hey there!
I'm new to this site & new to the hobby. A little background- I live way out in the boonies, nuttin but farm fields, nearest neighbor 'bout a mile away... got my own little strip. The nearest club field is about an hour and a half 's drive. I decided that , in my situation anyway, to learn on my own would be the way to go. Down loaded FMS & built a sturdy birdy II with a 46 in it. The last three weeks here have been very calm & I've logged 50 flights now with nothing more serious than a couple hard landings early on. I'm VERY confident with this bird- loops, rolls, inverted... can't seem to knife edge... too much diheadral I think... had 7 flame outs and always landed back on the field. Now, the big question- am I ready for the spitfire that I just switched everything over to? does it sound like I'm moving too fast? I really think I have a knack for this... this plane is very similar to my trainer, in fact- it weighs LESS & has more wing area & still a good ammount of diheadral. So watta yous guys think? Any tips? Anyboby fly this bird? Is it as gentle as they advertise it to be? Tip stalls a problem? My trainer was 6 lbs with 500 sq so I always had to land a little hot. I think I'm ready....

If you think your ready - Go for it!!

If it were me however, I would build one of the 4* Sig planes to get some low wing experiance.

You sound really excited and for what you've done so far, I think your going to make a great pilot, so lets not rush it. Your flying without an instructor and your first serious crash hopefully is in the far distant future.

The Spit is a great plane, but, I think you could use some low wing flying experiance.

Good luck -

Harry:

There is only one way to find out if your ready. Just realize that
your $180.00 plane can be a pile of mush in a 30 sec. flight. Unlike
your trainer, the Spitfire does not like to be jerked off the ground.
Always make a shallow liftoff when it is ready to fly. Make sure the
wheel axles are at the wing leading edge. They have a habit of
nosing over if you give too much gas to take-off and on landing.
Since your on a grass field, try to get 3" wheels to help it roll and
not nose over. Good flying and keep us posted.

Randy

hey Randy, thanks for the tips.I allready bent the gear to le & installed 3 1/2 tires, in fact there's a supplemetal sheet with the instructions stating just that. I've heard that you have to take off very shallow. I tried to practice this with my sturdybird, but there's not enough prop clearance. As soon as the tail comes up, the prop hits the grass. Soooo.... had to pretty much "jerk" it up. But I'm hoping I can pull it off, the spit has a ton of clearance. So what do I need to do? get the tail up & kinda balance it till it builds enough speed? Thattle take some practice.Any other tips?

My favorite tip to post for first timers with aerobatic or warplanes
is to raise both ailerons 1/8" for the first few flights. This will help
against tip stall if the plane gets too slow before touchdown. The
washout will make rolls slower, but until you get used to the plane, that is a small price to pay. You're right about the tail-up
on takeoff can be tricky. It just takes practice with the elevator to
know when to release it at the right time so that it won't nose-
over too soon. Make sure you've got a couple of extra props.

good tip, thanks. I'd heard about raising the ailerons to reduce tip stall & considered doing it. Now that I've heard it yet again, I'll raise them just a tad. This model already has a pretty good ammount of washout, but hey- a little extra insurance for the first few flights is a good thing.Too windy here all day, I'm anxious to try- maybe tomorrow... thanks for the help guys, I'm open to any other tips- I'll be sure to post & let ya'll know how it goes.