well. i finally got the courage to try some hovers with my model tech magic. i did alright i think, my best was about 20 seconds which would have been longer but lost track of time and ran out of fuel, luckily i had enough altitude to dead stick it, finally found out just how slow this plane can fly. next thing i learned is how to do flat spins, and my last flight i managed to flat spin into a hover, too bad i didn't mean to . does anybody have any tips for a beginning 3d'er? thanks

PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!! A flight simulator also helps a lot. It's never really the same as being at the field but it bets taking home a banged up airplane. Another thing I found very helpful is checking out your CG. If it's too nose heavy it's harder to do 3d, a little tail heavy helps out.

thanks for the advice, im workin on it right now, put 3 degrees of right thrust, new 12x4 prop, and move the cg about a 3/4 inch back. but now im having a problem with my supertigre g-51 ( yea, i know, not the best for 3d), it doesnt run good without the glow starter on it. it sounds very sketchy at full throttle. this is my first time using a stock supertigre plug so im thinking that might be it. or could the engine be set up wrong? if it is the plug should i go for a hotter or colder plug? the one i have now is a medium i believe. and if its the carb set up wrong, is it more likely to lean or too rich, it was hard as hell to tune because the rpm kept going up and down, or it would just die. thanks for any help.

Your getting there, lots of practice and sim time help too. I have a Magic, love it, but I havent flown it in a while because it needs to be recovered.

I really don't have much experience with Super Tigre and what plugs work best with them, but it does sound like it's time to change the plug if it does not like to run with the ignitor off. (Pretty common problem, usually a fresh glow plug cures it)

Hope this helps,
Brandon

It sounds like the LOW end adjustment is off...
TO LEAN or TO RICH...
That adjustment is made on the side of the carb...
Try 1/8th one way then 1/8 the other...

watch how much nitro you are using in the fuel. Super Tigers are really designed to be run on 0% nitro fuel.

well, i found the problem. their was a small pin-hole in the fuel tank letting out pressure and i replaced the glow plug. now it runs great! now if only the wind would die down, its only about 15mph but since i fly in a field surrounded my woods thier is a lot of turbulance on landing. i also added a few degrees of right thrust so maybe that will make it a little easier.

Tips:
1. Get the Ikarus Aero Fly Pro Deluxe flight simulator. Best $200 you will ever spend and it will save you a BUNDLE in crashes and really steepen the learning curve bigtime.. www.aeroflypro.com . I improved 500% within a month of getting a flight sim. Its been a year now and I can do about any 3D manuever you can think of except I just wont touch the tail. My rolling harriers are rock solid now and I have the confidence to perform them at any altitiude that will clear the wings from touching the grass. Its all because of the sim.
2. Start up high.
3. Start learning to fly in a harrier, the basic 3D posture. The planes flies real slow in a harrier.
You should have a rate set with about 45-70 degrees of throw on your elevator. Learn to just putter around with the nose pointed up at about 60 degrees. Its performed rather slowly. You hold pretty much full up high rate elevator all the time. 45 degrees minimum and control the angle with the throttle only. You control altitude and attitude with throttle. Steer with the rudder. Just use the ailerons to keep the wings level.
4. If you are really going to learn to fly 3D, Rudder and throttle are your best friends. Their purpose in 3D is a little different than normal flight. See #1,
5. Be careful as you ease the CG back. You can go too far and still fly. You dont want to go as far back as you can possibly go, you just want to go far enough back to get the plane to be more repsonsive to the elevator. Aft CG makes it a little easier to hover too. When you get it right, the plane wont want to fall over in a hover since the weight is down towards the tail and your waterfalls will get really tight.
6. See #1.

That's some great advice Mike. You live and you learn, but sometimes it's best to learn from others! I don't think I have quite 45 degrees in my elevator on my Funstar, but after reading this, I added some to make about 45 degrees or a little more, so I'm curious as to how it will act next time out.
Mike do you 3D in windy conditions or do you like it calm. This is the most windy part of the year here in SETX, and I find it diffecult to even hover. The longest I've hovered is about 10 sec on a calm day.
Brian

I would say that most people prefer calm conditions because they have better control of the plane. (Then again some people do like the wind).I prefer calm conditions for the simple reason it makes hovering easier. You can see how the plane acts in a hover and get a feel for the controls. Wind however can also be helpful in some maneuvers like harriers. As long as the wind isn't crazy and more of a constant breeze all these 3d maneuvers can be done. Weather you have wind or not it all comes easier with practice.

Well, you have to take what you can get,,, But if I have my choice Im going to make SURE that I dont miss a dead calm day. Its good to learn to fly in the wind.. But with 3D I wouldnt do anything low if there is much wind unless you are very comfortable with the maneuver.

setxws6 , do I know you?

Yea, Brian C. from Motiva security.