It's good that you didn't give up because of one crash. I remember that when the wing came off my lt 40, I immidiately said that I can buy a new fuselage, before it even had a chance to hit the ground... Always do preflight checks, and a range check at the beginning of the day, aswell as a quick inspection of the plane to see if everything works properly.

One tip: If you take off, and something is obviously wrong, and you have a hard time controling the plane, you have two options. Either take it up a few mistakes high, or throttle down and try to make a gentle crash landing. The first one sometimes saves your plane, but often causes a crash. The second one usually causes some damage, but nothing unrepairable. Of course this might not be true if you are flying a jet or giant scale, but for foamies or trainers, powering down is IMO the better option.

Hubert

Jester - I had a Spektrum AR610 Rx in that plane.

JB - Yes, I mentioned radio equipment in reply to Jester's comment in post #9.

krokodyl - Yes, if I ever get in trouble again, I will definitely land as good as I can ASAP!! This was a learning lesson for me that will always be in my mind from now on.

I haven't seen it asked but are you teaching yourself to fly? If so this sounds like just the kind of situation where an instructor takes over the plane and saves it from a crash. If you are leaning see if you can get some help. I have taught several to fly way back before buddy boxes and we just passed the transmitter back and forth. That worked just fine except that sometimes a new pilot refused to believe they were in trouble and wouldn't pass the transmitter back until it was just almost to low to save.

The statement about the ailerons and elevator being reversed also puzzles me. Were they at one time moving the right direction. I have seen ailerons reversed for first flights with predictable results but never heard of them self reversing.

Yes I am teaching myself to fly. Having someone teach me is going to be a last resort if my skills don't advance from here. I have enough flight time on my Apprentice to know how to fly, land, and minor aerobatics. However, this plane had some kind of issue with the aileron servos. I think they jammed to the right for some reason or another. I was having a very difficult time trying to level it.

First thing to do is consider changing your attitude about instructors. Simply forget everything you think you know about flying and contact a competent instructor. Tell yourself: "I need help so I will surrender my pride and get some help." You'll learn something, it'll be fun, and you'll make a new friend(s). And if your instructor goes over information you already know ... just keep quiet and politely listen to him go over information you think you already know. You may have learned the previously-learned information incorrectly.

And listen to John Buckner ... he's an experienced pro in my humble opinion. He has helped me.

Here come the flames!!! Oh nooooooooooo........!

I'll agree that an instructor is the way to go whenever possible, but it's not the only way. The OP has already flown his Apprentice some, so he has the initial challenge behind him. So let's keep being helpful as we have already been and not disparage the way he enjoys the hobby. After all, as long as he's safe about it, he can play with model planes with as many or as few other people as he wants. Right?

Well guys, I do plan on joining a club. I like flying alone for now, but when I'm better, I want to fly with new friends and gain as much knowledge as possible. I plan on sticking with this segment of r/c for a long time.

oliveDrab - My attitude about instructors isn't all negative. I'm just one of those people who "see and do" people, just like when I drove a car for the first time. I know just enough about aerodynamic forces on a plane to know how a plane needs to move through air. My best friend at the moment is the simulator. It got me in the air! Now the incident I had last week was a setback, but I learned from it. Now I know what to do if I ever run into that situation again. Learning curve gentlemen, everyone has their own skill set.

As long as you ae not flying a 50cc gasser in your back yard (unless your back yard is a AMA field), you should be ok

Learning alone is ok, and once you join a club, all you would have to do is prove that you know how to fly. I agree with Jester, that you have the hardest part behind you. Keep practicing, and when you feel like flying something bigger/hevier, or want to fly with others, then join a club.

Hubert

Yeah, wish I had a 50cc gasser!! I'm sticking with the electric foam birds for now...but my day will come!