acdii

Ihave heard this from others as well as doing it myself. If you want to learn to fly a plane, first learn to fly a helicopter. It doesnt need to be a full collective rip roaring monster bird, just something like the Blade mCX or mSR, even the 120SR would be good, but the latter should only be after the mCX.

This is what I did, Ican hover th mSR and 120SR pretty good now and found transitioning to planes has been really easy, Ican fly fairly well and able to recover from mistakes much faster and correctly now than before. I think it is a good way to learn the fine motor skills required for flying without the beating you take crashing planes. These little ones can slam into walls, floors, ceilings and yet still go right back to flying. They are the Timex of the RC world. Parts are also cheap for them if you do break something. I also found that after flying now, after about 20 flights, the heli was even easier to control.

Lnewqban

We could extend the thought to simulators as well.

pdm52956

My Feedback: (1)

But I don't like flying helicopters.

MetallicaJunkie

you can learn on anything you want(helis or planes) Personally helis dont grab my attention, i never owned one in the almost 19 years ive been flying

i'd say if helis interest you more learn to fly on a heli, and same goes with planes

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

That is the first time I have heard that statement. Most the time it is get a trainer and an instructor with a buddy box and you won't crash the plane. I have never lost one while teaching. Most people go the other way and learn to fly a plane then the chopper but whatever floats your boat. I have flown my grand sons indoor chopper and it is fun but I didn't see it teaching me anything except the kid can fly it better then I can. A Sim can give you the basic idea of flight and I know one person that has gone from the Sim to a plane without an instructor so I know it can be done. Still, an instructor and buddy box is the way to go if you want to learn to fly a plane. I have the trainer and buddy box so students don't require buying there own until they decide they want to stick with the hobby. A lot of club instructors do it the same way as I do. I have had several students learn to fly and then walk away, all they were out was the price of a couple gallons of fuel.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Well, it does teach the plank pilots to use a rudder

GaryHarris

I think it's backwards too. Helis are much harder to fly. And I don't get helis. Does nothing for me.

I come from a different school. Although I started building planes in 92, I never really learned to fly to until a few years ago. Building was always a hobby for me and racing was my rush! I got into racing RC cars in 92 and I really think that helped me learn flying and overcome alot of the issues noobs normally have. Like orientation and being proactive rather than reactive. It's important to "feel" and "lead" a car rather than react to it and the same goes with planes. But skills with a transmitter means nada if you can't set up a plane, understand engines, electronics, geometry and a whole gaggle of technical stuff that takes years to learn.

jimy1321

I also started with heli's back in the 1980's .I spent an obcene amount of money only to fail miserably . I think the simulator is the way to go, thats how I got started  back in this silly game . At least $ 100,000  in simulated aircraft.lol.

acarter

My plane hovers just fine

Austin

Lnewqban

.....and it also teaches all of us that throttle is not a switch, but it should rather be used to control altitude.

jimy1321

If I could make my plane hover fine life would be complete I could die a happy man , I can almost do it on a simulator . Mabey another 100k worth of simulated aircraft and I may try with the real deal lol .The 3d thing is really cool . Is it a gyro thing or are you guys really that good? Dont take that question as a smart ass remark as I am truely interested and want to know , and at this point in the game itis waybeond my capability or i need better electronic gadgetry ??????

MetallicaJunkie

the pro dont use gyros in their airplanes....as far as i know they are banned in any type of competition.....i never have used a gyro and never will....im learning the "true way" same thing with knife edge coupling, i dont mix...i do the mixing" with my brain and thumbs.... however if i was to compete i would have a mix for that, one less thing to focus on when trying to focus on flying doing complex aerobatic sequences... i have a mix for that on one of my planes, and its almost too easy

jetmech05

learn to fly the way you want to fly....if you want a heli learn on helis...if you want to fly an airplane learn on an airplane....
there is no subistute for stick time either...sim are great and a beginner learns faster with a sim....but there is no subistute for stick time.....so with that said go fly

rowdog_14

My Feedback: (5)

That is a big negative, in my opinion. Learn on what you want to fly. If it is a heli start with a heli, if it is a plane the start with a plane. I learned how to fly with the hangar 9 p-51 pts when it came out in 2005. I then started flying helis around 2009 because I wanted something different.

To me that statement is like telling someone who wants to learn how to drive a motorbike to learn how to drive a stick shift car first...Yes it will help with the concept changing gears and using a clutch but it is a totally different feel.

So that being said learning on a heli when you want to fly planes will help with the concept of orientation and stick control but will not help with take off, landings, etc...you get the point.

Then keep a sim on hand to practice crazy stuff and keep your eye hand coordination up to par.

I agree with jetmech05

opjose

That good...

No "trickery" ( gyros ) is involved, but the planes are trimmed out and balanced for 3D. They have a small degree of stability in a hover... i. e. they will fall to the side after a second.

The choice of a plane is also important.

The plane needs large control surfaces that remain in the airflow of the prop, so they have function even it the plane is at full stall.

I move the C.G. aft on my 3D planes to the point that the plane flies level at mid throttle both upright and upside down, hands off.


I tell people that to do aerobatics you learn how to fly a plane in ONE direction... forward.

To hover you learn how to fly a plane in four directions... from the top, bottom and both sides as the plane feels like it is responding differently to your control inputs at each orientation.

To fly a heli you learn to fly the heli in EIGHT directions, forward, backward, left, right, forward inverted, backward inverted, left inverted, right inverted.

But helis are different and more difficult from planes, so if you learn to fly a heli, you'll quickly pick up planes, but you'll still go through a learning process for planes.

On the other hand learning to fly helis from the start is MUCH more difficult than learning to fly planes from the start. ( the CX type helis don't really count as they are ridiculously stable ).

fly24-7

I've found that learning to fly comes from three things. Knowledge, confidence and repetition. Knowledge can be acquired two ways. 1) self teaching through trial and error, or 2) from someone who's developed proficiency AND knows how to impart that knowledge to others. Once some level of learning occurs, success is achieved and confidence grows, which leads to more learning because the student is willing to challenge himself. Proficiency is developed through repetition. Practice does make perfect (or progress at a minimum).

I'm one the the few I know in the hobby that taught myself. Not to say there aren't many who learned this way, I just don't personally know many. I bought a plastic and foam electric plane, went to the utility field at my local Jr. high, and flew (and crashed) until I got the hang of it. From there, I graduated to higher performance electrics, to glow and eventually to gas.

I'm one who benefited greatly from the simulator. I taught myself to fly aerobatics that way. Practiced/learned on the sim, tried it out at the field - several "mistakes" high. Practice, practice, practice until I became proficient.

So, whatever method you think works for you, go with it. So long and you build confidence and experience success, it was the right move...

kiwibob72

Having originally self taught myself to fly the smaller 450 sized collective pitch heli first (no sim), it is possible to learn in that manner, just seriously hard - how I only ever had two crashes on that heli is beyond me. I now have a H9 bluenose waiting till my 40th in Jan (and a 50 sized nitro heli that I have owned for 2 years now) - as I now want to fly both 'types' of platforms (also have a training aircraft)
Still, my view is that the 6ch C.P heli is/was a crash course in how to use all control surfaces, and that they did make the initial learning to fly a plane simpler with all the cross over experience my thumbs had.
That said, if you don't think you want to fly a heli, there is no reason to get one, just learn to fly with a set goal to get to what level and type of flying it is that your looking to move into - ie (IMO) don't jump around from scale to/or 3D and back and forth etc, and just make sure each progression step you take is well thought out and relates to that end goal.
As with that P51 I have, while my trainer is being used to gain what I want from it, it will soon be sold to allow for a 55" FMS P51, as this is a much more forgiving version of my big scale flying 65" one, and will fill in the gaps I need to learn that my high wing trainer won't (tail dragging takeoff and landing, flap handling, retract use) - they also bounce better than my current mustang too when/if it all goes wrong!

acdii

Aww yoose guys is no fun.   Only point I was trying to make is if you have an itch to learn to fly, a good way to get started cheaply is with a micro heli. It is something that can be done indoors, and give you the ability to learn coordination of the sticks and fine motor skills.  It's a lot of fun too if you have cats.  It also teaches you patience, something needed when flying. Most people want to get out there and start looping and rolling and doing tricks only to fail miserably and crash. 

Sim time is good to, but as I have found, judging distance on a sim is more difficult than in real life.

Some people aren't near a flying club either, or have access to someone who will train them. This is a way they can get started before they take a several hundred $ plane a good distance from home, and have some confidence that it will fly.

 I know a Heli doesnt fly like a plane, but you push the stick left and it will go left, a plane will do the same thing, it will teach you how much stick to push and that is probably the hardest thing to learn in flying. Too much stick too fast equals one cluster of a flight.

stevenmax50

My Feedback: (1)

Ive never flown a heli except on RealFlight and I suck at that.  I do not see how learning either one first helps with the other.  Totally differant methods of controlled flight.  But whatever works for you I guess.  I just dont see it.

opjose

The point being is we ( particularly those who DEAL with trying to teach others how to fly ) find this not to be true at all.

Quite often the exact opposite is true....

By the time you add the cost of all of the repair parts, and replaced items someone doing this will purchase, they could have purchased a far better starter setup, that will serve them well for a long time.

The frustration factor and chance of dropping out is FAR lower if you go to a club field and take their training sessions, for which you really need a training AIRPLANE ( not heli ). This normally permits us to get a newbie through learning to fly WITHOUT crashes and the extra expenses involved.