5_spot

My Feedback: (1)

Today was just one of those days where things just didn't go right so i decided to taxi around the yard some more,then i decided i wanted the wing on *you know where i'm going with this* but the wind o well,i decided i had to leave the ground and as soon as it lifted,sit it back down [].Do you realize just how hard it is to just taxi around without taking off ?,i need more space ! ,like i said i sure wanted to but something said don't do it,if i had a country road with nothing or people around i woulda either flied or crashed,i'm getting mighty tired of this crap but hopefully next weekend,o hell,i'm going to the airfield almost every day this coming week,maybe somebody will be there.
I guess i just had to vent but it's getting older by the day.

CGCOMM3RET

5_Spot

Like my wife tells me all the time with my 5 year old, "Patience, my dear, patience". Your time will come.

Larry

DBCherry

My Feedback: (4)

Yeah, patience! Think about it this way, it might be another week or two until you get someone to take you up, but if you try it youself you may have to start all over with another plane, or spend a couple weeks fixing that one. [&o]
Dennis-

Spaceclam

or if you are really comfortable you could test your luck with a small little cheapo foamie. it's hard to mess one of those up to the point where you need repair, and you could get the hang on flying. if there is really a lack of instructors, that may be the way to go. once you get confortable with it you could move up to your plane already

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

well gee, your impatient and want to fly, thats normal. BUT if you fly and crash, how impatient are you going to be while you are building / fixing and cant fly for a few weeks cause you had ants in your pants. Dont worry, you will fly and it will be so much better knowing it wont crash cause someone with experience is helping. good luck!

sean

FHHuber

Sure... get a $5 4 1/2 foot span foamie glider and strap a couple of servos, RX and battery on... make the rudder and elevator work... practice some glides. (find where the CG is before making any changes... don't let installing the radio move the CG back from there)

This CAN teach you something. (either that you can figure out how to do a bit of gliding... or that you REALLY need that instructor to show you how to not make the trainer look like the smashed $5 foamie.)

Works better if you have some micro equip... but the "standard" servos, RX and 600 mah battery will have it flying about as fast as the trainer when its on final approach.

Willdo

Properly done foamies without hard shells don't smash, they crash and fly again 5 minutes later. (x 10!). Sorry Fred but it's true!

I do agree with your thoughts on the simulator though.

( Oh hell, "not him again!" did I hear them say?).

pauluk2w

My Feedback: (7)

i have been doing the same thing as you are now. i would get up in the morning before work and i would have to start the engine and taxi around the yard, i have always kept my wing attached but i would take off my prop and remount it so it is facing the opposite way to what it should so it would be less efficiant and chances of taking off greatly reduced. i had been waiting for weeks to go flying and at first could not find an instructor, to say i was getting frustrated is an understatement. when i did find an instructor i was either working or it was too windy to fly. anyway i managed to wait and got my first flight today it was awsome. i managed to keep good level flight my turns were smooth and i managed to keep good control of the aircraft. my instructor said he normally makes people fly a dozen times before he will let them take off or land but he said next time we fly we will be taking off and landing. its nice to be told i am nearly 75% there. not bad to say i have never used a simulator.i also had no nerves at all but i am not going to let myself get over confident. if you have to wait then wait dont rush into things and it will be worth it in the end. im happy i waited because the last thing i wanted to do was wreck my plane and have to pay another $379 for a new one.

5_spot

My Feedback: (1)

One main reason for not flying is when i'm taxi'ing,the faster i go the plane wants to go to the right,with or without the wing,i've straightened the front wheel and even turned it a little to the left and everything else sure looks like it's aligned ,if it wasn't for that,i've even turned the landing gear around in case a wheel was getting stuck but no luck so far. []

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

why don't you get a number of one of the club instructors and call and set up a meeting at the field so you can fly instead of just chancing someone being there? Would be so much easier.

I see more airplanes get broken from newbies just taxiing around and ending up in the air. Don't feel bad. I have seen that happen in 2 full scale cases with students too, and in both cases, they died. Unfortunately, one of them took his daughter with him.

Get someone to go help you and fly the thing. Don't try it on your own, you won't like the outcome.

Spaceclam

often the engine torque will affect the model on the ground and cause it to turn in one direction. try shutting off your engine but leave everything the way it was when it started turning, and give it a shove, see what happens

Montague

5_spot,
As SpaceClam said, the plane will tend to pull to one side (usually left) as you throttle up on the ground. (p-factor, prop blast circulation, engine torque, pick your reason).

To set the nosewheel, it's best to leave the engine off, and roll the plane around by hand on some pavement. Yes, you look like a kid playing with toy cars in your driveway (just don't make the Vroom Vroom noises, and you'll be fine), but at least your nosewheel will be right .

Spaceclam

you should test it with the engine off though to make sure it is not actually out of alignment. if it is in good alignment with the engine off, and you have a computer radio, you may be able to program a mixer to compensate and put it on a switch.

CGCOMM3RET

While you are pushing around the driveway, you HAVE to make the airplane sounds. VVVRRROOOOOMMMMM is a car. EEEEEAAAAAAOOOOOOWWWWWW is more like an airplane. lol

-- edit -- A friend of mine has Real Flight. He is always telling me to "give it a little left rudder" while taxing toward the runway and hold it until the aircraft ganes some speed. The turn is because of engine torque in most cases.


Larry

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

Caution about taxiing around the ground too much, a/c engines aren't filtered and you can suck up dust/etc. Scored piston liner on my first trainer that way, locked engine up and pushed first flight back a month. (Dark days before internet, when we used to have to send out orders out via passenger pigeon).

Andy

Montague

I'm not sure if I was clear, but SpaceClam had my meaning right, push it around your driveway with teh engine off. You just want to make sure it rolls straight with the rudder stick center and the trim lever centered.

That's as good as you can get. You will need to use the rudder on take offs, there are just too many transient forces. Some planes react more than others and therefore require more rudder use than others, but very few go absolutly straight all the time (I'd say "none", but who knows, there may be one out there. I've never seen it though).

After you've flown the plane, and used the trim lever on the rudder, you will want to re-adjust the rudder and nosewheel settings so you get the a centered trim lever and the plane rolls straight with the engine off, and flys straight with out having to mess with the trim lever. (At least that's what you're supposed to do).

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

and as said, but I want to stress, when you add throttle for take off, don't give it all the throttle at once. Move it up slow and get it rolling before you jam it all in there. I watched 3 guys in a row this weekend slam the throttle on and wreck 3 nice planes because they tried to add too much power too fast.