So, I’m sure we all remember the day we got an radio controlled toy! On Christmas, birthday's or maybe your uncle or a cool friend of your Dads' in my case; but we all got an R/C car or truck at some point in our life. It usually went one of two ways. You where stoked as hell to get your new toy and wanted to rip it right NOW! Only to find it took hours to charge and were forced to wait half the day to finally take it out and use it. Once the time finally arrived, you got it outside and in the first 5 minutes into running it (Having never touched a controller before) SMASH!!! Day done.... Usually a small steering part or linkage that a kid just can't wrap his or her head around. Another scenario is that it goes well, no crash but after waiting all day to run it the thing works really good! … for 5 minutes and then for the last 5 it crawls around at low speed and finally dies and it’s back to the house for another 4 to 6 hour charge.....arrrgh! Both of theses things were major problems back in the day, unless you ran gassers which where loud smelly and required a lot of maintenance. Along with parts availability, short run times, toxic crappy batteries and overall toughness of the vehicle not being very good, the hobby began to slump.
Times have changed!
The R/C industry is huge now, bigger than ever. With the introduction of (LI PO) Lithium polymer batteries, brushless motors and rugged plastics that take hits much better, things are fun again! Now with the proper battery you can play as long as your ESC (electronic speed control) and motor can handle without melting. The speed of the motors have doubled with RTR (READY TO RUN) kits capable of 60+ MPH out of the box. 
Heavily modified 2WD Slash 
Heavily modified 2WD Slash
Although there are many R/C companies out there, Traxxas is perhaps the one that helped put R/C back on the map. The Texas based company opened its doors in 1986 with the goal of producing Ready to run (RTR) fully assembled kits right out of the box. At the time A good R/C car or truck traditionally would come in a box with sometimes thousands of parts to assemble and take days to complete. Part of the fun for some people, a deal breaker for others. After releasing a number of electric and gas-powered vehicles, the introduction of the two-wheel drive Slash SC truck in 2009 was a big boost for the hobby. Later that year, the 4x4 Slash hit shelves. With great looks, rugged design and speed for days, the Slash in both forms was a hit! They flew off shelves and soon got even better with Li Po Batteries and brushless motors included in the RTR kit. With racing classes opening up to race them and companies realizing the success of this kit, the aftermarket companies began to pop up. Offering thousands of hop up parts for the Slash this is why the Slash did, and is still doing, so well. There are options for days to speed up, hook up and tune your Slash. Having so many options after the base kit allows the driver to upgrade to suit his driving style and make it look the way him or her might want. Some people are better than others at this and some pretty strange looking things can result of mixing parts from other kits and trucks. It’s all part of the fun!
My custom Flow Tech body at the track. 
The OTP trucks trading paint!
Whether you’re a racer or a Basher, these things are fun!! With a kit costing around $400 ready to rip out of the box, it is a very affordable hobby. Great for father and son or daughter. I was lucky enough that my father got me into R/C when I was a young guy and have awesome memories of working on the car and racing it with him. You can have fun racing your buds at one of the many tracks popping up, even here in Whistler! With the addition of better tires, suspension and lower center of gravity chassis, you can be carving lap times out with your buddies in no time! Squamish has a great track, the biggest around. Conveniently Chris Harper at OTP (On The Pipe) is just down the street from it and carries any and all the parts you might need to hop up and repair you truck after the inevitable hard crash, resulting in broken parts. A great community is forming and race nights are going off! Chris from OTP is there racing along with a friendly loyal group of R/C lovers almost every night of the week. Be willing to put the time and effort into the track respecting the rules and offering help to maintain and water the track to keep dust down, but most of all have a great time!
This year we are working on timing and race nights with different classes to up the fun and get some good racing going. Don't let that detour you, most nights are just racing for fun and almost anything goes. There are friendly people there to help get you up to speed and teach you the ropes of setting up your ride. If you’re willing to learn you will be racing clean in no time.
Long exposure at Automind Raceway in Squamish.
Honestly, I have not seen one person to date without a smile ear to ear looking like there 10 again when I give them a try at it.
The next question is usually how much and where can I get one!!! If you’re in the Whistler/Squamish area, stop by OTP, On The Pipe in Squamish and talk to Chris. He's a super friendly guy and he will set you up with all you need to know. Also I started a facebook fan page called Whistler R/C Addiction. I post my pics and news there often and have lots of cool images to look at. As well there are community groups starting up in Squamish and all over BC.
Hope to see you all out there trading paint!! In future I am hoping to include reviews, Tech, Pointers and community news in my posts. Keep an eye on 33 MAG for more news and reviews from me on the R/C scene in theses parts. Until then.......keep it ON THE PIPE!
Chris Harper rippin' up the Squam track
Secret Whistler track in the woods.
