What do you guys use? I'm a newbie, and I feel much more comfortable with using my thumb on top of the stick. Using my index and thumb just doesn't feel natural. The guy at the hobby shop told me to use index and thumb. Am I correct in that the pros use thumb on top? Why not learn that way and not have to switch later. Using thumb and index really puts my hand in an unfomortable position. If you put your hands in front of you in a limp manner, it seems natural that the thumb on top is ideal.

Been using thumb on top forever, thats 40 yrs. I think it would be quicker response and more precise. If you find it more comfortable go for it.

some people use both fingers, and i think they are nuts. use your thumbs. your index finger is for switches

Index and thumb is a lot smoother. It also allows you to make trim adjustments easier because you still have one finger on the stick. With thumbs you have to take your finger completely off the stick to make trim changes. I see more beginners trying to fly with thumbs and they are always over controlling the airplane.

Inmop I feel like I have more control using index and thumb. I have never flown with thumbs only and I couldn't imagine ever doing it.

If you put your hands out in front of you with palms up and index fingers facing each other than ya your thumbs are on top. But if your palms are facing each other like you where holding 2 cups your index and thumb are almost touching each other. It just seems more natural using the later method. Lots of good pilots fly with thumbs but that's not how I was taught. Good luck with your flying.

i have always flown with thumbs on top, it just happened the first time i touched a tx and i felt comfortable that way, people that tell you that either way is wrong or right need help , we all feel better doing things different ways, no way is the right way as long as YOU!!! feel comfortable with it..

they both have good and bad like everything else in life.....

same thing with modes that people fly, my first club decided to apply a rule (after being a member for 2 years) that you HAD to fly mode 2 to be a member, i fly mode 1 and always will no matter what stuck up club chaiman says, some people say mode 1 is old now and all pilots fly mode 2, ok fine but i fly mode 1 and feel comfortable with that end of story

EDIT...

after reading my post, the part about the mode's sounds like im ranting [], sorry about that, i understand some clubs have this rule (and i can understand why but it was the way this chaiman applied the rule that 60% of the members had problems with

Fly however you are comfortable. That is what it all comes down to, there is not right or wrong thumb position. I personally like the thumbs on top position because I learned that way and find it more comfortable. Just go with what feels right.

use the method that feels the best to you

scalebuff

You are right! Mode one is thumbs, Mode two generally thumb and forefinger.

Rest easy for in our club it is about 85% Mode one, and the younger Pilots have taken to it like the proverbial duck takes to water . Membership, 100 plus a waiting list.

Champions have been known to fly every Mode you can think of, i.e. four for two stick and the singles. The rest of the world is primarily Mode one. Why the US is contrary to everywhere else I do not know, as we led the world into proportional. first analog then digital .

I have always been Mode one (and yes, it did come first) however I can fly Mode two and single stick. Both of which I dislike. ----before anyone says ----"he's probably left handed" ---I am not.

Hanno, Wolfgang, Roland, CPLR, Queque, Bob Violett and a host of others are mode one. Chip Hyde is two (but with his natural talent he could probably fly a "no stick").

Past USA championship flyers come to mind like Phil Kraft one, Miles Reed one, Dave Brown two, Steve Helms two, Ron Chidgey single, Mark Radcliff single, Rhett Miller single-----I could go on ----and I have intentionally NOT loaded the list with Mode one flyers (as that is my choice and therefore could be consideded as "Loaded Dice" ) pun intended.

I do know of several pilots who changed from two to one and stayed there. I do not know of any where the reverse is true----most of the mode one pilots can fly two but the number who can go the other way is very small.

I learned with my thumb and after it became ingrained habit I realized that the only way to smooth out my flying was to go to thumb and forefinger which also means a transmitter strap. Wish I'd started out like that because it's a hard habit to break.

Uh, onewasp,
Mode I is elevator and rudder on the left stick, throttle and ailerons on the right stick. It has nothing to do with thumb placement.

geish,
Place your thumbs wherever you find it most comfortable. Personally, I've always found it easier to fly with thumb and index finger. I feel I have more control that way. Try this; hold a pen or pencil point down on a table top; try moving the top in circles of ever larger diameter while keeping the point in the same place. Try it first with just your thumb, then try it with thumb and finger holding it lightly.

Anyway, we're all different so do what works for you.

CaffeenMan,
I hold the transmitter with three fingers of each hand, the sticks with index finger and thumb. Use a neck strap, but no tray.

Rick,
Why in God's name would a club care which Mode you fly?? [&:]
Dennis-

Dennis - I just use a wide, comfortable camera strap. No tray, but I'd like to try one.

I use a transmitter tray because I can't stand the feel of the neck strap. The tray lends itself to thumb and index finger flying and I usually fly that way. I am comfortable either way. At home, I don't use the tray for the sim, so I usually find myself using just thumbs on that one.
I also happen to be ambidextrous, so I guess the point of being left-handed or right is moot with me.

Jesse

I use tumb and index finger and no neck strap or tx tray.
I use to use tumb only until i got into helis and than the
two finger was a must for me.

If you are flying mode 1 in a club that is all mode 2 except
you than there could be a problem if for some unforeseen reason
you had to have one of the club members help you out than
you would be SOL in most cases. I used to fly mode 1
until i joined a club and at that time i switched cause
our club flys all mode 2 and i had to learn mode 2 so
i could become a instructor.

I do a little of both, and don't necessary make a concious choice. It's situational for me.

One thing that no one has mentioned is adjusting the length and tension on the sticks. Play around with them, and find what feels most comfortable to you. Thumb fliers tend to favor shorter sticks, and thumb and finger fliers tend to favor longer sticks.

My sistutaion was using the thumbs.
It felt more natural and comforatble to me.
Tried using my thumb and index, but it felt to stiff,
and felt like I would over control the plane moreso than
my thumb.
I'm sure if its not natural it can be learned, but for me its more smoother
with thumbs.

DBCherry is correct here, "modes" are the way the radio is set up, not how you use it.

This is a poor example, and is typical of a thumb/index finger user believing they have more control "their way".

A gimble is what, about an inch tall/serrated at the top....and anchored at the pivot. A pencil is what, 8" tall and he wants you to "set" it on a surface for comparison purposes??

C'mon DB, I've read a lot of your posts and have agreed with most of them, however, this was an unrealistic scenario.

Fly/hold your radio with what feels most comfortable....TO YOU. This is the way I train.

Gary

Sorry Gary, I wasn't trying to convince anyone that thumb/finger was the better way, just trying to explain why I find it better. And if you'll look again, I told him to use the method he found best more than once.

Oh, and I instruct people to use what's most comfortable too. My fingers are probably longer than many people, which may be why I find fingers/thumbs more comfortable, don't really know, but far be it for me to dictate what will work best for someone else. [:@]
Dennis-

Dennis

basically if i decide to have a heart attack or get into trouble in some way and i fly mode 1 and the rest of the club fly's mode 2 we could have a problem, i can see this point if i tried to join a club that was strictly mode 2 for this reason, i have no problem with that and makes sense i suppose.

our problem was that 80% of our members were "mode 1" so simple maths tell's me that if this rule was to be applied we should all change to mode 1 as the larger % of pilots were mode 1, but have a guess what mode the chairman flew on??? yup mode 2

plus the fact that there was always someone who flew on one or the other on flying days it was a large club, so the need for this rule was not needed in my opinion, as if i did decide to have a heart attack there would be someone there who fly's on my mode...

all this led to some highly heated debates at the club meeting, but the chairman basically said "like it or lump it!!" he wasn't going to discuss the mater any further and made it clear HE WAS THE BOSS, so most of us left right there and then, this led the club to encounter funding problems and could not afford the site and strip so closed down 2 months latter all because of this ***** holes need to feel power ..


as for flying smoother with thumbs or thumbs and finger, its cobblers, i have been flying for some years now but if you said i had to fly with finger and thumbs i would fly like a first time pilot simple as that, and i think i speak for most of the R/C pilots on here that this is the case either way round, some pilots can do both and fly just as well, i can't so i fly the way i feel comfortable with...

this is getting to be a problem with R/C flying of late, years ago it was a past time now people think they can rule you because your in a club, i fly for fun and a brake form the normal RULES of life not to have some guy breath down my neck if i fly a different mode or in a different way....

some guy once told me that if he see's me land with a dead engine again he would report me to the C.H.A.I.R.M.A.N LOL so when ever he is at the field now i always dead stick its great practice i wouldn't mind but he is still flying a trainer BADLY!!! lol

Hey Dennis.....take a wild guess on how I fly.....

And yes, the important thing is, the person flying must feel comfortable on the sticks, first and foremost.

One of the things not mentioned is the differences between Radio MFG's and the height of their gimbles. Anybody have info on the actual length/height?

I know my new Airtronic's RD 6000's gimbles are 1/4" taller than my ol' (reliable) Vanguard's.
1 1/8" Vanguard - 1 3/8" RD 6000

MikeL also made a good point, that a lot of the gimbles "tension" can be adjusted.

Gary

Anybody starting should be encouraged to try to fly both ways, then they should decide what is the best way for "themselves".

I like using a tray, so that leads me to using thumb and finger.

Ed M.

Use what ever method suits you best. I am more comfortable with thumb and forefinger and hold the trans with the other 3. Middle finger for switches. Been doing it that way for so long that I am not comfortable any other way. Friends have tried both and some use just thumbs, some use finger and thumb. I think it makes me fly smoother with both, but you can fly just as well with just your thumb if that is how you are comfortable. Neither way is better, it is preferance.

The sticks on my Vanguard would never get quite that low. About 1 1/4", but perhaps if I took the locking half off they'd have gone lower. My RD6000 was about the same, with the sticks adjusting from about 1 1/4" up to a little over an inch and a half.

Third parties also make different ends to put on the sticks, such as cups for thumbs and balls for thumbs/fingers.

Personally, I have short fingers, so I shorten my sticks and reduce the tension on them.

I also fly thumb-and-index finger, and use a neck strap. When teaching, I usually don't even mention holding the transmitter, I let the student naturally do what works for them. If, and only if, they seem to have problems with moving the sticks smoothly, I suggest trying a few different grips, both thub-on-top and thumb-and-finger.

I personally think the two-finger techniques allow for finer control, but I also think that the vast majority of pilots aren't precise enough in their flying to notice a difference anyway.

It's far more important to fly comfortably.

I personally fly Mode2, but I've been tempted to try mode3 (swap ailerons and rudder, leave throttle on the left). The idea is to seperate ailerons and elevator on to seperate sticks. It apparently makes getting the right mix of the two controls easier. This is the big "advantage" of mode1 as well.

However, an interesting point to ponder is that the advantage of having aileron and elevator seperated only matters when most of your maneuvers don't use a lot of rudder at the same time as well (or at least don't have a lot of varying rudder input). The acrobatic patterns have gotten harder over the years, and there is more of a requirement to use and adjust all 4 major flight controls at the same time, most all the time. So the "advantage" of seperating elevator and aileron may not matter as much anymore.

I'm stunned that a club would require a specific mode of flying. It's not the stupidest club rule I've ever heard, but it's certainly in the top 5.

Heck, if I have a heart attack flying, do me a favor, make the effort to save me, and ditch the plane as quickly as possible. (if you want to be nice, cut the throttle before the full-down-elevator). If I survive, and the plane doesn't, I'll be less annoyed than if it's the reverse. Seriously though, I have no doubt that if someone threw me a mode1 TX in an emergency, I could make sure the plane crashed in the safe (empty) overflight area, even though I've never flown mode1. And that's good enough for me. (now that I'm thinking about it, full down throttle, full rudder, full aileron, and full up elevator is the same command in any mode, and should almost always get a nice spin-to-the-ground that would be aimable enough).

Whatever works is good. YMMV.

LMAO! Montague

im afraid i agree with you but as i said it seems people like to but more rules around R/C every week, as i live in the UK finding a club is a pain in the ass, the one im with now ait all that grate and we have problems there but i just go when no one is there but me and my dad if at all possible....

it realy gets me down somtimes but then again i carnt blame the R/C community we have had a LOT of trouble with the public although i have NEVER been in a club were we have had any nasty accidents, just damn good crashes on our site but we were fighting the local Council for exteneded flying times, so we were gathering a partition of all the locals saying they didnt mind the flying site and didnt cause them any problems, one lady we called on (who lived further out than most of the others) gave us some real trouble..

we asked if she would sign the partition saying that she did not object, she answerd "I didnt even know there was a flying club there but if i did i would have complained!!!!" and she did LOL and she only knew it was there becasue we told her

britain is getting a pain in the ass to fly, philybaby and cartman have one of the best flying clubs i have seen in the UK loads of room , i see you US guy with stips like heathrow and more flying space then a black hole but we are stuck with a damn postage stamp it can be fun trying to land some of the bigger stuff i can tell ya

The reason it seems like that is because the only people who post pictures of their flying fields are those who have nice flying fields. Trust me, finding a decent field in the U.S. isnt' easy either.

I read the UK scale modeling mags and they all look like you guys are flying from airport strips that are miles long. Yeah, I know it's not like that, but what you see isn't always reality.