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Self taught flying - My diary / progress

Old 07-31-2013, 01:35 PM
  #51  
on_your_six
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Default RE: Self taught flying - My diary / progress

I know you don't want to hear this... a good friend, and NOW A CLUB MEMBER told me yesterday out of the blue; he wishes that he had never gone the renegade route. He spent years running around from ball diamond to ball diamond to fly. He knows the location of every ball field in the area. He got caught several times by the park police and risked getting fined. The biggest thing he said he now enjoys is the (most of) other members. He is a great guy and offers a lot and has learned a lot from us. He regrets every year he spent running around hiding just to fly. Now that is a guy with passion for flight.

I never knew that before... it took a while, but he saw the light.
Old 07-31-2013, 02:28 PM
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Default RE: Self taught flying - My diary / progress


ORIGINAL: carl24bpool
I wouldn't say I'm asking for trouble. It's harder but nitro is what I had already so I'm not going out and buying electric just to learn. I'm still confident ill learn to fly nitro quickly.
Nitro vs. electric? Really? Are you flying out of left field?
Plenty of nitro-powered 3-channel gliders on the market....

My point is that landing gear presents another variable, which new "teach-yourself-to-fly" pilots often struggle with.
Aileron differential, adverse yaw, coordinated turns, crab angle, skids vs. slips....that all comes later.

Big words for a noob!
Old 07-31-2013, 03:25 PM
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Default RE: Self taught flying - My diary / progress

Good for you Carl. Many seem to view the "self taught' route with fear and loathing. I however have always admired such qualities as self reliance, determination, and patience, all tempered by a modicum of caution.

Between the ages of about ten through nineteen I was an ardent builder, flier and competitor of control line and freeflight models. I then left the hobby completely for about 15 years before deciding to try RC (and discovering that things like iron-on covering and CYA had been invented). I built and flew first a Dynaflite "Butterfly", a large powered glidr type and then a Sig Kadet. I flew alone thus putting no innocents in jeopardy. I learned to fly both models with little drama and moved on to many others.

Many warn of the folly of flying alone because of the risk of injury. One needs to be aware of this. I have also taken solitary week long horseback hunting trips into remote areas, lone fishing trips, and ridden dirt bikes alone far from civilization. On the other hand I once ventured to an exotic, far away land accompanied bu a large number of fellow Marines nd landed in the hospital for two years. Ya pays yer money and takes yer chance.

Choose your own path, Carl, and have fun!

jess
Old 07-31-2013, 04:49 PM
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ORIGINAL: on_your_six

I know you don't want to hear this... a good friend, and NOW A CLUB MEMBER told me yesterday out of the blue; he wishes that he had never gone the renegade route. He spent years running around from ball diamond to ball diamond to fly. He knows the location of every ball field in the area. He got caught several times by the park police and risked getting fined. The biggest thing he said he now enjoys is the (most of) other members. He is a great guy and offers a lot and has learned a lot from us. He regrets every year he spent running around hiding just to fly. Now that is a guy with passion for flight.

I never knew that before... it took a while, but he saw the light.
lol, "renegade route". Nice terminology.
each to their own as we say in the UK.
no ball diamonds over here. Just cricket lol. Our bowlers have something to aim for.

No park police either but then again i wouldn't fly in a public open space like a park. I just use fields or remote beach.

I've explained my choice so I'm not entering debate but the story is still good for all the other readers, of whom some may take your story on board. Not me though in afraid. Ill be flying solo bar a few of my buddies who come along in the hope of chuckling at me when i crash.

its all good fun when you're with mates you've known your whole life. Why go looking for new mates when i love the ones i have.
Old 07-31-2013, 04:51 PM
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carl24bpool
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ORIGINAL: ssautter


ORIGINAL: carl24bpool
I wouldn't say I'm asking for trouble. It's harder but nitro is what I had already so I'm not going out and buying electric just to learn. I'm still confident ill learn to fly nitro quickly.
Nitro vs. electric? Really? Are you flying out of left field?
Plenty of nitro-powered 3-channel gliders on the market....

My point is that landing gear presents another variable, which new ''teach-yourself-to-fly'' pilots often struggle with.
Aileron differential, adverse yaw, coordinated turns, crab angle, skids vs. slips....that all comes later. [img][/img]

Big words for a noob!
landing gear? You mean the wheels? Lol. I landed without a front one the other day. At the moment i seem to use the wheels more for take off and not as much on landing.
Old 07-31-2013, 04:58 PM
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carl24bpool
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Thanks jess,

like you i have hiked mountains, snowboarded off piste, sailed out to rough sea in a 14' boat and done a whole host of risky activities. All far riskier than flying a plane.

yes you could get a prop bite. I sliced my index finger on the prop at 15. Hanging open like a banana with the bone visible, not to mention two other deep cuts. Lots of stitches and im now very prop aware. But otherwise the chances of flying it into your own head are very remote to the point that in more likely to get hit by a car on the way home.

risk comes with all fun activities. You just need to minimise it as best as possible at the time.
Old 07-31-2013, 05:53 PM
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Default RE: Self taught flying - My diary / progress

Carl.
After reading you had a air bleed Magnum the alarm bells started going off in my head!!!!
I reread your first post and must of missed it the first time.... Magnum GP 40. That's your problem!
I know this little gem very well. The best I can say for it, use it as a paper weight. (NO JOKE!)
Hobby Shack had them on sale back in 1992 and a bunch of us bought them.
I think every one in our maverick flying group had the same problems, take off and dead stick.
We tried a lot of things without success. some of the guys got their money back I think.
I did finally get mine to run okay without quitting by running 30% nitro at a horrible expense!
After that I wouldn't even look at a Magnum engine at the hobby shop.
I'm not picking on Magnum just to be clear, but It took 16 years for me to get brave enough to try another one.
I got a 46 xls off the net for $35 and figured it was worth a try.
Turns out, it's one of the best engines I have, a real power house, better than my OS 46 fx!
At any rate I wanted you to know my experience so that engine wont wreck the hobby for you!
Scott
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Old 07-31-2013, 07:32 PM
  #58  
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Default RE: Self taught flying - My diary / progress

G'day again Carl

I had the Magnum GP 40 like the one you have many years ago. I did not have any real problems with it but it never idled all that well. It was always a bit too rich at idle. It did not dead stick though.

If you want a really simple, reliable, easy to get along with engine which will handle some crashes and not cost the earth then the OS LA 46 is one of my favourite engines for trainers. It is not as powerful as the AX 46 or any of the other ball bearing engines with twin needle carbys but it is powerful enough for a trainer and tough in a crash.

Like your Magnum, it has no ball bearings but its crankshaft is supported on a bronze bush. It too has an air bleed carby but it is a good one. Here they cost about A$115.

The other good trainer engine is the Thunder Tiger GP 46. It is very similar to your Magnum but is made in Taiwan and not China. They are extremely well made, cost about the same as the OS and very quiet in the air on an 11x 6 prop (same prop that the OS LA 46 needs).

Both need fuel with some (and preferably all) castor oil and about 5 to 10% nitro. Any more is just wasting money.

I recently bought an OS LA46 as an experiment (to put my money where my mouth was). I took it out of the box. Put the needle valve in, closed it fully (gently!) then opened it about two full turns, fueled it, dropped a few drops down the carby, gave it a few flicks to get the fuel moving, applied the glow starter and flicked. It fired but did not run. Primed a few more drops and tried again but this time with the starter. She started. She was running a bit rich but would run at full throttle and idle after five minutes running. So I put it in a plane and flew it. It has never deadsticked and is now tuned a little leaner and runs perfectly. You can't ask much more than that for a beginner's engine.

Cheers

Mike in Oz
Old 07-31-2013, 09:05 PM
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Carl, I started on my SIG LT-40 with an OS LA40. After I got better I found the engine to be too weak for my flying. I then got a Tower Hobbies .46ABC engine. I love this engine! It has great power and is extremely reliable. I have had a few dead sticks with the engine, but only a few and usually because I ran out of gas. I was away from the hobby for about 6 years and the engine just sat. When I went to start the engine this year it fired up like it had never sat. It is just too bad they don't make this engine any more. I don't know much about the other engines, but I do know OS makes good ones. Bottom line, make sure you have a good engine. It is not that bad if you go deadstick with the plane up high, but if you loose the engine on takeoff, or when you are low, well, you can do the math.

OH, if you have some money burning a hole in your pocket try a 4-stroke. The sound is awesome and the low end power has to be seen to be believed.
Old 07-31-2013, 10:03 PM
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Carl, glad to hear that your having fun. For me, that's what it's all about. Don't quit and never give up. Going renegade, as it's called, is what I did as well and have loved every min. of it. Stay safe and have fun.





James

Old 07-31-2013, 10:46 PM
  #61  
bogbeagle
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Default RE: Self taught flying - My diary / progress

ORIGINAL: ssautter

My point is that landing gear presents another variable, which new ''teach-yourself-to-fly'' pilots often struggle with.

Very true. Many, many advantages to belly-landing and hand-launch. IMO, much the preferred configuration for learning.


Remove the gear and you become less dependent upon runway' surface ... less dependent upon runway direction ... roundout and hold-off become less critical... you experience far less airframe damage, attributable to landing and departing ... in general, the pace of learning is increased.


You do sacrifice some loss of speed -stability and of visual clues to orientation. On the whole, a good trade-off, imo.






Oh yeah ... it might be "renegade" over there ... over here, we call it "guerilla flying".
Old 07-31-2013, 11:40 PM
  #62  
carl24bpool
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lol - I'll wear my gorilla suit nbext time I'm out and get a pic for you. Proper Guerilla flying.

As for landing gear - I like the take offs and I like the landings. Thats the most exciting bit for me.

Engines - Well it would appear that my Magnum is a bit of a duffer perhaps. I have a spart thunder tiger 42 from my friends wrote off plane so I'll put that in before my next flight. I'll mess with the magnum when I know there is little rish of damage on those deadstuck landings. Still I don;t suppose theres much point flying a crappy engine anyway. The thunder tiger will help for now and I have an os46AX in my seagull PC-9 so I only need the spare engine for my trainer and possibly the transition to my low wing trainer - the Seagull Skywalker.

I'll swap teh engine this afternoon since I don;t want any "I told you so"'s. Then I really hope I can get out tonight for a flight with the better engine. I'll read up on tuning it today so I know.

Again I'd just like to thank everyone for contributing to this thread. The positive and less positive comments are all brilliant as it all gives the other noob readers the opinions from all sides and allows them to see my mistakes and dilemmas and hopefully help a lot of other people that take the time to read this entire thread once its finished.

I really don;t want it to get boring and these noobs lose interest so I will do my best ot get out tonight and get more video of my flight.

Stay tuned guys. Unlike my Magnum GP!
Old 08-01-2013, 02:48 PM
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Flight 6

Okay guys, I got sick of waiting for the wind to go away over last few days so went out tonight. Blowing about 10-15mph but steady not gusty.

Decided to stick with the paperweight, sorry I mean Magnum engine. Won't be doing again.

Carried out all my checks and took off to start a few circuits. You certainly notice the way the plane sweeps around on the downwind turns. That and when I flew overhead through the cross wind you can really see the plane slipping across with the wind.

Well guess what happened next. You know it! Dead stick. Turned into the wind and got her down after one bounce. I checked the high end and it was. Little lean perhaps so I rich ended it a few clicks.

Went up again and got in a few circuits. Few loops and few rolls. I was feeling more in control with my banked turns and was trying to tighten them up a little whilst maintains height.

Then again the paperweight gave up and u thought I hada landing lined up. Bad judgement saw me drop below the tree line into the adjacent field. In Hesse situations I just keep holding back in the hope of a blind landing. As it happens I must of nosed over but no damage.

This time it cut when I went from low to high throttle. I checked the low speed and the screw was miles out, nearly all the way. I can only put his down to vibration and more so to a crappy engine. I set it back to half the gap and went to go again.

Up again (getting great at take offs, lol) and making some more coordinated laps. After 5 minutes I decided to try landing into the. Wind. She slipped in against the wind and I set her down perfectly. I was very happy with a one touch

More fuel and back up. Got a dead stick again whilst over next field, downwind! I ytyrtye
Old 08-01-2013, 03:20 PM
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carl24bpool
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I tried to get back into the field but was miles off. I crash landed 20 feet up a willow tree.

Anyway I got it back but had to take the wings off whilst up the tree.

By now it was getting to be bad light and there was a small puncture to the film on one win tip. 5 minute fix.

Ill fit the thunder tiger 42 tomorrow and try a full flight with some touch and go. I definitely need a reliable engine in order to get more air time.

Ill come back to the magnum when I have time. I'll not give up totally just yet.

Sorry guys, no video but ill have some over weekend. I'm happy that after another few take offs I still have my plane and that was in some wind. In a way the wind gives me a longer runway to land on so not too bad. My last take off was even down wind but the wind had dropped. The grass was long and without wheel control taxiing is crappy so just decided to try it

My next flight will likely be Saturday evening I guess.
Old 08-01-2013, 03:23 PM
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OK, Carl, you are starting to make one of the biggest mistakes a pilot can make in RC (an no I'm not talking about a club, but thought I would mention this because so many people have, LOL) You are developing "get-in-the-air-itis". I crashed a cub that way. It started swinging from side to side on the take off and I pushed it into the air anyways. It winged over and I fought it for about 30 seconds before it nosed into the ground. Destroyed the plane. What you are doing is messing around with a defective engine. So far you have been lucky! Do not fly with that engine again until you replace it or find out why it keeps stalling. I know it sucks, but sometimes you just have to say, "no" to flying. If things are not right with the plane, leave it on the ground until you figure out what the problem is and fix it! Remember, "takeoffs are optional, landings are mandatory!"
Old 08-01-2013, 05:12 PM
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Default RE: Self taught flying - My diary / progress

Yes, "get-there-itis" as it's called with a 1:1 flight-plan, can be fatal.
And, once your plane is dead-stick, it really is a glider anyways.

One of the advantages of starting with a primary trainer is you won't need to re-learn how to flyacross the wind.
I fly my gliders in search of lift,my tricyle planes in the pattern, and my aerobatic planes "in-the-box".

But, you will find the consensus on these forums is to seek instruction with a "full house" primary trainer.

I flew powered-gliders and coaxial helicopters for only one year, before I had a few close calls with full-scale traffic!
Joining a sanctioning body, with liability coverage, was absolutely mandatory for me to procede with my flying.

Think of it as an oral exam before the check ride....
Old 08-01-2013, 10:24 PM
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I think that your engine problem is, in fact, a fuel-supply problem.
Old 08-02-2013, 06:05 AM
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Imagine what you could do with a reliable engine. You're making progress.
Edwin
Old 08-02-2013, 08:09 AM
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If screws moving on you are a problem you might be able to use a little teflon tape in the threads to keep it from vibrating out. that is teflon thread tape not regular tape
Old 08-06-2013, 11:10 AM
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testing new forum is up...
Old 08-06-2013, 11:48 AM
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Ya Jim it looks like its back but it only took me a couple of years to learn to post photos on the last one but its looking like this may even be a bigger challenge. Don,t know if I have enough time left. Oh well the up side is more bench and flying time. Good grief can,t even space down for a proper signature. John
Old 08-06-2013, 12:19 PM
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lets see if this works...
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Old 08-06-2013, 12:24 PM
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Old 08-06-2013, 12:27 PM
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looks like there MAY be an issue with uploading photos.. but I do not want to hijack the thread.
John, I'll PM you when it is working if you don't mind.
Old 08-08-2013, 07:49 AM
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Where is the OP? Haven't heard from him in a couple of days. Must be really windy in UK

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