civileng78

Today after work I will be taking my plane on it's first flight and I am quite nervous. I am new to the hobbie and got a beginner plane (A trainer plane, "Firebird Wing Dragon").

I am nervous about tearing this thing to pieces on my first flight. Does anyone have any suggestions on my first flight? Please help.

jwoolridge

My advise is for you to look for a club or at least someone in the hobby who could trim your plane and then help you while learnig to fly by bringing your plane up nice and high and the giving you control and also by landing your plane for you. If you try to teach yourself I can almost guanrantee several crashes before you figure it out. If there is no club near you and you really want to fly get a sim even the free fms one to learn the basics before youre first flight. There is no such thing as a perfectly realistic sim but it will help.
James

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Go to the AMA web site and look for the closest club to your area and contact or visit them. I travel all over and visit many clubs every year. You'll find that these clubs are full of rc pilots eager to share what they have learned. The money you spend on dues and ama membership will pale in comparison to what multiple crashes will add up to. Think about it.

rogwabbit

Best advice is no matter what.. try to relax.. I know thats hard.. and secondly.. try to be slow and smooth on those sticks..

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

GET HELP!

As everyone has stated. They don't say it just to say it. If you try to fly it yourself, you WILL crash it.

civileng78

I don't have a club here and dont' know anyone who has a plane here.

It is a trainer plane. I want a nice plane at Christmas but I have this one to learn with. This plane has a very large wing span and a very slow flight speed. Do you think I will be able to handle it? I've worked on the trim and feel i can do that.

My wings are foam, should I buy some of the wing foam to help with impact? Any ideas?

stuffer

My Feedback: (11)

pucker up! without help or sim time or you are a " born natural" you might experience a mourning for your loss. Take it slow and if it doesn't feel right it probably isn't. I trust you are in a very wide open area away from everything that costs money or breathes! Good luck, don't panic, things go wrong, throttle back. IMO.

civileng78

I have a large area.

I sort of planned on just getting a feel for the throttle by maybe going up a few feet and coming down just to get a feel for it. I have enough room to do this without turning.

then I figured i'd get used to that and then in air turn around, come back and land.

Is landing the hardest part?

Mindwarp-RCU-delete

Here's a club from the AMA web site that appears to be right next door to you:

COLLIER FUN FLYERS INC
District: V
NUmber: 3412
Type: Radio Control

Contact Information:
Contact:WILLIAM NEUGENT
Phone:
Email:
Address:
707 96TH AVE N
NAPLES, FL 34108

You really, really should make the effort to find a club and learn from an experienced flyer. There are no laws against learning yourself but at best you're going to cause a lot of expensive damage to your plane, and at worst you're going to cause property damage or personal injury to someone.

Not only will you save an awful lot of time and money by going to a club and learning from an expert, but you'll be a lot safer and meet a lot of really great guys and girls into the bargain!

Have fun and be safe,
Neil.

Mindwarp-RCU-delete

I've only been doing this a few months myself, so I can speak from experience here. Landing a model plane is easy; it's landing it in ONE PIECE that's the REALLY tricky bit!

In all seriousness I found landing the plane to definitely be the hardest part (maximum 'pucker factor') VERY closely followed by taking off and actually flying! If you've never done this before then you might not be aware that when you're flying the plane towards yourself the controls are all reversed. That control reversal takes time, patience and practise to overcome, and until you can make your intended turns naturally without even thinking about what direction to move your thumbs in you're going to be running a very high risk of crashing.

I really can't recommend learning with an experienced flyer highly enough. Having someone show you what you need to be doing, and being ready to 'catch the plane' when you make a wrong turn (and it almost certainly WILL be 'when' rather than 'if') will end up saving you a lot of time, money and heartache in the long run.

Cheers,
Neil.

civileng78

I will try to find someone. I see the information from the gentleman listed above but would have to find his phone number and probably would not feel comfortable calling him in that it may be his home phone.

Also, I don't know where they meet.

stuffer

My Feedback: (11)

when the plane is coming toward you a good general rule is "stick to the low wing" to straighten out level. if the plane is coming at you and the "left" wing "as you see it" ( not the actual left wing) is low push the aileron stick to the left and so on. That is the way I learned it. But I have to go with the fellow above and contact the local club POC. Most clubs will gladely assist you in any way they can because they understand what you are going through. And there is no embarrasement because we have all been there! Good Luck!!!

stuffer

My Feedback: (11)

his # is in the book. I just found it on www.Whitepages.com

civileng78

thanks,

do these people generally mind when you call them at home?

stuffer

My Feedback: (11)

actually we are quite thrilled that someone calls to ask for help. It will certainly not hurt anything. you might be pleasantly surprised!!

civileng78

Thanks!

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

There are lots of people where you live that are more than willing to help you. Would your rather go try to fly it by yourself and get shot down because you are too close to their field, or just plain crash it because you were too uncomfortable to call him?

Geez, grow up a bit and call him. If you try to fly it yourself, you will have about 30 seconds of terror, followed by 5 to 30 minutes of picking up parts, followed by a bunch of rebuilding. If you call him, you will get good help, followed by good instruction, followed by years of enjoyment in the hobby instead of quitting because you keep crashing.

Your choice!

LoboFlyer

A really good takeoff can be a challenge the first few times too. Always remember that airspeed is your friend during any phase of flight!

scottrc

Get help from those who offer!

Anything made of foam and is weighed in ounces is not as easy to fly as it looks. I have found wooden gas powered trainers handle much better than the foam electrics for beginners. Why? Ever see a feather float in the wind? Try flying a feather in the wind, it has a mind of its own. That is how those rudder only foamies fly. If you have the slightest wind change, you will be fighting the controls, and without experience on feeling how much pressure to add, you will over correct, lose control, and crash.

Also, if your radio is 72 mhz, you may run a risk of shooting someone down.

Having an instructor helps you learn that control. If you still want to fly it, your best bet is to make sure its balanced and trimmed by the book, take it to a real big open field, and let it free fly into the wind. This will let you see how it handles wind and thermals and if its balance properly, should land without too much impact, a lot better than you over controlling it into the ground.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Bring a change of Underwear

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

civileng78, It was pointed out to me that my last comment may have been a bit harsh. I didn't mean for it to be offencive, I just wanted to get the point across to you that you need to call and get help flying this plane. They won't come looking for you, but will be more than happy to help you if you call. It would be sad to see you spend so much time building and crash it in seconds.

Give them a call. You will meet a bunch of great guys that share your same interest.