After last weekend's fiasco, I was a little leery about putting my Arrow in the air again, but decided to go for it after a few nights in the shop repairing the damage. As it turned out, it was just a matter of some epoxy, some CA, and some disassembly and reassembly.

Was going to try our "outlaw" field again, but decided to stop at a local r/c flying club's field instead, hoping to watch more experienced fliers and pick up any pointers I could. Up 'til now I've felt competent to take off and fly around with a little minor acro thrown in, but landings had always been a challenge. Seemed I was always forced to deadstick it in (with mixed success) or crashed before even having a chance to land normally.

Anyway, the field was quiet...just one guy flying some 3-D with an electric model I'd never seen before. If it had been a glow model I think it would have warranted a .91 motor, but the electric unit he was using seemed more than up to the task. I had seen videos of 3-D acro before but never in person, so this was a treat. There was a fairly brisk wind blowing, but it wasn't as much of a distraction for him as it would have been for me!

We got to talking between flights, and I learned his plane was brand new and these were it's first flights. I don't know much about electrics, but his seemed kind of special. The plane itself was, I think, European in origin (see attached pics #1 & 2). Anyway, one thing led to another, and since there were no other club members there, he invited me to use the field too. Having heard stories about the "snobbiness" of some of the club members, I had always assumed they'd frown on a stranger crowding their airspace, but Dan seemed cool with it, so I got myself set up. He gave me some helpful advice about positioning myself properly when starting the plane (something I admit I'd paid little attention to in the past...just stay clear of the prop, right?).

While Dan flew again on a new set of Li-Po's, I got my motor started to make sure it would run OK. Contrary to last week, the motor ran quite well, especially with the two-blade prop in place of the three-blader that came with the kit. I used the "pinch test" I learned at this site and the motor was running better than ever, with no tendency to die at idle like before.

The wind was almost a direct crosswind at first, and I was hesitant to even try flying at all until it died down, but finally decided it was "now or never" time after Dan brought his plane to yet another picture perfect landing. Again, following Dan's example, I took off on the diagonal, and had plenty of room to get airborne. After gaining some altitude, I got her trimmed up and flew some circuits at full and reduced throttle to get used to her. I did some light (read: "sloppy") acro and after maybe 5 minutes, decided to land her for the first time under power. And yes, my knees were shaking!

Because the breeze was still fairly strong, and directly across the field, I decided to try to land across the runway. Although I came in a little hot, I managed to get her stopped before the edge of the runway where the crops started (whew!). Dan had a good laugh at that since he knew I was pushing it. Even so, she was still running and I could taxi her back to the flight line for once instead of going out to retrieve her!

By now we'd agreed that the idle was a bit too high, which was making it tough to slow down for a floater landing, but it was easy to trim the extra oomph out without making adjustments on the plane. The next flight was much the same as the first (once again after Dan flew yet another new Li-Po pack on his bird...he was carrying three along with a recharger, so he wasn't lacking for flight time tonight!), except after landing (again across the runway), I almost DID run into the crops on the other side! In fact, a wing got hooked onto some kind of low-lying plant (not low-lying enough if you ask me), so I had to manually lift her off to get her going again (still running though!). Taxied back to the flight line and took off again for one more flight. Got a little crazy this time with some inverted stuff, rolls, hammerheads and such, and scared myself a few times too, but always with enough altitude to recover with nothing more than an increased heart rate. For this landing, Dan suggested I try using the full length of the runway, albeit still at an angle somewhat. This was trickier than the previous landings since I had to set up the base to final with the plane coming at me (I still have to constantly remind myself which way to roll when I drop a wing) and a still significant crosswind component.

Gauging distances was a little tough, but I managed to get set up on a long-ish final. Over the farm equipment....power all the way back to idle.....almost shorted it!....holding her in the flare....and she glides down to a beautiful, soft landing right in front of me. What a sweet feeling!

Several lessons learned tonight: Flying from a prepared field intended for the purpose is SO much nicer than flying from soccer fields that may or may not have short enough grass; having an experienced pilot handy is a confidence builder, even when he doesn't say much (but especially when he does say something!); this hobby is ridiculously fun when everything goes right (OK, I always suspected that one); it makes sense to join a club, even though it's pricey, and even though I'm not really a "joiner". If Dan is any indication, this club doesn't deserve the nasty reputation I always accepted from my "outlaw" buddies in the past (they're all real-life pilots, as am I, but they do it professionally, which I guess encourages a certain amount of "healthy" arrogance in some of them).

I continue to learn from the people on this site, and I thank you all for your input, advice, and "I Learned About Flying R/C From That" stories. It's a great hobby and I'm looking forward to many more years of enjoying it with like-minded people!

Regards,

David

Dave
It's great to hear things are going your way. I've been away from this hobby for forty years and just getting back into it. When I was in it my last radio was a galloping ghost the latest thing, I don't know your age but this was a long time ago. I'm coming back on a hard run and over all these years have kept buying kits, engines and lately radios. I'm starting as a beginner and just completed a Kadet Mk. 2 and have the sig Senior under way. I have aquired a lot of kits over this time and have I think 13 1/4 scale and larger.
I live in the mountains of Idaho and there is not anybody to really help me out but once I get going I want to go large and with the gas engines.
Any way it's great to hear a begginers story for thats where I'm at, best of luck and fly high for now.
Best Ron

David,
Glad you had a good experience at the club field. From what I've seen, as long as you approach any field with a decent attitude, and a lack of "attitude" if you know what I mean, you'll get a friendly response.

Keep at it, and above all, have fun!
Dennis-

Glad you had a good time. As you have found out, ANY group/club has some "nasties" in it. I have found that the majority of RC people are quite friendly and willing to help someone.

As for the electric plane, it looks like one of offerings from NE Sailplane, and most likely powered by a brushless motor. Electrics have come A LONG WAY in the last couple of years. I recently bought a set up that gives me the power and performance of a 40 size plane, with flight times of ABOUT 10 minutes - and this is on NiMH batteries (can't afford LiPo).