tennessee_

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G.Barber

My Feedback: (1)

Find a different instructor. The fact that he wants you to "learn" flying at close to full throttle is absurd! Flight training should be as close to comfortable as possible, as well as fun! If it's not fun, you'll have a much harder time staying with the sport.

This is just my two cents- take it for what it's worth...

scooterinvegas

My Feedback: (1)

Need more info. What plane, motor and prop.

You can prop it down for less speed but you need to keep a load on the motor.

zac137

It may be a personal preference of the instructor. My 2 cents would be for you to put a prop on it to help keep the top speed down. I'm guessing you have a .60 size engine on it? If so put a low pitch prop on it. 14x4, 13x4 maybe.

EDIT: The other guys beat me to it...all good thoughts.

k1201ltc

I have recently graduated as a "solo" pilot but my instructor was helping me at my own pace. Please don't be afraid to state that you can't keep up with the plane and provide feedback to your instructor.

My instructor was focused on studying slow and high flying so I can get used on the "stall signs and characteristics" of the plane while I was able to recover from the condition. He stressed the fact that its very important to be able to recognize when you are about to stall and be able to bring the plane in safely.

That's just my opinion ... If you are not comfortable at that speed, slow down ... take your time to learn and ask as many questions as you can. If this instructor does not have the patience to teach you at your own pace, maybe you should find someone else in the club who is willing to help you.

Mind you this advice is based on an assumption that the engine of your trainer is big enough to fly without stalling at some decent throttle range (1/4-1/2 throttle) .... If you specific plane needs full throttle just to stay afloat (and thats too fast for you) you may need some simulator time ...

Just my opinion

SharpProp

That's a bunch of crap. It's probably more important to learn to fly slow, so that you know how your plane will react if you find yourself in a stall situation. Slow it down and enjoy the flight.

G.Barber

My Feedback: (1)

Scooterinvegas brings up another good point, But I find it hard to find any reasoning with the instructor telling him that he'll learn faster by flying faster. There is a throttle on the engine for a reason! I think that the instructor is wrong in his teaching technique for pushing a student in this manner. Flying outside you're comfort zone will increase skill level in most cases, but it's not a good way to start a brand new student!

opjose

My students learn to fly the plane at the throttle setting which keeps it flying level with few inputs after it's been trimmed.

That's about 50% throttle or there-abouts.

At full throttle most trainers want to climb... so full throttle is not advisable.

chocorrol

aren't most planes designed to fly at 1/2- 3/4 throttle? I was taught that full throttle is only to take off and some maneuvers. I agree with G, you should get a nother instructor!

opjose

Most more advanced planes do not tend to climb at higher throttle like trainers do.

I trim my normal planes out for level flight at 80% throttle.

At 80% most trainers would be climbing fairly quickly.

pdm52956

My Feedback: (1)

I agree that perhaps a new instructor might be in order but out of curiosity, how long have you been in training and are you flying with a buddy box?

Reason I'm asking is that if you're not on a buddy box, perhaps the instructor doesn't want you to get tooooo slow only to find himself not able to "grab" the plane before, well, you know.

Of course on the other hand, if you are on a buddy box, tell the instructor you are having difficulty. Let him know that flying at that speed is making things difficult for you to keep up with. If he continues to insist, find someone else to help you. Then, tell this guy thank you but you just weren't up to his challange. No harm.......no foul.

It's important to learn slow flight characteristics of your plane.

Hope that is of some help. Good luck and enjoy your flying. It's the only way!

TruBlu02

The mark of a good instructor is one that can tailor his teaching to each individual student. It is obvious that he is more comfortable flying the plane at high speed but to be honest he is doing you a diservice by not focusing on the slow speed handling of your plane. it takes much more skill to learn how to handle the plane at low altitude and airspeeds than it does to be hauling butt around the field. Telll your instructor that you are uncorfortable ad if he doeen't tailor his methods to your abilities send him packing and find someone else. It is obvious that you are not enjoying the flights as much as you could and that is going to push you out of the hobby. Find someone who will help you learn in a more comfortable fashion and you will have much more fun!

JimmyZep

I flew my .46 trainer a couple weeks ago and at 1/2 throttle it seemed
like it was going 200mph.

1st flight, I know things will slow down in a bit. But why on earth would you want to go
full speed at 1st, makes no sense to me.

Hope to fly tomorrow after work. Some take offs and landings I hope.

Jimmy

mike109

G'day

My first instructor loved to fly fast. It ended up causing me to take a long time to learn to fly. He chose planes for me that HE liked to fly and it was not until I chose a slow flying plane that I made any progress. You need to take control of the situation and either find another instructor who will teach you the way you need to be taught or to get your current instructor to let you fly at your own pace.

We don't know how old you are or any details of your model. This would help. The requirements for a young lad are quite different to those for an older learner.

Mike from Oz

cfircav8r

My Feedback: (1)

Just because someone can fly well doesn't automatically make them a good instructor. You have to understand the learning process, and the fundamental skills needed as a foundation to learning to fly. It is exceedingly difficult to correlate what your inputs are actually doing if you are behind the airplane and fighting to catch up. Until you can correlate your inputs to the planes reactions accurately you will continue to struggle. Trying to reason with him, in my opinion is a waste of time. You need to find someone that will take the time to teach you the basics and allow you to build on them at your own pace. The problem is, for most would be instructors, that can be very boring as a flyer. You need to find someone that loves to teach and finds the challenge fun. They don't have to be the best flyer, an average flyer that is knowledgable and willing to take the time to teach it right will do the job better.

noveldoc

My Feedback: (2)

I had all my lessons at 40 to 50% throttle. I fly today mostly at 1/2.

If the plane isn't stalling and you can control it, your speed is OK.

Tom

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Change instructors now. It does not matter if he is used to flying fast or slow. If he cannot tailor his lesson plan to the students needs then he is not an instructor.

This is even worse should your trainer be typically overpowered which is so common these days. That makes teaching the use of the throttle even more important.

The fact that he is adamant about speed just points out his inexperiance in teaching and he is fearfull of you stalling and his inability to handle the situation.

Blasting around at full throttle with their trainers is a hugh problem these days that you will see many students as well as many instructors doing. It certainly does nothing for the student in helping him to learn how to "Fly on the Wing".

Bottom line it is not "the proper way" and should never be "the usual way".

John

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Same here. I take the plane up and set it at a speed and trim so it will fly hands off straight and level, usually about half throttle. I keep my TX and the buddy box set the same and let the student start flying. It just makes no sense at all flying a trainer fast. I just installed an OS .91FS in a 60 size trainer. I was able to fly the basic pattern with the plane but when a friend and I set up the buddy box and got the plane in hands off trim it was set at half throttle. It's set up as a fun plane for me to fly and the student.

scooterinvegas

My Feedback: (1)

Who's your instructor, Ricky Bobby?

Come to think of it, my first lessons I was told to fly wide open too. It was a 40 size trainer with a 40LA, 10x6 MA prop. It didnt go very fast anyway.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwqZXvOoEX4[/youtube]

Sam-E

I would find a new instructor, he is probably a guy who uses the throttle twice, once for take off and once for landing.

willig10

I wonder how long he has been instructing. He may be bored with slow flight and if this is the case, your not getting any benefit from it. I am assuming your on a buddy box? If he has given you control on each channel when you "take it" simply roll the throttle off to where you deem comfortable.

When your flying it is "your" bird. When the instructor is flying it is "his" bird.

I would let him know you want to explore "slow flight" and see what his reaction is. If he is hesitant or ignores you. It is time to get a new instructor.

I have been flying RC since 1984 and I still dont like flying at full throttle all the time. It is too much work. I like doing aerobatics etc but just turning the pattern at full throttle is no fun at all.

You need to learn slow flight so you can recognize what the airplane is doing and how it reacts to control input and this will get you ready for the landing as well.

Wish you well.

Glenn Williams

ameyam

Best to fly on as low a throttle that you can manage with (on the hi-wing trainer of course), so you get used to the sensation of gliding. Thats what my instructor did. SO when I had my first deadstick, I calmly landed the airplane having never landed before!

Practice on a simulator as well, its a great idea for new pilots.

Your instructor may want you to get used to the model being very reactive at full throttle. That or the throttle is not set up properly and what you regard as full throttle may actually be less than that. Ask your fellow fliers for advice

Ameyam

lopflyers

My Feedback: (12)

Not only is not fun, it is not safe. I dont want to be at the field when a student is flying a trainer in the pattern at full throttle.
Actually slow flying is when you learn to recover from situations, when the sticks get mushy is when you have to increase the throttle a little this should be at 25% at the most.
How are you going to learn to land? Does your trainer have brakes????

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

I know the feeling. I remember when I first started and every time I flew it seemed like the plane was screaming too fast to keep up with. Now after two years of flying fast can be super fun! There is not a single reason I can think of for an instructor to make a student fly the plane at full speed. This is not good at all. It is much better to learn incrementally with plane speeds as confidence builds. The first time we ride a bike, we don't go as fast as the thing can go and start doing flips and stuff. With the information you have given, I question the instructor in this case.

Instructors sometimes forget how they started out, the fear that can accompany a learner, and since they have been flying for years just go into some sort of auto super confidence fly mode and that is not good for some students. I wasn't nervous about flying when I started out as much as I was nervous about crashing my "only" plane at the time and would not be able to fly until I had another plane. I hope you can get some good help so you can really enjoy flying. It is so much fun when learned properly and brings many hours of rewarding pleasure.

AA5BY

I'll add my voice to say that the instructor is disregarding the important fundamental of providing as much reaction time as possible during the learning process. Everyone recalls their first flight where they were exhausted in the first five minutes.... because in part we got mentally overloaded. More reaction time lowers the mental load and eases the learning process.

I'd pull the throttle back and find my comfort zone and trim the plane for level flight at that speed. If the instructor objected, I'd find another.

The other issue is that likely the instructor is trimming the plane for full power and as others have noted, trainer planes normally climb at full power. This means that when reducing power, the plane is out of trim and will tend to dive for the runway rather than displaying a good landing glide path and will make landing a lot harder (emphasis) than it needs to be. No old hat pilot wants to land a plane that doesn't establish a proper landing glide path because having to deal with pitch when added to keeping the wings level, alignment with runway, and proper throttle for correct air speed soon present mental overload to even many seasoned pilots.

An example of overload. I recently completed a Yak that was out of trim between even mid range power and power off. Combined with that, the throttle was far too sensitive in the low power range where a narrow band of power was needed to keep the prop from braking the plane too much but keep air speed proper for landing. It was a challenge to land because it overtaxed me. Add a gust of cross wind on the large vertical stab to induce sudden roll close to the ground, and it was tough.

After getting the plane in trim for power on/off flight and reducing the throttle stick sensitivity in the low power zone, life got so much better and landings are enjoyed instead of feared.

You got into this hobby probably to enjoy flight.... not fear it. My bet is that if you speak frankly to the instructor about this and ask him to trim the plane for a slower speed... he will comply.