Interview with Dominik Haegele

HiroboWorld caught up with Dominik Haegele for an online interview:

HIROBOWORLD: Tell us about yourself, where you live, occupation, etc
DOMINIK: My Name is Dominik, I’m a 17 years old student and I live near Stuttgart, Germany.

HIROBOWORLD: How did you get started in RC helicopters? When did you start? What equipment got you started?
DOMINIK: I got into RC Helicopters due to my father, he started flying in 2001 with a Vario Sky Fox.
In 2003 saw a video of Curtis Youngblood on the internet and wanted to fly like him. Then I tried my father’s helicopter but it wasn’t very good for 3D. So he bought me a Three Dee NT at the end of 2003.

HIROBOWORLD: What do you think have been some of the greatest advances in RC helicopters?
DOMINIK: 91size nitro engines, lipo batteries and fast servos & gyros

HIROBOWORLD: How many gallons of fuel would you burn in a year?
DOMINIK: It all depends on the time I have after school and on the weather. Sometimes, I burn more then 5 gallons per week, sometimes not even 2.

HIROBOWORLD: What do you enjoy most about the hobby?
DOMINIK: I really enjoy meeting a lot of different people on the flying field and to have a lot of fun with them.

HIROBOWORLD: What advice do you give to someone just starting out with RC Helicopters?
DOMINIK: First of all buy a simulator and then the same products people have on your local flying site to get help if you need some.

HIROBOWORLD: Tell us about the setup of your primary machine and reasoning for it.
DOMINIK: At the moment I’m testing the new Hirobo 3D machine with the following setup:

YS 91 SR-RR
Hatori 937 SR
3 Futaba BLS 451 running on 7V
ATG Governor & SolidG Gyro
710mm V-blades TST
105mm V-tailblades
+/- 12° collective
CoolPower fuel 30% Nitro
2S Flightpower pack

I really like this combination because you get a lot of power with the new YS engine and a very very fast responding helicopter with the BLS Servos and the stiff V-Blades

HIROBOWORLD: You're sponsored by Hirobo and also consult to them, can you tell us your role at Hirobo and the kind of projects you have been, or are, involved in?

DOMINIK: My role is pretty easy... I’m flying Hirobo´s products and testing new parts to help them improve as much as I can. But we’re not only working together, it’s more a friendship between me and Hirobo.
One project we are working at the moment is the new 90size 3D machine :-)

HIROBOWORLD: What is it like to the 3D Masters 2007 Champion?
DOMINIK: It’s unbelievable. It was always my dream to win 3D masters. last year I had some bad luck but this year I was even able to beat Curtis Youngblood, the godfather of 3D. It’s simply incredible!

HIROBOWORLD: Has winning the 3D Masters changed you or your flying style?
DOMINIK: No, or at least I don’t hope so. I still want to have fun on the flying field with others, that’s all.

HIROBOWORLD: We are now at the start of the 2008 flying season, will you change you training schedule to gain and retain your titles?
DOMINIK: Well, the training schedule is pretty the same as last year. I try to spend as much time as I can on the flying field.

HIROBOWORLD: Our hobby can be very trying at times, we all sometimes get runs of bad luck, give us an example of a frustrating run you had.
DOMINIK: 2006 was a year full of bad luck for me. I tried some new engines, that unfortunately take a lot of time to break in. (about 4 gallons of fuel) But they never stayed longer than 10 gallons, so I spent a lot of time on the flying field without practising. The top of that was 3D Masters 2006 when 2 of these engines dropped me from position 1 to 5. This was also the time when I decided to make a change.

HIROBOWORLD: What would you describe as some of the highlights of your flying career?
DOMINIK: There are several highlights. Like winning 3D masters or participation in XFC 2007. But there was one week that’s still my favourite, my visit to Japan. We had so much fun there. I will never forget this.

HIROBOWORLD: What are some of your short term, and long term goals for your flying?
DOMINIK: I don’t have any short or long term goals. Of course I’d like to be the first who win 3D masters 2 times in a row. But you have to be realistic. The top 5 pilots there are very very good and it all depends on your performance on the day.

HIROBOWORLD: Any closing comments?
DOMINIK: Yes, I’d like to thank all my sponsors that help me so much in this hobby:

BBT

Ruediger Feil

RS-Motors

and of course my father!