Originally Posted by
Fastsky
Dave, I don't joke about newbie advice. If you can go from 1 channel to 2 to 3 then 4 with no problems thats great! However some new flyers don't have the instinct or whatever you might call it for the next step or if things change a bit. Thats why I suggest that new flyers get trained on a full 4 channel plane on the buddy box with a good instructor. He/she can get used to using the basic controls safely. A 2nd type planes almost always have 4 channels, more speed, and quicker response time. Just going by what I have observed, to go from a 3 channel trainer to a 4 channel sport plane with the extra speed and quick reponse times will most likely be too big a jump. [X(]
I know this is almost 20 years on, but 20 years of advances in the hobby has brought us some great new technology. I built my Seniorita around 2000. I only flew it once with an instructor then things got in the way and it just sat. I learned to fly on other planes and now fly it for the enjoyment of a slow lazy Sunday vs the needs of a trainer. With modern radios mixing is easy to do, and my left thumb has been programmed for ground steering. I have a switched mix of my rudder to ailerons so that I can drive it on the ground with my left thumb and fly it normally on my right. No re-programming of my brain, I programmed the radio to think for me. An addendum to the original manual (which is still issued in the kit) should cover this mixing, as well as talk about the benefits of dual rates and expo, not like the Seniorita is all that twitchy but expo is more of a personal preference.