Hello,

Well after a few attempts of hooking up with Jim Colvin ( Aeronaut ) a Houston based Scobbee Field Flyer we finally got a break in the weather and got this Alpha Trainer up! Although the Evolution engine that is suppose to run great out of the box had to have some major adjustments made before the instructor would even consider putting it in the air, Almost didn't fly! BUt Chris Utley saved the day and came to our rescue with his engine tuning abilitys we yanked the idiot pins off of the evolution trainer engine and was able to get it to run properly! Thanks Chris if your out there! I could'nt done it with out ya!

OK. So the Plane is running and finally ready to go up! No wind to mention of, Chris gets the Plane airborne and trims it out and hands me the sticks................THis where I find out if all those winter hours spent on the RF G2 simulator helped...... THey helped considerable! I was able to do pretty much what I wanted to with the plane it was actually easier than the sim becuase I could see the ground. Granted no wind to mention of but Jim coached me through a few approaches and gave me some advice and I did a few fly byes to get use to the rudder and throttle and JIm said OK put her down. I made my wide turn just like on the sim and cut the throttle glided her down used the rudder to line her up on the runway and gave her a little elevator to sit her down! Worked great!

Refueled anf JIm said OK now put her up, So I eased up the throttle and pulled up and away she went!

Thanks Both Jim & Chris, It's folks like you who keep people coming back to the field!

ANd to all beginners or anyone considering starting the hobby! Buy Real Flight G2 - Best Money I ever Spent.

With allot of practice on the sime, my first real flight was not as nervous as I feared, I always felt I had control of the plane and after flying for 3 minutes for real and not on the sim I was sure I could land with no problems. I'm not telling anyone to try flying their firsts time with out a instructor or some help, It was nice to have a parachutte if you know what i mean!

Anywat, I'm hooked and glad to have the first flight under my belt!

MIchael

Congrats brotha!

About the engine you have to understand how a two stroke works. Basicly it is fuel in, air in, and in the correct proportions to create combustion. Altitude, temperature and fuel type affect this equation. The higher the altitude the less O2 in the air for given amount. The colder it is the more O2 there is in the air for given amount. I'm not into long explanations but it works the same as a snomobile engine. No magic here. Basicly no two stroke, non compensated, such as the Summit air box engine(snomobile) can be perfectly in tune out of the box. Now I have no experience with Evolution engines but they are all the same. Just want to let you know it's not an Evolution prob.

You don't Think the Evolution engines are factory set for a specific region do you? My Plane was bought in Ohio and I moved to Texas where the climate is considerable different. It's allot more humid and HOT!

Still, glad I was able to get it running eventually and put some air under those wings! My only problem with the Hanger 9 Alpha Trainer is I can already tell after one day of flying it will be too slow too soon. I need the speed. I think the plane flys great, great to learn on but I will want add another plane to my fleet soon. But I will put this trainer through its paces and get my confidence built up before I race out and buy a fast plane.

The Evo's usually run great right out of the box, but occaisionally, one slippes by with a bad setting. It's a great little engine though.

Regarding your second flight... was it an offical solo? (IE did you take off, fly, land without ever giving control to someone else?)

I have taken off, flown, and landed many times without ever giving control to someone else, but I do not consider that I have officially soloed.

The club I belong to requires an official solo test as they put you through your paces. I have over 50 flights and I haven't taken my solo exam yet.

Just different outlooks on what an official solo is, I guess. Probably depends upon the club.

I mean I've done alot of stuff like loops, Split-S, rolls, changed landing patterns due to wind, deadstick, many touch and goes. 5 or 6 take offs and landings in the same sortie with different landing approaches. I have even flown in some nasty wind. I still dont feel like Im ready to be out on my own yet. I have learned to do these things, but alot of it is not automatic for me. I need to think about some of the actions before I move the sticks.

Congratulations on the solo flight!

Yep,


My instructor left to go home and I said What the hell, I seemed to be doing great with him here, So I put her up and flew here for 5-6 Minutes noticed my battery indicator was low on my remote so I brought her in! I felt very impowered! No wind of course.......

Then it's official...

You get an "ATTABOY"!

Congrats EPA....its a great feeling isn't it!

Have you stopped grinning yet!

Way to go EAP. I know the feeling of gratification after that first solo. I just completed mine about a month ago and I have to emphatically second your comment about how the G2 helps overcome many, many uncertainties. It is tough for newbies to fork out a couple hundred $$ when you'd rather be spending on a plane but I truly believe it is the right move to make.......along with a competant person to train you.

Swager,
If most of those flights were without an instructor standing beside you, then you've soloed. Perhaps not technically in your club, but what you're doing would pass as having soloed in 99.95% of the clubs in the US.

Congrats EAP! And thanks for reinforcing what we try to tell all newcomers. They really do need help starting out.

Yes the sim time could very well allow you to fly the plane, but trimming it, setting the engine, learning field safety, none of it is covered by a sim.

Welcome to RCU!
Dennis-

Michael, you did fine. After seeing you fly, and how well you did your approach and landing, I never thought for a minute you wouldn't be able to take off. That's the easy part anyway, huh?
Glad I could be of (little) help! You really had it figured out already, just needed someone there to give you the support. You obviously made GOOD use of the sim.

Once again...GOD JOB!

See ya soon...

Jim