Ok...I know the best way to maiden a new airplane is to have a skilled pilot fly it first. But lets say I was that skilled pilot. Do you just give her the juice and climb to a safe altitude?

Not sure I understand the reason for this question. A skilled pilot would normally know how to maiden a plane

You took the words right outa my mouth

If your hungry, I'll put them back for you to chew on

give it the juice easy , dont drill it. Also on a new plane I set the elevator to a nice low rate and then another even lower rate. The elevator can be the tricky part to a new flight. The real low rate on the elevator is good if it is tail heavy or trys to balloon on landing.

FWB

And of course a complete pre-flight inspection, adjustment, and check out is in order.

An experienced eye will spot things that a newbie might not.

I m glad to see there were a couple of you guys mature enough to give me a real answer. Thanks for your info.

Basically the "big deal" with maidening a plane is being able to deal with a problem at takeoff or in early flight, when things are at their worst, and being good enough to get the plane back down.

I've had to grab the sticks away from someone who thought they could maiden a plane, when it was obvious that they were going in.

You need to be able to deal with, improper CG, servo reversal, having a stuck servo, a channel not work, gear not going down or up, deadsticks, plane rolling beyond trim controls, etc.

If you're an experience flyer, it helps to set up each of these "faults" in a simulator, where you are not worried about actually destroying a plane.

Practice each condition for a while... it's amazing what happens then at the field.

Should one of these conditions occur, you end up reacting based upon your sim "training".


Ironically one day I was practising loosing elevator control, bringing the plane down on aileron and a crippled rudder.

The very next day I was flying an older plane and the elevator spit swung 90 degrees, and turned into a boat "rudder" of sorts, and preventing the elevator from moving... Thanks to the prior day I calmly brought it down to a round of applause using loops, etc. to get the plane lined up... and down.

Use the failure features of your sim to hone your ability to maiden planes.

Well jose,

I ve been on and off in this hobby for awhile. I recently had about a year absence. I got back into the hobby by flying a buddy's trainer and found it was like riding a bike. I started when I was younger and felt like I could fly anything with wings. After being humbled with a few crashes, I now just enjoy the simple buzz around the patch. Now I have relocated with a new job which has hours that dont always concide with the retired folks that fly only in the early mornings and on weekends. Looks like I may have to maiden my own plane. I still have my hanger-9 mustang that I was burning holes in the sky before I left home, so I don't consider myself a beginner. But beyond that I m not really sure my skill level. I ve been thinking about the computer software sim for some time. There is hanger 9 and top flight. Which do you prefer? And thanks again for your understanding.

bpbat21, I used and still use Real Flight 3.5. I flew on it for about 2 months till I could do all the basic aerobatics. It really helped me to keep from destroying my Hobbistar 60. The guys at the field were impressed that I could fly so well from the get go. I never destroied mt trainer. I saved that for later for the more expemsive birds.

When madening a new plane one thing I like to do after all the usuall checks and balances is to get the engine running now taxi out to the runway and just do low speed runs up and down the runway. When feeling a little more relaxed do some high speed runs never letting the plabe come airborne. That will give you a real good idea what going to happen from sitting still up to liftoff. You will find out if you have a plane that needs to be run out before you lift off or if it just needs have the coals poured to it.

I'm lucky enough to test fly a lot of my clubmates models for them, from trainers to large scale and 3d.
I always.

1. check the c of g.
2. check the control throws
3. check the thrust lines.
4. range check it.
5. ALWAYS make sure the engine idles and picks up properly.

Very rare for there to be a problem if you eliminate most of them before you take off.

I can not offer much advise, but I would think that if the plane is a proven design, the pilot has done research (planes tend to ground loop, etc.) checked and rechecked all of the controls, a good running engine and not to panic most pilots "could" do a maiden. I have a pilot friend that has been flying for many, many years but he crashed a warbird on maiden because he did not check the cg with the retracts up, or down, I forget, but when he changed the retracts it lost control and went into the ground.

In my mind, a good pilot will check, recheck and triple check everything, then hope and not to panic.

Much good information above, but let me add something. After doing this 20+ years, I still have to learn a lot quickly when I maiden one of my (or someone elses )planes. After doing all the checks and have the plane lined up to take off, I like to have another pilot stand next to me to adjust the trims when I get the plane airborne. I can concentrate on keeping the plane flying as I tell my extra hand on what way to set the trims to get pretty straight and level. Usually my planes only need a little trim (sometimes none), but I've maidened plenty of planes that were a handful, thank goodness I had the extra help to get the trims set enough of safe flight until I could get the plane down to make mechanical adjustments.

All,

I think my ability to Maiden a plane was increased a thousand fold when I finally learned to NOT PANIC. It took a while but that is the key for me. Fly the plane, don't let it fly you.

Sonnytex

All excellent points to consider. Let me add one more.

Take it easy on the very first flight and mke it a short one. Long enough to trim out and maybe do a couple of rolls and loops to see how she performs. Does it spin too fast, or not fast enough; does it snap out of a loop? Next attempt a landing at 100 feet. What I mean is slow the plane down to landing speed to see if has any ill effects at slow speed. It's much easier to recover from 100' than close to the deck.

Finally land the plane and take the wing off and check that everything is OK. No wires binding in servo wheels, broken servo mounts, etc...

Now make any adjustments, fuel it up and wring it out.

This is one of the most helpful things when maidening a new plane.

If you discover that the plane needs a lot of trimming and it's a handful to keep level, having that extra person nearby can mean the difference between a safe landing versus going out to pick up a pile of debris.

That other person is also useful should you need to alert everyone else as to the difficulty you are having, in a busy airfield.

I knew I could count on you guys for a lot of good info. I thank all that have posted.

Ben

These are all good suggestions. I say always have a spotter with you on maiden. If you're fortunate enough to fly where "the only thing you can hit is the ground" thats great. But most fields have trees and some time it's hard to know just how close you are to them. I've lost three planes that way, one on maiden. Once it's airborn and you have plenty of altitude, then slow down. Fly it slow, get a feel for the stall. Fly into the wind and slow down to get a feel for the speed you'll need to land. One of the best pilots I know flys slow and it's amazing the stuff he can do at speeds you wouldn't think possible. Remember the faster you fly, the faster sh*t happens,and the faster you crash. Good luck on your maiden flight.

All good info but missing the major points. Always check the DIRECTION of the control movement, ie up is up, left roll is actually left roll etc. It's amazing how many just waggle the sticks without checking sense. Always do a full check of the model yourself, fittings and hinges all tight and firmly fixed, horns in the right place, with the holes over the hinge line, you will be surprised how many other places people can put them. Look at the side view, make sure that things all line up, with no major warps. Check the cg yourself, just a quick 'Wingtip balance' and make sure that it is safe. Motor slightly rich 'nose up'. Ensure adequate control movement with no binding or servo buzzing, nothing worse than not enough control movement, more is better. Trims all set in line with the surfaces. Talk to the owner, tell him what you find and always be looking for a reason not to fly the thing. Better to send him home with a list of things to fix than a bag of bits, and much better for you too. After flight show him the trim positions, and get him to adjust the pushrods etc to get the trims back to 'centre' on the tranny with the model flying straight. Tell him what you find in the air so that he has a better idea of what to expect on his first flight. Then have a quiet moment.
Evan, WB #12.

I like to make sure that I get plenty of height before trying to put trim in. The suggestion to have a helper to put in the trim is a good one, just make sure that you get the communication right so they put in the right trim!

Also, don't let the plane get too far away on a maiden flight, it's easier to see what it's doing if you keep to a reasonably close pattern.


Terry

How often is the construction of the airframe the main cause of problems? I hear a lot about wing incidence but have never measured for it. Do I have as much to worry about with an arf? I mean after all...I just glued the wings together. There wasn't much room for adjustment (like none). I m also in the process of an HU-16 kit, but there wasn't any numbers for the horizontal stab. I just "eyeballed it". I mean, if the cg's are with in the proper range, it should fly, right? i know, i know, I ve seen a lot of crashes. I just hate the feeling of all that money sitting idleing at the end of the run way for the first time.

Great thread! I have seen excellent advice from everyone! I started flying without much help from anyone because I did not fly at a club field back then, I am at a club now and I have always flown ARF's so setting them up was easy enough to do by reading the instruction's well. I set the plane up JUST like the manual says, low and high rate control throws, etc. I do not like to go out of those suggested settings untill I have flow the model and find that it needs adjustments in any specific area. CG is a big thing. I think I spend more time making sure it's right than I do setting up the control surface throws!!

That being said, I have one accident once on my second nitro plane. Being wet behind the ears and excited at the same time I failed to notice that the ailerons were reversed and once up in the air I was lucky enough to know how to use rudder correctly and was able to get the model back on the ground with out damage.

I still hate those nervous "maiden jitters"
Brian

You guys are really on top of it. Great info..
I use a computer radio and set up Expo. Some don't care for it, but depending on the kind of plane, Expo seems to help smooth out stick transitions. I prefer flying when its windy, unless it's a major crosswind. Those conditions can wait for future flights. Oh yeah, nice to maiden with a reliably running motor.... otherwise, yep shoot for the sky!

Arf's are pretty good at being close enough. These things are mass produced, but still have some amount of jig set up. Pretty much all my planes are ARF's unless I can talk someone out of one of theirs.

HAVE A FLIGHT PLAN of 10 minutes or so, including things like take off procedure, trimming maneuvers, practice landing approaches, and landing procedures. If you have a plan, you will be more engaged and less nervous.

I always have a friend with me for maidens. Two sets of eyes and ears.

Prior to engine start:
1- check the CG
2- fuel the tank (sounds crazy, but......)
3- Do your 'walk around' of the plane and make sure all is assembled and tight
4- power radio gear and check for correct and free movement
5- range check
6- check radio for all switches in correct possitions

start engine

after engine start:
1- warm up for a minute or so
2- check for proper throttle response and take the time to make necessary adjustments
3- range check
4- check radio switches again

take off into the wind

I use expo to reduce the likelyhood of overdoing it till you have a feel for the plane.

errrrrrrrr I believe that I did say "check the control throws"