RetiredSailor

I'm new at all this and trying to get better before first flight on a Nitroplanes P-51. Most of the planes I try to land which have flaps, work better with flaps on during landing. The Spitfire, in the scale group, just doesn't seem to work well that way. With flap, I ususally tip stall on landing. I've tried landing faster, without flaps, and that seems to work. I've also tried getting down to ground effect level with flaps and then flipping the them off. That gets me down and keeps the plane on the ground pretty well.

What's the best technique with the Spitfire?

Anybody have an opinion as to which Phoenix model will be closes to a foam P-51 with 57" wingspan? It's 1900 grams ( http://www.nitroplanes.com/93a51-51-...-eretract.html)

Where can I find a good explaination of flare. I read that Ishould flare before landing, but I'm not sure what that is.

Thanks,

G. Jackson

TripleDigitRide

Not sure if this helps, but......

A flare is performed by rotating the wings where the rate of descent will be reduced often by adopting a nose-up attitude. The attitude is held until the undercarriage touches the ground, and the controls are either held until all wheels touch the ground or gently adjusted (in the case of tail-draggers) to ensure the nose-wheel or tail-wheel lightly touches the runway.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYKXYK5SQ5E[/youtube]

Lnewqban

Jackson,

If you don't have previous experience flying RC, this plane is not for you.

Check the Performance Rating in the NitroPlanes website.

A high wing trainer and having the help of an instructor will give you 99% more chance of becoming competent enough to fly this model properly and for long time.

Now, responding your question about flare:

http://www.flightsimbooks.com/flight...al_Landing.php

opjose

Jackson,

And without that, your RC plane has a good chance of lasting less than 30 seconds, no matter how good you get in the simulator!

CGCINC

My Feedback: (1)

I totally agree with the above comments!!
I thought it LOOKED very easy to fly and I'm a pretty smart guy so it should be no problem to fly a plane.
I first bought a $139 electric Cessna and after a few bumps and bruises I found out it's trickier than it looks.
After a few weeks I decided I wanted a P47 so I bought one....... Let's just say I was not ready for it and now, unfortunately, I have spare parts for other planes.

Start out with a Trainer! I really like my Apprentice 15e, very easy to fly and really enjoyable!

PS.. I bought Pheonix flight simulator thinking it would prepare me but just like everyone told me (I didn't listen) It's not the same as flying. It will help you get familiar with the controls but it really is different out in the field.

RetiredSailor

I guess I have some disagreement in detail, but I do appreciate the fact that training is needed for a difficult plane.

I really like the P51 model, so despite what Lnewqban says, the plane IS for me.  I like it, I bought it, and I'm still happy about buying it.  The concept I do respect is the idea that I would likely damage or destroy the plane if I took to the air before before having the proper experience.

Since I originally posted, much has happened.   I did a lot of hours in Phoenix simulator.  I got a Cessna 206T from SN Hobbies.  That was interesting, but mostly what I learned was how important a range check was.  Their crappy transmitter had a range of 100 feet.  Stuff that was difficult to learn from the simulator was how useless flaps are on a very lightweight plane.  The Cessna 206T has flaps, but the plane is so light that the flaps seem to make the minimum speed so slow that flight surfaces simply don't work.  It just hangs there and cannot be steered.  Without the flaps it still flys very slowly and it's much easier to manage on the way down.  After the first radio failure I got a good radio and, managed to patch together the plane and got a lot more flights, but then moved onto a FlyZone Cessna 182, their larger one.  That's a much nicer Cessna and floats less.

Next I got a ParkZone Trojan T-28.  I did find that the Phoenix simulator was a pretty good representation of it.  The personality changes when you go to a good radio for the simulator and run dual rates and exponental.  All the rate control was much easier to learn on the simulator.  While I'd agree that it's helpful to start with a slower and more stable plane first, I also have the feeling that trainer airplanes don't do much to train you for the more aggressive airplanes.  They fly much differently.

Something that I think is very important that you can do with a simulator is to understand the range and variation of plane design.  Getting perfectly adapted to the flight charactistics of one simulator model doesn't teach you much about a real plane when the flight dynamics are different.  By switching around a lot and getting good with a full spectrum of planes in simulation can prepare you for the range and scope of flight dynamics.  By approaching the simulation sessions with a good level of discipline, you can learn quite a bit from it.  For example, what's the stall speed of a plane unknown to you?  How prone to tip stall?  How does the weight alter the distance needed for landing?  By taking notes on the technical data of any simulation model, then running high altitude flyby's to test for the characteristics, it's easy to develop test techniques that will allow you to identify a new plane.  What carries through between simulation and the real stuff is usually not the specific flight characteristics of a particular design plane, but rather the range and scope of issues that can occur and how to identify flight characteristics without crashing a plane.

Yesterday my 5th plane arrived, a new ParkZone Stinson Reliant.  Very cool, and probably easier to fly for me.  After all this, and now owning 5 planes, I still have not flown the Nitroplanes P-51 that got me started in this hobby.  I recognize that, among Cessna, T-28, and Stinson,  it's probably the most difficult plane.  It's also remains my favorite.  Eventually I get it into the air.

Lnewqban

I meant, the P-51 was not suitable for skill level you said you had back then.

Did you perfect the flare?

As much I love FS's, I recognize field piloting is the ultimate school.
Nothing can simulate that bug crawling in your arm, the Sun in your face, the noise of other engines, the high speed fly-by in front of your nose while you are trying a new maneuver with your plane.

RetiredSailor

We can certainly agree on the fact that a newbe needs to be prepared before taking up a 57" P-51. My problem in taking up that plane is not only my lack of experience, but the fact that Ireally like the plane and don't want to bruse it.

I think Ican almost do a flare on the Parkzone Trojan T-28. It certainly does not seem effective on the foam Cessnas, they're probably just too light. The notes and references above were very helpful. Ican see how it works in simulation on the heavier planes. Isuspect it might also be effective on the P-51 as a larger plane, but it is foam and it's still pretty lightweight for its size.

One of my earlier questions was how to fly the Spitfire in the Phoenix simulator. I've now able to land the plane, but only with a very specific technique. If Icome down with flaps down, and then flip off the flaps at the instant of touchdown, it's like a magnet sucks the plane onto the ground and Ihave a good landing. Without flaps it comes in too fast. With flaps on the plane wants to bounce and stall. Ithink Phoenix would do a lot better for people if they included some notes regarding certain of the planes with comments like that. It seems that some simulation models can only be managable with a better radio which supports exponental, limits, and mixing. It's a very good way to mess with the radio. With a real plane I'd like to have the "P" button for pause, then adjust the radio setting while the plane is frozen in mid-air, then hit "P"and to continue. Maybe Specktrum or Futaba will invent that feature soon.

CGCINC

My Feedback: (1)

What controller are you using with the Phoenix program? I'm using the DX5e and have no flap control on the Spitfire that I can find.
Don't have an adapter for my 8FG

RetiredSailor

Igot a Specktrum DX6i and it plugs in exactly as the DX5 does. No adapter, just plugged it in.

I quickly realized how important some of the radio features are. I have several planes and most came with cheap no-name radios. One of them killed a plane (OK,actually my fault because I didn't range check). I also realized what a pain it is to retrim a dumb radio like the DX5 in order to use it on each plane. DX6i can be configured for 10 different devices. Ihave the Phonenix simulator listed as one of the configurations.

RetiredSailor

Also, you always have flap control via the keyboard, as long as the model has flaps. I'm talking about the gas Spitfire. I don't know if there is an electric one.