Well, I'm now an RC pilot. I bought an Aerobird Challenger about a week ago, and it finally calmed down enough to try it out for the first time. I've NEVER flown an RC airplane before in my life. I do fly real airplanes however. I'm a CFI. I also drive alot of RC cars. And to top it all of, I spent the last week playing around with the free FMS simulator.
Anyrate, I went to the local elementary school this evening. They have a large mowed field and a large concrete slab with basketball goals. The wind was hovering between 5-7mph with no gusts. That's about as calm as it gets in Kansas.
I had my wife hand launch it for me the first time. That was the worst part. Even though all the control surfaces were perfectly flush, it dove hard and turned left. I managed to quickly get it level and climb out to a reasonable altitude to start trimming it up. Once it was up and flying, it was a real joy to fly. RC airplanes are just like real airplanes... they want to fly themselves. I can see how a new student can over-control one right into the ground. If you just let it fly and steer it in the right direction, all is well. I did lots of gentle turns to varying bank angles, lots of 25%, 50%, 75% glides and level flights to get a feel for the plane. It stalls straight ahead with no yawing tendencies whatsoever. I flew the pattern lots of times to get a feel for it in landing configuration. After about 7 minutes, I was getting worried about the battery, so I brought it in over the grass field. With a little headwind, this sucker wants to float, especially in ground effect. I bled off lots of airspeed and basically stalled it into the soft grass with a nice gentle cartwheel.
I had another battery charged up, so I let it sit for a while, then took off again. This time, I did a ROG takeoff. Fairly easy, but really wanted to turn left even with full right "elevon" deflection. This is where a 4-channel would come in handy. Lifted off in about 25-30 feet and climed smoothly into the air. This time around, I did some more of the same manuvers to really get a feel for the airplane. I had several gusts hit the plane, probaly not more than 10mph. And just like in a real airplane, if you just let it ride it out, it has such positive stability that it just rights itself with minmal input. I did several full-stop landings on the pavement and then the battery pooped out on me.
All in all, I had expected the worst since I was going at this alone with NIL experience. But needless to say, I still have a like new Challenger and a big smile on my face. I highly recommend the FMS simualtor to anyone who hasn't used it yet. The flight dynamics aren't very realistic, but it gives you a GREAT feel for what an airplane looks like from the ground and gives you a chance to figure out that left=right when the plane is coming at you
. All in all, I am really happy with my purcase and first flight. Tomorrow, I'm going out and trying the "pro-mode" to see how much more responsive she is.
HAPPY FLYING!!!