born2build

I took a look at the TRAC web site. Seems like a well established group. One problem I see (and it's a biggie) is the flight line faces south! You'll be constantly flying with the sun in your eyes! Not good.

Johnnysplits

Yeah that's a problem there. I have no idea why they paved the runway in the direction that they did. Now this club has the runways running the complete opposite way...you'll never have the sun in your eyes, but they're grass runways. http://www.baycityflyers.org/

Johnnysplits

Ok I'll give them a call.

Johnnysplits

It's only $5 for 3 years? OMG what the hell is everyone complaining about then? I was on AMA's site and made the mistake of clicking on the chat about the FAA. The way all these people complaining you would think that the fee was $1000 a year! $5 for 3 years...who cares? Complain to AMA for being $75 a year! Should have known things were gonna happen when they came out with that quad copter crap. Anyone can fly them, which is the majority of the problem I'm thinking. And when you have the brain dead with some money and a Gopro on it flying them near airports to video real planes, yeah I can see why the FAA had to step in.

born2build

I actually laughed out loud at your last post. But there are legitimate concerns with the FAA having their big, fat finger in our relatively small pie. I won't get into that here. Suffice it to say, kids who got drones for Christmas have managed to call the undue attention of the federal government to a national organization (AMA) which has flourished quite well on it's own for more than 3/4 of a century! Who knows what restrictions the FAA may see fit to impose on us in the future? But I digress. About Bay City Flyers... Have you been to their field? It looks pretty good from what I can see. Seems kinda pricey, though. $125 initiation fee? What's up with that? Oh, hey. Have you decided on a kit to build yet? "Take-offs are optional, but landings are mandatory."

Johnnysplits

Yes Rich, I have been to the BCF field. They had a 1939 and earlier fly-in that I attended. Spoke with the club pres for a bit. Yes, they are $125 to get in, but TRAC is $150. Pricey...YES. This is Florida for crap's sake. If I were still living in NY, I would expect those kinds of numbers. However, it's the long term cost between the two...BCF $75/yr, TRAC $100/yr for dues. Any thoughts on grass runways compared to asphalt? And no, haven't decided on a kit yet lol. Step by step my flying friend.

flyboy2610

My Feedback: (1)

That does seem a bit pricey. The local club here has dues of $75/year, and with AMA at $75/year (for now), it's $150/year just to fly at the club!
Anybody want to take a guess as to what one reason for lack of youth participation may be?

Johnnysplits

I have nothing to compare to, so I just figured that these are the going rates. I'm going to do a little more club research around my area and I'll report back.

Johnnysplits

Ok, here's a list of clubs within a hour drive:

Bay City Flyers - $125 initiation, $75/yr.
TRAC - $150 initiation, $100/yr.
Largo Flying Club - $130 initiation, $75/yr.
SPARKS Rc Club - $50 initiation, $65/yr.
Imperial Rc Club - No initiation fee, $200/yr.
Triple Creek Rc Club - $260 initiation, $100/yr.

Now judging by the prices of a couple of these clubs, they are obviously catering to a certain demographic. $200 for them, then $75 for AMA per year just to have a place to play with planes is a bit for me. R/C isn't my only hobby. Now those two...TC and Imp...for that kind of money, they better be providing a good looking ***** to perform sex acts on club members inside their trailers.

born2build

Isn't TRAC on public land? You may not have to join the club to fly there. We got lucky as Bennett Field is designated a public park (go figure, I know). We have the late William Bennett to thank for that. He was the president of Circus Circus, then the Sahara Hotel and was also an R/C modeler. Long story short, He got the field built for the Tournament of Champions. Bottom line is we get the use of the field and the city maintains it. No club membership required, just AMA.

Johnnysplits

Rich, the property belongs to Hillsborough County. The club site is at the back of a landfill that doesn't take in trash anymore. I work for HC in that dept, but at a different site. If I got caught using that property without being a club member, I could lose my job. They won't even let me fly at the site I work at. There used to be a club that used our site, but some *****hole called and made a complaint, so the flying club is gone. I'm really getting antsy about flying this plane!!!

born2build

Well, Johnny, I see just two options. Pay up and join a club, or give it a go on your own. It's a risk verses reward proposition at best. Only you can decide for yourself if joining a club is worth the expense. If it were me, I'd go ahead and join but I would milk it for all it's worth! What other benefits do these clubs offer? I really don't know what else to tell you.

Johnnysplits

I'm going to join one...which one? Not sure yet. I would rather hang out with like-minded people and fly instead of doing it on my own which would get boring real quick. You never gave me your opinion Rich...grass or paved?

born2build

Grass is fine, as long as it's well maintained, of course. Tail-draggers tend to do better on grass. My Decathlon was a real handful on tarmac. It's short tail moment and narrow mains made for some "interesting" trips down the runway. Throttle management and skillful rudder work were the lessons I learned flying that bird! Trikes tend to do better on tarmac. If you're going to fly from grass, get on the sim and practice landing a trike on the mains only, nose high. It's all about the flair. It's the proper way to land a trike anyway. Never let the nose gear touch first, ever, turf or tarmac. Grass requires more power on take off, but roll out after landing is much shorter than on tarmac. What's the best thing about a paved runway? No gopher holes!

Johnnysplits

I'll get on the sim and take note of how I've been landing.

Johnnysplits

It's a bit difficult to tell because I have the sim weather set up for brisk crosswind with gusts, but it appears that I'm landing it on all three gear at the same time.

born2build

Set your wind speed at 5mph straight down the runway from right to left. Practice using a standard traffic/landing pattern: Upwind-crosswind-downwind-base-final approach. Reduce power on the downwind leg, turn to base, then to final approach. Adjust power to achieve the proper glide slope to the runway. Use the elevator to control airspeed, and the throttle to adjust your glide. If your rate of decent is too steep, add power. If you look like you're going to overshoot the runway, reduce power. This is how the "big boys" do it. As you cross the threshold, reduce power further. When you are about 12 inches from the runway, gently bring the nose up. this will slow the plane further. Keep adding back pressure until (if you do it right) she settles in for a nice, slow touchdown on the mains. A perfect landing is when the wing stalls and the mains touch at the same time. Most guys land way too fast and the airplane still has flying speed at touchdown. Anything less than a perfect landing will send the bird back into the air. What happens after that is anyone's guess. Remember, luck is not a factor!

flyboy2610

My Feedback: (1)

Just like a carrier pilot in the Navy. Throttle to the firewall, and go around again. Can't tell you how many times I've had to do that on my sim!

born2build

Umm, no, not really. If you have anything useful to contribute, I'm all ears.

Johnnysplits

Sounds good Richard! I'll do it that way now.

Johnnysplits

What do you mean?

Johnnysplits

The same way I drive my semi truck lol!!

born2build

Go to the next club meeting. Tell them you're considering joining. But first you want to know what you get (besides access) for your money. Discounts on entry fees to events, what services do they provide? Things like that. How many members do they have? Where does the money go? How is it spent? Who decides this? When are elections held? I don't want to be an alarmist, here. But there have been cases of corruption before. You want to be sure everything is above board. Anyhoo,how's the landing practice going?

Johnnysplits

Ah haa ok. I'll write that down and ask when I go. The landing practice is going great! Thanks for the tips. I'm really ready to head out into real life and fly this thing!

born2build

Okay, buddy. Sounds good. Anything I can do to help, just post it here. I know we talked about this, but you need to start thinking about your next airplane. I gotta feeling you're going to be ready for it fairly soon. If you decide to build a kit (and I hope you do) plan on about 8 weeks to complete it. Now, go fly that sucker!