well I bought a tower trainer a few months ago. I have been driving it arround on the ground a few times a week. I planed on getting someone from my local club to buddy box with me, but either im to lazy, or I have no time (you chose). So today I figured the thing just sits there, it might at well be broke while it sits there so I just decided im going to fly it... so I did. lol. I went to a field and took off, and I flew it..

this was my first flight in real life. I have been playing realflight for the last 3 months. and ALL my training came from that game alone. but I have to say, its EASIER in real life. my FIRST flight was about 5 mins and I was SO nervious i didnt even trim it out, and it was kinda crazy, I just controled it with the sticks. I set it down KiNda hard, but didnt flip it or break anythning. the second time I spend a little time gettin it trimed out and it was much easier to fly. and I did some upside down flying and few loops and I brought it really close to the ground and took back off. it ran great and was tons of fun. then the landing on the second run was picture perfect, it came in smooth and slow and even and touched down, and it was about 6 feet from me when it stoped completly.

so I am EXTREMLY happy and excited to fly it tommorow. I cant belive I did it. no training or buddy box.. my heart was pounding and I was sweating hard, it was an amazing rush.. SO FUN.

so, in the end, I love realflight..

I agree RF 3.5 is great. Didn't solo as quick as you. But had only 2 buddy box flights, landed on the first. Solo'd on the third. Probably could of solo'd on the 2nd, but was too nervous. Flight sims are worth every penny and probably pay for themselves 10x over.... Congrads....

BTW my first Rc was a twist, what a great plane. Downloaded the version for 3.5, flew very close in real life...

this goes to show that the g/p simulator does help many in gaining pre real flight experience. a few things to remember before and during flights is to firstly check your rx battery power, range check , check all control surfaces , take off into the wind and land into the wind, fly at a safe height if you want to try something special, [ safety is a altitude ] as they say , relax and enjoy.

Congrats!!!!! Welcome to the coolest hobby out there !! Listen to freeair. NVER get in a hurry to fly.. ALWAYS check batteryetc. before your flight. And remember fly 2 mistakes high.. Good luck !!

I'm glad you don't fly near me...

there is so much more to flying and this hobby that needs to be learned from experience people than buying a plane and flying it...good luck...

Also, this is in the wrong forum.

RealFlight is great for practice and for learning the basics of flight etc. However I still feel supervised field learning experience is also necessary because RealFlight doesn't cover things like frequency control (hopefully 2.4GHz will make that moot eventually anyway) and flight line safety etc.

I do love the sim though. I must've have crash $20 million worth of planes on there doing things I'd never try in the real world with a real plane.

I hate you! It took me a year and a half to solo.[sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

No simulator teaches frequency control boards or safety, plus a million other things that experienced pilots can teach. If you are in the middle of no where on a farm then fine, otherwise, get in a club, go to an AMA field and get some help.

These things can and do hurt people folks and someone going out there and turning on his new radio while you are flying your $400.00 to $5,000 airplane on the same frequency that you are on because he never learned not to do this on THE SIMULATOR or not blocking off his airplane and starting it throttle up and it HITS THEM and no one there to take them to the hospital...

etc...[&o]

That was pretty much what I meant. Sims are great to learn the basics of plane control but there's still a lot to be learned at the field IMO. Better safe than sorry. Shoot down the wrong guys several thousand dollar plane by turning your radio on without the pin and they are probably not going to be very happy with you.

same here, I use a Sim myself, not trying to trash anyone, seriously, but I have learned a ton of information from experienced people in my club and they have given me help with tuning engines, tips for fixing planes, etc...invauluable knowledge from the experienced people in my club.

Exactly. Still kudos to the original poster for getting in the air so quick. A lot of people can't pull that off sim or not. When my son and I started flying we both started the same time with the same plane and we both soloed a month to the day later. We had no sim back then so that was pretty good I thought. Now that I have the sim it's a great tool. I get to play with turbines I have yet to manage to afford for example. [8D]

Come on Guys:

Give the new fella a break. He is probably a young person and todays society has instant gratification as "GOD". I have been building and flying for almost 60 years and I believe anyone with experience will see the new person at the field when he arrives. It is our joint responsibility to sort them out and confirm the AMA, club membership, experience, etc. Please don't take this the wrong way, I agree this practice of "buy and fly" has probably driven a great number of people away and caused a number of "shoot downs". I have changed to 2.4gHz because of some of these issues.

I taught my self to fly in the 50's with escapements and single channel vacuum tube receivers and transmitters with battery packs that could start a Buick.

So to "ENR Kyle", congrats but listen to your peers, these planes are dangerous if handled wrong. Fifteen pounds at 60-70 mph is no toy. A recent experience in Germany (I believe) by a highly experieced pilot killed two bystanders in the stands when his aerobatic model went wild.

This is a great hobby with some really great guys, but ther are disciplines that are there for a reason.

Best to all,

E T

Yep, congratulations on your first flight!

well thanks everyone for the congrats. and the tips. I will definatly get my AMA and join my club now that i know I can do it. I understand that they can be dangerous.. for sure.

I will purchase my ama membership right now, and I have the paper work for the club. I might even get out there today and get it up in the air. Im sure there is still alot to learn.. but I am still excited that I didnt crash my first flight!..

Thanks gain for all the tips and comments

Well done Kyle. Back when I learned to fly (30 some years ago) I had no one to teach me and a simulator hadn't even been thought of. Needless to say it cost me a few planes before I even had one successful flight. It is nice to see it is so much better for new people trying to get into the hobby now than it was. Kudo's for being successful on your first try.

Great reply's. BTW, I'm the second post. I do belong to AMA and a local club (joined to learn to fly, my instructor ok'd me for solo). Definitely a lot more to it than stick and rudder. I use 2.4 (DX7), so definitely have a lot to learn about frequencies etc. But there is no denying a flight sim speeds up the process. It probably helps I have over 10K of real airplane time (over 30 years since I soloed, plus over 500 carrier landings), so I know how airplanes behave. I love this quote "He is probably a young person and todays society has instant gratification as "GOD". I am the Executive Officer in a Navy Training Squadron (T-45A) in the reserves, the new generation of pilots are anything but patient. Just the way it is, us old guys better get used to it ;-) But i think what where seeing now is the video game generation, they have exceptional hand eye coordination, but definitely an all about them mentality. Just to update my progress, I built up a Pulse XT (40 size) as my second plane about 2 months ago and just maidend (spelling) a Skybolt yesterday (I love this airplane). With probably about 100 plus flights, managed to only have minor incidences on landings (prop strike (really beat up runway at our club), slightly bent gear on a bounced landing), but so far everything is intact. They tease me at me at the field because I really like to yank my planes around. These forums have been an outstanding source for info, thanks to everyone....

Lets see, tower trainer. Last time I looked this plane is a ARF or a RTF

hey congrats on the first flight! just remember the sim is great for learning to fly i done it myself. the only problem is if you have no experience with range checks, starting,or tuning it can hurt! litterally weather the wallet or even worse yourself. find a club and fly there if your not doing so already meet alot of people that have just started or been in this hobby forever. alot of good help and suggestions regardless of your skill level someone will always be willing to help. its a blast flying with a group of friends.

Congrats bud! This is the exact same way that I learned, no instructor and no experience. that was a few months ago. since then I have joined the ama and a local club. I will say that everyone on here usually has some sound advise to give but when it comes to an instructor it really hasnt helped me one bit. might just be the fact that one of the instructors at my field is kind of a mean old man but when someone is in my ear yelling at me when im trying to focus it tends to throw me off a bit. besides, guys like you and I are from the video game generation, that gives us an advantage over all the old farts!!! kidden.

lol. good point. and like zaboaa said. all these video games gives up great hand eye coordination!

(im 21 BTW)

lol, yeah i just now read his post, smart man he is!

So, what age is a old fart?

lol.. well lets not get technical here.. age is nothing more than a state of mine.. or something.. there is people my age that I cant stand. and there is people much older than me that I get alog with perfectly. I have a close friend that is upper 40's.. met him playing computer games online and learned that he lived about 20 miles from me. we are bothing into RC and simulation racing and combat.. age does not mean anything!

AHHHH 35 and up!!!! kidden....just to be safe ill say 65 and up, that is old

lol. nice.. playing the safe card.. Im going to to with 75 and up..lol