carl24bpool

Hi guys,

Its a long timee since I have been on this forum but as I'm going to go and try to fly my Ripmax trainer later I thought I better go through a few threads to read up on the basics of flying.

I know a lot of members are going to say that I should join a club and its a great idea but I just don;t have the time to go through all the hassle of queuing to fly the plane and having to have people with me to fly until I am qualified etc etc. I popped down to my local club last night as I walk the dogs in the adjacent field and there were so many people sat there with planes that weren;t flying as there were already too many in the air.

The field I am going to is extremely remote and there will be nobody for miles around so safety (except my own) is no problem.

What I need to kno is whats the ideal wind conditions for a beginner like myself? Last night there was around a 10mph breeze and on approach one of the IC trainers coming in looked like it was almost hovering it was foating in that well. It seems like this slower ground speed gives you more time to react and effectively gives you a longer runway.

So would I be best in a similar wind?

I've been practicing last night on a flight simulator onthe I pad. Its the same as the clearview flight sim. The only difficulty s that you don;t have sticks and are sliding your thumbs around on glass which takes away a lot of sensetivity and realism. I still managed some good landings and I've driven RC cars since I was 13 so the orientation hen coming towards is no problem at all.

So if someone could let me know on the ideal wind that would be great. I want to give myself the best chance possible.

My friend is also doing the same thing with me with his Thunder Tiger Ready, so we will video each others flights and post some results tomorrow for you guys to give the "I told you so" comments. lol. I do hope not though.

AB Bob

My Feedback: (20)

When I was learning to fly, I didn't fly in anything over 10 mph winds.
A lot has to do with the wind direction as well. If the wind is straight up or down the runway, that is best. If it is crosswind, then a lower wind speed would be in order, perhaps only 5 mph.
If you are going to be by yourself, take a cell phone with you in case of emergencies, like a possible prop strike...

Calvinman

Hi Carl,

I second what Bob said, and like you said a little wind will give your a lower landing speed. At higher wind speeds however the flat bottomed wing will tend to balloon too much. Good luck on your Solo, take a friend to spot for you and double check everyting, twice!

Calvi

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

For someone who is going to attempt to teach himself how to fly the ideal wind for first attempts is a Dead Calm, that's pretty much the bottom line.

John

jester_s1

A slight headwind does make landings easier. 5-10 mph SMOOTH wind gives you a little buffer of airspeed when you do that newbie thing of trying to slow to a zero landspeed before touching down. It probably won't matter much. You're essentially planning to go out and crash your plane with the hopes that somehow you won't. I don't really understand how a guy could not have time to get some help but does have time to do major repairs after every 25 seconds of flying. Of course, if the point is simply to see the plane get into the air ASAP and what happens afterward doesn't matter, go out onto the field and have a great time crashing your plane. If you will aim for a tree you can get this really pretty confetti effect instead of the boring crunch of a dirt crash.

rlipsett

Maybe you should try to see if you can get an instructor to come to your field to teach you to fly. odds are against you because the plane has not been trimmed out yet. your odds will increase dramatically if you can get someone at the other field to at least trim out and test fly your bird. your going to have a tough enough time just trying to keep it flying let alone fighting the controls for level flight.

hookedonrc

I won't preach about getting an instructor, but it is a good idea. On the wind question if you have any, it should be straight down the runway as has been indicated and no more that 10mph. If there is wind, it should not have any gusts, but steady and in one direction. I didn't know what a Ripmax is so I went online and it is similar to trainers that I am familiar with. I learned on a Avistar which a really liked, but alas, a bird strike (yes a bird) destroyed it. I will only say this and let it go... yes you have been running cars and orientation is not a problem ... remember, that is only for left and right ...you will also need up and down. One thing I always remember is put the stick under the low wing to prop it up. Meaning if you want to raise a low wing, act like you are placing the stick under it to prop it up.

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

John Buckner is correct. The only wind conditions that you are going to be able to adjust to are Calm and Dead Calm. We are not being harsh to you. We have simply been there and done that and have run into folks such as you who insist on trying. I would dare say that maybe one in a thousand pull it off without crashing so often that they get discouraged and quit the hobby.

Believe it or not, we sincerely hope you succeed. But at least keep us posted as to your progress and post pictures if possible.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Using some sort of sim in this way simply makes it a game and nothing more. This is worthless in actually attempting to learn something.

I will preach you and your friend are making a mistake, sorry.

John

red head

You Really do need to get someone that knows how to fly to at least trim the planes out . I don't know about the Ripmax but if it's like most trainers you MIGHT get it airborn for a bit, I wish you luck .

As far as your friend with the "READY " goes, you are really pushing your luck . It is a much faster plane and can be VERY aerobatic if set up tight. It's a great flyer and with HELP it makes a super trainer . By your self it's going to be a lot of broken / cracked plastic that isn't that easy to repair if you don't know how. When " Falcon Trading " had this plane in the states , I wrote a long list of "HOW TO's " that they had on the internet , I have NO idea if it's still around and I'm not even sure if I still have a copy.

Anyway, we Wish you Luck but would rather you get some assistance , keep us informed . ENJOY !!! RED

foodstick

I would recommend getting a decent powered glider in about the 2 meter range. Either that or just a hand launch glider. They are SO much slower to react and learn some skills with. that is how I learned. Gliders will be GREAT fun to you as you learn. I flew gliders quite awhile before going glow powered, and my first glow flight required lots of trimming which led to a short flight with a crash. I loved to build so that didn't slow me down. But I would have had zero chance with the glow plane without all the glider time.

Either way have fun and BE SAFE, getting cut bad while alone is ALWAYS a possibility....

AMA 74894

My Feedback: (1)

there are SO many reasons NOT to attempt what you're considering, I would need to write a book...
finding a remote / desolate area to teach yourself MAY work out... (assuming you don't cut your fingers off... that's no fun alone and miles from medical help)
but then what? do you intend to fly alone only at that location? (if you don't learn at the club, you'll still need to go through their procedures)

IF you MUST then do it when the wind is absolutely CALM.
and be ready to hear 'what did you THINK was going to happen???' afterwards.
OY.

Calvinman

Hi again Carl,


You are getting some good advice here teaching your self to fly is a long shot. If you have a long smooth runway your best bet might be doing taxi tests and increasing your speed every time a bit, then when it does lift off by itself throttle back and let her settle back down. You will learn alot about your plane by doing this and maybe you will be more relaxed when you finally do your climb out.

Like it has been said here an out of trim plane will get your heart going, and you may or may not be able to trim it out, practice moving the trims without looking at them and not just before you take off, do it a lot cause when you are trying to stop the plane from climbing/diving and or rolling left/right you will not be able to take your eyes off it to find your trim, another reason to have a spotter with you, you can get him/her to trim while you fly.


Calvi

Villa

Hi carl24bpool
I'll wait for your flight report.

thepamster

+1 on the powered glider that Foodstick suggested. That's how I taught myself. Preceding that however were a number of small .049 2channel planes that often flew the way bricks don't. Max flying time was about 3-5 seconds.
Good luck to you anyway.

carl24bpool

Okay guys. we went, we flew and we crashed.

I went up first. Checked all the control surface throws and CofG. I sent her along the field directly into teh wind which I would say was 8mph gusting to say 14mph. Anyway I gatherred speed and then started to left her off the runway. She immediately lifted and then proceeded to do a clockwise barrel roll and crash in an instant.

I made a school boy error in that I failed ot reverse the aileron servo and instead of correcting the roll I made it worse.

The damage sustained was a broken prop, slight damage to tailplane (easy repair) and the fuselage between wings and tail has been fractured in a few places so I will have to strip back the covering and fit some strengtheners and ensure its aligned.

My friend went next with his Tiger Ready. He got two flights!!

First flight he eased it off the ground and then climbed agressively but managed to level it out eventually. The controls were very sensetive or he was throwing levers way too much. Anyway he managed three laps of the field before flying too low and ended up crashing into a thorn bush. Only damage sustained was the wings twisted out of line with fuselage. SImple fix to spin them back and tighten the screw holding them on. TO be honest he only dd the screw hand tight on forst flight which probbaly helped the plane absoorb the impact.

Anyway nothing was going to help teh plane absorb what happened next.

he took off agin and managed 3/4 of a lap before somehow nose diving the plane into the field from about 50 feet up. The result was not pretty. Engine mojnt broken, bulkhead broke free, under carrige moved forward, rudder ripped off, top of wing cracked and probably some other damage I've forgotten. It looked like it had been ran over by a sherman tank.

Anyway he only paid ÂŁ100 for it and it came with servos and a brand new engine so no big loss. He will just go buy another second hand trainer from our local shop for ÂŁ30. Just needs the servos and engine fitting.



So in conclusion it is difficult but we also had a good laugh. I still think I will get my plane inthe air tomorrow and fly it properly. My friend has no RC experience of ay sort and he managed 3 laps.

As people have said its the trimming out to level flight thats the hard part. I can use the trims without looking so perhaps I'll get it once I can get teh plane 3 mistakes high.

I'l come back with my next report tomorrow night.

thepamster

Well I have to commend you for coming back on here with the report. Most of the time we don't hear back from this kind of incident for fear of the I told you so.
And no I won't say that to you.
I know it is exhillarating to try to fly, lots of adrenalin, but crashing will get old and expensive fast.
I would still recommend getting help though.

Wingdinger2

I taught myself to fly, with no sim experience, and I also had to fix my plane a few times...   Don't give up. I personally would recommend a dead calm while learning. Wind is not a good thing for inexperienced pilots.

Hawk131

I taught myself as well, its not the easy way to learn or cheapest. I Learned that flying in wind is not good for a new pilot, stick with under 7 mph.

SBOT

I am self taught. It is difficult, slow and expensive, but it can be done. I was just starting a new business when I got interested in RC airplanes, and my free time was very dear, short and not on any kind of normal schedule. I also had a large open area right behind my business location, so I could walk out the door and fly whenever I had the chance.
So here is my pearl of wisdom. I don’t know what mode you fly, but here in America we mostly fly mode 2, elevator and ailerons on the right stick; so after take off advance the throttle to about ½, and hold the plane straight and level with the right stick. Not easy for a beginner, but doable after 2-3 crashes. Now hold the Tx up so you can see the trim levers and the plane at the same time and adjust the trims with your left hand. Do the elevator first get it flying level, then adjust the ailerons for straight flight.
After the plane is trimmed for straight and level flight things get much easier. If you don't fly mode 2 then disregard the above, and just keep crashing and repairing till you get it. Good luck

Oscar

After you are able to fly laps with out crashing on take off. There is a point when you are just coming out of the upwind turn where you will briefly lose orientation of the plane. For a second you can't tell if the plane is coming or going, during these moments do not try to correct the flight path of the plane; just let it fly until you regain a sense for what direction it is going. After the plane is trimmed it will fly all by itself; just keep turning it back to you so it doesn't fly out of sight.
I crashed a lot of planes because I would panic when this happened and try to right the plane instead of just letting it fly. Sorry about the snide remark about just keep crashing above. I don't post much and never this lengthy, but I have been in your shoes and thought I could really help. Do not give up! It can be done.

Oscar

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Learn to fly a two channel glider using a hi-start or engine pod.

slider_buck

i taught myself the same exact way you did. i put in a ton of time on the fms simulator. since then i have had my plane in the air about 11 times now. i even had it loose control twice and do a 180 roll all on its own killing the engine. i was able to regain control and land just fine. some of the older folks may not like the sim's because they never had them in there day. for me the sim helped me dramatically. on the sim i just kept taking off and landing time after time. once i was able to land ok i started doing barrel rolls and 180's.

a70eliminator

I'm learned on my own back in a day of no internet and similators were unheard of.
I remember holding the right stick full down (up elevator) the plane would suddenly leave the ground and at that instant is where you have to let up the stick immediately to just keep a slow 30 degee or so climb up up up keep wings level with small right stick inputs, then start your turn by inputing just a little left or right I tend to turn left, give a little up elevator while banking your turn to maintain altitude, just a couple more crashes and you'll have it, and once you get it .... YOU GET IT ... and will never forget just like riding a bike man.

jester_s1

If taking your plane home in pieces is your idea of a good time, then congratulations on having a good time. You got the results you prepared for. I'll look forward to hearing about your progress in the next few weeks.

OLDS45512

i very rarely post but when i read this thread i had to share my opinion. after 12 years of racing rc cars i decided i wanted to try flying, this was about 3 years ago. i got a 40 sized trainer and just went for it with no sim or instructer, i had a few miner crashes but nothing to bad and have never regreted the way i learned. i agree with everybody here that it may not be the best way to learn but it worked for me. good luck