Another Aerobird maidens...
02-23-2004, 08:28 PM
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Another Aerobird maidens...
Well, I bought her about two weeks ago, but the truth is I've been a bit afraid to fly her. When I realized today that's why I hadn't gone out and flown her yet, I decided today was the day.
I had some trouble getting her flying. I'd give her about three quarter throttle and throw, and she'd immediately rise up and fall to the left. It took me a few throws before I realized that the problem was too much elevator and not too little. Once I got that figured out, the rest of my launches went well.
Not that the flights did, necessarily.
My first flight was going well until the Aerobird quit responding to my commands. It didn't hit the ground too hard, from what I could tell. It wasn't until I was walking over to her that I realized I had forgotten to put the antenna up. Sigh.
My second flight was going well until I did a loop. I did everything that I was supposed to do -- a nice medium dive, then I pulled back and looped beautifully. I'm not exactly sure what happened next -- the plane was moving pretty fast, and all I can remember is that I couldn't seem to control it. It wouldn't pull out of a dive and it tried to plant itself into the ground. Not a bad idea, I guess -- it is pretty mushy out there.
My third flight was short -- I had just barely gotten into the air, it seemed, before the motor shut down. My landing was, at least in my eyes, a thing of beauty. I had practiced motorless landings in FMS, and the plane acted almost exactly the same today. She landed no more than 14 feet from me and skidded to a halt on the wet grass.
The low point happened early on. I (stupidly) thought I could pick up the plane and give it a toss without throttling the motor off. I lost about a half inch square of skin on my right forefinger for my carelessness. The wing has missing chunks on both sides, but that's okay. I've got an extra wing I'll use when I feel a bit more confident. I'm looking forward to my next flight...
Sean.
I had some trouble getting her flying. I'd give her about three quarter throttle and throw, and she'd immediately rise up and fall to the left. It took me a few throws before I realized that the problem was too much elevator and not too little. Once I got that figured out, the rest of my launches went well.
Not that the flights did, necessarily.
My first flight was going well until the Aerobird quit responding to my commands. It didn't hit the ground too hard, from what I could tell. It wasn't until I was walking over to her that I realized I had forgotten to put the antenna up. Sigh.
My second flight was going well until I did a loop. I did everything that I was supposed to do -- a nice medium dive, then I pulled back and looped beautifully. I'm not exactly sure what happened next -- the plane was moving pretty fast, and all I can remember is that I couldn't seem to control it. It wouldn't pull out of a dive and it tried to plant itself into the ground. Not a bad idea, I guess -- it is pretty mushy out there.
My third flight was short -- I had just barely gotten into the air, it seemed, before the motor shut down. My landing was, at least in my eyes, a thing of beauty. I had practiced motorless landings in FMS, and the plane acted almost exactly the same today. She landed no more than 14 feet from me and skidded to a halt on the wet grass.
The low point happened early on. I (stupidly) thought I could pick up the plane and give it a toss without throttling the motor off. I lost about a half inch square of skin on my right forefinger for my carelessness. The wing has missing chunks on both sides, but that's okay. I've got an extra wing I'll use when I feel a bit more confident. I'm looking forward to my next flight...
Sean.
02-23-2004, 09:18 PM
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RE: Another Aerobird maidens...
Congrats on the successful maiden! It's something you'll never forget.
My advice to you is that you should always hand launch at full throttle. Anything else is just asking for trouble.
Have fun!
Matt
My advice to you is that you should always hand launch at full throttle. Anything else is just asking for trouble.
Have fun!
Matt
02-24-2004, 01:24 AM
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RE: Another Aerobird maidens...
I dont care what anyone else says I've tried it and it works:
If you ar unsure about the trim give it a no power toss. Make sure it is a firm toss and it will glide down to land. It will not stall, it will not drop to the ground as long as you throw it hard enough. Because, however it is only going slow it wont be as responsive and will need fine tuning once up there (aim to make it go straight and level at half throttle). This has saved my plane on a couple of occasions.
Happy landings.
If you ar unsure about the trim give it a no power toss. Make sure it is a firm toss and it will glide down to land. It will not stall, it will not drop to the ground as long as you throw it hard enough. Because, however it is only going slow it wont be as responsive and will need fine tuning once up there (aim to make it go straight and level at half throttle). This has saved my plane on a couple of occasions.
Happy landings.
