I've been browsing this site for a long time now, mostly the Crash forum , but I'm starting to get really into this stuff... only problem is, I haven't really flown anything yet... well, successfully. I have 4 planes: two electric, one trainer, and a cub that is almost done, but not quite. The cub has a 78" wingspan, so I know it's not really a beginner plane! I have tried to fly the two electrics, crashing them both seconds after leaving the ground, but I just got them fixed, so I'm about ready to try again soon. The problem with my trainer is that my dad crashes it everytime before I get a chance to fly it. He's not the most coordinated person so he is not getting another chance! Anyways, I know that when beginning you should always have an instructor, preferably with the buddy system, but being here in Alaska, I haven't really been able to find one, but that's with hardly any looking! I just bought that rc simulator from Tower Hobbies... should be here in a week or two. Plus, being 17, hard to find some free time! I think I have about a month left of available flying time until winter comes full bore! I had a lot of questions, but now I can only think of one... eh, maybe I'll just have to ask them later. My question is:

1) Should I use the rc simulator before even trying the electrics again?
But that would mean more waitiing... hehe.

Please tell me anything else that you feel that I should know... which is probably everything. Thanx.

MadDriver,

The computer simulator will be a big help. You can teach yourself to fly RC, I know, I did it. What I did was to build a 53 in wingspan motor glider that had a TeeDee in the nose. It would rise off the ground fairly gently, and after a slow flight it would run out of gas and then glide back to earth. the thing was it flew slow enough for me to have time to think about what I was going to do with the controls (rudder and elevator only).
What might be fun for you, would be to find one of the $5.00 or so foam gliders that are sold at Kmart/ Walmart etc. and put a little babebee in the nose and just have fun with it. I think there was a thread about that on the 1/2A forum here on RCU. Anyway, good luck up there.

Bill Sindel

Brrrr winter is coming and in Alaska thats no joke[:-] Even though the
window for flying is getting short since you do not seem to have an instructor
and have seem to have had a remarkable lack of success in your two
previous attempts I would recommend waiting for the simulator as it
can be an invaluable help in in learning coordination. There is a free
download program called FMS available at :http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html
this is a fairly cool simulator but you will need a specialized cable
to connect your radio to the computer ( unless you are fairly tech
savvy and can splice say a trainer cord to a parallel port interface-
not really recommended unless you know what you are doing ) it is
possible to order a cord from these guys ( very helpful and fast )
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/tti_7/ and may be there faster than
2 weeks. Failing that if impatience gets the better of you fly one of
the electrics - you will have all winter to rebuild em!!
Have fun try to find a local club or instrutor in your area ( ask at your nearest
hobby shop they can probably help) good luck ( Arizonas prime flying season
is just starting hehe - sorry couldn't help myself !! [8D])

Wecome to RCU and RC flight. It's a great hobby, but it can be frustrating trying to learn on your own. Many people quit afdter a number of attempts because rebuilding after every 10 second flight gets to be too much.

Try the AMA website. They have a page to help you locate a club; it uss your Zip Code to help.
http://www.modelaircraft.org

Good luck,
Dennis-

Thanks a lot for the replies. Now the only thing I can do is finish my cub and wait for the software, which won't be here for another week or two [] The cub won't be in the air for a long, long time, so I'll just hang it up and look at it every now and then, dreaming that one day I'll be able to fly it without any danger in crashing it!

I prefer the 2-meter sailplane with a nose mounted 1/2a engine. Slow and stable, it will teach the basics at a pace that you can keep up with.

There's a huge club in Anchorage. Online info is at http://alaskarc.org/

I'm a member, and we would welcome any newcomer. You picked a bad time of year to start flying, but a great time to start building. Contact us through the web site, or come to one of the meetings and meet the gang. There are over 300 members total, with around 175 active members. There are various indoor events all winter.

It's a great bunch of people, and you, living in Palmer, are only minutes from one of the best (summer) flying fields around. (See image attached.)

Have fun!

Doug, you stole my idea. I am a self-taught rc'er. After crashing just about everything I touched I bought a drifter II (mid 80's). This was a 2-meter sailplane with rudder-elevator control. I installed a Cox .049 on a power pod and I was on my way. The nice thing about going the glider route is you can get a little practice by just hand launching the thing. I did this and got the trim right and practiced a couple of gentle turns. There isn't too much trouble you can get in with a slow flying glider and only 6' of altitude.

I got pretty proficent with the glider and then moved up to a regular trainer with 4-channels. Since I already had developed the eye-hand coordination I was able to do this crash free.

I would definetly suggest this route to anyone trying to teach themselves to fly. Most typical trainers still move along at a pretty good clip and can put you in trouble if you don't have at least some idea of what to expect.

Mike, thanks a lot for that reply. I'll look into the Anchorage flying club, and yes, it isn't the best time to start flying, yet, I will have that simulator soon, hopefully. I've been to Moffitt field once and watched people fly. That's really what got me into this hobbie! Anyways, I'm off to that website now, and I'll see when the next meeting is. Thanks a lot!

Hi,

I am also from alaska and have started my own website dedicated to the RC Plane industry. It is called RC-Plane.net. It is a great place with message boards, free e-magazine and live chat! come on by and visit.

[link=http://www.rc-plane.net]WWW.RC-PLANE.NET[/link]