I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
05-07-2012, 02:54 PM
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
Trust me,I will keep you all informed.And for those hoping thatI crash, there are a couple of you,I will be honest if it does happen. As long asI keep it slow and steady on the landings and don't try to fly on a windy day I should be ok. I have a spot that has plenty of room. Looking foward to getting my AMA number and going to the next club meeting in Garfield Hieghts, Cleveland area. If anyone is reading this in the NE Ohio area let me know what club you are in and good places to fly!
thanks,
Ben
thanks,
Ben
05-07-2012, 06:54 PM
#28
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
For what it's worth, I don't hope you crash and I really don't think anyone else does either. Many of us think you will crash, especially going it alone, but you've decided not to do that so your chances of retiring or passing on that trainer before destroying it are pretty good I'd say. You're off to a fast start, so I fully expect the hobby to be rewarding for you.
05-08-2012, 03:21 AM
#29
RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
What's interesting about all of this is the focus on "crash". I don't focus on it because i've crashed very few, and those that I did crash were due to my own stupidity or lack of observation, and experience (at the time).
I spent quite a few weeks learning to fly, going out to the field three times a week to work with my instructor. He said I was ready much sooner than I would admit that I was, so I stayed on the umbilical cord for a few weeks longer than really needed to, but he didn't mind and I learned a lot. As a result, my landings are picture perfect, and my emergency procedures are close to flawless.
I'm not the best pilot on this earth, but I am a safe pilot and proud that I've not destroyed many of the models that I put together and flown.
I've seen people talk about how many crashes they had last week... at our field, we had a few guys that were crashing two or three a day, take them home, fix them up, then go right back out and crash them again. In one case, the guy took off, immediately went inverted, and the canopy fell off and out came the battery pack, which made it to the ground only a few seconds before the plane did.
My only point here is to back up what Jester is saying... none of us, well, most of us, don't want to hear that you crashed your trainer, we would much prefer to hear that you had a wonderful day out there, flying and learning. That's what will make the hobby worth while to you. If you crash each of the planes you put together then get fed up at the cost and that you are not learning as well as you think you should, well, you won't last long. Most of us would rather see you stick around.. the best way to do that is to fly them well, and land them safely - one take off - one landing... keep the ratio at 1:1
CGr.
I spent quite a few weeks learning to fly, going out to the field three times a week to work with my instructor. He said I was ready much sooner than I would admit that I was, so I stayed on the umbilical cord for a few weeks longer than really needed to, but he didn't mind and I learned a lot. As a result, my landings are picture perfect, and my emergency procedures are close to flawless.
I'm not the best pilot on this earth, but I am a safe pilot and proud that I've not destroyed many of the models that I put together and flown.
I've seen people talk about how many crashes they had last week... at our field, we had a few guys that were crashing two or three a day, take them home, fix them up, then go right back out and crash them again. In one case, the guy took off, immediately went inverted, and the canopy fell off and out came the battery pack, which made it to the ground only a few seconds before the plane did.
My only point here is to back up what Jester is saying... none of us, well, most of us, don't want to hear that you crashed your trainer, we would much prefer to hear that you had a wonderful day out there, flying and learning. That's what will make the hobby worth while to you. If you crash each of the planes you put together then get fed up at the cost and that you are not learning as well as you think you should, well, you won't last long. Most of us would rather see you stick around.. the best way to do that is to fly them well, and land them safely - one take off - one landing... keep the ratio at 1:1
CGr.
05-08-2012, 03:40 AM
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
He reminds me a lot of another person that use to be on the forum RCGarfield. He learned very quickly and was into some competition. Haven't seen him for quite some time. Ben!! I hope you never crash, but don't get ahead of the curve. I for one tried it alone and the money I pi**ed down the drain because I didn't get any help. Now I am an instructor and I enjoy helping others not to crash. So,,, good luck in the hobby. You will meet some great people at the field and here. Just don't be in a hurry to get it in the air. If it isn't right on the ground, probably won't get better in the air. Don't forget to do your range check and you your check list every time you get to the field. Hope I see you in some competition.
05-08-2012, 06:22 AM
#31
RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
BenBishop98 without going into the instructor or club thing and of course I do agree with most of the responders in this thread, You will definately miss out going it alone on probably the most important part of any achevement. And that is simply the fellowship of real live folks who are your mentors and friends.
If you need to post a thread on a first solo you have acheved on you own by yourself then you have cheated yourself of what a first solo is all about and that is a marking to your fellow friends and yourself that you have have reached a first step up the airmanship latter. If you need to make a thread about that achevement in some electronic forum then that is cheating yourself of a real in life 'attaboy'.
First Solo is not about some automatic instant pilot status, the real purpose is to motivate you to continue that climb up the latter.
I have practiced the old full scale tradition of the ceremonial shirt tail cutting in full scale since 1965 and also in latter years in modeling both RC and controlline. Its a shame but you will never be able to have the treasured old signed piece of shirtail to hang on your wall to remember that special day.
John
If you need to post a thread on a first solo you have acheved on you own by yourself then you have cheated yourself of what a first solo is all about and that is a marking to your fellow friends and yourself that you have have reached a first step up the airmanship latter. If you need to make a thread about that achevement in some electronic forum then that is cheating yourself of a real in life 'attaboy'.
First Solo is not about some automatic instant pilot status, the real purpose is to motivate you to continue that climb up the latter.
I have practiced the old full scale tradition of the ceremonial shirt tail cutting in full scale since 1965 and also in latter years in modeling both RC and controlline. Its a shame but you will never be able to have the treasured old signed piece of shirtail to hang on your wall to remember that special day.
John
05-08-2012, 10:05 AM
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
Awesome !!!A club is certainlynot required.
I crashed within three turns of my first flight with an instructor.at a club.
Ran from the club and been soloing CP helicopters on my own ever since.
I crashed within three turns of my first flight with an instructor.at a club.
Ran from the club and been soloing CP helicopters on my own ever since.
05-15-2012, 05:35 PM
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
I too soloed three times on the seventh. Since the R/C community has become pretty much non-existent in my area, I purchased RealFlight 5.5 and practiced on it after re-kitting two trainers due to transmitter problems (I learned the hard way about buying used radio equipment on eBay). After a nice rain shower and with some encouragement from my dad (who has since decided to get back into flying after 15 years) I decided to take it up and it was great! After getting my trims set and getting my plane to track well it helped me realize how addictive this hobby is. My first landing was a little rough but once I knew what to expect on the approach I was able to grease in the landing. Hopefully with some more flight experience I will be able to fly as confidently as some of the more seasoned pilots, because right now I shake like a leaf while I'm at the controls.
05-16-2012, 03:48 AM
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
"shake like a leaf while I'm at the controls"
Hah!! That my friend will NEVER go away especially when you maiden a new airplane you just spent several hours, days, months and many $$$$ to put together.
I just got back in the hobby after a 20+ year absence and trained myself via Real flight 6 and the Nexstar ARF. Joined AMA before I got my plane/radio. There is a local club but I work a weird schedule so it would take forever to get with an instructor so I just went ahead and taught myself much like the OP. Plus I was hoping my previous experience would help (it did a little but not much). My first flight in over 20 years was also the maiden for the Nexstar... talk about shaking like a leaf!! Pretty damn scary at first but starting to relax now. 20+ flights later and only a couple of scratches on the Nexstar.
I'm in it for life. Kiddo's are all grown and no wifey. Life is good!!
Hey benbishop98... I'm guessing your 13 or 14 years old?? That's cool and congrats for sure. Sounds like your off to a good start but don't pass up the opportunity to join a club as the friendship and comraderie are priceless. Also an AMA membership is pretty much required these days.
Hah!! That my friend will NEVER go away especially when you maiden a new airplane you just spent several hours, days, months and many $$$$ to put together.
I just got back in the hobby after a 20+ year absence and trained myself via Real flight 6 and the Nexstar ARF. Joined AMA before I got my plane/radio. There is a local club but I work a weird schedule so it would take forever to get with an instructor so I just went ahead and taught myself much like the OP. Plus I was hoping my previous experience would help (it did a little but not much). My first flight in over 20 years was also the maiden for the Nexstar... talk about shaking like a leaf!! Pretty damn scary at first but starting to relax now. 20+ flights later and only a couple of scratches on the Nexstar.
I'm in it for life. Kiddo's are all grown and no wifey. Life is good!!
Hey benbishop98... I'm guessing your 13 or 14 years old?? That's cool and congrats for sure. Sounds like your off to a good start but don't pass up the opportunity to join a club as the friendship and comraderie are priceless. Also an AMA membership is pretty much required these days.
05-16-2012, 06:43 AM
#35
RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
Hey, every time I go out, I get buterflys in my stomach. I use the first tank of fuel just to fly orbits and calm down. The first several orbits, well, that's just what I do.. Clockwise orbits, then Counter Clockwise orbits, several of each, so that I relax a bit, then I do high approaches, not landing, just go around several times, as I did as a student.
Then, I work slowly down until I do a touch and go and then continue with those for a few orbits, then full stop landings, taxi back to take off position and do it again. Sounds boring, but it does two things: It calms me down a bit - gets rid of most of the butterflys..
then it gets the much needed landing practice in.
After that, well, the second tank till the end of the flying day is spent just plain having fun.
CGr.
Then, I work slowly down until I do a touch and go and then continue with those for a few orbits, then full stop landings, taxi back to take off position and do it again. Sounds boring, but it does two things: It calms me down a bit - gets rid of most of the butterflys..
then it gets the much needed landing practice in.After that, well, the second tank till the end of the flying day is spent just plain having fun.
CGr.
05-16-2012, 09:15 AM
#36
RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
ORIGINAL: CGRetired
Hey, every time I go out, I get buterflys in my stomach. I use the first tank of fuel just to fly orbits and calm down. The first several orbits, well, that's just what I do.. Clockwise orbits, then Counter Clockwise orbits, several of each, so that I relax a bit, then I do high approaches, not landing, just go around several times, as I did as a student.
Then, I work slowly down until I do a touch and go and then continue with those for a few orbits, then full stop landings, taxi back to take off position and do it again. Sounds boring, but it does two things: It calms me down a bit - gets rid of most of the butterflys.. then it gets the much needed landing practice in.
After that, well, the second tank till the end of the flying day is spent just plain having fun.
CGr.
Hey, every time I go out, I get buterflys in my stomach. I use the first tank of fuel just to fly orbits and calm down. The first several orbits, well, that's just what I do.. Clockwise orbits, then Counter Clockwise orbits, several of each, so that I relax a bit, then I do high approaches, not landing, just go around several times, as I did as a student.
Then, I work slowly down until I do a touch and go and then continue with those for a few orbits, then full stop landings, taxi back to take off position and do it again. Sounds boring, but it does two things: It calms me down a bit - gets rid of most of the butterflys..
then it gets the much needed landing practice in.After that, well, the second tank till the end of the flying day is spent just plain having fun.
CGr.
I know several guys that say they get nervous too and especially on a new plane. It is something that rarely if ever happens to me. I have done several maidens and only on a couple were I even close to nervous and that was because I had maidened a style I was not aware of the flight characteristics. When I am nervous you probably won't see me fly or I will only fly some very timid plane. I have only had a few times that I was not calm and I had to take it easy and chill out for a bit and after that all was well.
The other week I maidened a decent sized plane (40cc) and due to a setup error the fuselage was totalled. I was not in the least bit nervous nor was I upset because I totalled it. I think the guys watching with me were much more nervous than I was. Walking back from the plane I told them, it is only a balsa plane and can be replaced and I told them I will check it over and see what I did wrong - which by the way was my fault as I had the ailerons reversed (ignorant mistake on my part) and did not have enough altitude to correct it even if my mind would have caught it in time.
It was nothing but user error. I don't like crashing any plane, but some times it can happen. In three years I have only one pretty bad crash and this makes my second one. The first one was mechanical failure and this was my fault because I had the ailerons wrong. I had some other mishaps but I don't really consider those crashes.
05-16-2012, 05:07 PM
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
ORIGINAL: CGRetired
Hey, every time I go out, I get buterflys in my stomach. I use the first tank of fuel just to fly orbits and calm down. The first several orbits, well, that's just what I do.. Clockwise orbits, then Counter Clockwise orbits, several of each, so that I relax a bit, then I do high approaches, not landing, just go around several times, as I did as a student.
Then, I work slowly down until I do a touch and go and then continue with those for a few orbits, then full stop landings, taxi back to take off position and do it again. Sounds boring, but it does two things: It calms me down a bit - gets rid of most of the butterflys.. then it gets the much needed landing practice in.
After that, well, the second tank till the end of the flying day is spent just plain having fun.
CGr.
Hey, every time I go out, I get buterflys in my stomach. I use the first tank of fuel just to fly orbits and calm down. The first several orbits, well, that's just what I do.. Clockwise orbits, then Counter Clockwise orbits, several of each, so that I relax a bit, then I do high approaches, not landing, just go around several times, as I did as a student.
Then, I work slowly down until I do a touch and go and then continue with those for a few orbits, then full stop landings, taxi back to take off position and do it again. Sounds boring, but it does two things: It calms me down a bit - gets rid of most of the butterflys..
then it gets the much needed landing practice in.After that, well, the second tank till the end of the flying day is spent just plain having fun.
CGr.
And thanks for reminding me CGRetired... I need to remember to do take-offs, orbits and landings BOTH ways. I've been getting way too comfortable flying the same direction at thepracticefield I fly at and that can definitely be problematic.
05-20-2012, 01:10 PM
#38
RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
Some of us remember when you soloed on your first flight because it was your only choice! No simulators back then, but experience with free flight made RC easy. You built what was essentially a free flight plane that you could (sometimes) keep from crashing. Great fun, but I was happy when I found a club to join.
Jim
Jim
05-22-2012, 03:06 AM
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RE: I DID IT!!First solo flight, well first flight period
ORIGINAL: CGRetired
What's interesting about all of this is the focus on ''crash''. I don't focus on it because i've crashed very few, and those that I did crash were due to my own stupidity or lack of observation, and experience (at the time).
I spent quite a few weeks learning to fly, going out to the field three times a week to work with my instructor. He said I was ready much sooner than I would admit that I was, so I stayed on the umbilical cord for a few weeks longer than really needed to, but he didn't mind and I learned a lot. As a result, my landings are picture perfect, and my emergency procedures are close to flawless.
I'm not the best pilot on this earth, but I am a safe pilot and proud that I've not destroyed many of the models that I put together and flown.
I've seen people talk about how many crashes they had last week... at our field, we had a few guys that were crashing two or three a day, take them home, fix them up, then go right back out and crash them again. In one case, the guy took off, immediately went inverted, and the canopy fell off and out came the battery pack, which made it to the ground only a few seconds before the plane did.
My only point here is to back up what Jester is saying... none of us, well, most of us, don't want to hear that you crashed your trainer, we would much prefer to hear that you had a wonderful day out there, flying and learning. That's what will make the hobby worth while to you. If you crash each of the planes you put together then get fed up at the cost and that you are not learning as well as you think you should, well, you won't last long. Most of us would rather see you stick around.. the best way to do that is to fly them well, and land them safely - one take off - one landing... keep the ratio at 1:1
CGr.
What's interesting about all of this is the focus on ''crash''. I don't focus on it because i've crashed very few, and those that I did crash were due to my own stupidity or lack of observation, and experience (at the time).
I spent quite a few weeks learning to fly, going out to the field three times a week to work with my instructor. He said I was ready much sooner than I would admit that I was, so I stayed on the umbilical cord for a few weeks longer than really needed to, but he didn't mind and I learned a lot. As a result, my landings are picture perfect, and my emergency procedures are close to flawless.
I'm not the best pilot on this earth, but I am a safe pilot and proud that I've not destroyed many of the models that I put together and flown.
I've seen people talk about how many crashes they had last week... at our field, we had a few guys that were crashing two or three a day, take them home, fix them up, then go right back out and crash them again. In one case, the guy took off, immediately went inverted, and the canopy fell off and out came the battery pack, which made it to the ground only a few seconds before the plane did.
My only point here is to back up what Jester is saying... none of us, well, most of us, don't want to hear that you crashed your trainer, we would much prefer to hear that you had a wonderful day out there, flying and learning. That's what will make the hobby worth while to you. If you crash each of the planes you put together then get fed up at the cost and that you are not learning as well as you think you should, well, you won't last long. Most of us would rather see you stick around.. the best way to do that is to fly them well, and land them safely - one take off - one landing... keep the ratio at 1:1
CGr.
+1
I soloed on a electric trainer about 11 years ago at a local private airport. I was so happy and thrilled- but yet very nervous. That's when someone mentioned I should join a AMA sanctioned club for actual training and learn more about the hobby as a whole.
Personally I'm glad I took the advice and as a result I soloed and finally started to know what I was doing behind the controls. As a result, I suspect I would have crashed more and this hobby would have eventually broken the bank for me .
But congrats on your "survival" solo flight, if that's a good word to use?
I know- my heart was pounding out my chest, my legs started getting weak and my hands started to sweat. Because every time I tried to fly anything before that day I either smacked into a tree or crashed into the ground! [&:]So welcome, to this wonderful addiction we call a hobby!
Pete
