Hello, everyone.

I am just getting started into R/C planes and have never flown before. I went out and bought a Hangar9 Alpha 40 RTF trainer. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions before my first flight attempt( hopefully next weekend). I already joined the AMA upon the suggestion of my local hobby shop. Thanks in advance for any advice.<br type="_moz" />

Yes - join a local club and find an instructor. You've bought a very good trainer but it takes skills to fly and those are built by practice. If you attempt to fly that plane without help there's a very good chance that its first flight will be its last.

Also - a glow powered plane such as the Alpha 40 should only be flown at a sanctioned AMA field. Another benefit of joining a club.

Like he said get someone to help. Most people would have no problem helping you. There might also be someone from the club that would loan you a flight simulator which helps get your fingers trained on the controls.

+1 grosbeak is spot on for both points.
looks like TRI STATE MODEL FLYERS is right in your neighborhood.
check http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx and put your zip code in there..
it should show the email and phone Contact info right there (even a MAP!).
Good Luck!!

Ditto. Find someone experienced who can go over the plane and check it out for you to make sure everything is as it should be for the first flight..
If this person has a JR or Spektrum radio they can connect it to your DX5 and use the 'buddy-box" system. They can take the plane up. get it trimmed out and then "hand-off" control to your transmitter and let you fly it while giving you tips and commands and corrections. When (not if) you get in trouble they can take back control and recover the plane and then land it You can also do this the old-fashioned way where the instructor stands next to or behind you using one transmitter. When something happens they take control of the sticks and recover the plane.
If you can find a flight simulator that will help you also during your training.
Good  luck !

Best advice I can give is to "Slow down". I've seen it over and over again. People, including myself, get nervous and forget to slow the plane down. They wiz the plane around with their brain 3 steps behind it and the only thing they are thinking about is why are their knees shaking so bad. Just take a breath, relax and pay attention. This advice doesn't only apply to the flight. If you are rushing around trying to get to the field and throwing your plane together to squeak in a flight before dark, you are asking for trouble. Slow down. Make sure your batteries are charged. Maybe tug on the control surfaces to make sure a hinge didn't come loose. Are your wheel collars still tight? A few seconds of paying attention can save you hours in repair.
Good luck, this is the best hobby there is.

Plus 1 for all the above comments. The Alpha 40 is a great trainer, just take the time to learn from it. The "slow down" message is really appropriate. Too many people have rushed one thing or another and while after a while, none of the steps are all that complicated, rushing any of the steps can bite you in the fanny. (most of us know this from one experience or another). I have had 2 of the Alpha's, you can do all sorts of stuff with them once you learn some of the basics. Have fun and learn to relax while you are flying. One of the first experiences you may have is the need for a pillow between your knees because of the tension, as you get to a few flights, this will go away some. The thrill will never go away. Good luck.

You have a good trainer the get going on. Plus, you also are making good moves with getting with the AMA and finding a club.

Many new pilots often have tons of questions as they get started. My buddy and I started up a website that answers a lot of those questions. Take a little time and look around and see if it doesn't help answer some of your questions.

www.gettingairborne.com

Hope this helps

Ken<br type="_moz" />

Thank you all for taking time to answer my post. I will be joining my local club Tri-State modle filers as soon as i get paid again. Any suggestions on which simulator software i should go with? the 2 most popular i have found so far are Real Flight and Phoenix. Are there any cheaper ones out there that also work well?

Personal preference again but I like the Phoenix and I'm sure you will get as many folks to say they like Real Flight.
I still have an older one Hangar 9 FS1(2006 or so) and compared to the recent ones it's like night and day. You can still learn the basics from an older one but they are limited in what they can offer.

Damn the risk but, save your money from the simulator for your second plane. Using the number of us who learned to fly without the benefit of simulators, much less the type of equipment we have today, says simulators are not needed. An aid maybe but not a requirement. An adequate instructor coupled with the frequency of training sessions will far outweigh any benefits of the sim.

Just an opinion of an older pilot who also happens to be an instructor.


S. Barnett
Arnold, MD

A simulator is worth it's weight in gold IMHO.

There are things you can practice with a good simulator that you would be hard pressed to try with your real plane.

The Sim will vastly decrease the amount of time it will take you to develop that "muscle memory" needed to react appropriately with your real plane.

They are indeed an AID and WILL NOT replace stick time, but they WILL greatly reduce the amount of stick time required usually ten fold.

A Simulator will pay for itself in what you will NOT end up breaking, and they will let you practice when you cannot get out to the field or the weather is inclement.


Just the opinion of an older pilot who also happens to be a certified instructor.

The Alpha 40 is a good slow flying plane. When you get better on it, you can put a popsicle stick or two under the the trailing edge and it will fly faster without climbing. The Alpha 40 has a higher wing angle of attack than some other trainers. This makes it more self correcting and able to fly slower, but it also makes it climb more on throttle increase. This characteristic makes it irritating as you get more stick time and want to fly faster. The trailing edge shims will take some of the throttle climb.

Well Dr, fact of the matter is the modern sim is a hugh asset as an aid and reduces the collective time needed with a mentor (instructor) of course it never eliminates the need for time with an instructor but it would be absurd to suggest its of no help and your better off just buying another airplane to destroy.

I have spent an entire career in full scale instruction and since my retirement in 94 have been instructing (mentoring) Rc students on almost a daily basis. Only just in the last year or so slowing down just a little to pursue some bucket list modeling adventures as my health fades. The advantages to anyone who has been involved to any degrees are obvious.

In addition the reason I never recommend the cheaper sims and the limited ones for entry level is the sim becomes even more important much later on as one may persue different modeling venue's long, long after the simple original airplane solo.

'Just an opinion of an older pilot who also happens to be a Certified instructor'

John

CFII-AIH

The other reason to get a simulator is IT'S FUN !!! Just the opinion of an older pilot that's not a certified instructor, but I have played one at the field.

I would look for a used simulator. I have a Realflight 3 that don't have all the extra gadgets but it serves its purpose,. It has probably paid for itself 10 times over.

A simulator saves you a lot of money if you seriously want to learn to fly rc. Same with a club membership.
There are many many people who bought a plane and crashed it on the first flight trying to teach themselves to fly.

Often they get frustrated and give up. You already have your equipment and the AMA membership,
when you get a chance - go to your local club and talk to the folks. They will likely welcome you and point you in the right direction.
If you don't like it there, find a different club. It's worth looking.

It's all been said .... Get access to a <font color="#800000">simulator</font>, Join a <font color="#800000">club</font>, get a <font color="#800000">Competent </font>instructor, fly with a <font color="#800000">buddy box</font>. That's about it. There's a lot more to this hobby/sport than just flying the plane ... U can always tell a self taught air plane driver, from a club Educated Pilots ... Usually by just their actions and where they tend to fly. <font color="#FF0000">ALL OVER THE PLACE</font>.
Good Luck
Here's 3 clubs in your Aera:
dicates clubs participating in AMA&rsquo;s Introductory Pilot Program. For more information on this program please Click Here.<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4" border="0" align="Center" style="color:#333333;font-family:Verdana;width:700px;border-collapse:collapse;" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs"> <tbody> <tr style="color:White;background-color:#5D7B9D;font-weight:bold;"> <td>Name</td> <td>Number</td> <td>Members</td> <td>Contact</td> <td>Info</td> <td>District</td> <td>*Intro Pilots</td> </tr> <tr style="color:#333333;background-color:#F7F6F3;"> <td>TRI STATE MODEL FLYERS INC
Flying Site Details
<span style="color:Blue;font-weight:bold;" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl02_lblDis tance">3.98 miles</span></td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">1425</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">54</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">MARK CAMPBELL
Email Contact</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">Phone: 606.465.2838
Visit Website</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">6</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;"></td> </tr> <tr style="color:#284775;background-color:White;"> <td>ONA RC CLUB
Flying Site Details
<span style="color:Blue;font-weight:bold;" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl03_lblDis tance">24.50 miles</span></td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">5046</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">30</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">RONALD EARNEST</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">Phone: 304-562-6687
Visit Website</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">3</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;"></td> </tr> <tr style="color:#333333;background-color:#F7F6F3;"> <td>FLYING HILLBILLIES R/C CLUB
Flying Site Details
<span style="color:Blue;font-weight:bold;" id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_dgClubs_ctl04_lblDis tance">24.50 miles</span></td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">657</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">75</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">MICHAEL EDEN
Email Contact</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">Phone: 304.549.9534
Visit Website</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;">3</td> <td style="white-space:nowrap;"></td> </tr> </tbody></table>

All above advice is good.

HAVE FUN!

Thanks for all the great advice. Sorry it has taken me so long to reply to you all. I am saving up for the simulator and I am planning to take a trip to my local club here in the next couple days. I was also considering a cheap 2 or 3 channnel foam plane that i can fly at home when i cannot make it to the club filed. Is this a good idea and if so which ones are best to buy?

<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS;">" considering a cheap 2 or 3 channnel foam plane that i can fly at home"</span></span></span>
If U do use a 3 channel make sure U put the rudder on the left stick, that way U learn to use the <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">RUDDER</span>. Then when transitioning to a 4 channle U will automaticly use the <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">RUDDER</span>. JMHO

<span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 255);">You have a better chance of success with a </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(251, 252, 255);">Hangar9 and also a good decision to </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(251, 252, 255);">join a local club, </span><span style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 255);">If you get into any trouble in fllying, the instructor are there to help you .... best of luck</span><br style="font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 255);"/>

A little foam park flyer is a good addition to your hangar. It doesn't teach you everything you need to know about flying 4 channel balsa planes, but it does keep you sharp on orientation and is just plain fun. If you're flying in a small space, the Hobby Zone Champ is a good one. It can't handle much wind at all, but it can take some pretty rough landings and is slow. The GWS Slow Stick is a little bit bigger option that can be a real blast with the controls turned up. Just be careful about flying near trees. Once you're more than about 35 feet away your depth perception gets weak, so you'll just about always be farther away than you think you are. Many good planes have been lost due to pilots just wanting to get out a fly a few circuits and choosing a location that is convenient but really too small. Give yourself plenty of space and keep the plane in close.

And another reason to have a simulator......January/February oops that's 2 reasons.