kiosk

My Feedback: (14)

Hi, whats best way to learn 3D? I know how to fly very well over a year and can manage decent knife edges, rolls, loops etc but want to move to next step with 3D, unfortunately my work schedule is crazy and makes it almost impossible to team up with people at field, usually am by myself.....i do have sim but doesnt seem to have a trainer component for 3D, any tips appreciated

krayzc-RCU

My Feedback: (31)

G4.5


http://www.realflight.com/index.html

time to fly 24 hours a day now u set the condtions like wind, sun ect, crashing is pretty cheap on here also along with u have no reason not to do your 3d low enough that you can see what you are doing wrong or right

use a site that tells u the stick inputs then just practice those items

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

The best 3D pilot I know has spent thousands of hours on the simulator, and flies the snot out of 3D foamies almost daily. Both are cheap ways to practice.

MustangAce

My Feedback: (3)

When you crash on the sim, only seconds to fly again.

crash99

My Feedback: (3)

The above is completely right. But there is a SPAD called a QHOR. It will not fly like a normal airplane but it is a GREAT 3D trainer. We gave one to our oldest flyer at our club. He is somewhere around 73 years young. He is now flying his balsa 3D airplanes closer to the ground.

Look the spad is so tuff, I have one and I have went through some props but that’s it. Dave McDonald is a great resource. You will find a thread on RCU.

Crash99

XJet

The postings so far are all dead-right.

Given your situation, a simulator will be worth its weight in gold and a foamy is a great way to get back to the "real world" and practice your 3D.

Whatever way you do it, the only way to really get proficient at 3D is to practice, practice practice.

_________
When I'm not here, I'm at RCModelReviews

victorzamora

I'm normally the last person to agree with everyone else, but a Simulator and a foamy are the way to go. For example: I have a Charger CR1. I crashed the first one I bought maybe 45 times. Finally the motor came untaped and destroyed the front end. $20 and another foamy was up in the air. Grand total of about $300 for high-quality gear. Could've gone cheaper, but it's paid for itself atleast twice so I can't complain.

kiosk

My Feedback: (14)

I have both already, a sim and foamy but am having trouble with making progress in some...for example I can get a torque roll started but after bout 1.5 turns I cant keep it going...either tumble or give wrong control input, it just doesnt click in and I have no one to tell me what am doing wrong....is there link for good site describing the moves and input/corrections?

3D1

keep practicing and your brain will eventually get it. foamies are really the only way to move forward in 3D. sims help but practice makes perfect. I used an epp plane to start from efoamies the extra 300 you can beat the heck out of them. fly about 2-4 batteries a day for a year or so and you will be doing rolling harriers in no time. for me practicing hovering until I can grab the plane from the air really tought me which way to go with the sticks. practice practice practice.

trinitybrown

To learn #D flying, visit the link below:

http://rcvehicles.about.com/od/howto...i3D_deakin.htm

Hope it will help you.


wedding helicopter

tmproff

My Feedback: (5)

I guess the first question is what airplane are you using to practice 3d?

Foamies are nice if you already have the electric setup. I am learning 3d right now and I first bought a .40 sized mojo (considered one of the best 3d trainers out there) and even that was a bit too unstable for me, so I moved up to the .60 sized mojo which is absolutely perfect for learning 3d...everything is extremly stable.

Some things I've personally found to help me learn 3d (in order of importance):

1. Fly the right type of plane which is set up for 3d aerobatics
2. Fly with someone that is a good 3d pilot
3. Make sure your throttle transition is quick and you have a very reliable engine
4. Practice harriers (Plane still moving forward but slowly.....helps if you have the plane pointed into the wind)
5. When learning to Hover, practice LOW to the ground...like less than 10 feet (foamies help with this...cheaper)
6. Get VERY comfortable flying knife edge on BOTH sides and be comfortable switching from one side to another.
7. learn how your throttle can be used to keep your plane stable in High Alpha situations
8. Your rudder is your friend
9. To help with wing rock, adjust both left and right ailerons up about 1/4 - 1/2 of an inch
10. Adding in a mix that slaves your ailerons to your up elevator (only about 10-15%) helps stabilize a hover (this causes inverted harriers to be more difficult tho)

The reality is, it's not very easy to learn 3D.....it takes a lot of practice and a lot of fuel / batteries.....after a while, your muscle memory will start to kick in and you will stop thinking about it.

[link=http://www.blaineaustin.com/3d_tips.htm]HERE[/link] is a great website to describe 3d.

XJet

Most of the points tmproff has suggested are good except:

A good 3D setup leaves your plane pretty symetrical. Reflexing the ailerons may help in a harrier but it'll also have an effect (perhaps bad) in knife-edge and other maneuvers. It's far better to learn how to control the wing-rock by changing the attitude/power to find a more stable harrier position.

What?

Hovering requires little more than lots of practice. It's actually one of the easier 3D maneuvers and anyone who needs the crutch of mixing just to get the hang of hovering is taking the wrong route (IMHO).

When it comes to flying 3D, mixes are for people who can't actually use their thumbs/fingers properly.

If you choose a good model then none of this mixing or reflexing will be necessary. My Mojos almost hover by themselves (I can take my hands off the sticks for up to 10 seconds or more and they'll just sit there) but they do require a little elevator in knife-edge. The Katana V2 by comparison does superb knife-edge only requiring rudder to hold the nose up but it does require more effort to stop wing-rock in a harrier.

_____
When I'm not here I'm at [link=http://rcmodelreviews.com]RCModelReviews[/link]

tmproff

My Feedback: (5)

Everything I posted helped me....you gotta crawl before you do back flips learning the upright harrier is the 1st step to learning more advanced 3d moves.

Saying things like this will only discourage people who are having trouble learning 3d. (would you tell a toddler that training wheels on a bike is a bad idea?)

XJet

Nah... if someone's going to be put off simply because they have to put in long hours of practice (which are in themselves lots of fun) then what effect will their first dumb-thumb crash have on their confidence?

Using mixes and reflexed ailerons only builds crutches on which people tend to become dependent (IMHO).

When you look a the number of gray-haired old-timers (like me) who've learned to 3D without relying on such crutches you realize that it's really not that hard to learn the basics.

I'm still working on rolling harriers and torque rolls but the basic maneuvers such as hovering and harriers were not really that hard. I can tail-touch with the best of them and can harrier around just a couple of feet off the ground with confidence.

All it took was some sim-time and lots and lots of fuel.

It's not as if you can't have any fun until you've mastered 3D. Learning is just as much fun as mastering.

________
When I'm not here I'm at [link=http://rcmodelreviews.com]RCModelReviews[/link]

tmproff

My Feedback: (5)

Everyone is entitled to their opinions i guess

XJet

Yep, I have to agree with you there. It's all good!

Jake Ruddy

My Feedback: (40)

Practice is the biggest thing.. and while that doesn't say much, I can tell you that many people practice hovering for upwards of 6 months before they really get the hang of things like hovering and rolling harriers. You can't just expect to spend an hour a night for a week or two and expect to get it. One day it will just click.

On the sim it's tough.. most get bored after 15-20 mins. Force yourself to go an hour or two and just practice the same things. Don't waste your time flying with others online on the sim, just distracts you.

I meet with a buddy almost once a week and we have a few beers and play on the sim for 4-5 hours.. you can feed off eachother and tell the other person what they are doing wrong.