Over about five weeks this spring I built a Sig Riser sailplane. By the time I finished it, I realized I wouldn't be able to bear throwing it into the air without having some stick time under my belt. So a few weeks ago I bought a Great Planes ARF Fling sailplane. I finished that off about two weeks ago, but the weather didn't cooperate until yesterday. I took it over to a hill at the nearby park and flew it about 50 times, until the accumulated rough landings knocked the rudder off. I reglued that this morning, and went back, and probably flew it 200 times. Two of the best days of my life: my first days of flying R/C.

It took some getting used to having no ailerons and only rudder to turn with, and I'm glad I learned that on the Fling instead of the larger and heavier Riser, which I probably would have damaged seriously in the process. The Fling seems plenty sturdy enough for a beginner, and in these two days I've made very visible progress in learning to fly the thing. Besides trying to turn it with non-existent ailerons, I've also had to learn to be more aggressive with the rudder. I was hesitant to go into anything more than a very shallow turn, but it turns out that the Fling recovers pretty easily from even a good 60 degree bank, as long as there's enough airspeed. I also noticed several times that the plane sat up and took notice of some thermals. I can't say I "found" thermals: they found me. But it was fairly obvious when it flew into them, and it really helped keep me in the air.

I couldn't be more pleased about this. I should have done this a decade ago (though I suppose I'm lucky I waited for the 2.4 GHz radio gear). I can't wait to fly the Riser.