brsseb

Getting prepared for the first flight, and are training hard in the sim (plane not done yet). Just wantet to know what are the common beginner flying mistakes when you are learning to fly? I bet you instructors out there have seem them all and got a list somewhere .

aimmaintenance

Over controlling is the biggest one I see.
I suppose for a really poor analogy it's kinda like driving a car. Do you turn your wheel from lock to lock while driving down a straight road? Nope just minor little corrections to keep her straight.
If your radio has dual rates, use em.

CDignition

My Feedback: (9)

The biggest mistake is the Control reversal when the plane is flying towards you...

WCB

Ditto on the over controlling. Easy on the sticks and make small smooth corrections. Don't bang the sticks around. Another is beginners usually fly the plane too far/too high away from them. Keep it where you can see it. Another is keep the plane out in front of you. Don't let it get behind you or directly over your head and stay out of the sun. YOU fly the plane...don't let the plane fly you.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

The biggest problem is the "male ego" you know what I mean,,youve probably said it yourself about something.."I'll be able to handle it".."that wont happen to me",,I'll just get out there and practice while nobodys around , it'll be ok...I did that about 12 years ago and promptly got out of the hobby within 6 months...10 years later and I got back in with park flyers,, now that,you can start off on your own, and have now switched over to glow, not great at it, but still love trying..........Rog

MajorTomski

Common mistakes I've seen in 6 years of teaching RC.
(Trying) to use thick CA to install fabric hinges. Sorry it has to be thin in order to wick into the gap.

Not enough rubber bands on the wing.

Forgot that little black screw that holds the black servo arm safely on the servo. The record was 3 out of 4 on a Kadet came off on ONE flight. Thank goodness the LT 40 is a great rudder only airplane!

Forgetting to charge one or both batteries before you head out

Not charging things long enough

Installing the _(%&#)(&#$ paper gasket between the engine and the muffler. LEAVE IT OFF! The first thing that happens is the gasket compresses, the nuts on the muffler loosen up and at the end of the first flight you've lost a 45 Dollar muffler.

And under the issue of over controlling above, just remember that virtually all model trainers out here today, if properly trimmed, will fly just fine all by themselves, all we do is mess them up. So keep your messing up inputs to a minimum and your airplane will fly just fine.

When it comes time to land, sometime in that last foot of being airborne, STOP looking at the airplane! WATCH the WHEELS! fly them down to the grass or runway.

Oh the absolute WORST mistake ever done by a nubie? I had an impatient 12 year old that though he could build a KADET by just looking at the pictures. When I did the detailed preflight I noticed that I could twist the tail feathers to the left and right by a considerable amount. Then I noticed the shifting under the covering of the fuselage between the wing and the tail. In an LT 40 there is a picture showing you to use rubber bands to hold the fuselage together. The words then say to glue everything in place. He left the rubber bands, didn't glue any thing and figured the covering would hold it all together. He also didn't have the patience to fix it.

Good luck in your quest and have LOTS of fun

Tom

SplitWings

A good thread for the new pilots... for everyone really.

The stupid thing I did the most (and still do from time to time ) is trying to start my engine in hydrolic lock. I don't know how many times I zipped my prop and spinner off. I've gotten pretty good at putting my prop/spinner on very quickly.

Before you put your glow ignitor on the plug, turn the prop over a few times by hand until it rotates past compression easily. You look like a noobie when there are 8 other pilots at the field and you go to start your engine and the prop comes flying off at 3,000 rpm. [:@]

Joe

touch and go

My Feedback: (11)

I agree with all of the above but add that many students, until they are taught, don't have their priorities in order. Ask a new student, "What is the most important thing when starting your motor?" and they something like "avoid hydraulic lock" or some such thing. IMHO, wrong! The most important thing is clearly to keep your hands and fingers out of the arc of the turning propeller and don't let your plane get away from you and hurt someone else. What is the most important thing when landing your plane? It is the same thing as when taking off -- don't hit anyone with your plane. Not keeping safety as the top priority is, in my opinion, the biggest mistake a student, or, experienced flyer for that matter, can make.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

the BIGGEST mistake is not getting an instructor.

Since you seem to have that one covered, I would say the next one (BTW, all of the above mentioned are good and should be heeded) is that people tend to think that the plane has a brain.

Example: Plane is flying straight and level. Rookie inputs aileron to start a turn, plane banks, and noses down slightly. They wonder "Why did it nose down? I didn't give it down, I only gave aileron".

You explain why it happens and that they need to give UP elevator to compensate for it. So they give some UP elevator, but they don't realize that the more (or less) elevator you give, the more (or less) the nose will rise.

They tend to think 2-dimensionally - "I banked and gave up so why didn't it make a good turn?"

I like to refer them to driving a car. I'll say, "If you're driving down the street, and you need to make a left turn, how much do you turn the wheel?"

You can't answer that question with a simple answer because every turn is different and your speed and road conditions are a factor. The only proper answer is: "You turn the wheel enough to make that particular turn. No more, no less".

It's the same with turning a plane. Every turn is different. Some will require more (or less) bank, some will require more (or less) elevator, but each one needs to be controlled by YOU.

The next thing is: Do you HAVE to maintain the same altitude during a turn?

No. It's a good practice, but only for honing your skills. Let's face it, once you learn to fly you may want to make your passes over the runway LOW and fast (I know that's what I like to do) so you'll need to lose altitude on the downwind turns. But the same rule applies: How much altitude you lose depends on how YOU performed the turn.

Maelstrom

Very common mistake on take off: pulling up too fast and stalling or almost stalling the plane. Pull up gently
Luis

wings

My biggest problem besides control reversal was keeping the wings level when the plane starts going down.

I started with an aerobird, but its the same concept. If you feel like your plane is spiraling to the ground DON'T immedieatly pull up on this stick! Make sure your wings are level THEN pull up on the stick.

I crashed my aerobird countless times before I caught on. If you pull back and your wings are not level and the plane is already heading south, its all over man. Glad I learned on cheap plane!

âûñøåå îäíî

Two of the biggest things I've seen is asking for an instructor, and not listening (a student of mine does the that, "turn right" it keeps flying level right into the sun) and the second thing is buy a plane that they arent ready for, they make trainers for a reason

Don Presten

Taking my first lesson with an AMA instructor tomorrow - this was fantastic reading. I much appreciate you all taking the time to post answers to my fellow students request. Thanks!

ekrcflyer

It was already said here, but I would repeat: over controlling. Number one. I must confess - did that, almost cost me my trainer.
Two: yanking elevator on a take-off, thus stalling the plane... Bad!!!
Three: SIMULATOR IS NOT ENOUGH. Plus - no matter how much time you spent on a simulator - it is different on the field. I guess "reality chaeck" kicks in. Just getting this got feeling of flying (and potantially crashing) real plane is not the same as beeing on a simulator and an ability to "fix" your plane just by clicking couple of buttons.

Aside from that... Good luck and have lots of fun!!!!!

raideron

My Feedback: (1)

Hi All, Great advise/tips!! Which you do get here at RCU!!

When I started the biggest thing was control reversal, Which I corrected
pretty much on my second time up by slightly turning(me and transmitter)
in the same direction the plane is flying.. The second was "jerking" the
sticks, I was using just my thumbs at tops of sticks. So I went to the thumb
and finger, which completely made for better control.. And I would have to
say the next thing Was myself!!... When I made a bad/incorrect move I
would get too nervous/over thinking... Which was not good for me!! Calm
down!! If you can't while in the air, give control back to trainer and take
a break..
Make small stick movements.... Control the sticks from one movement to
the next, No tapping and releasing the sticks!! Remember, When you move
the sticks in a direction, You have to counter the same amount in the
opposition to get the plane back to level..

Montague

The safety related comments are good ones.

Limiting my answer to problems in the air, I see a number of things all the time (not all with the same person):

- Moving the sticks too far. Even on a trainer, you don't need much stick travel.
- Not letting the plane fly. Get the plane to straight and level flight, and let the plane fly. A lot of guys seem to think they have to constantly be moving the sticks at all times.
- "pulseing" the controls. The controls are proportional, not on-off, like a home video game. So, apply a small control imput, and HOLD IT. I see a lot of guys who want to "jab" a large control movement for a short period of time, or pulse it to try to do something. It doesn't work very well (if at all). Looks really funny on elevator though.
- over banking turns. Kinda like overcontrolling. But even guys who do everything else right frequently want to see the wings really banked over before they think it's enough to turn. You really don't need much bank.
- being able to tell when the plane is and is not "straight and level" It comes with a little practice, but some people really have trouble with this one.
- related to the one above, being able to tell if the plane is climbing or diving in certain situations, such as a turn, or flying towards you. It's incredibly common for new pilots to dive everytime they fly towards themselves.

Scar

My Feedback: (3)

Here's my list, when instructing.
1. Safety. I want the student to remain unscathed, and learn about frequency control while staying out of the prop arc. I want the student's plane out front where he can see it, and I don't want it to get too far away to see, because I want the student's plane to last beyond the instruction period.
2. Control. Yes, the control reversal thing, but I like to see gentle turns, appropriate control movement, and the plane on the desired path.
3. Okay, here's the most common control issue I have with students : applying too much throttle. Taxiing, I correct them when they're taxiing at lift-off speed. They usually don't repeat that one. In the air, at first, I direct them to give it one less or one more click of throttle. Then, when they have a couple of controls mastered, they want to fly fast. I find myself repeatedly advising the student to back off a few clicks on the throttle, to give them time to react. Only rarely have I seen students trying to fly too slowly. I have seen one solo and then repeatedly stall due to making a 45 degree bank while flying just about stall speed. Usually, though, throttle control is an issue, at some time during the training process.
4. Don't ignore the rudder. You can put it off until after some training, but you need to use it for more than steering on takeoff.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

brsseb

Ah, how i L O V E this forum . Knew this post was gonna get hot. Sweet, guys. Keep `em coming and this could be a "sticky" [8D]. Started looking for an instructor now. But it will be a month or so before the craft is airworthy. Yes, i know the sims are just that, simulators, but its good to get the basic reflexes in (might save the plane a couple of times, I hope). And to learn control reversal (damn, inverted controll reversal is hard. Good thing its just polygons that smashes to the ground ). Using RealityCrafts lovely RC Plane Master and are having real fun. Cant wait to try the "real thing".

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

Here's one that is particularly important to me: Not learning from your mistakes. It's very easy when you cartwheel your brand new FW-190 on landing to get angry and just shut down. Keep your mind open, analyze what went wrong, and listen to the guys who saw you go in. In amongst the other "helpfull" observations there might be a jem of truth. Sure, a crash sucks, but walking away from it without learning anything is wasting the experience.

Oh yeah and big mistake number two is not having enough beer.
Or the beer not being cold enough.
Loosing sight of your airplane when you take a sip of beer.


Andy (beered up)

Swager

My Feedback: (1)

Overcorrecting.

kdheath

Add: letting the airplane get too high, too far away, or waaaayyy downwind and then losing orientation. Fly two mistakes high but close enough to see what you're doing.


And tattoo this message on the inside of your eyelids:

QUOTE<Elevator controls SPEED and throttle controls ALTITUDE>END QUOTE

Only when you understand this will flying begin to make sense.

zetor

My Feedback: (2)

My biggest mistake was not going to the field to meet anyone. Our club has a website with all the contact info for instructors. I called the first one on the list and made an appointment. It turned out really bad and I had two crashed planes at the hand of that guy. One was a total loss including engine. I know this is probably very rare and not one of the most common mistakes new people make but anyway that was my experience and I think it would be wise to just go out to the field and ask people who a good instructor is. If I had done that, I would have had a smoother introduction to the hobby.

TTARK

Biggest Mistake!!!!!! buying one of these darn things in the first place, worse than sticking a needle in your arm and more expensive too!!


Terry

âûñøåå îäíî

One thing i forgot is that alot of people tend to dive the plane towards the ground, mainly on landings, when coming in you dont need to push the nose down to get it to drop, cut the power, it will just slowely drop in, like kdheath said, "Elevator controls SPEED and throttle controls ALTITUDE" and it will make for softer landings, and you will save $$$ on props

Time Pilot

Remember to keep flying the plane no matter what happens!

The only time to break this rule is if you past safe and headed towards danger (people, parking lot, etc). In that case, plant it ASAP.