spokman

My Feedback: (2)

Don't set your TX under your exhaust. LOL! I actually drooled some castor on it.. luckily it didn't get inside.

xenomorph

Simulators are invaluable for building that orientation muscle memory. ALWAYS dial in a little wind to make it more realistic. Practice landing. again. again. again. again. At the field, be SMOOTH on the sticks, dont jerk em around, and remember that every plane will die someday.

xenomorph

One more thing.... BALANCE your plane. This includes correct C.G., lateral balance, balance prop, balance spinner. A balanced airplane is a great flying airplane that does what you expect it to do.

mimeauja

I have a link to post with a 'trainer's guide'. I found it on the internet, and it's been a great help with the flight simulator, and, it also helps me prepare for when I finally get some training, or solo without training out of frustration...

[link=http://www.palosrc.com/instructors/teachrc.htm]Instructor's Training Guide[/link]

OK, so I'm a newbie, and I've never flown yet, outside of RC Plane Master, but I've spent so much time on the sim that I feel like I've been doing it for years. I haven't had the joy of 'the shakes' yet, but I'm ready for it.

Now if only I could get someone at the local club to show some interest in training me. It's ok, cause once I get my AMA info, I'm going, and if no one is there to help me, I'm soloing the first time out. It costs a lot less to buy a new plane ARF, than to buy all that radio gear and engine (which may survive a crash while landing). I know how to control a plane really well thanks to the link above. Call me crazy, but I have $500 sitting on a stand in my house doing nothing, and it's not moved for a month and a half. I got so frustrated I was taxiing in my 30 x 30 back yard yesterday!

Liberator

Have not seen this posted, but maybe I missed it.

Pay attention to which way the wind is blowing when you take off and land. I know this sounds silly, but I watched a guy trying to shoot landings and he was landing down wind.

I actually walked out near the flight line and listened to him talking to his spotter. I waited to butt in until I heard him say, "man I can't get it to slow down!"

I said you do realize that you're landing downwind right?
He actually said, that does not make that much of a difference.[X(]
I said, hey, humor me, try landing the other way just once, and I'll leave you alone.
He did...it did..he says" wow, thats a lot easier.

They point the carrier into the wind for a reason sunshine.

Tom

akschu

My Feedback: (5)

My mistake was trying to fly without any understanding about setup. The engine was tuned wrong, the control surfaces where not level, the CG was wrong, it made for a real handful to fly. Now I have a list of things to check;

1. Make sure the CG is balanced with nose down 1/2".
2. Make sure control surfaces are level. Use clothes pins and Popsicle sticks.
3. Make sure that the plane rolls straight with the rudder on neutral trim.
4. Make sure the engine idles smoothly and will transition back to full throttle without bogging.
5. Make sure the engine is not pointed to the left, should be 1* to the right.

Semi Retired Aviator

These tips have probably already been passed on, but if not:

Get a sim and practise; you've done that
Get an instructor for a few flights
Don't over control
When at a safe height after takeoff, about 30', reduce power so that it's not difficult to keep up with
Establish how far our your plane is; depth perception is difficult at first
Practise, and don't fall into the trap of trying too much before you're ready. No shame in flying circuits and figure 8's for a while before lopps, rolls, etc
Listen to the experienced guys who watch you fly
Constantly assess and reassess your performance during and after flying; how can I improve?
Enjoy the hobby

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

Paying too much attention to all these tips about what to do when the plane's in the air

Thus overlooking a thorough pre-flight including (but by no means limited to, I'm sure...I'm including 10, I'm sure others will add more) the following:

1) Control surfaces firmly installed, and move the entire range freely.
2) Landing gear bolts tightened and secure, landing gear roll freely. Tires in good repair.
3) All control horns and clevices/z-bends/other connectors secured to control surfaces, moving freely, and damage free.
4) All covering in good repair and taught.
5) Engine and engine mount secure, no wiggling or vibration.
6) All pushrods/pull-pull cables securely fastened to their respective servos, and servos in good repair. Check for stripped gears!
7) All fuel system lines secure, undamaged, properly routed.
8) Wing retainers (rubber bands, bolts, glue, whatever) secure, tight, and all there.
9) Battery(-ies) charged and tested under load.
10) Basic flight surface check with radio on. It's not enough to make sure they wiggle, make sure they wiggle THE RIGHT WAY.
10a) Is the bleeping radio set on the right model??

Kelsey_B

When it came time for landings, my instructor showed me several times, but I don't ever remember him telling me to "FLAIR" the plane just before touchdown. After tearing the front gear out, then he reminds me to apply a little elevator.[:@]

Has this happened to anyone else?

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

Instructor not telling me to flair? No.

Me FORGETTING to flair and ripping gear out? Yep.

Liberator

In our efforts to fly, some things sort of go with out saying. Remember that instructors have a big check list to go through as well while they are teaching. If you think you're nervous about crashing you're plane, how do you think he/she feels?

Fix it and go fly

iflynething

I would have to say that I was way to confident with myself. Being like this is when things go wrong. I remember one time about 5 years ago when I was still flying my trainer, and I though, I'm good enough, and I brought it in for a 50 grit pass (in flying cirkus.com lingo/ 5 ft from the deck and draggin it) and I put the wrong input in

Anyways, I thought I was good, and I couldn't even remember which input to do, and inturn did the wrong thing. Luckly it was just the trainer.

Just always remember that when you think you can to more things, then you probably can. Be able to completly fly wherever you want to pinpoint accuracy.

Good luck with your flying.

~Michael~

iflynething

I would have to say that I was way to confident with myself. Being like this is when things go wrong. I remember one time about 5 years ago when I was still flying my trainer, and I though, I'm good enough, and I brought it in for a 50 grit pass (in flying cirkus.com lingo/ 5 ft from the deck and draggin it) and I put the wrong input in

Anyways, I thought I was good, and I couldn't even remember which input to do, and inturn did the wrong thing. Luckly it was just the trainer.

Just always remember that when you think you can to more things, then you probably can. Be able to completly fly wherever you want to pinpoint accuracy.

Good luck with your flying.

~Michael~

larksrc

Check your RX battery before EVERY flight and trickle charge between flights.

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

Biggest mistake by beginners? Hard to narrow it down to only one. But I have seen alot of airplanes crashed because the pilot flys out of easy visual range and can't tell which way he is going. The end result is usually a spiral dive and a long walk to pick-up pieces.

However, here is the solution that can save your bacon.

The reason the plane ends up in the death spiral is because you are holding both up elevator and aileron without knowing WHICH direction to hold the aileron.

So what to do?

Quickly release the controls, then apply enough elevator only to start the airplane looping. As long as you don't touch the ailerons, the airplane will start doing multiple loops, while only losing a small amount of altitude with each loop. After 3 or 4 loops, you should have a pretty good idea of the correct orientation, and then you can release the elevator when the airplane is climbing, and regain control with the correct aileron input.

Next time you are out flying, try it up close and high enough for any mistakes you might make. Once you see how well it works, you need not fear the accidental sprial dive.

MAJSteve

My Feedback: (-1)

From my experience, the all to common right hand turn on landing death spiral is the worst thing to overcome for a beginner. You know, when they make the turn, and pull the elevator up when they're still in the turn making it steeper and steeper. More up and it does a nice spiral into the ground.

When I'm instructing I always tell them to expect it, and run them through figure 8's for a long time before they get to try a right hand turn on landing. I've found that if you tell them to give half the input to the right, they can handle the turn better (even though its the same amount of deflection of the surfaces.

I'm thinking its because we learn to drive a car with the steering on the left, so its easier to turn left than right - more normal feeling. Do you guys from across the pond that drive on the right concurr?

forestroke

i agree with all these points. overcorrecting and disorientation/reverse controls are by far the most deadly. i've had many opportunities to practice getting out of the death spiral because the student overcontrols, gets disoriented and inputs the wrong aileron input to correct, exacerbating the situation. but my pet peeve is when students pulse the controls. instead of a smooth input, they do a series of jam and releases that make their planes convulse. anyway... to add to the list

Flying Too Far to See - i can't stand students that fly so far that i have a problem seeing. i've had to run after a plane before. literally tore off the trainer cord and ran after the plane (or where i thought it would be since i couldn't see it!!!)

Flying Too Close to the Pits - i can't stand it... can't can't can't! when people (experienced alike) fly dangerously close to the pits. i hate it when i'm flying and a plane comes within a few yards of me on a low pass. i really just want to reprimand them. i've gotten hit just a week ago AGAIN! an electric pylon racer lost it while flying nearly completely on the wrong side of the flight line (what an idiot!) it came full throttle smashed into one parked plane, scoring the tail before smashing into my leg. luckily, i wasn't bleeding or anything. they guy comes by, claims radio interference and scurries off. i told him not to fly behind the line and he shrugged and said "radio interference" no amount of profanities could suffice!

i don't care how poorly you fly, how many mistakes you make and how out-of-square you put your plane together... just keep away from PEOPLE! i'm really dreading the day that someone gets seriously injured at the field.

Kelsey_B

Liberator,

I'm sure he told me, but being brand new at the time and thinking I was better than I really was led to the rough landing. That was 15 years ago, and I'm still grateful to the gentlemen that spent as much time as he did with me.

When family and work are not quite so demanding, I would like to return the favor and be an Instructor myself.

saramos

First flight, My biggest mistake? Forgetting to breath! I also should have worn knee pads to keep the knees from knocking.[sm=wink.gif]

Scott

ggarsk

I'm a newbie to the sport and one thing I learned was to do a preflight every time you go out....even after just refueling. After my first flight one day, we couldn't fly right away. My instructor showed me how to center the wings. When it was time to fly again, I fueled up, ran it out to the runway and the instructor went to take off. The plane got in the air then proceeded to make a rapid turn right into the ground. Totaled the plane. Since we flew once before that day we didn't do a preflight and I had forgotten to hook the ailerons back up. Now I do a preflight before every flight!

jessh1969

My Feedback: (1)

How about going ahead and flying the plane even when you know/suspect something is not right, although I'm not sure that is just a newbie thing. I have actually seen people takeoff, when there was a clear problem on the ground (ie poor idle, etc). I have noticed that problems seldom if ever get better once the plane is in the air. Maybe this falls under impatience?

Jess

mrbass111

here are my 2 rookie mistakes that cost me 2 planes. 1. dont fly plane into the sun, if you cant see the plane you cant fly the plane. 2. always do control checks before each flight. i made adjustment to throttle servo after 2 flights. did not re-check controls. took off. ooopps should have reconnected the aileron servos. not a pretty picture.

shakes268

Not sure if this has been mentioned but I've seen people get into trouble and never touch the throttle. The plane goes into a death spiral or gets into some weird attitude and the throttle is still going full while they are tying to pull out - the full throttle just makes it worse.

I've also forgotten to thoroughly check control surfaces - bought a new radio, forgot to reverse the ailerons.

Also - once I was starting up the airplane. It kept dying after a few seconds of running. I couldn't figure out why. Soon I figured out it was because I had not refueled. I went back to the pits, started talking and forgot to refuel. If the plane had not been totally empty it could have deadsticked a few feet off the ground in the climbout.

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

Mistakes that I haev seen include 90% of what has been said before. But the biggest mistakes that I've seen have come from students that have soloed. 1. Getting overconfident and trying to do things they are not ready for i.e. aerobatics, without an experianced pilot standing next to the student to bail them out of trouble. 2. Landings - Students and new pilots seem to love to land long - i.e. either coming in hot, or high and trying to put the plane on the ground with 10 foot of runway left. Basic pattern work is required. 3. Students that don't like to listen to the instructor - I like to make my students (both beginners and soloed students) do touch and gos and also figure eights for at least 10-20 flights, especially touch and gos. Yes, aerobatics are taught, but I'd rather see someone that can take-off and land a plane safely than someone can do a perfect loop with a trainer. I know from experience that this is a skill that used everytime someone flies. I have never had someone come up to me that said they were upset about have to learn to land correctly every time (especially coming in deadstick.)

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Bass: You are absolutely right. I solo'ed last year and some people were commenting that I was spending to much time doing touch and go's rather than enjoying flying and doing 'things'. Another thing was practicing dead-sticks. I would go somewhere, then just cut the throttle, much like my Instructor did while I was flying with the buddy box. Then I would go all the way to almost landing, then turn it into a touch and go.

Well, first of all, I enjoyed doing the touch and go's. Secondly, those dead-stick drills paid off.. and paid off.. and paid off! For instance, last weekend, there was a guy that took off after I did, then landed before I was done my 10 minutes, then would putz around on the field. I asked him to get off of the field, he said, 'oh, I'm sorry, I get right off' then continued to putz around. I asked him again, this time I said, 'hey... I only have 10 minutes of fuel in this bird and my timer just went off so GET OFF OF THE FIELD'. Well, he picked up tail and started to walk the plane back off of the field but for some strange reason, not in a straight line. Now, I am out of fuel and announce 'DEAD STICK' and landed.

It sort of pissed me off but I kept my mouth shut. On the next flight, would you believe it, he did basically the same thing, and I ended up yet again doing a dead stick landing. He never NEVER flys a full tank.. usually goes up for 4 to 6 minute flights then lands and putz's around in the middle of the runway. I told him, this time, that he should wait till I land before he goes back up so that we don't have this conflict. His comment to me was that he is used to flying during the week when there is no-one there so he usually has the run of the place and does pretty much what he wants to.

So, my dead-stick drills paid off that weekend, that's for sure. Landings are pretty much routine for me now, after all those touch and go's, but I still do them, just to keep me 'in shape'.

DS.