Self taught flying - My diary / progress
08-26-2013, 04:59 PM
#126
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G'day Carl and others.
A couple of comments -
Your method of tuning is pretty spot on. If I am tuning an unknown engine, I always start by making sure it is in a rich setting and then work to lean from there. Once you get it to the point where it is on the "two stroke/four stroke" boundary - ie it is missing some of the time, then you are close. With new engines, I usually lean a little more but don't go to the extreme lean limit.
And secondly, as you add nitro, you need to tune richer. Nitro is essentially "liquid supercharging". It adds Oxygen so you can burn more fuel so you need to open the needles. You also use fuel faster which is the down side. The upsides of nitro are broader tuning tolerances and a bit more power. I once tried 100% nitro by accident. It really makes a lot more power but it needs a VERY rich mixture and it threw the blades off the prop. The nylon blades stretched! The engine survived. It is not a recommended way to get more power but it was interesting.
Generally speaking, if the weather is the same, the temperature about the same, the prop the same, the plane the same and the fuel the same, you don't need to tune each flying day. My four strokes go for months on the same tune.
Also remember the old car racer's advice - "cold and wet - bigger jet" or in other words, you need to tune richer if it is cold and leaner if it is hot.
Cheers
Mike in Oz
A couple of comments -
Your method of tuning is pretty spot on. If I am tuning an unknown engine, I always start by making sure it is in a rich setting and then work to lean from there. Once you get it to the point where it is on the "two stroke/four stroke" boundary - ie it is missing some of the time, then you are close. With new engines, I usually lean a little more but don't go to the extreme lean limit.
And secondly, as you add nitro, you need to tune richer. Nitro is essentially "liquid supercharging". It adds Oxygen so you can burn more fuel so you need to open the needles. You also use fuel faster which is the down side. The upsides of nitro are broader tuning tolerances and a bit more power. I once tried 100% nitro by accident. It really makes a lot more power but it needs a VERY rich mixture and it threw the blades off the prop. The nylon blades stretched! The engine survived. It is not a recommended way to get more power but it was interesting.
Generally speaking, if the weather is the same, the temperature about the same, the prop the same, the plane the same and the fuel the same, you don't need to tune each flying day. My four strokes go for months on the same tune.
Also remember the old car racer's advice - "cold and wet - bigger jet" or in other words, you need to tune richer if it is cold and leaner if it is hot.
Cheers
Mike in Oz
08-26-2013, 06:19 PM
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Carl.
Did you check your wing for any warp?
Wings with washin (increased angle of attack toward the tip) can cause hard to handle erratic (jumpy) pitch changes.
On the other hand washout (decreased angle of attack toward the tip) can smooth out handling, especially at lower speeds.
Could you decrease your idle rpm or try a smaller pitched prop to slow down for landing?
Did you check your wing for any warp?
Wings with washin (increased angle of attack toward the tip) can cause hard to handle erratic (jumpy) pitch changes.
On the other hand washout (decreased angle of attack toward the tip) can smooth out handling, especially at lower speeds.
Could you decrease your idle rpm or try a smaller pitched prop to slow down for landing?
Last edited by VCScott; 08-26-2013 at 06:27 PM.
08-27-2013, 06:04 AM
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Hi Rob2160
I like your last sentence. When I was teaching R/C flying we called it "Go for the low wing". And of course we are referring to when the plane is coming toward you during a landing and one wing dips. To level the plane "go for the low wing", which means move the aileron stick toward the low wing. I have known 2 full scale pilots who were learning R/C by themselves. They crashed at every landing attempt until they were taught "go for the low wing". This was before flight simulators.
I like your last sentence. When I was teaching R/C flying we called it "Go for the low wing". And of course we are referring to when the plane is coming toward you during a landing and one wing dips. To level the plane "go for the low wing", which means move the aileron stick toward the low wing. I have known 2 full scale pilots who were learning R/C by themselves. They crashed at every landing attempt until they were taught "go for the low wing". This was before flight simulators.
08-27-2013, 06:46 AM
#129
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Hi Rob2160
I like your last sentence. When I was teaching R/C flying we called it "Go for the low wing". And of course we are referring to when the plane is coming toward you during a landing and one wing dips. To level the plane "go for the low wing", which means move the aileron stick toward the low wing. I have known 2 full scale pilots who were learning R/C by themselves. They crashed at every landing attempt until they were taught "go for the low wing". This was before flight simulators.
I like your last sentence. When I was teaching R/C flying we called it "Go for the low wing". And of course we are referring to when the plane is coming toward you during a landing and one wing dips. To level the plane "go for the low wing", which means move the aileron stick toward the low wing. I have known 2 full scale pilots who were learning R/C by themselves. They crashed at every landing attempt until they were taught "go for the low wing". This was before flight simulators.
I don't think some people understand how helpful a sim can be. I also think that the real thing is still very different as you have to factor in for other things like plane setup and trimming. Still I'm doing okay and don't really use the sim much any more. Mainly because Its not a real one with a transmitter. Its on an Ipad. It worked for me though.
I've just been down to the field for a quick tank of fuel before the mrs gets home. The magnum engine was going strong but did dead-stick once. There is barely a wind today so landing was easy and I forgot how well this plane glides and how slow it comes in. I also miss the responsiveness of the low wing when I fly this though but I'm just using the trainer to give the engine a good running for now.
09-02-2013, 03:44 PM
#130
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Quick update on my progress guys:
I went out flying on Sunday. It was blowing around 23mph and gusting easily up to 30mph. Didn't think it would be that bad until I got the plane in the air. WOW!!! These trainers get thrown around a lot in those gusts. It really didn't help being in the wind shadow of some very tall trees which seemed to create some nasty turbulence when you went behind them or anything less than 20 feet above them. I also couldn't help feel that the little 40 Magnum GP was lacking a little in power for flying in this wind.
I could fly up wind at half throttle and the plane would pretty much hover in one place until a gust came along and turned it around of just threw it about a bit.
I tried making a few slow and low passes in anticipation of rough landing and wanted to minimise damage where possible. Well the plane would lift and drop by anything up to around 6 feet and was not looking good for landing.
I know I shouldn't really of been flying in such winds but I've always been a bit daft like that and love a challenge as long as its as safe as possible, which it was as the field was empty.
Eventually I found that the best way to land and maintain stability in such winds was to come in low under power and then just cut back quickly and get it down even quicker. Any slow reduction of speed and hanging around at stall speed was just going to result in the plane being flipped over or at best pushed back up into the air.
Despite the rather hars conditions I still made 3 flights just to try and get used to the strong winds and flying in them. Things like upwind turns seemed rather difficult and looking at the plane you would thing it had stopped flying halfway through the turn. Crazy weather to say the least.
I hope to get out tomorrow night for a normal flight in clam weather. I'll hopefully get some video as its long overdue.
I went out flying on Sunday. It was blowing around 23mph and gusting easily up to 30mph. Didn't think it would be that bad until I got the plane in the air. WOW!!! These trainers get thrown around a lot in those gusts. It really didn't help being in the wind shadow of some very tall trees which seemed to create some nasty turbulence when you went behind them or anything less than 20 feet above them. I also couldn't help feel that the little 40 Magnum GP was lacking a little in power for flying in this wind.
I could fly up wind at half throttle and the plane would pretty much hover in one place until a gust came along and turned it around of just threw it about a bit.
I tried making a few slow and low passes in anticipation of rough landing and wanted to minimise damage where possible. Well the plane would lift and drop by anything up to around 6 feet and was not looking good for landing.
I know I shouldn't really of been flying in such winds but I've always been a bit daft like that and love a challenge as long as its as safe as possible, which it was as the field was empty.
Eventually I found that the best way to land and maintain stability in such winds was to come in low under power and then just cut back quickly and get it down even quicker. Any slow reduction of speed and hanging around at stall speed was just going to result in the plane being flipped over or at best pushed back up into the air.
Despite the rather hars conditions I still made 3 flights just to try and get used to the strong winds and flying in them. Things like upwind turns seemed rather difficult and looking at the plane you would thing it had stopped flying halfway through the turn. Crazy weather to say the least.
I hope to get out tomorrow night for a normal flight in clam weather. I'll hopefully get some video as its long overdue.
09-02-2013, 04:58 PM
#131
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Good job. That's exactly the right way to do a landing in gusty wind, pick your spot and set it down quick. You don't go for beauty on those days. And now that you've done it and know you can do it that lets you get out and play in the wind to fine tune your technique.
09-07-2013, 12:08 PM
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Sorry I've not updated lately.
I did fly the other night but only briefly.
The Magnum engine has been going great but just seems to lack power. I've just got a new hd camera for aerial video. It's called a flip mino. It's pretty good quality but weighs around 100g and you certainly notice this when you try to climb. It's also attached forward of the c of g so I guess that won't help. The plane seems to stall very easily now. Can I make the effect better by moving it back?
ive also just taken delivery of a thunder tiger pro 46 engine. I'm going to fit this to my Spacewalker and take the Irvine 40 from that and put it in my trainer. Ill keep the magnum as a momento of my first engine.
i flew today in a brisk 15mph wind but after my flight in the gusts last week this seemed tame to be honest.
im still practicing rudder turns o eventually help me land on a target. I keep resisting the temptation to add aileron mixing to cancel the roll as I know I need to do this myself before relying on my transmitter.
im flying tomorrow night and will get my friend to take video of the flight and post it here. That way you guys can see my landings.
Hope everyone is still enjoying the great hobby!
I did fly the other night but only briefly.
The Magnum engine has been going great but just seems to lack power. I've just got a new hd camera for aerial video. It's called a flip mino. It's pretty good quality but weighs around 100g and you certainly notice this when you try to climb. It's also attached forward of the c of g so I guess that won't help. The plane seems to stall very easily now. Can I make the effect better by moving it back?
ive also just taken delivery of a thunder tiger pro 46 engine. I'm going to fit this to my Spacewalker and take the Irvine 40 from that and put it in my trainer. Ill keep the magnum as a momento of my first engine.
i flew today in a brisk 15mph wind but after my flight in the gusts last week this seemed tame to be honest.
im still practicing rudder turns o eventually help me land on a target. I keep resisting the temptation to add aileron mixing to cancel the roll as I know I need to do this myself before relying on my transmitter.
im flying tomorrow night and will get my friend to take video of the flight and post it here. That way you guys can see my landings.
Hope everyone is still enjoying the great hobby!
09-07-2013, 08:16 PM
#134
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Yes, adding weight that moves the CG forward is going to make the plane drop its nose easier. You'll need to figure out a mounting method that lets you keep the CG where it should be.
09-15-2013, 01:14 AM
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Hi guys. A few updates on my progress and my recent changes to planes.
I took the magnum out of the trainer as its way too little power for trying to fly with. The ripmax is quite a large 40 trainer compared to some others I've seen. Even running at full revs it struggled to climb with a full tank and a camera attached and the plane was balanced properly too. I did have to add around 60g of ballast in with the fuelmtankmthough.
Anyway I've put my Irvine 40 red head in and it's got bags more power and flies like a dream with that baby. I don't want to remove this engine as its great but I've got a Thunder tiger 46 pro now as well so I'm going to have to fit that I think. Or buy a plane for the 46 I suppose.
ive flown my trainer a few times and had some fun with it. Still learning but I can always get it down in one piece. Still some bumpy landings and I need to smooth them out. I kinda get carried away with flying when really I should spend a day doing touch and go landings.
My friend crashed his planes so I sold him my Space walker II air frame for a low price. I fitted his sc46 and tested it for him. It flew great with bags of power and very responsive. I had to test fly it twice it was that good. I sold this as I also have a Seagull Pilautus pc-9 low wing. After flying the pc-9 yesterday I may have made a mistake selling the Spacewalker but I had too many planes for my storage space.
So last night I flew my pc-9. It has an os46 ax 2 in it which I fitted a 11x6 prop to. Is this the right prop?
Pit was struggling to transition from idle to high end revs which I assume is the low end needle. Unfortunately I was on the field with no tools to remove the cowl and carry out the adjustments. So you guessed it I flew anyway. What surprised me with this plane was the length of run it needed to get airborne. Easily double or more than the Spacewalker. I can't see the wing loading being much more than the SW so I assume its down to the angle of the wings when on the ground as when it did get light I eased back and it went up steep and fast almost like a jet. Wow this plane was fast and rolls were very fast indeed and very axial like a red arrow or something. After what seemed like a short flight I started setting up to land. I lowered power and lined up to land. I was 100 yards out and it dies on me. I wasn't sure I was going to make it over the trees onto the field. I just cleared the trees but the planes air speed was low and I was quite a way back on the elevator trying to maintain height and make the field. A gust of wind lifted the plane 6 feet and I thought it was happy landings. I carried on gliding in knowing I was easily on the field now. Then all of a sudden at around 6 feet it just tip stalled and nose planted into the field. It landed right in the nose wheel and forced it back cutting through the fuselage. It's a poorly mounted wheel and where it's mounted is a bit soft if you ask me but it probably saved me any major damage this time.
on my return home I did some research into the pc-9 and found several articles than mention its tendency to stall at low speeds and also the fact that its a JET TRAINER! That would explain the take off and landing characteristics and also why the rear wheels are wounded wide on the wings.
so I sold my easy to fly low wing and left myself with a jet trainer. Hmmmmm, not my best decision of 2013 but like I've said before I like a challenge so ill go back to the trainer and totally master landings. Even landings a little hot and not floaters to try and prepare for a return to the pc9. The pc9 is a gorgeous plane so I don't want to crash it badly.
Im going to spend today modding my trainer to take the larger camera and also fitting a better release mechanism for the parachute guy.
I took the magnum out of the trainer as its way too little power for trying to fly with. The ripmax is quite a large 40 trainer compared to some others I've seen. Even running at full revs it struggled to climb with a full tank and a camera attached and the plane was balanced properly too. I did have to add around 60g of ballast in with the fuelmtankmthough.
Anyway I've put my Irvine 40 red head in and it's got bags more power and flies like a dream with that baby. I don't want to remove this engine as its great but I've got a Thunder tiger 46 pro now as well so I'm going to have to fit that I think. Or buy a plane for the 46 I suppose.
ive flown my trainer a few times and had some fun with it. Still learning but I can always get it down in one piece. Still some bumpy landings and I need to smooth them out. I kinda get carried away with flying when really I should spend a day doing touch and go landings.
My friend crashed his planes so I sold him my Space walker II air frame for a low price. I fitted his sc46 and tested it for him. It flew great with bags of power and very responsive. I had to test fly it twice it was that good. I sold this as I also have a Seagull Pilautus pc-9 low wing. After flying the pc-9 yesterday I may have made a mistake selling the Spacewalker but I had too many planes for my storage space.
So last night I flew my pc-9. It has an os46 ax 2 in it which I fitted a 11x6 prop to. Is this the right prop?
Pit was struggling to transition from idle to high end revs which I assume is the low end needle. Unfortunately I was on the field with no tools to remove the cowl and carry out the adjustments. So you guessed it I flew anyway. What surprised me with this plane was the length of run it needed to get airborne. Easily double or more than the Spacewalker. I can't see the wing loading being much more than the SW so I assume its down to the angle of the wings when on the ground as when it did get light I eased back and it went up steep and fast almost like a jet. Wow this plane was fast and rolls were very fast indeed and very axial like a red arrow or something. After what seemed like a short flight I started setting up to land. I lowered power and lined up to land. I was 100 yards out and it dies on me. I wasn't sure I was going to make it over the trees onto the field. I just cleared the trees but the planes air speed was low and I was quite a way back on the elevator trying to maintain height and make the field. A gust of wind lifted the plane 6 feet and I thought it was happy landings. I carried on gliding in knowing I was easily on the field now. Then all of a sudden at around 6 feet it just tip stalled and nose planted into the field. It landed right in the nose wheel and forced it back cutting through the fuselage. It's a poorly mounted wheel and where it's mounted is a bit soft if you ask me but it probably saved me any major damage this time.
on my return home I did some research into the pc-9 and found several articles than mention its tendency to stall at low speeds and also the fact that its a JET TRAINER! That would explain the take off and landing characteristics and also why the rear wheels are wounded wide on the wings.
so I sold my easy to fly low wing and left myself with a jet trainer. Hmmmmm, not my best decision of 2013 but like I've said before I like a challenge so ill go back to the trainer and totally master landings. Even landings a little hot and not floaters to try and prepare for a return to the pc9. The pc9 is a gorgeous plane so I don't want to crash it badly.
Im going to spend today modding my trainer to take the larger camera and also fitting a better release mechanism for the parachute guy.
09-15-2013, 11:04 AM
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Hi Carl.
Sounds like your having fun and progressing nicely.
It's a good practice on each new plane to force stalls and spins at a safe altitude, that way you wont be surprised later.
You know what? With all that consistent wind you have, you may want to check in to flying slope gliders. Lots of fun and very rewarding!
Scott
Sounds like your having fun and progressing nicely.
It's a good practice on each new plane to force stalls and spins at a safe altitude, that way you wont be surprised later.
You know what? With all that consistent wind you have, you may want to check in to flying slope gliders. Lots of fun and very rewarding!
Scott
09-19-2013, 02:35 PM
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Carl, with your buddy, you could use a trainer fitted with a home made cradle for the glider. Have your friend piggyback the plane up, then release it. You could also tow the glider with the powered plane and then release it. I've seen the cradle method in person and the tow on youtube.
09-20-2013, 04:27 PM
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I've never seen a tow launched, but I imagine the glider will be in the air before the tow plane. Give it a try, what's the worst that can happen? (yea, I know, dumb question)
09-20-2013, 06:46 PM
#142
This is how its done: in this case my GP Stearman PT-17 OS 1.20SE Pulling My Seniorita glider. With wheel less gliders takeoff dollys are utillized for ground launch and I also have used an aero water tow glider launch dolly for the glider in this case three pilots are neccessary: tow pilot, glider pilot and the float operator which is powered and controlled also.
The last two photos are example of piggyback launchs which are fun but far less challanging that aerotow.
Last edited by JohnBuckner; 09-20-2013 at 07:07 PM.
09-20-2013, 07:31 PM
#143
I fly aerotow gliders and I'm currently scratch building a 3m Schweizer TG-2 for aerotow. Normally for aerotow you're looking at 3m to 6m gliders and 1/4 to 1/3 scale high powered tow planes like the Hangar 9 Piper Pawnee. When it comes time to maiden my glider next summer I'm going to have an experienced aerotow pilot fly it for the maiden as I feel I don't have enough experience on aerotow to deal with some of the issues that could come up. Due to the close proximity of the two planes attached to each other (approx. 25m or less) both pilots need to have a bit of skill. There is a group in Texas who have started working with smaller 2m and standard class gliders for aerotow and are going through a learning curve - and these are very experienced pilots. I'm currently working on design modifications for a Sig Kadet Senior to use as a tow plane.
Gliders taken piggyback on something like a Kadet Sr., Kadet LT-40, Telemaster 40, Sr. Telemaster, etc. are easy to do. The trick is to build a good cradle that will hold the plane securely yet cleanly release the glider on command every time. Flying the glider after the release is the easy part.
Unless you have access to a good glider, and a tow plane with an experienced and competent pilot and a good instructor for your first few aerotows, I'd suggest you keep away from this route until you have a lot more experience. But for cradle launching a glider, if you have the correct plane and a good launch pilot, go for it. The small added weight strapped to the top of a big plane like a Kadet Sr. won't drastically alter it's ability to get off the ground - it'll just require a slightly longer roll and won't climb as good which is par for the course. If you want to go this route I highly recommend you look into the glider forums in both RCU and RCGroups and learn all you can on cradle launchers and setting up a launch plane.
Hogflyer
09-21-2013, 12:04 PM
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Thanks for the great replies guys.
i have a ripmax trainer and currently power it with a thunder tiger 46 pro so it has plenty of go. Could i fabricate a cradle for this with some sort of servo release?
i fly on grass but I'm thinking ill need Tarmac for a piggy back take off.
ive not got loads of experience as the title of my thread would indicate but I can fly my trainer easily and smoothly. I'm currently fixing the front wheel on my Pilautus pc9 which I bashed onto the nose wheel on landing. It probably would of been okay but the previous owner has done away with the steering and has made a bad job of fitting a fixed wheel so any force was channeled into the plywood covering which it carved through.
anyway I think I can competently attempt a piggy back so my new challenge is to do so. The glider is my friends and is around 9 feet wing span. Ill need to fix it as my friend tried hand launching it (unpowered) to see if he could fly it. We now know you need hills, launch or thermals and that even the most enthusiastic of throws won't get a 3m glider flying. Anyway he threw, it stalled and crashed, snapping the fuse behind the wings. It snapped the wooden control linkages too. Ill try fixing them all without taking it apart if I can.
Watch this space for glider piggy back action.
i have a ripmax trainer and currently power it with a thunder tiger 46 pro so it has plenty of go. Could i fabricate a cradle for this with some sort of servo release?
i fly on grass but I'm thinking ill need Tarmac for a piggy back take off.
ive not got loads of experience as the title of my thread would indicate but I can fly my trainer easily and smoothly. I'm currently fixing the front wheel on my Pilautus pc9 which I bashed onto the nose wheel on landing. It probably would of been okay but the previous owner has done away with the steering and has made a bad job of fitting a fixed wheel so any force was channeled into the plywood covering which it carved through.
anyway I think I can competently attempt a piggy back so my new challenge is to do so. The glider is my friends and is around 9 feet wing span. Ill need to fix it as my friend tried hand launching it (unpowered) to see if he could fly it. We now know you need hills, launch or thermals and that even the most enthusiastic of throws won't get a 3m glider flying. Anyway he threw, it stalled and crashed, snapping the fuse behind the wings. It snapped the wooden control linkages too. Ill try fixing them all without taking it apart if I can.
Watch this space for glider piggy back action.
09-21-2013, 01:53 PM
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Carl that's outstanding!
Keep it up and soon you'll be the old pro giving advice here.
You could try this for launching from the ground.
Dynaflite Hi-Starts
Keep it up and soon you'll be the old pro giving advice here.
You could try this for launching from the ground.
Dynaflite Hi-Starts
09-29-2013, 04:59 AM
#146
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Thanks for the replies guys.
I've not had much flight time over the last couple of weeks as I've been busy with work and decorating at home.
I did fly my PC-9 for a brief flight last week. It resulted in a deadstick. my own fault as I ran out of fuel. It has a really small tank and uses an OS46AX so its quite thirsty. I was also flying at high throttle as I love how this thing flies at speed and it needs to be at full speed to get the best out of it aerobatically.
Anyway I had loads of space for the landing and I flew it out down wind but left my final turn too late and never made it back to the field. This plane doesn;t even know what gliding is and it loses height very quickly without power. Also flying upwind into 8 knots didn't help. Anyway I hit a tree and fell down 12 feet.
I thought there was no damage but it turned out I had cracked the canopy and also smashed the mounting block for the wheel on the wing.
I know this plane is supposed to be a jet trainer of sorts but the way the wheels mount ot the rib of hte wing is very crude and lacks strength massively. The more annoying thing is that the tearing of the mounting from the wing rib causes quite a lot of damage to the wing. I had to strip back the covering and piece it back together.
I'll give it a few more flights and then see how it goes. If I have issues with teh landing gear again I'll be changing them to a set mounted on the fuse.
As for the glider project, I've still got to fit the TT46 pro to the trainer to ensure I have good power first. I'll try and get something sorted next week.
I've not had much flight time over the last couple of weeks as I've been busy with work and decorating at home.
I did fly my PC-9 for a brief flight last week. It resulted in a deadstick. my own fault as I ran out of fuel. It has a really small tank and uses an OS46AX so its quite thirsty. I was also flying at high throttle as I love how this thing flies at speed and it needs to be at full speed to get the best out of it aerobatically.
Anyway I had loads of space for the landing and I flew it out down wind but left my final turn too late and never made it back to the field. This plane doesn;t even know what gliding is and it loses height very quickly without power. Also flying upwind into 8 knots didn't help. Anyway I hit a tree and fell down 12 feet.
I thought there was no damage but it turned out I had cracked the canopy and also smashed the mounting block for the wheel on the wing.
I know this plane is supposed to be a jet trainer of sorts but the way the wheels mount ot the rib of hte wing is very crude and lacks strength massively. The more annoying thing is that the tearing of the mounting from the wing rib causes quite a lot of damage to the wing. I had to strip back the covering and piece it back together.
I'll give it a few more flights and then see how it goes. If I have issues with teh landing gear again I'll be changing them to a set mounted on the fuse.
As for the glider project, I've still got to fit the TT46 pro to the trainer to ensure I have good power first. I'll try and get something sorted next week.
10-07-2013, 03:37 AM
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I suppose this thread has ran its course now so I will make this my last post for now. Of course people can always add to it if they feel it will help others going down the self teaching route.
I've not flown my PC-9 again lately. I need to recover the wings where I had to rebuild the wheel mount and I also need to move the engine forward as it has slid back upon crashing last time. This has trapped the wheel turning system so needs sorting.
I flew my Ripmax Trainer yesterday in some fairly gusty conditions and had no problems at all flying it around and landings are easy. I can almost land it in front of me these days and taxi right back to my feet. A guy from the other side of the field was at teh model steam train club and he came over to say hello. I mentioned that we may look at joining a club in order to fly bigger and faster planes and I mentioned I was currently a novice. He commented that after seeing my flying and landings that I seemed quite competent.
So in conclusion to the entire thread and my journey down the self teaching road I can report my findings are as follows:
1) It is certainly possible to teach yourself to fly a nitro trainer without having to be a member of a club or using buddy boxes or instructors. It is however not the easy option as I did lose one plane in the process. I did however replace the plane for next to nothing by buying another on Ebay and selling the radio gear from it which sold for more than I paid for the lot. What I would say is that to fly a trainer on your own you will need extensive practice on a simulator and also have very good reactions and hand eye coordination to correct your flight errors quickly and safely. Me personally, I practiced using a free simulator I downloaded on the I Pad. I had to control it with touchscreen so it wasn't ideal but the controls were the same as real life, just no sticks. Despite others disagreeing with my earlier comment, I still feel that having been part or the computer game generation gives you a massive jump start into being able to control something remotely. Self teaching is certainly NOT something you should rush into and if you don't already have good knowledge of mechanics and physics then I would suggest its not the path for you. A big key to your success is also properly setting up the plane and ensuring all controls are working in the right direction and the right amount. The last thing you want is a reversed aileron servo (guaranteed crash) or movements way bigger than specified in the manual. I have experienced both in my path to becoming a pilot. Even my last flight on the PC-9 I had the aileron movement at double specified as I forgot when I fitted new servos. This made it very difficult to fly. So self teaching is possible but its definitely not easy.
2) Make sure you have enough space!! The main thing I have cone to realise is that a benefit of a club is the space you have and the safety away from other users of the same space. I started off flying on beaches but after a while got feed up with waiting for tides and sand getting in my flight box and on my plane. Sand and engines don't mix. So I ended up flying on large playing fields. Some near houses and some quite a distance from houses. Even on the larger fields you still end up flying out of the boundaries and using up a lot of space. If your plane deadsticks down wind and is some distance from you then you wll have great difficulty making a safe landing. So try to keep the plane near to you and never too far down wind unless you are very high or the wind is only slight. Between me and my friend I have seen many crash landings from deadstick that have been too far away to be deemed safe, or even ones where we haven't seen the plane touch down due to bushes or trees.
3) Nitro planes fly very fast and very fragile. If they hit someone they WILL hospitalise them. If they hit a stationary object they WILL break into little pieces and need rebuilding.
Looking back I would (as many said before hand) say that it would be much better to join a club if you want to fly nitro planes or any large RC craft. You get good advice and just have a better chance of success. My friend has crashed and written off three planes whilst learning. I have written off one whilst learning. In a club you will likely lose no planes as a result of poor flying or poor setting up.
If however your local club seems not for you then my best recommendation would be to buy some sort of electric foam type plane but a decent 4 channel one and learn to fly yourself with that. It will fly nice and slow and due to its low weight will suffer only slight damage upon crashing. Just make sure you buy a good 2.4 transmitter than can be used on all your future models. That way your costs are minimised when you upgrade. Make sure your electric one is a high wing trainer and just use that to get a feel of flying and take off / landing. Whilst you are flying this plane you could be building a wooden trainer for Nitro use. Building a plane is essential if you are to carry out repairs to your planes yourself. It teaches you how a plane is build and how it all fits together. You WILL crash and you WILL need to repair.
Which ever path you take ou will enjoy the hobby greatly. Just be patient and don't rush with anything. Once your plane is in the air you're screwed if you forgot something.
And a big thanks to everyone who has posted great comments on this thread. Hopefully it will help future budding pilots decide which route they are to take.
I'm now wanting to look at joining a club so I can get stuck into some high speed prop planes or ducted fans.
I've not flown my PC-9 again lately. I need to recover the wings where I had to rebuild the wheel mount and I also need to move the engine forward as it has slid back upon crashing last time. This has trapped the wheel turning system so needs sorting.
I flew my Ripmax Trainer yesterday in some fairly gusty conditions and had no problems at all flying it around and landings are easy. I can almost land it in front of me these days and taxi right back to my feet. A guy from the other side of the field was at teh model steam train club and he came over to say hello. I mentioned that we may look at joining a club in order to fly bigger and faster planes and I mentioned I was currently a novice. He commented that after seeing my flying and landings that I seemed quite competent.
So in conclusion to the entire thread and my journey down the self teaching road I can report my findings are as follows:
1) It is certainly possible to teach yourself to fly a nitro trainer without having to be a member of a club or using buddy boxes or instructors. It is however not the easy option as I did lose one plane in the process. I did however replace the plane for next to nothing by buying another on Ebay and selling the radio gear from it which sold for more than I paid for the lot. What I would say is that to fly a trainer on your own you will need extensive practice on a simulator and also have very good reactions and hand eye coordination to correct your flight errors quickly and safely. Me personally, I practiced using a free simulator I downloaded on the I Pad. I had to control it with touchscreen so it wasn't ideal but the controls were the same as real life, just no sticks. Despite others disagreeing with my earlier comment, I still feel that having been part or the computer game generation gives you a massive jump start into being able to control something remotely. Self teaching is certainly NOT something you should rush into and if you don't already have good knowledge of mechanics and physics then I would suggest its not the path for you. A big key to your success is also properly setting up the plane and ensuring all controls are working in the right direction and the right amount. The last thing you want is a reversed aileron servo (guaranteed crash) or movements way bigger than specified in the manual. I have experienced both in my path to becoming a pilot. Even my last flight on the PC-9 I had the aileron movement at double specified as I forgot when I fitted new servos. This made it very difficult to fly. So self teaching is possible but its definitely not easy.
2) Make sure you have enough space!! The main thing I have cone to realise is that a benefit of a club is the space you have and the safety away from other users of the same space. I started off flying on beaches but after a while got feed up with waiting for tides and sand getting in my flight box and on my plane. Sand and engines don't mix. So I ended up flying on large playing fields. Some near houses and some quite a distance from houses. Even on the larger fields you still end up flying out of the boundaries and using up a lot of space. If your plane deadsticks down wind and is some distance from you then you wll have great difficulty making a safe landing. So try to keep the plane near to you and never too far down wind unless you are very high or the wind is only slight. Between me and my friend I have seen many crash landings from deadstick that have been too far away to be deemed safe, or even ones where we haven't seen the plane touch down due to bushes or trees.
3) Nitro planes fly very fast and very fragile. If they hit someone they WILL hospitalise them. If they hit a stationary object they WILL break into little pieces and need rebuilding.
Looking back I would (as many said before hand) say that it would be much better to join a club if you want to fly nitro planes or any large RC craft. You get good advice and just have a better chance of success. My friend has crashed and written off three planes whilst learning. I have written off one whilst learning. In a club you will likely lose no planes as a result of poor flying or poor setting up.
If however your local club seems not for you then my best recommendation would be to buy some sort of electric foam type plane but a decent 4 channel one and learn to fly yourself with that. It will fly nice and slow and due to its low weight will suffer only slight damage upon crashing. Just make sure you buy a good 2.4 transmitter than can be used on all your future models. That way your costs are minimised when you upgrade. Make sure your electric one is a high wing trainer and just use that to get a feel of flying and take off / landing. Whilst you are flying this plane you could be building a wooden trainer for Nitro use. Building a plane is essential if you are to carry out repairs to your planes yourself. It teaches you how a plane is build and how it all fits together. You WILL crash and you WILL need to repair.
Which ever path you take ou will enjoy the hobby greatly. Just be patient and don't rush with anything. Once your plane is in the air you're screwed if you forgot something.
And a big thanks to everyone who has posted great comments on this thread. Hopefully it will help future budding pilots decide which route they are to take.
I'm now wanting to look at joining a club so I can get stuck into some high speed prop planes or ducted fans.
