This was just too cool for words......I spent 3 days putting together my Avistar, and today, with the help of one of the members of the R/C club I became a member of, I got to do engine runup and taxi tests at lunchtime. WOW!!!

I guess I'm pretty lucky.....the Treasurer of my club works in the same office complex I do here in Princeton NJ (he's the site engineer). He told me anytime I wanted to do tests or even fly, give him a call and we'll do it at lunch or in the afternoon after 5pm when everyone leaves for the day.........My complex has a HUGE field in the middle of the grounds that is used for summer softball games and other outdoor activities. A guy who flys R/C just can't kick on this arrangement.

He did a through once over of the A/C gave it a few tweeks here and there, showed me how to work different controls (I had no clue that my servos were reversed..YIKES) and gave it a thumbs up. Then the moment of first lighting off the engine...what a sweet sound[8D]. Ran it for about 20 minutes did the needle adjustments and got is going great. He even showed me how to make sure it won't run lean in a steep climb. What power that thing has! (OS .49 FX)

Then took it around the field once to make sure it'll go. Even in deep grass is took off like it wanted to leave the ground. No damage, just some grass stains.

I can't wait for the first flight, hopefully tomorrow if the weather holds out (supposed to rain here[&o]). If it doesn't, I'm in the air......

Wish me luck!

[Deleted by Admins]

That's great! Hope the weather holds for you.
Keep us posted.
Dennis-

This is probably the best advide I can give you:

Always do a pre-flight check(radio range, battery charge, control surfaces moving in the right direction and also check that every thing is tight.)

May your first flight be successful,
May your Avistar always bring you joy.
And may your goose bumps never go away!

PS: Ditto on the "Always Check..."

trainers are designed to lift off. you will notice when it comes time to land, you will have to glide it a while. they are really ggreat planes and will take a lot of abuse, so don't worry about them. good luck!

Well....UPDATE!!!!!!!

It didn't rain, (Yeah!), but I woke up w/another problem, backed up sewage pipe. In Home Depot renting snake at 8am, back by 9:30am, problem solved!

My instructor calls me at 11:30, asks if I want to fly (are you kidding?!?!) get to the field, we have a bit of wind (10mph sustained, 20mph gusts) so my instructor uses his plane first (looks like an ugly stik, with a .90 OS engine!) takes it up and is doing all sorts of stuff (hovering at altitude, loops, rolls, hammerheads, etc...) and decides that the wind's not bad.....ok.......

He deadsticks it into a cornfield after the engine stalls on final approach, puts two small holes into the right wing, nothing he's worried about and says "Let's get yours ready to fly".......

Set it up, he gets it started, all the while teaching me how to get it primed, how to use the hand pump and the little oddities of starting a 2 stroke, is impressed that it still runs like it did yesterday with no needle resetting, taxi's it out about 30 feet and takes it right up! He starts to get it trimmed, says that it really responds well and onlyu needs a little bit of right rudder and bit of up elevator and he has it going through all the paces, and all the while I'm thinking "Please don't let the wing collapse, please don't let the wing collapse!" but he's throwing it into loops, a few aleron (sp?) rolls and then straight up to a hammerhead stall....WOW!!!!!

Brings it back in to refuel and we take it back up, he shows me how it's reacting to the wind(balloons up going into the wind (down elevator) and sinking going with the wind...takes a few circuits around and then hands me the Tx....I can't believe what I'm doing!!!!! I've got a pretty good NASCAR track going and I'm really getting the hang of turning with the elevator and Alerons (sp? again) and I'm having an absolute blast.......keep it going for 15 minutes and he has me pass him the box back to bring it in.......this guy is good!.........brings it to idle and just greases the landing...I swear I'm at the local bush airport watching a Cessna comming in for a landing this plane looks so real. Two more takeoffs and two more greased landings and it's a day.

I still can't believe I actually did this..........talk about nerves (I had a dry mouth the whole time), but I can say this is the most fun I've had in a VERY long time. I can't wait for the next lesson.

BTW, I brought my 92 year old Mother in Law to the field to watch and get some fresh air and she was absolutely entranced watching this "air ballet" as she called it. I couldn't ask for anything else, except now my wife can't wait to see the show. Next time............

All of you old timers, you have got one of the best kept secrets in the world.....I'm glad I'm becomming a card carrying member of it.

Wings Up and Gear Down!

Ahh. another addict!
there is a saying that states how flying is addicting. we have been there, and share your excitement. my first flight was a windy day too. it is always a bit windy at my field. you will learn quickly i am sure. there is another little secret called a buddy box. it is like another transmitter that you hook up to the real transmitter so that the instructor has control of it until he pushes a button and you are in control. it is a better method because if you are low, or at a critical point, he doesn't have to wait. all he has to do is let go of the buton. i would check those out. if you can tell me what radio you have, i will be happy to show you a couple buddy boxes. however, this brings me to a quote that my club presedent once said.
"have you spent any money on it yet"
"Not a dime?"
"run while you still can"
it is an expensive hobby, no doubt. i myself am 13 and have serious budget restraints. i gutss my point is that you will have to watch yourself though because, reasons to spend things seem to reach out and grab you when you aren't looking. the joy of flight cannot be put into words. this is a great hobby. each and every one of us has hit that point. once you get the hang of it, you will learn quickly.

Way to go donhef! Pretty excitin stuff huh?

Spaceclam you are very articulate for a young guy. I think you hit it on the head...another addict!LOL

Thanks guys...I appreciate the input.

I've got a Futaba T6EXA, and it does have a fitting for an instructor cord.......If you can show me what would go with it, I'd be much obliged...

And your right, it is getting a little expensive, but then again, the big things (plane, engine, Tx/Rx package) were gifts so I just have to get the extra ammenities. And being a guy who has a job (and house, and family, etc...)I can ALMOST afford some of the things I need, but that's why you have Christmas and Birthdays...(Hon, you can get me.....Mom, I really need a....)need I say more?

I'm ordering a hand crank fuel pump and fittings tonight, since the fuel bulb is an absolute pain to use! Oh, well.........anything to fly!


And SpaceClam, you're right......the joy of flight can't be put into words....but just seeing the look in my Mom's eyes as she watched from the sidelines is a great gift...she can't wait to go again! Neither can I...

Yep! Another addict, but this is something I don't mind being addicted to!

Wings Up and Gear Down!

When i had a futaba 6x, i got a futaba skysport 4 as a buddy box so that my instructor could use the skysport as the master and i could use the 6x as the slave so that i would be using the same radio when i first flew solo. used, they don't cost too much. they are futaba's standard 4 channel fm system. here is a link to a promising low price system. it also comes with a reciever and a couple servos so you could keep them for another plane or sell them used. this item only has one day left and it is only at 10 dollars. i would reccomend checking it out.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=34063.
the skysport was on channel 23, and the planes on 22. because it was so close, i was told that as long as i did not tell the fcc, i could get away with it with just looking a bit of resolution and range because the frequencies overlapped so closely between the crystal and the internal electronic parts. however, nobody seems to be selling one, so you will probably have to use the skysport 4 as a slave. no matter, they feel about the same anyway. i just had it that way because i was so nervous about it being new to me on my fist solo. i was also only 10. i don't know of any true buddy boxes being made for any futaba system. you may want to try posting that question in the radios section, but if nothing else i would get the skysport because it has a higher resale value when you are done with it because there is a much greater demand for tx than a buddy box.