BIGDFLYS

Decided to go for it this morning while the wind was calm, taxied, took off, flew great for a while, came in for my landing approach and it all went wrong. Snapped the tail off, damaded the wing, busted the landing gear off, and broke a prop. Found a skyraider tail that will fit so going to fit that, repair the wing and main gear then re monokote it. Lesson learned, buying a foam electric with SAFE, 3 modes, and a panic switch to finish my training with.

mustangman177

Do you have anyone assisting you that knows how to fly ? Trying to teach yourself can lead to frustration and possibly leaving the hobby. Find a club. They will have instructors and possibly a "Buddy Box" to help you learn to fly.

BIGDFLYS

There are several clubs and lots of rc pilots in my area but very few who will take the time to teach you, especially if you are not a club member, I cant afford dues on top of AMA membership, cost of my planes, and simulator. I bought a hobbyzone super cub with safe from someone who I think is willing to help, but he lives 50 miles away and being in Kansas there are weeks where we may only get a few hours of really good flying weather for a beginner. This makes scheduling an issue. I think since I now have a less intimidating plane there may be more people step up.

I guarantee I wont be leaving the hobby no matter what, I am determined to learn and at this point I have 7 planes total. The Hobbyzone Super Cub, an indoor foamy Cessna with Champ guts, a foam Parkflyers Daredevil bipe being put back together, my Tower 40 being repaired and re covered, 2 spads in progress, a Super Debonair almost done and a .40 size spad. Then my winter project, a D.W. Giant Scale P-51 with a 65 inch fuse and 75 inch wingspan. I enjoy the build.

warhwk

My Feedback: (3)

The AMA has a three month trial for $20 that you can apply towards a full membership. If this allows you to team up with a trainer at an AMA field, this seems a lot cheaper than crashing. I can't speak for your field, but at mine, there are many pilots that are genuinely interested in teaching new student pilots. I recommend the E-Flite Apprentice as your primary training plane. It's built pretty tough for a foam plane and parts are readily available if needed.

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

Around here, trainers like the Tower 40 show up on Craigslist and at swap meets for good prices. Basically, there is little market for used trainers and people can't get much for them. If you were near by I would just give you my old Tower Trainer. It's beat but it would get you flying again.

BIGDFLYS

warhwk, I do have my AMA membership, and fly at the local clubs field. I suppose the most difficult thing is aligning schedules and getting weather to halfway cooperate.

JPMacG, I bought my tower trainer cheap and will repair it fairly cheaply also, as for back to flying my Hobbyzone Supercub with the three mode SAFE system is ready to go as soon as the wind lets up and it is done storming and raining. I wish I had this plane before, that minor crash would have either not happened or not have been so bad. I will master 3 channel flying then convert it to 4 channel with ailerons.

John_M_

One of the things that got me confused when I was first learning to fly was when flying the plane towards myself... the plane does the opposite of what you become familiar with when flying away from you.... when flying away from you, right is right, and left is left... but when flying towards you, left is the planes left, but your right.. and right is the planes right, but your left ... confused the heck out of me and I almost gave up.

One of the individuals who I asked for assistance taught me a simple rule when flying towards myself that changed my entire experience learning to fly.... when flying towards yourself, you want to practice keeping the wings level... to keep the wings level as you fly towards you, you want to push the aileron stick towards the low wing to bring the wings level... on a 3 channel setup (no ailerons) with just rudder, elevator, throttle, you would push the rudder stick towards the low wing... if you remember this simple rule, you can't make the mistake of moving the control sticks in the wrong direction causing you to crash during your landing approach.

Within just a few minutes I was flying with a new level of confidence... after a few weekends of practice, I was taking off, flying around and landing with no problems... it really made the difference... after a while it will become second nature, and you won't even have to think about it.



John M,

spaceworm

As I wanted to be a FS pilot, having a limited exposure flying with my Dad, I envisioned myself in the cockpit as I was flying RC. This got me past the confusion of control inputs when the plane was flying towards me. However, because of this approach, I was never a good instructor as many others could not place themselves in the RC plane itself. Now, I am not really conscious of "being in the plane", but the controls are input still as they should be.

Sincerely, Richard

John_M_

Yes projecting ones mind into the cockpit may work for some with a strong minds eye and a good technical background... I've seen people with zero RC flight experience pick it up like it was nothing... it is all in the way the mind perceives its, and of course the eye hand / coordination... some take a little longer before they train their minds to react to what they see.

I worked with an individual many years ago who was introducing his son into RC... he decided RC gliders was the way to, and built him a "Gentle Lady"... I offered my assistance to get them started, he turned it down, I reassured his decision, and told him about the control changes when flying toward you... his reply to me was just that Richard, " oh, I'll project my minds eye into the cockpit"... the following Monday when I came into work, I asked him how it went, I crashed it he said... he had a degree in engineering, but by the time he projected his mind into the cockpit, the disorientation had already set in and he couldn't wrap his head around it.... pushing the stick to the low wing takes very little thought, just a reaction... I have never (knock on wood) stuck a plane in on approach since learning the low wing rule on approach.... I've had many dead stick landings come up short , but they were landed safely.



John M,

BIGDFLYS

Low wing wasnt the demise of my trainer, it was altitude loss that did me in, poor throttle control on my part I think. However, I got stick time with my super cub today and made several successful landings, and got to take the plane home in one piece. The stick under the low wing deal is an excellent piece of advice. What helped me was rc cars as they switch direction coming at you as well, so my mind is trained for left and right either way. Today was a big confidence booster and I am now hooked for good. LOVE that little plane.