While at the Toledo mixer I saw RC guru and old friend Frank Noll. When I asked what he was up to I was blown away to find out he was back on the RC scene! Frank is excited to be heading JR Propo!
Frank Noll got his start in RC when he was just a kid. His father was into aeromodelling and started out building gliders and rubber band-power models. He also built wind tunnels for the Air Force. Frank got the RC bug by watching his dad build and fly growing up.
Frank enjoys giant scale competition aerobatics, jets, helis and more. When he’s not flying he is golfing. He was influenced by Don Lowe and Ivan Kristensen. They spurred him on to be the best RC pilot he could be.
Frank has been in the hobby over 50 years and has earned his living in the RC industry. I have known Frank since I first got going in RC and later worked in the RC industry as well. If you were at an event you could almost always bet that Frank was somewhere around too!
Frank is very excited to have a new RC industry job and I wanted to make sure everyone knew about. Frank is now working with JR Propo to rebuild its base and get move things into the future. When Frank gave me the good news I knew there would be a lot of pilots out there that would want to hear about it!
JT - So, JR is alive and well! Tell us about your new role with them.
JT - What are your current plans to get the JR brand jump started again?
FN - First thing on the list was to re-brand the line, so everyone was on the same page and consumers understood that JR Propo is back in a form that everyone knows. The immediate focus was to make sure that the modeling community understands that JR Propo is very much alive and under a new solid business structure. The loyal consumer base is still there and is unsure about what was going on, so we need to make sure that they don’t feel forgotten. The company’s main objective is to ensure that there is support all the way around from being able to purchase the systems again, to our knowledgeable service center handling repairs. Everyone in the current company program is very knowledgeable, dedicated and extremely excited about what the future has in store for it. I can speak for myself on this one, as I haven’t felt this excited about the hobby or my involvement in it for quite some time.
JT - Are there any new products we should be aware of?
FN - There are already new systems in production and inventory. They range from sport/beginner systems all the way to “complex” aircraft compatible systems. There have been changes in software and appearance to the current inventory that will keep up with the current modeling needs. The plans are to continue this mindset through current as well as future product introductions.
JT - Will you be on the RC show circuit this year?
FN - Absolutely. I’m still a modeler at heart and enjoy being with our “family” that attends events and tradeshows. Being in the hobby for so long (more than I’d like to admit) I’ve become acquainted with many people, regardless of affiliations and consider them close. When you look at our sport in the big picture, we’re just a bunch of grown-up “kids” playing with toy airplanes.
JT - Will there be a new JR team?
FN - Yes, there will. We’re in the process of establishing the team structure and once that’s accomplished, we will be actively searching for a limited group of modelers who are willing to help us with our mission. We want individuals who have good character and are easy to approach and talk to.
JT - Any future JR plans that you can share?
FN - There are new systems under development as we speak, as well as new innovations that have not been introduced into our hobby. These new innovations are equally exciting as the new systems, IMO. There was no point i going through all the work to relaunch the line, if we only had the same prior equipment.
I’m sure this comes as great news to all the JR fans out there and it should come as great news to all of us in the hobby. Having Frank Noll the helm of a respected RC brand is great for all of us. When you see Frank on the RC trail be sure to congratulate him!
Last edited by Jim T. Graham; 04-10-2019 at 08:18 AM..
Congratulations Frank I wish you the very best in your new position.
Wow....sounds good to me !!!!! Congrats Frank !!!!!
Congratulations! JR Propo for ever.
With all of the things that have happened in the last couple of years, it's good to get some normalcy back into the hobby.
Congratulations Frank! They picked the right guy to keep JR going.
So happy you’ve made the call for this outstanding radio brand.
Well done and good luck my friend.
would the new JR be able to do DMS2 and DMSX so that for mer JR users do to have to orphan the JR and Specktrum receivers in their fleet.
Frank did not touch on JR service and repair - something Horizon is very good at.
just a lot of fluff in the article.
What is your new title? The interview does not really clarify?
Are you part of the ownership now?
Is JR Propo product development completely independent from JR DFA?
Last edited by Vapor Trails; 04-10-2019 at 12:47 PM.
If they would support a module version of the tx like the XG11MV I'd be happy. That way I could switch between the protocols.
Not likely to happen as the DSM2/DSMX is a proprietary Spektrum format.