Well, I dont know if you all have seen my previous post but the other day, I lifted my superstar off the ground and then frooze and I gently crashed and broke a prop only. Well Sunday, I went to a large soccer field and I taxied and took off with way to much elevator, and it went almost straight up, and I let off only to have it come down and crash. I wasnt to lucky this time, I broke the top front and bottom of the Fuse. Well I actually had lots of fun fixing it, I went and bought some Basa Wood from the hobby store and som Monokote and begain to repair. Well I actually learned alot about how my plane is put together and it now looks like it is brand new again. I really need somone to teach me but I cant find anyone or any field where people fly. When Im taking off, am I right to acknowledge that I only need a small amount of elevator? I think that was my real problem. I really am scared to try again without some help because I got lucky and didnt break the wood where the motor mounts to. Oh yea, when reinstalling the motor, how do I get it exactly centered or does it really matter?

Thanks

Brian

hi

Ok I may be the new guy but maybe you should try a simulator. I've had a plane for about a year now and I still haven't even flown it!! However I have many hours on the sim I still crash but only when i play around to much. Anyway don't give up Dude!!

bri69,

1. Try the AMA website for a club by you.

2. Post your location here and on the other forums someone might be close enough to help you or at least point you in the right direction

3. Try asking at you local hobby shop.


A sim might help... But there are no garrantees your best bet is to find an instructor even if you need to travel (gas is cheaper then new planes)

BTW I drove 65 mile each way once or twice a week for 2 months to learn and it was worth every mile.

Once you learn if you have a suitable area (school yards are usually Not considered suitable for the type of plane you have) then you can fly it there

bri69, where in NC are you? There are tons of clubs throughout North Carolina and I am sure most all of them would like to help you learn.

what he says...
john

Yep,

Look up a field, there are TONS of them in NC. For goodness sakes thats where Quique lives now.

i have stacks of sims if you want to learn the basics getwell i cant think of the name of it it was in the comp ha it is combat flight simulator wwII europe series it will help you with basic flight i alredy had flight traning so i just started and flew but play with the planes get to now the planes how they feel(handle) and the alike i got mine from walmart i frogot how much it cost but it also halps to have a stick if u want more info email me @ [email protected]

Bri69, as a newbie myself I feel as if I can offer some valuable information.

Please do not attempt to fly your plane again by yourself (unless you're rich and like to destroy things) it will most certainly end in disaster. As was recommended above, try a simulator. FMS is FREE and all you need is an adaptor that can be had for under $20. I have used it and it has helped me tremendously.

Additionally, there has got to be a club in a reasonable distance from you, go check it out and be patient, you will be pleased that you did. These clubs can be an invaluable resource for information as well as excellent place to meet good people.

Good luck in the sky and on the ground!

If you dont have any flying experience at all you need someone to train you or get a flight simulator that has a controll box not a joy stick. I used a flight simulator to refresh myself. Good Luck!

Brian, you need to find an instructor or get a simulator and put in some time.

bri69,

Here's my advice, then my background. Follow the good advice in the above posts and find an instructor and flying field. I move a lot and have found the local hobby shops can generally point me in the right direction.

That said, I taught myself to fly R/C. I was one of those idiots (yes, I said it) who said "I fly real planes, I can fly one of these toys." These are not toys and regularly prove that they can indeed kill someone. My first 3 flights together totalled less than 30 seconds and for a while I was keeping the epoxy manufacturers in business single-handedly. I've now been flying for almost 20 years and finally learned how to regularly bring my planes home in as many pieces as I left with although it took 4 planes and about 5 years to figure out.

Get an instructor!!

Good luck,

Droopy

Thanks for all the advice, I have FMS but dont have a chord to connect to my controller. Where can I find one, Tower Hobbies doesn't have one and the only one I can find is a guy on ebay and they ussally go for about $45.00. Any advice on a chord that connects to USB is appreciated. Oh yea, I am in Wilmington, NC so if anyone is near here, please post back and maybe we could get together!

Thanks

Brian

Hi bri69. I am from NC but a ways from where you are. I looked up clubs in your area and there is one AMA listed club. Its called Wilmington Model Flying Club and the contact person is Kerry Williams ( [email protected] ). Whatever you do, simulator or club, get some supervised practice or you'll likely give up on this great hobby. It helped me just going to a club and watching. Oh yeah, keep coming here and looking through the forums, you can learn so much.

Chao,

Spoon

bri...watch ebay and/or check for the manufacturer for the FMS connector, I got mine for $19.99 from them about a year ago, they couldnt have gone up that much,,get in touch with the club these guys like to help out and you can learn more in an afternoon of watching and listening then in years of trying it on your own,,they may have a trainer you can learn on too........Rog

I was scanning through eBay auctions last night. I only look at auctions listed as "Ending Today", and saw two of the FMS interface cords, each listed for $12.99 and didn't have bids yet.
Dennis-

Bri,
They are right. Follow the other posts first. If money is the issue, like it was for me, there are some things you can do. I am not sure if they are legal and the others will fill you (and me) in on it. Anyway, I took the wing off of my model and just taxied it around for what seemed like an eternity. After I got effecient on taxiing towards me and away, I put the wing back on and did the same only at a speed I knew it would not take off at. While I was taxiing with the wing on, I got a feel for how much the plane responded to what I told it to do. I could get the nose wheel off the ground and still not take off. My goal was to get the nose off the ground and NOT take off. A couple of times, I had to cut the throttle to keep it down, but on the ground it taught me a lot. By that time, I found a club that took me in and then I got the help I needed to get it off the ground.
I cannot stress how much the person standing next to me helped! Just having them there was an enormous security blanket. They even offered to take the plane off for me and to land it for me and just let me fly it when it was high enough to recover it if something went wrong.
Joining a club is most likely the best idea. They are usually not very much (mine is 40 buck for a year) and they will most likely work with you.
I like to fly with simulators, but they are not like the real thing; they are close.
Let me know if this helped.

Redman

After hearing your crash story, there's a number of things that an experienced instructor can correct immediately. On your own, you can't be sure your ship is trimmed right, so the minute you lift off, you're behind the airplane, making control inputs just to keep it level and controlled. An experienced instructor will have the reflexes and know how to do this easily.

Too much up elevator will cause a nasty climb that is surely to result in a low altitude stall that you're not prepared to handle. It's all about feel and there's two ways to get it, both of which have their limitations...fly more sims, which are an approximation of the real thing, or fly more with an instructor. When both methods are combined, I surmise you'll spend more time building new planes and enjoying that vice repairing your current plane while creating a confidence problem with your flying skills.

It's all about confidence...and you need an instructor to provide that security blanket while you learn...don't stay in the nest too long though...otherwise you'll never feel comfortable doing it on your own!

I've read too many posts about people crashing their planes thinking they can do it on their own...don't be that guy...unless you don't care and like doing patch jobs!

I got a win XP computer. only USB cables work on XP, so if u got Windoze Xtra Proprietary, beware!

Do you know where I can find a usb cable for about $15?

Serial cables should work just as well, turn your computer off, plug them into the serial port and plug the other end into your radio, turn the computer back on and let XP load up.


I may not be able to fly yet, but I know computers very well

Bri69, I am in Raleigh NC, I go to wilmington quite frequently to surf on the weekends. If you need help let me know, I could make the trip count double for surfing and to help another fellow R/C pilot. What kind of transmitter you have? I could bring my buddy cable. That alleviates grabbing someones transmitter of their hands. Take care bro.