At the 2007 IHobby RC Show, I have to say I was most impressed by the modelers who attended. Although I have been attending the show for the past 13 years, we had not had a booth for the past few years, and I missed the interaction. The crowds were larger than I remember, and the enthusiasm was greater than ever. An amazing phenomenon was the huge increase in families, with fathers and sons; fathers and sons and grandfathers; mothers and sons; and mothers, fathers, and kids. This was really the most fun I have had at a show in a long time, so thanks to all of you that stopped by. Chicago is a cool town.
In our booth we featured XTM. The response was excellent, as we had about 250 drivers stop by and tell us how much they love their trucks. We were really excited that so many Chicago RC fans loved XTM. It seems the XT2 and Nitro Xcellerator are very popular. We were thrilled by the interest in the MMT, as drivers had seen the reviews in Car Action and wanted to see this truck in person. Impressive was the word most used.
We also featured the Airtronics line of radios and servos, and the big winners were the new RDS8000 2.4 FHSS Airplane/Helicopter Radio, M11 2.4 Car/Boat Radio, and the MX-3 2.4 FHSS Car Boat Radio. Clearly Airtronics is the radio to own for racers, and for the drivers who want the best. We had many “A Main” drivers stop by and tell us they were making the switch to 2.4G radios and they were happy Airtronics was delivering the systems.
We also showed the Phase 3 Flit, which was a huge hit. This is a 6g 3 Ch Hobby Grade RC airplane that is designed for indoor use. We new we had a hit but we were amazed at the response for this little plane. Modelers who saw it fly said they had never seen a micro plane fly so well. The attention to detail and design, which uses carbon fiber, was appreciated. We actually ran out of the 3500 flyers we brought to the show, as modelers wanted info on this plane. We are already heavily backordered as demand is beyond our ability to produce. We expect first shipment end of November. We should have video within next 2 weeks.
Some other items that I think are really cool are the new Traxxas E-Maxx with brushless system, which just just fasssst! I think this will be a great item for those that want big time speed and jumping, without the need for nitro.
Another item to keep an eye out for is the Hobbico Diablo. I think it was one of the best items at the show. It is a jet like plane that is designed for the beginner, and allows you to upgrade the wing as your skills improve. I like the design and the use of magnets to hold the wing which allows swapping wings very easy.
Since I really like the VQ models, I will suggest you take a look at these as well. This is a high quality, richly detailed, line of airplanes. The designer is very talented, and has built a superb line of planes, such as the Invaders, Migs, and Hurricanes. Response has been great, so much so we have run out of most of our stock. More are coming, and these are worth the wait.
I am sure there are more items to check out, but these were the ones I thought were hot.
FYI, we just received more Phase3 EF-16s, these are our best selling plane and just hot right now. check it out.
Enjoy!!!!
