Hey all,
Im very new to r/c airplanes and this is my first time to this site(which looks like it will be very helpful). Me and my buddy just bought a nexstar and i am arguing with him on flying it soon or not. We are both in school right now training to be pilots and he has this in his head that if we fly real planes all the time by ourselfs, then we can handle this but i know that flying real planes and r/c planes are much different. My question is i am very comfortable on the sim and may try it without and intructor.[&:] I was just wondering what some important things to know are that are different from the sim and real thing. We have a place to fly that is very close to us, that is one reason we may avoid an instructor, and the other thing is im not sure of the price and we may not be able to spend the extra cash. Thanks for your help

I'll try to boil down my typical long winded answer to 3 main points.

First, instruction is almost always free, so that's not a good reason to avoid one.

Second, the main difference between a sim and a real plane is that when a real plane crashes, you have to fix or replace it. Eventually, you will crash, however, an instructor greatly increases the length of time before the first crash. Additionally, you could hurt someone else, or something.

And finally, if you want to get first hand experience repairing planes, try flying without an instructor.

If you want to read more about learning to fly glow planes without an instructor, read some of the many threads that have already appeared about this subject.

Tburke1,
First of all realize that I am nothing but supportive of your wanting to learn to fly RC. But as an instructor at our field I can tell you that the ONLY type of students that I dread training are full scale pilots. Your buddy needs to realize that the two are totally different. In a full size plane all of your movement are relative to you. You move the rudder right and the plane turns to your right, you move the aileron right and the plane turns to your right. When you are flying RC you get stick reversal. Meaning that when the plane is coming towards you and you move the stick to the right the plane is going to move to IT'S right, which is your left!!!! You also do not have the "feel" that you have in a full size plane. Your perspective is totally different.

You have on advantage over other students in that you know how to an airplane flies, but please get an instructor anyways. He is going to teach you other things besides how to fly. He will teach you to safely assemble your plane, adjust the motor properly, fly safely, safe repairs, etc. These aren't toys by any means. They are a 5-15 pound weight moving at 50-100 mph with a spinning razor on front spinning at 10,000 rpm, do they math and you will find that it can be very dangerous. Since you are full scale pilots you know that you didn't just jump in a plane and take off and fly, you had to be taught how to fly. Learning to fly is no different.

I can't stress this enough, please try and find an instructor.

Let me give you first hand experience:

I put my G2 to the "realflight" settings with the EXACT same airplane (Avistar) down to the airfoil, wingspan, length, etc. and put a .46 engine in it. I flew really good. This last weekend, I got to fly my actual Avistar for the first time with the .46. It was A LOT faster than on the sim and reacted different then on the sim even at low rates (travel was same on sim and actual airplanes). The worst part was I had the death grip on the Tx and my palms were sweating then I got to experience my first deadstick! Wooohoo! When I got to the pits, I asked my instructor where the space bar was (reset) and he's all like, "Ooo...well, theres no space bar out here!" [&o]

So ya, the sim is about the same IMO if you fly WOT on the sim and 1/2 throttle in real life. Either that or I am a total idiot who flies too fast.

Hope this helps

I've flown full scale too and although you may be one of the lucky ones that gets away with it the odds are against you. RC and full scale are much different, it is literaly a matter of perspective. The same laws of aerodynamics apply but with some "tweaks" due to scale and power to wt ratio. Combined with the fact that 2 of you will be flying the same plane and I forsee disaster for the airplane. Did you know that the fancy AFS in the plane actually makes it harder to fly properly? That particular plane has a number of properties that an experienced instructor could lead you through.

PLEASE find a local club or flier and get some RC flight instruction. If not, you will need repair instruction very soon. []

Everybody has said it already. I will offer you another reason for finding a QUALIFIED instructor at a qualified AMA field. Hobbico guarantees the plane saying that if you crash it before solo within three months, provided you have a qualified instructor and are flying at an AMA sanctioned field, they will replace it. Enough said?

I have the NexSTAR and solo'ed with it last summer. I loved it, and so did my instructor. We were able to fly it easily together (buddy box system) and I got lots of good advice while flying with him. The system works. Don't risk your plane or others on the ground by avoiding that part of training (part of that training because even after you solo, you are still in training).

Best of luck.

Dick.

SIm experience helps but it is different! Ground handlying is super easy on the sim as is takeoffs. Steering a plane on a grass field takes a bit of getting used to. The glow engines on the sims always run great unless you program it for a deadstick. Unless you have been shown how to adjust the engine, it will probably run great on the ground and quit shortly after takeoff meaning you are looking at a forced landing. Not a fun thing to experience for a first flight! There re lots of other reasons to join a club and get help but its up to you. Most clubs also offer a few free lessons before you join the club. I would suggest looking into this first before you break your plane and be disappointed. [8D]

Would you climb into a full scale without an instructor the first time and fly it just because you can fly microsoft flight sim?

Dumb idea.

Get help or you will destroy your model fast. Nuff said.

I fly over at Western Mich, and I assure you, just because you can fly a full scale, doesnt mean you can fly an RC. I have a Private License, yet last weekend, when I flew my rc for the first time, I was very happy to have an instructor. He saved my plane from what could have been a hard crash.

ill add this, i trained on the nextstar and put many hours on the sim. and after flying the plane with an instructor i am really glad i didnt try it on my own. there are so many varialbles you cannot control, that an experianced rc pilot can give you. like proper trimming of the plane. on its maiden flight the plane was so unstable it was all the inst. could do to keep it from craching. he saved it and i still have a plane. a new pilot would not be so lucky. put in your dues and train properly and in a few weeks you can go to the field by yourself all you want.

There are a lot of clubs in the general Detroit area. go to the AMA Club locator at: www.modelaircraft.org and find the Charter club locator section. Plug in your Zip or city or large city nearby and find a club. Or ask at the LHS where the local clubs are . There is no excuse for going it alone and crashing.

IF you got the money to repair or buy new stuff go for it, but if you don't you WILL be heartbroken When you crash. TRUST ME![:@] I wish you nothing but luck, but try to get help before you put that bird in the air.
again, good luck.

One day at the field this guy walks up to me and asks me out of the blue if I would fly his Nextar plane. Not ever meeting him before I tell him no. We continue talking and about 30 minutes later I decide to take it up for its maiden flight after the full understanding I'm not responsible if it goes down. The plane flew very tail heaving and I quickly ran out of elevator nose down trim. I had to 'manually push' the plane's nose down with the stick and I quickly landed it without incident. What's my point? Even if the manufacture boasts it's ready to fly out of the box many times linkages and CG's need to be adjusted. If you're not experienced enough to do this yourself, a crash is evident. He had some time on the sim, but after our first lesson he surely would have severely crashed his plane as it took a lot for me to get it down safely on its maiden flight. I'd get some help. Good luck and welcome to RCU.

Had he taken off the "gimmicks" on the wings? This usually requires a nose down trim change..

If you want to figure it out on your own, find a huuuuugggggeeeee field. Your first flight you won't want to worry about where the pattern is. If you plan on flying near anyone or anything, get an instructor.

Simulators do help, I can vouch for that. They aren't perfect, but they help.

hi been new to this myself and having just flown my trainer for the sixth time on my own without a tutor!!! i can say it is possible to do it yourself!!!.the best advice ive seen on here was to find a large field and instead of flying the plane out in front of you like you do at a club .fly the plane arround you in big circles till you get the hang of it and get it trimmed up etc!! its much easyer to do it that way than fly the plane out in front all the time,once youve got the hang of it you can try flying patterns in front of you!!!.the good thing about having a field all to yourself is you can fly it arround you which at a club would be a big no no .have you thought of trying a cheap electric plane 1st?.much easyer to repair when you crash!!!.

The typical forum dweller is going to say the same thing and probably didn't even read your qualifications. I wouldn't agree 100% with the "Get an instructor" crowd, but just say that you could probaby takeoff and fly around a bit but chances of landing without crashing are probably very close to zero. Flying around safely is relative to where you fly... of course you could always crash into yourself even if you're in the middle of nowhere.

A few minutes of fun, highly stressful flight and right to the repair bench or trash can is probably the result without an instructor in your case.

I'm taking bets on this result... a slightly off landing turns into a failed abort and then complete clusterfu** into the ground and it's the trash can.

You dont NEED an instructor to learn handling a RC plane. It is probably wise, but will learn on your own as well.

I started with a small electric Cub. After crashing three of them, I went for a .40 Glow-Trainer. It flew for a year before a chrashed it into molecules. Now I fly a 3D plane. Never had help from instructor, but I have got myself some chrashes, but avoided the most extreme expenses.

Security is most important - make sure you keep out of the way from people/cars/houses. Then all your faults will only cost you money

Pal

Everyone says to get an instructor so I won't.

Here's what I bet you will do.
1. Go find a HUGE open area with grass short enough to land anywhere. (Sod farms are great)
2. Test run you plane with the plane in ALL attitudes. (nose up/down, left and right)
3. bring a friend to help you watch the plane. (NEVER take you eyes off the plane - EVER)
4. Have a plan as to where you PLAN to land and know where you CAN'T.
5. Try to fly over the area's where you land only. If possible.
6. After takeoff CLIMB to a good height and get you plane trimmed as best you can.
7. Practice a few stalls up high so you have a clue as to how fast you need to be going to prevent a stall on landing.
8. Plan to only fly for a couple of minutes and then work on getting lined up for a good landing.
9. If it all works PM me and tell me about it. If ya crash don't.
10. Good luck and have fun. This is exactly how I learned to fly.

Just go out of the city so IF you do have problems the only one will be to the plane. The AMA covers us that fly at a field but your on your own and are the one responsible for how things go.

I tryed flying on my own for my first flight, well something happened and about 5 feet up it crashed. The plane was totalled. Then i got smart and got an instructor and a new plane, the instructor helped so much and after two days i was soloing. I still fly with the instructor, i just put together a Tower Hobbies Uproar .40. I had him help me with it's first flight, and it's a good thing. He ended up having to land it because for it was not flying right and the engine was running too rich (only 4th tank through the engine) and wanted to cut out. My point is that an instructor is a GREAT idea and even after you fly don't think that you don't need him anymore, because you still will have questions and will need help.
About you flying full scale planes, that doesn't mean anything when it comes to R/C. A man at our club flys full scale planes but he is having major trouble landing his R/C plane because he said the view point is different.
Have fun and be safe.

Has anyone noticed that the original poster, Tburke1, has not been back? Has probably already turned his plane to dust and given up. OR he may come back, we can wait and hope for him.

the problem with most people is they think because they needed a tutor everyone else does!!!.not true i didnt !!!!im no expert but im doing ok and as long as you do your research and make sure in your own mind you know what youre doing then success will follow!!!.if in any doubt then youre not ready.just my opinion but there it is but im fed up of the dont do it youll crash in seconds brigade[X(]!!!!!maybe thats why so many of us do it our way anyway in the end and how good it feels to say I WAS RIGHT!!!!!i say go for it as long as its safe its up to you and no one else!!!.

Does your plane run on hot air too?

Amen brother! But uh, I think the congregation has left.

no but me thinks youres run on manure cos you seem to talk a load of crap