was Williams that he shucked real estate and set up his own shop, Radio Controlled Hobbies, in Costa Mesa. On Sunday afternoons, he organized informal R/C car races in a vacant field behind his store. “It was the first off-road race track for radio-controlled cars in the country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Reedy, vice president of Associated Electrics in Costa Mesa, also was redirecting his focus from slot to R/C cars.
Using Japanese components, the mild-mannered electronics whiz perfected an engine for true devotees. His Reedy Modified Motors now sell the most custom-made R/C car engines in the world. Furthermore, Associated Electrics has become one of the biggest manufacturers of R/C car kits.
“Mike is the grandfather of radio-controlled cars,” Williams said. “We’ve both been in this business from its inception.”
The sport’s popularity hit the road running in 1985. Reedy estimates that today there are about 100,000 R/C auto racers in the United States, some 3,000 of whom live in Orange County. Their plain-wrap newsletters have metamorphosed into slick magazines, including the Huntington Beach-based Competition Plus.
Race tracks have popped up all over the continent. Two years ago, Williams opened a 5,400-square-foot dirt track inside a building adjacent to his store.
Radio Controlled Hobbies conducts races Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. Participants pay $7 to enter their pet projects--in whichever category of race suits their various models. At speeds of up to 35 m.p.h., eight cars vie to outnumber one another in laps around the obstacle course in races that last 4 minutes.
As they fly over ramps, zip down hills and negotiate sharp bends, the miniatures appear to have minds--or possibly tiny drivers--of their own. But their pilots are full-scale human beings who, wielding radios, manipulate cars from a platform overlooking the track.
“The secret to racing these cars is in hand-eye coordination,” Williams said. “You have to picture yourself inside the car.” Through the magic of radio frequency, racers guide their autos with palm-sized steering wheels.
R/C car aficionados compete in contests around the globe. “I’m very seldom home,” said Reedy, 48. “I’m in Europe two or three times a year, Australia, Japan.” Reedy will sponsor his own international race at Radio Controlled Hobbies on Jan. 21 and 22.
For driven fans, the 18-inch-long vehicles are no small investment. Half the challenge is in personally piecing together the little playthings, and kits start at about $200. Extras such as custom-made motors and specialized tires can quadruple a car’s sticker price.
“I don’t even want to think about how much I’ve spent,” said John Shurtleff, 30, as he tuned up his car for a recent Saturday night race--”$750 for the kit, $1,000 for battery chargers, another $500 for the motor. . . .
“Everything about it is like a real car--you use different tires and different shock oils for different tracks; you use one kind of transmission for a dirt track and another kind for a paved track.”
The Huntington Beach auto mechanic admits to a slight case of fanaticism over his R/C car, which he races twice a week. “I put a lot of my spare time into fixing it up,” he said.
Shurtleff’s girlfriend, Tracy Young, 23, said: “We sometimes do other things on weekend nights besides come here and race his car. Sometimes. Oh, well. How can a girl go wrong with a roomful of men surrounding her?”
But R/C auto racing is not only a man’s game, nor is it only an adult’s game. “We have 12-year-olds racing next to 70-year-olds,” Williams said. “It gives kids a good feeling about themselves to find that they can hold their own against grown-ups.”
Nichelle Rivera, 14, of Rancho Cucamonga, has steered her way to stardom. The eighth-grader’s racing prowess garnered her sponsorship--a status symbol in the R/C car society. She wears clothes advertising a motor manufacturer in return for free auto parts.
“Some of the guys get aggravated when they’re beat by a girl half their age,” said Rivera, who aims to be “the first lady world champion.”
Winners take home trophies, gift certificates and boosted egos. World champion Kris Moore has taken home many such prizes over the 4 years that he has been racing R/C cars.
“We do a lot of traveling to Europe and Japan. That’s the fun of it,” said Moore, 23, who drives up to Radio Controlled Hobbies from Encinitas once a week. “I have sponsors that pay for my trips.”
Sponsors and all, however, Moore has spent “$10,000, easily” on the care and feeding of radio-controlled cars. “It’s an expensive hobby,” he said.
A former motorcycle racer, Moore set his sights on a safer amusement ride after suffering a knee injury. “This I can do without getting hurt,” he said.
Not all R/C autophiles are practiced champions. “I just got into this 6 months ago, because I was going through a mid-life crisis,” said Laguna Beach resident Christian Durand, 44, who works for Pacific Telephone. “I wanted to revert to childhood, which I never left in the first place.
“I’m not very good at putting the cars together yet. I forget things, like screws--and my wheels come off often.”
Reedy credits human nature for the dedicated following that radio-controlled cars have.
“We are competitive beings,” he said. “This is a way to compete without injuring yourself.”
