Guess he took off...
Here's the story I expect..

It was a Clear Blue sky above me, not a hint of wind nor a single cloud.. I set the craft down and tuned it perfectly in .0025 seconds.. I took off gracefully and climbed out.. Made a perfectly coordinated turn and then did 2 loops, 2 rolls, flew inverted a bit, then put her into a flat spin.. When It was time to land I lined up Perfectly, wings perfectly level, touched down on mains first and held the nose wheel up a bit then taxied to myself and shut down engine..

I actually heard a story simular to this.. True? I think not.

heh heh, this new guy (or troll) hasn't been back in over a week, so no big mystery what happened.

We had a guy show up at the field with a ragged looking trainer that he bought off of Ebay. It had ancient patches and an ancient engine that barely ran. He took a little help but was convinced he didn't need much due to his time on the r/c sim and his grand total of 80 hours in a Cessna. He buzzed my head when I was flying once, and almost got my feet when taxiing the next time. Tried to give him a tip or two, but he was hung up with his 80 hours of flight time and didn't want much advice.

He has been missing for over a month now. Guess we all know what happened........

Helllo...my name is John...and I too am a gimp! Carl care for a little grudge match when you learn how to turn left?

John

Hi people. Back with the results.

Plane took off nicely, went up to 100' looped, rolled, flew inverted and sat down nicely.

Nah, only joking. Plane was tracking really badly on take-off, so whacked the throttle to full and pulled up. The plane got to about 5 feet off the ground and the engine cut. The plane dived back to the ground and broke the front wheel. I will fix and try again next week.
I have also got a Ripmax trainer with engine coming in the post. The engine has already been ran in and the plane is ARTF so chould hopefully have a better chance with this plane.

Could of been worse.

I'll keep you all posted.

Well I guess its a start.
Sounds like this new plane will be more reliable. Id strongly recommend that you get an instructor as Id hate to see you bust up your equipment.

If you decide to go without an instructor I wish you the best of luck.

Good luck mate!
Ry

Sounds like an average flight for the soloing first time flyer.

John - Is that a four engine Kadet as your avitar?!?!? COOOOOOL...!

Carl - Keep on it, eventually it'll amaze you how easy it really is. It just takes a LOT of patience(and glue, time, money, etc... ) I do suggest contacting a club, even if you don't fly with them. The advice you get from the seasoned fliers really will help right away. I WISH I had help(and internet) when I was starting out, really. Good luck!

The rest of you guys - Knock it off already, would you... The guy is looking for advice and support, not harassment and embarassment. We need new people in the hobby to keep it going, otherwise it will die off. How many instructors were there in the 40s, 50s, and 60s when the hobby was in it's early stages? (No, I'm not that old) How many people came out of the woodwork to help YOU when you were just starting?

When I first decided to get into planes, I bought a Ace Simple Series Cap21, and bolted a little Cox reed valve engine onto it that came out of one of those little plastic control line deals. I had a car radio, so I used that! It was a two stick 2ch radio. I used two standard sized servos. Needless to say it never flew other than a nice arc from where I released it, to the ground. I patched it up, tried again, did that a few times until there was nothing left. I gave up, until about 6 months later I talked my dad into taking me to the hobby shop that was nearest to me, about an hour away. We spent the better part of the morning there, and he recommended a club that was nearby the hobby shop. He also gave me the name of a guy that taught people to fly. I contacted him, and he invited me to go visit the club which I did. My dad and I spent a whole Saturday watching people fly, and I got some stick time on a Dynaflite Butterfly. I was hooked! The instructor turned out to be the guy who owned all the land that the club was on, and told me to stop by his house on the way out. He gave me a foam Spirit of '76 glider with an engine pod and a Black Widow engine on it, and told me to get an airplane radio which I did. I got it all ready to go, and couldn't wait to get back to the club and tried to fly it myself. I busted it up too. Now it was starting to sink in that I DID in fact need help. I called him up, told him what happened, and he wasn't angry as I expedted him to be. Instead he told me to come back out to the club and he would teach me on one of his planes. I did that a few times, while saving birthday and christmas money to get a plane of my own. I bought a brand new Thunder Tiger World Trainer 40T, with a TT GP42 engine. He helped me tune it, and break it in, test flew it for me, and gave me a few more lessons before I soloed. I then bought a used Sig Astro Hog with an OS .91FS for a good price from a club member. I flew it for the rest of the season and loved it. Driving over an hour to the club was getting old, and about the same time we moved to another house where we have 4 acres of land, the back half of which is all clear, and there are nothing but fields all around for miles. I got the farmer nearby to build me a runway with a tractor and blade. I sold the Astro Hog, it was too big to fly here. I flew a Piece O' Cake glider for a while then lost intrest. I bought a GP .20 sized CUB not long after that and never flew it. It hung around on display for the last 5 years or so, and jsut the other day I got it out, got it ready to go, and flew it. Now I'm hooked again! So there's my story of how I learned to fly.

Keith

Carl you scared me with the way you started out your last post Lol!

Well guys... I'm prepared to eat my own words... But beware I could throw them back up at any moment.. Whose with me?

Hi Carl: My name is Jim. I am new to the world of R/C. I bought an arf, the Hangar 9, Alpha 60. I got it put together. I joined AMA, went to the local club, which is about 25 miles away. I unloaded the plane
and set it upon the table and within 2 minutes, several of the old timers were coming by and looking. I had purchased the package, it included a JR Quattro transmitter, but not a "trainer cord.". One of the gentlemen offered to get the "club" TX and trainer cord and he would help me fly. We did. He checked several things on the plane, and then I asked him to take it up and check it out, and set trims for me. He did, took about 3 minutes, landed
and hooked me up. He took off, turned over control to me and I flew around in circles. I was overcontrolling a lot, and was not flying a very good pattern. Sometimes here, then sometimes over there. I was concentrating and focused so hard on my plane and trying to get it to go where I wanted it to, I did not see another plane, but there was one and it hit me nearly head-on. The instructor did see it, was aware it was in the air, but could not
avert the collision. I got to fly a total of 4 minutes. It was no one's fault. It just happens sometimes. The other plane was a foamy wing and the damage to it was not much. It broke my fuselage into behind the servo
rack, 4 ribs in one wing, dented the leading edge severely, broke the mounting dowels off and of course the propeller was broken, right along with my heart and my feeling were hurt.

The club guys all offered to help me. They reassured me that in all their years of flying, (some with 30 years) mid air's were rare, not the norm. There had not been one at the club in over 5 years. Plenty crashes, but not
mid air collisons.

Carl, I admire your spunk and determination. I know you have grit and you will succeed. But, please let the more experienced, help you. They get their kicks helping those like you and me. Flying is "old hat" to them. They want more than anything else, to share their experience. And it gives them such pleasure. At first they might seem a little stand-offish, but go over and stick out your hand and say Hi, I'm Carl and I need to ask some questions. Would you help me? I guarntee you with in a short time, they will know your life history and will be clucking over you like a mother hen.

I want to learn to fly. I am looking forward to flying in the pasture by myself, or with my friends, but in the meantime I am going to let those who have the experience teach me the right way. I don't want to have to learn
something twice. (right way - wrong way) Carl, join AMA and go to your local club, even if it's just 2 or 3 times, and let them. I promise you, after you go the second time, you won't stop, and you will have made some valuable friends.

Regards
Jim Vines Jr.

Right on guys! That's more better!

I gotta admit, my first attempts (without help) were scary... to say the least! I didn't join a club until I had been flying for over 5 years. (AMA after 10yrs!) I learned so much more in the first year that I was a member from the "old guys", that I even thought about in the previous 5! That wasn't "over-the-shoulder" flight training, just sitting around chatting with the guys. The poeple I consider to be my best friends are the people out at my club that I fly with, for the most part retired, some are in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, and I have yet to reach 30(shudder!). They have always been willing(sometimes too much ) to share thier wisdom and experience gained from many,many,many years in the hobby, as well as stuff needed to get into the air(gloplug here, wheel collar there, etc). I am the same way, if you're at the field and need something, and I have it, it's yours, no questions asked. Just for the simple fact that I want to see your flight succeed as much as I want my plane to fly too. And almost everywhere I've been, it's been the same way. It's a great hobby!

BTW - Sidenote, does AMA cover you in countries besides the U.S.? I didn't think it did, but I might be mistaken. []

cwrr5,
It's the same way atour field.. The guys there will let you fly their plane if you crash yours! One of my buddies was trying to get a UCD ready and forgot to install a couple control horns.. So one of they guys.. Drove to his house, got a drill a saw and some scrap plastic, came back to the field and spent 2 1/2 hours SCRATCH "BUILDING" a FULL SET of control horns for NO PRICE AT ALL! Then he got into his field box and got out a set of NEW pushrods to replace the stock ones on the UCD just because he thought they would cause a crash! It's amazing how nice some people are.. If only everyone were the same[8D]

Carl,
Shut yourself off from whatever expertise you wish to.....it's your loss. You should, however, take heed that many people have given you the same counsel. Just my opinion. And FYI I'm 41.

I don't think anyone has malice intentions toward Carl around here. If he crashes his plane, it doesn't affect any one of us. But it is always a good thing to do, to seek help from people that have learned the ropes before you. Carl seemed to have an aversion to the GIMPs...lol.

Its about 20/20 hindsight. Anyone experienced in a field has a more complete viewpoint of that field. Often times a beginner is unable to see the whole picture of something because of thier limited experience. I think the rational here is that, if Carl doesn't want to hang with the GIMPs, that's up to him. But to get started in a hobby with as many facets as this one, a GIMP could come in handy off the get go.

I remember back in 6th grade, I started playing the clarinet for fun. Wasn't very good, but I got to where I could play some scales and so forth. Then, I took lessons for about 3 months. During that time, I had to break some bad habits and form some new ones. But after that mere three months of clarinet lessons in 7th grade, I turned int a pretty good player. I played all through highschool, earning superior ratings in clarinet chiors, trios, and I played solo/first chair clarinet at my school, and 2nd chair in the all-county band. The details of my clarinet career are not important here. But the extra gusto gained from one who understands the field in a much broader way than you can go a long way.

If you don't want to hang with the GIMPs, that is fine. Think of it as an investment.

Not to say I couldn't have learned clarinet on my own, but my opinion is that it helped me greatly. I don't regret it at all and I know that you won't regret some GIMP help either, even if just for a short while.

Good luck!

Oh yeah, speaking of age, I'm 22.

Right on Carl!
Stay with it. The satisfaction of learning on your own is unlike any other. Except maybe teaching someone to fly after you have learned. I have taught a few. One kid I buddied for one flight, he has been doing it all by himself since. We aren't in a club just a big corn field behind the barn.
DO NOT GIVE UP! You will get it.
Spanky

I'm 14... Certainly not a GIMP yet(I Hope)

Hey Ya'll You know its funny to read this thread because that was me a year ago but my first solo was terrible I was out there by myself dieng to fly so I got it running scared to death I taxied out gave it some juice and hogged that poor trainer off the ground in about ohhh 3 ' feet it went straight up about ohh three feet and slamed into its face broke it all to hell Man I was so relieved because then I was convinced "finaly" that I needed to have some patience and get some help from those old Gimps witch by the way now are some of the best Men I have ever met most of those old Gimps are good Christian Men that worked there whole life ,some in World Wars and they love to help anyone who wants to learn ( as long as you show some respect) Oh ya Now a year later I am Hooked I have a hanger full of broken airplanes and two or three good ones and a great winter project (Kangke Fun 50) so Go break your stuff Carl just swing wide around the prop ,and find you a good Gimp to help fix your Planes !Gitterdun!!!

Please let us know how it went. Its been a few days. Hopefully all is well.(There, thats as positive as I can put "gee I hope you didnt Javelin yourself, a car, a house or somebody else. Is there anything left of the plane?)[:-]

I'll add my rather simple advice to the others.

Get a simulator, get an instructor. You may be able to do it by yourself, but it will be a whole lot cheaper if you have sim time and help.

Just my 2 yen worth

Excellent advice, but I'm curious. Did you just ignore all his posts, or did you not read them?

You see, he knows the risks and is still determined to become self-taught, and damn the costs. I suggested earlier that he start a new thread, spelling out the conditions. He chose not to take that advice, either.

All your efforts are in vain, to convince him that a simulator or instructor are what he needs. He asked, in fairly specific language, for positive suggestions for self instruction. He asked to be spared directions to an instructor.

Reminds me of a friend. He took one pass-the-transmitter training session, and then bought a Soar Star. Flew it at home, got pretty good at fixing it and flying it, and came back to the field needing next to no instruction on his aileron trainer. Became a great flyer, now doing 3D. Not my choice, but then he didn't ask me.

When people ask me to instruct them, I do instruction. When people tell me they want to learn on their own, and are aware of the consequences, I make sure they don't endanger the club, and wait for them to ask questions. Works for me.

Best wishes,
Dave Olson

carl24bpool -- I'm an old gimp & I wish you well. Just keep tryin, CYA & keep us posted. Maybe some day you will want to hang with us -- we'll be waiting for you.

You really have to laugh. The word Troll comes to mind quickly. Just love it when people get a huge ATTITUDE when others offer good advice.

hey carl. I too am in the same boat as you are. i am 21 years old, bought a plane about 5 years ago. Just bought my engine and radio, and in the process of getting ready for that first flight that i am optimistic about, even though i have about 15 min. in the air about 4 years ago on a buddy box. anyway I'm new to this site this is my 1ST post and im just glad to see that im not the only one trying to learn by myself. I won't be able to fly for a few more weeks being that i am broke as a joke. and don't quite have everything lined up yet. but anyway keep posting your progress and im pulling for you.

Back in the summer of '53 I taught myself to fly control line. It took me all summer because I had to spend so much time chasing dinosaurs out of the flying circle. As a result, I fly holding the handle upside down in comparison to almost everyone else. My point is, if you are going to teach yourself, first do some research and see how everyone else does it. I may, some day, take up some parkflier-type RC. If so, I will find an instructor.

Jim