I have read many websites relating to RC flying and they all seem to say the same thing, that is to use an instructor when you first start out. Problem is I live in a small town in the North West of Australia and I doubt if anyone else in this town flys rc aircraft let alone to have an instructor available. (When I brought my plane I got it super cheap because it had been sitting in the toy store for more than 6 months and he couldnt sell it.)
I am still building my new trainer but Im wondering what I will do when I am ready to fly. I have had many years of flying aircraft on computer games and simulators so I know all the principles of flight but am wondering if this would be enough to get me in the air and back down again without crashing the plane. Has anyone else began their flying hobby without an instructor?\

regards,

Troy.

Troy, I think the best answer to your question is that you most likely will crash a few, or more than a few times. But if you have no access to an instructor you can still teach yourself to fly. It just ain't as easy. I don't know what kind of trainer you have, but your best bet would be a Butterfly or something similar. Kind of like a powered glider with a very light wing loading and very slow flight speed, and with a lot of self correcting capability if you just let go of the sticks. The sim will probably be a lot of help, but not to the point you can successfully fly on your first attempt. Just be ready to break out the glue and try again. If and when you get into serious trouble in the air, throttle back to let the plane slow down some before it meets the ground. Over controlling is a near universal problem with most new fliers. Easy does it. The best of luck to you!

I did it..taught myself that is. My dad starting building for me when I was about 13. Started with an electric ARF. It can be done, but it is more expensive, and not recommended by anyone. :stupid:

With your experience you should be better off than some (i.e. plane coming toward you some controls are backwards etc..) Setting up the plane is alot of it. Control directions (back is up, forward is down etc..), CG, etc.

Keep us posted, and read as much as you can >along with using a Simulator !!

lata,
james

Oh yeah. As stated above, try to get ahold of an old 2 meter glider, or get an electric glider. They are slow, mushy to control (good if you are new..), and have that ultra-light wing loading.

Thanks for the advice, I will certainly make sure to try and keep corrections small. I was also wondering what the throttle is usually set at once the plane is in the air? Is it pulled back to 3/4 or 1/2 power perhaps?
Regards,

Troy.

You'll probably want to come back on the throttle to fly the plane as slow as possible, but with enough airspeed to give good control authority and safely above stall speed. Each airplane is different in that regard, depending on wing loading, balance, airfoil, and other factors. Just slow it down as much as possible but where it still flies well. That's the advantage of the "floater" type. They will nearly hover without stalling. My guess is your plane will fly at a little less than half throttle once it's in the air and has some altitude.

You sure can teach yourself, many have.
Spend some time on the ground and get the feel of the controls and as any instructor will tell you if you, if you had one, fly at least "two mistakes high" so you have some room to recover.
Expect some "damage" to the plane, but don't give up' it's a great hobby!!

you can download the fms simulator for free off the internet or pick up a copy of real flight. they help you get the feel of flying, and you can practice take-offs, landings, and such without worring about crashing. keep us posted and good luck Loren

Troy,

We understand your dilemma. If at all possible try using a simulator designed with R/C planes in mind. FMS or Real Flight and others are worth while investments if you can afford it. The idea is to use your TX as the interface or buy the one that comes with Real Flight.

There is no doubt using a simulator is the next best thing. Save yourself the agony of crashing your trainer. You will feel more comfortable after some simulation time.

If you do go this route take into consideration the type of computer you have and the necessary requirements that it takes to run these simulation programs. All of this information is located on the manufacturer's website for Real Flight. Good luck!

Troy,

Consider purchasing the "Co-Pilot" from FMA Direct as it will at least keep you from spirling into the ground!

It costs about $120 but it is well worth your investment. Also, keep working on a simulator - you may ding a few 'wingtips' now and then, but it IS possible to train yourself....

Good luck and keep us informed.

Jerry

I'm self-taught, so I can understand your dilema. For myself, I'd grown up playing with aircraft. Everything from paper planes to stick and tissue to control line. I'd played with RC cars, so I had some experience with the radio and with left and right switching around. On top of all that, I'd been a veracious reader on all things related to flight for years. That all combined to give me a very, very good foundation. My experience was a positive one, with my first flights going without a hitch.

My opinion is that if you don't have some of that knowledge, you'll become frustrated and disappointed. Order some books about RC flying. They'll give you a consistency that you won't find online. We always forget to mention little things. Order a video of flight training, so that you've got some sort of visual reference and an idea of how fast things happen.

If that radio had been sitting in the toy shop for some time, make sure you test the batteries before you fly. I don't mean just making sure that they work, either. You've got to find out if they've got enough capacity to get you through a flying session.

You don't say what kind of trainer it is, but if it's the typical .40-sized glow-fuel balsa trainer, it's going to be tough going to learn. One thing not touched here is that there is a lot more to learn than how to fly. The plane must be checked to make sure it is flight worthy, and trimmed out in the air, both of which are tough when you're just starting. The engines themselves require a lot of experience to learn all about them.

If you have no choice, after you crash your trainer, I would suggest a U.S. Aircore which will survive almost any crash, or, if scratch building is your thing, the Spad Debonair (www.spad.org). The Aircore is probably a better bet because, in my experience, the design is so good that not only can't it be damaged in a crash, but it tends to protect your engine and radio equipment as well.

Good luck!

I'm self taught, and now I'm a club instructor. Started flying about a year ago. Learned how to fly on an electric parkflyer, called the Soarstar (a 3 channel, pod-n-stick pusher with polyhedral wing). First couple of flights were rough to say the least, but the plane is mostly foam and repaired easily. I flew the living sh*t outta that plane for a good 2 months before getting my first glow plane (an Avistar). I went to the field with my Avistar and wound up soloing on the second flight with that plane. This is a route that you may want to consider. A 19 oz electric will do less damage than a 5 lb glow trainer. Plus it goes back together with Elmers white glue and packing tape.

I agree about the FMS simulator.....get it here:

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html

Also, I'd go to the forums there and order one of the serial connectors that connects to your controller ($19) Play with that for a month, and then you will have a pretty good idea how to fly. Good luck!

BTW, my name is Troyp too

Get a copy of Realflight and once you have learned to master the planes in the sim, flying will be a breeze!

www.realflight.com

well i am self-taught but my first time flying i was doing good it was flying like i wanted it to but when i was turning it just went down i Thoth it was the wind but later i found out it was me well my stupidity i didn't take out the antenna i wish some one was there for that one other than that it was OK

ok here is my suggestion to learn how to fly ...

the 2 most difficult things to do when training is taking off and landing.

unfortunatly you dont have someone to help you out on your first times up so I think this might help you get going.


find a LONG field that you can use ..

first learn to taxi the plane.. learn how to control it on the ground in straight lines and turning. also get used to turning while the plane is comming towards you <--- this is important.

now its time for flight...

start at the far end of the field facing into the wind.. start taxing the plane faster until it JUST lifts off the ground ... when the wheels clear the ground CUT THE THROTTLE and let the plane settle back down.(hence the need for a long field.) try to hold the plane level the entire time and dont pull up (you will stall)

notice if the plane wanted to tilt to the right or left or (hopefully) stayed straight.

use the tabs on the radio to add a bit of trim to correct this.

taxi back to you and now try it again and see if the plane stays straight. repeat until the plane stays pretty straight and you can keep it level in these short "hops"

time for a longer flight.

this time bring it up about a meter and cut the throttle and let it settle back down. try to get it to settle gently. repeat until it you can touch down smoothly note the speed that it starts to stall out and drop at... keep it just above this speed. LET the plane land.. dont force it to.

once you got that going try it standing along side of the flight path (not too close) ..

now here come the tricky part..

***note*** before doing this you must be posotive that you can force yourself to "crash" the plane if it gets into a situation that can result in injury to yourself or others... it may be nice to think you can save the plane but the safest way to prevent it strikeing somebody is to plow it in straight if you choose a remote area to try this it shouldnt be a problem but you must understand this.. saftey comes BEFORE the aircrafts well being

once you got that all going for you take off like before but keep the power on and climb out ... SLOWLY bank the plane AWAY from the "pits" until its about 30 degrees banked and use the elevator to keep it level .. right before it comes around full 180 start applying opposite aileron and level it off...

do the same thing at the far end of the field and and and continue straight... do a few circuits to get used to the turning.

now bring it to the far end of the field and line up on the runway bring the throttle to idle and let the plane settle down...

if you dont feel right about the landing GO AROUND I have seen plenty of planes damaged because someone didnt go around and "forced" a landing... dont be afraid of adding throttle and climbing out again.. wait till it feels right.

when it feels right let the plane slow down and hold it about 30cm above the ground until it wont fly anymore and settles down ...

after all this im sure you can figure out the rest

just remember one thing
SAFTEY COMES FIRST!

if there is ANY doubt... dont fly take you time and try to do it right

good luck
Chris

Hey Troy,
Just thought I'd throw in my two cents. I did learn to fly without an instructor, I purchased realflight G2 and worked on it for quite awhile, changing out different planes and also playing with the wind, etc. The plane I learned on was an Avistar, just starting slowly on calm days. It worked out well for me. No matter how much you read about what you are going to do, you just need to move those sticks and see what happens. I haven't seen the FMS sim, it may be just as good. I do think a sim is the way to go, though, if you don't have access to an instructor. I am moving closer to a club in a couple months, so I get to learn all over again, and hopefully correct bad habits!!
Best of luck

I disagree with that pretty strongly, at least from the perspective of someone teaching themself. If you've got a guy on the buddy box with you that keeps you from dumb-thumbing it in the air, than you're right. But when you're on your own... it's a whole other ball game.

Not letting the airplane get away from you is one of the challenges. That first flight is your solo and your trim flight for the plane. Great combo. You've got to take off with an airplane that might not want to be flying straight and level, and you've got to have the awareness to quickly trim what needs to be trimmed. Some guys don't have the ability to do that who have been flying for years.

All the while, you've got to learn how to turn without losing orientation and overcontrolling it into the ground. You've got no sense of how high is high enough, or how fast is fast enough. You probably don't have a lot of experience tuning an engine, so that's a crap shoot.

To me, the two most difficult things to do when teaching yourself is to keep the plane close enough to see it, and to keep it in the air. Landing is a snap. Level the wings, slow it down, and let it land. For take off? Throttle up slow, let it pick up speed, and let it climb.

To me taking off and landing are easy. Orientation is the hardest thing for me. I still get disorientated sometime but I no longer give the wrong input when the plane is coming towards me, unless I am inverted and want to use the rudder. Then I get it backwards!

When I started out in this hobby a buddy box or instructor was not a known thing. I started on a 3 channel but with the new trainers you can do it. I hope that your bird is a floater, it makes it a lot easier to do because it gives you time for the controls since you have had sim time then just get the bird airborne and reduce power and ease it around till you learn to control the bird and then start to power up. most trainers will do a great job in the air at 1/4 power. once in the air get it about 100 yard up and stay in close to you or you will lose it because it get soooo small when it get out and away from you. remember if you can`t see the wings then you can`t control the plane , any way get it up and just do figure 8s to you get the feel and then go for high landing approaches till you feel you can set it down and just do it..

Thanks for all the advice. One thing I do have a lot of is plenty of space. I live in a remote town on the coast in the Tropical North of Western Australia so we have plenty of wide open space. Not far from town there is a huge area along the coast that is similar to salt lakes, nice and flat and no trees. A good area for me to practice the moves that Chris mentioned. Im looking forward to giving it all a go.

Troy.

How's the wind, if you are that close to the coast?