Bill:

When you start with the fund raising, Email me or PM me. I'll definitely send you a check.

Semper Paratus

CGr.

I haven't seen this any where so at the risk of being humiliated. THINK BASICS ! ! ! Down Wind ,Cross Wind , and Final. Plan what you should be doing on each leg and repeat it each and every time in all conditions to the best of your ability. Once you master these maneuvers, you wiill begin to make uneventful landings.

Capt. Dan

Learn the art of FLARE !! FLARE- A maneuver performed moments before landing in which the nose of an aircraft is pitched up to minimize the touchdown rate of speed. Doing this well will make your airplanes happy. Someone advised you to set your trims for landing and that is BAD advice !! You must CONTROL THE AIRPLANE and make the necessary adjustments, through your transmitter (if programmable) or linkages, to suit your current level of talent. If your overcontrolling and causing ballooning, you can lessen the elevator throws and/or add exponential to get you in the FLARE ZONE !!!
I usually cut the throttle to idle, as I'm at 90 degrees to the runway and coming around for my approach. I allow the plane to glide down using mostly aileron and elevator input to lineup. If landing in crosswinds, rudder really helps but in small amounts. As I begin to Flare, I keep the wings level and look for that FLARE ZONE while slowly adding up elevator. When I see it, I hold the sticks steady and let her land. I don't use any rudder during the 3 to 5 seconds prior to touchdown. Rudder is good in moderation and a little too much can cause a spike in blood pressure while landing. Obviously use it if you feel you need to, but I try to stay away from it just before touchdown.
If you can play on the simulator, practice forced and deadstick landings with all the planes the sim has. Sometimes I practice multiple touch and go's at a very slow speed... That's a great way to find the ZONE !!! Hang in there,.. you'll get it !!

You are so right. If the pilot pulls a little elevator to initiate a flare, and the plane starts to rise in altitude, that's ballooning and is caused by to much airspeed. The flare maneuver should raise the nose without causing the plane to climb. It takes practice and a knowing eye to determine when the time is right.

The other alternative is to fly it to the ground which is possible, but not necessarily desirable.

The downwind leg is to slow the plane down in preparation for a turn to base. Capt Dan points out the obvious (to a lot of us) but is really what should be happening. Unfortunately, the beginner doesn't have any idea what's going on at that point, because he/she is trying to land the plane and it's easy for a sensory overload at that point.

So, it takes practice and focusing on one point at a time. This is why we keep saying set up approaches, start at the beginning of the landing procedure, and do it, then go around, and do it over and over again.

Then reduce altitude, and do it again, but focusing on a different aspect of the landing procedure.

Sooner or later, depending on the individual's abilities and learning curve, it will all be automatic and landings will become smooth and purposeful.

This is why I was so bewildered with my landing last year when the landings were consistently long.. till someone pointed out that I was landing downwind.. and as soon as I got that right, they were darn near perfect again. Brain-fart.. I was looking at the wind sock, and KNEW where the wind was coming from, but it just did'nt register until, as I said, someone pointed it out to me.

So, even with experience, after not flying for several months, well, it took a little time for me to get my head on straight.

CGr.

I dont want to be the devils advocate but once you have your landings mastered on your trainer you will move to a second airplane and......
Yes you guessed it, another different ball game. Planes are not like cars, once you learn how to drive one you can drive any.
Every plane behaves differently, on take off, on landings and yes in mid air.
So you will have to get to know your plane again and her landing characteristics. But dont worry, once you learn the basics all the others only require minor adjustments

I second the straight at you until you line up w/ runway, it helprd me alot.

Gary

Also, one thing I see quite a bit that is not nice is this...during landing, use your ailerons to keep the plane level (not for banking and turning!) and the rudder to keep the yaw the way you want it! As the plane gets closer to landing, this gets more important!

Yaw control will be very important for cross wind landings. It's best at first to try landing with the wind down the runway...but mother nature is not always so cooperative!

And like someone said above....try not to use too much rudder...the plane may do some bad things at low airspeeds.

Best to practice stalling and pretending to land a few mistakes high, this way you get a feel for what will happen and how to correct it.

I had the same problem i couldn't get the plane down safe I keep trying to land it in to much of a hurry. One of my inst. told me to turn nice and slow line the plane up comeing at me chop the throttle and see how long you can keep it in the air.Let it glide in don't hurry it just keep the wings flat and it will settle in .GOODLUCK

Best advise so far.

Now someones going to call me a snotnosed newbie but I discovered thr trick to flying and landing Rc planes is that being a control freak only makes the learning curve shallow.

Learning to trust the airplane is the biggest confidence booster. So after take off, trim it out and make sure it flies striaght and level. Its lot harder than you think to let go of all controls and see how the plane flies. If if flies straight and level you can land it. On each pass, when inf ront of you, chop the throttle and see the plane behaves. Do this a few times. Then see it behaves is you ease off the throttle.

Next practie lining the plane up with your shoulders as reference.
then fly the plane lower while pracitising the line up.

ONce you're confident you can line it up and you have a good understanding of its behaviour when you cut back to idle and how it behaves when you come off graduallyyou are ready to try and land it.
Fly a circuit at half throttle and gradually reduce the throttle to aroun 1/4 htis is avoid the enine running on at high idle due to a rich mixture setting on the engine. You want throttle control.

Line it up and reduce throttle to idle. If you running out of airspeed, throttle up briefly, just a blip or two. ONLYFEEDINCORRECTIVEACTIONS, DONOTOVERCONTROLIT. The plane can fly, let it do so.
It will descend and just before it touches down ease in up elevator to get the nose up (Flair). You're home.

The bigest mistake newbies make with landing is not letting the plane fly, like overcontrolling parents they want to manipulate it all the way. Flying andlanding is about guidance and applying input only when needed to the necessary degree.

Why is that a bad habit? I've done that since day one and still do it.

I agree. I don't still do it often, but every now and then.

Here is a perfect explanation of how to flair - I had close to 30 hours in a full scale 172 as I was getting my license when the light came on. As mentioned earlier when on final THROTTLE = ALTITUDE / ELEVATOR = SPEED keep this in mind at all times. When on short final normaly one to three clicks of throttle above idle (we are talking r/c now) let the plane settle in to about1 to 2 feet off the runway, hold the plane level with some elevator, ease off the extra click or two on the throttle. The plane will start to settle to the runway as it settles add more and more elevator you will bleed off speed into a nice flair.

I am amased at how many at my club are happy if they make it to the grass somewhere near the runway. I was even more amased at the IMAC when those guys couldn't land either. Its all about control - make the plane go where you want it as if you were flying a full scale plane.

Personally, I like to land dead stick after making a split s for my final turn, but that won't work for your trainer.

It just takes a little practice getting to know when and where to chop your throttle so your speed and descent will hit flair speed in the middle of the field.

Just practice approachs and try to get the speed correct at the correct time. I also agree with when you make the final turn, to aim it at you, the plane is never as close to you as you think it is. You can adjust it out slightly if needed.

And always keep your wings level near the ground...

Oh, and Semper Fi my brothers

Because you'll become a better pilot if you're not dependent on that technique. Like someone said, it's a crutch. Being able to have solid, oncoming control regardless of which way your transmitter is pointing will pay dividends during all phases of flight. Think of it this way, if he's doing aerobatics, and the airplane winds up at the bottom of a loop at slow airspeed/low altitude, now he has to remember (at this time compressed moment) to turn the tx around to have control of it, or risk a control reversal crash. Does anyone remember when JR transmitters for helicopters back in the 80's had an "invert" switch? This allowed you to reverse the controls on the helicopter when flying inverted instead of forcing yourself to learn it the right way. They no longer have that feature that I'm aware of, probably for the same reasons.

..............or, like me, I come in too high, too hot, dive to the runway, bounce a couple of times, and mow the grass!!!!!!. seriously, just started, and this is all good stuff. point the plane AT me......never been told that.

Semper Fi to all the mean greens in here as well....

Head it towards the pits then, when they yell, turn it away just enough to quiet the screams. You should be close to touchdown. Close the throttle and flare slowly.

There, wasn't that easy??        

It's not a crutch, it's a tool, and anything that helps is good. It only becomes a crutch if one relies on it constantly.

That's how I learned and I do not need to rely on it, but it was very helpful when I was a rookie.

Oh yea... Semper en excretus

BETTER LANDINGS

Call out “LANDING” and make your final turn to start your landing approach:

Simply align your shoulders parallel to the runway, line up the model on final, over and in line with your shoulder. This will bring it right down the runway. Since you cannot turn your head a full 90 degrees, the plane will be on Final somewhat out in front of you and in line with the runway.

As the Model is getting closer to the ground, at about 2 feet in the air from the runway, PUT YOUR EYES on the MAIN Wheels of the model, Rear wheels for tri-gear, ease in more and more Elevator until touchdown. (If you look at the whole airplane, you will hit on the Nose Gear.) Get off the elevator until the model has stopped rolling. Hold FULL UP ELEVATOR as you TAXI back to the Pit Area. This will hold the tail down for better taxi control on a Tail Dragger.

Watch the WHEELS, IT WORKS.

Ken AMA 1528

I have to agree on the simulator...I flew for a season and a half and couldnt land yet...got the simulator and it helped my confidence more than anything..it will save you money and time in the long run...Ask around your club and maybe someone has one you can borrow

Well it is a crutch if it prevents you from doing it correctly. How many people do you see turning around in the flight box to maintain orientation? Better to learn the proper method from the beginning. Learn wrong and then spend time correcting what was taught WRONG.

Repetition in the simulator is the only answer... I still practice my landings in the simulator. My good landings are no accident.

Do things right and they will be done right.

I would have to assume that you are defining "Correctly" as how you would do it.

Because people do things differently from you does not make them wrong - It makes them different. What works for you, works for you, but it may not work for someone else.

If a student of mine was having a difficult time with orientation, I could let him crash, or give him advice - "Tools" if you will.

Oh no, wait, I'll do it your way and let him crash on every landing. After 8 or 10 planes he might learn how to do it "correctly". No better teacher than experience.

I benefited by having three different instructors. My main instructor, Ron, and two others, Doug and Rick. Each one had a style of their own, but each of them allowed me to learn to fly and land according to what I was comfortable with. There was no real right or wrong way in anything these three fine folks taught me, and I believe I am a better pilot because of it.

CGr