I am learning!! I can make turns and take off, but I am still a long way from solo.


Lining up and throttle control for landing is presenting me with some difficulty. I still tend to over-control and still get crossed when flying toward me. I know that my sim is helping me with these problems, but there is no substitute for stick-time. The real problem is....my busy season for work is here and I will have far fewer opportunities to get to the field.

My question is...:

I work in agriculture. I have many open areas with no risk of damage to people or property. Would it be wise to get an electric plane, like a slow stick or maybe something with ailerons to practice with? I know I would probably crash it (often) in attempts to land, but I just wonder what some of you experienced guys and instructors think of such an idea. I have gotten mixed responses to this question from the people I trust at my field.

I agree that trying to fly without an instructor is a very bad idea, but can a student who has had a few lessons safely practice without one? (pay no regard to the cost of an electric plane when considering your answers)

Feel free to flame me if this is another one of those questions that has been asked over and over.

I already know there will be a diversity of opinion here, and I am not committed to the idea at all, but there are certain members, (the list is growing), of this forum who's opinions carry a lot of weight with me.

Thanks in advance guys....(and gals?)

One other option would be to get a simulator. then you would be able to keep up the lfying without the cost.

Cheers.

If money isn't a problem, then yes, get an electric and fly it as often as you can. A slow sitck is good, simple, and easy to fix.

Hook the rudder up to the aileron stick, and it will be a lot like flying with ailerons anyway.

The more stick time you can get on anything you can fly will help with things like the left-right reversal thing, and help you develop the depth perception to help on landings.

So I'd say go for it.

Build a SPAD (See SPAD Forum) They cost next to nothing (Almost free during an election) and they can take tons of abuse.

A simulator is your best bet for getting hours of experience with no time or $$$$ wasted rebuilding. Then getting a small electric that you can fly almost anywhere (w/o driving out to your club field) would be the next thing to do to get more real stick time. If you're still a long way from soloing, and you insist on buying a small electric, definitely get one that you can easily repair/rebuild. The foamie planes look pretty durable, and are probably easily glued back together. SPADs are a good way to build planes quickly and cheaply, but those are mainly nitro planes. There are plans for a foamie "SPAD" on http://www.spadtothebone.com , and there are many other foam plane plans on the web if you look around.

Most durable foamie type plane on the market is a T-52 from www.jkaerotech.com
Kit is only $35. You can power this either electric or glow. Norvel makes a half decent engine for this plane. If you power via
electric, go with a mag mayhem reverse motor and a 3 to 1 gearbox/w 12x8 prop. Run 8 cell 1700 batts. All kinds of power there.
This kit uses a coroplast tail group and coro fuse doublers. Fuse and wing is foam. You can cover this thing in packing tape.
I still have mine and its a blast to fly!!! This plane only uses rudder and elevator. Very easy to turn because of the 10 degree dihedral built onto the wings. Another model would be a Push-E-Cat from Garrison Aerodrome. This model is a pusher in which the motor is
behind the cockpit/cabin area. Also easy to fly. Matter of fact, I think they re-designed the model and its now version 3.

Dave...

As a direct answer to your question, yes. Almost any flying that you do will help you improve control reversal and landing approaches. Although most small electrics don't really "land" so much as touch the ground and stop.

Good luck and Have Fun.
Dennis-

I will say that until you learn to fly, don't try to fly alone. Anything could happen.
You could hit yourself and then where would your family be without you.
It could happen!

I guess people don't actually READ the full post before they reply. Since you already HAVE a SIM, keep using it as much as you can. But as Minnflyer and Montage said, go with a cheap electric park flyer or a SPAD and you can crash 'em and rebuild 'em and not be out much money at all. Just make sure you are in an area with no obstructions, people, livestock, or anything else that could be injured or damaged if you were to crash into it.

agexpert-

IMHO, it's hard to tell how much flying a slow electric will actually help, since you're already using a sim. You say that one of your problems is a tendency to overcontrol. In my very limited experience, it seems that slow park flyers take more in the way of control input for a response, so it might encourage overcontrolling your glow plane. Just a thought.

I bought a Slow Stick after Christmas after spending all last summer learning to fly glow. The Slow Stick is really easy to fly as long as there is no wind. I really enjoy it, but primarily because I can just go to the park down the block and fly and I can get my 7 year old son flying. About the only thing it's actually doing for my flying is helping me practice my orientation. The other advantage is it gave me an excuse to get a real nice Triton charger which I also use for my Rx and Tx batteries.

-Scott

Obviously the benifit will vary a lot person to person.

Part of over controlling is just moving the sticks too far. But part of it is getting the connections between the eyeballs, fingers, and brain wired together so you know that what your fingers did should look like at the other end. I'm doing a lousy job explaining it. Some people get it naturally, but some don't. Some people naturally "feel" the cause-effect and the time delays and how the plane reacts to the sticks. Some people don't. If you don't, then a park flyer will help with this kind of thing, and will, in fact, help with over controlling.

I guess you could say that it's not so much over controlling as not-quite-controlling, knowing how to start a roll or turn, but not quite knowing how to stop it. This isn't quite the same thing as moving the sticks too far. That might be a better way of explaining it. YMMV.

Not a bad idea but make it a slow flyer and something that can take a beating. Like they said a Spad of some sort . Many around here take Zagis to work. If you must go electric, make it a high wing so it can float around. You know , I think it is Hobby people that have a bucnh of those type small planes and cheap too.

Do what you feel comfortable doing, it’s not fun until you become proficient, and becoming proficient can take a long time if you don’t get to practice often. If you can only practice glo once a month then hell yeah you’re going to be uncomfortable doing it.

The sim is great, but if there is nobody coaching you while you’re on it you might not learn as fast as real life with an instructor until you learn the fundamentals.

As far as an electric goes, it might help and it might not. The biggest factor in that equation is you not the plane, and certainly not this forum (sorry guys). Personally I’d say stick with the glo, that Calmato will cost you $99 max to replace, how much is the electric? Well if you hit a car on I-5 maybe a little more $$.

I think you should fly the plane that you have whenever you can, and soon you’ll be moving the CG back and cranking up the rates.

P.S. I know I’m a heli sell out, but I just happened to be in the neighborhood…

Xanaduuu!!!

How are you man???? That Calmato is great!!! See you at the field.

I will get a foamy when I am ready. My busy season is here. I will really have to work to get a lesson in from now till November. This time of year, I work 60-80 hrs a week. I will be able to make time for perhaps 1 lesson a week, and maybe 2 hrs a week on the sim. I work in agriculture. I have lots of open spaces to try and practice.

I was just hoping to find a way to get some stick-time in this season. I will risk the cost, but I will not compromise on safety. I will wait until my instructor says it's OK for me to practice alone. Heck, one of em already recommended a foamy, but I don't feel ready yet.

Thanks for all of your help!!!!!!!!!

Xanadu, call me if you want top-notch help with the helis. The club has some good 3D heli pilots/instructors for you.

Yo, everything's good here, actually I'm taking care of a house and a bunch of animals for the weekend. I can't really leave so I might throw a house party tomorrow .

Glad to hear the Calmato is doing well. Hmmmm if you're going to do one lesson a week do you mean an all day thing, I know you said you're working 60-80 hours a week, cause if not that's not much time to learn at all.

Now I see what you mean about the other plane, if you could fly it at work hells yeah get one. And with electric you won't have to worry about environmental impact haha.

That's cool that you know some heli pilots because you'll want to do that when you get bored of planes hehehe. I've been flying with a great group of people at a high school on the weekends. My problem is I keep changing stuff and adding stuff and not spending enough time learning how to fly. I'm still considering joining the Palomar club but I also have a nice big field right here. Right now I can hover anywhere so I'm not joining any more clubs. Maybe I'll join when I can show off some skills, certainly after I lose the training sticks! I'll go over to Palomar if you're going to be flying though I'd love to see that plane fly.

Anyway, I'll check into the current foamy line-up, I think my brother has a nice setup like that, I'll ask him about it and let you know. Aight man have a good weekend!

I think you should get an electric foamie. There is one at www.slofly.com that is only 15 bucks, and my friend has it and it is quite a nice plane, and can even do 3d. Yes, It would be good for your to fly around for fun though, and need no room at all
Heres the link
http://www.slofly.com/index.php?shor...D&id=3291#3291
They are great flyers, and the epp foam will just kinda boucne back to shape if crashed