After reading this board I was scared to go fly without an instructor for the first time, but today I went out and my plane is still in one piece!
I have an avistar and I took off easily and flew around without a problem, even did a couple aileron rolls, landing was real hard though. It was windy with light rain so it didn't want to do everything I wanted it to do. I crash landed it everytime (smooth ones) about 5 times and broke props and put dents in the wings and pushed the nose gear back but I think the most fun I am having is crashing it, then rebuilding it and flying again. CA+ and epoxy can fix anything. Im afraid it will be a big glueball soon though. Its amazing how much of a beating these things take. I cartwheeled it once and it was just fine. And it still flies great.

I've decided that if you can fly real planes and you are really good at video games then you can fly RC without an instructor. Landing is a different story though, you need a big field with tall grass to absorb the horrible landing youll make. Im having alot of fun with this.

I have a questiona bout my engine though. When I run it, it seems to be spitting fuel out the muffler and it greases the entire side of the plane. I lean the mixture as much as possible but it still shoots fuel out the muffler. Is this normal??? Is it just unburned oil? What if I get one of those muffler extender things that puts the pipe further from the plane, has anyone tried that?

I broke the mixture contol thingy in my last crash so now I gotta figure out where I can get one.

This is more fun than I thought it would be.

Are you sure your fuel tank is installed properly?? Make sure the line connected to the klunk (line to carb) is on the bottom and the vent tube (line to muffler) is on top as the plane is oriented upright. If it's 180 deg out of orientation you experience this problem.

pnc024,
There are more things than just flying to plane that an instructor will teach you. Things like-- The oil on the side of the plane is normal. -- Leaning out the motor so there isn't anything on the side of the plane will eventually burn your motor out. -- Where to buy replacement parts for your plane when they break off.

I know that I may sound a little harsh, but there are a lot of things that the instructors teach you besides just flying your plane. They will teach you how to safely assemble the plane, safely tune the motor for flight, how to make repairs when damage does happen. One thing that does worry me a bit is your flying and not knowing the location of any local flying fields, your radio could possibly cause interference to other pilots and cause their planes to crash.

One thing that doesn't happen (very very rarely if not never) is damage to your plane when using an instructor. I've been teaching for 6 years now and I have never crashed a students plane. Yes, you can repair your plane after every crash, but that doesn't mean that you are learning good safe flying habits, and those would be taught by an instructor. Also, when you start flying with an instructor you will more than likely be required to join the AMA which will give you insurance. This insurance will cover you if you hit anything with your plane and cause damage or injury to other people. Flying where you are now you could be held financially liable if you hit anything or hurt anyone.

We've seen the same "I fly real planes so I can fly the little ones" before. While being a full scale pilot does give one an understanding of HOW a plane flys, that is where the advantage stops. You have to realize that a full scale pilot is sitting IN the plane that they are controlling and everything they do is reacting to what they see and feel in the plane. Flying a RC plane is completely different, if not directly opposite. Now you are removed from the plane and you have to have a completely different set of skills to fly the plane. For instance, in a full scale you move the stick to the right and the plane moves to your right, but when an RC plane is coming at you and you move the stick to the right the plane will move to YOUR left (still the plane's right). I've seen many full scale pilots have to stand at the end of the runway and let the plane pass over them in order to land, so they are directly behind the plane. They never develop the skills that many RC pilots have that lets them stand on the side of the runway and still land the plane. I've also seen full scale pilots come out the "attitude" and try to fly with no help. They usually destroy the plane, get mad, leave in a huff, and never return. If they had taken a few minutes to ask for help this would have never happened. Please do not think that I lump all full scale pilots in this group, because that isn't true. I've seen many full scale pilots become very successful RC pilots, but they usually have to learn just like the rest of us.

While you are free to proceed anyway want to, I would recommend that you do find and instructor to continue learning to fly. I am sorry if I sound like I am preaching, but sometimes a reckless attitude towards how these models are operated can sometimes cause harm to others. I know this for a fact because I have been hit by an RC plane that the pilot wasn't being safe with, so I tend to preach safety. And I do know what is coming next, there are those that will say that there is nothing wrong learning to fly on your own. To those people I say that they need to stand in the parking lot of a flying field and get hit with a quarter scale plane, and then we'll see how casual they are about safety!!

Ken

The fact that you say you are having more fun crashing and rebuilding tells me all I need to know. Each to his own, I guess.

I second RCKens warnings about flying without club support or an instructor for beginners. Another note. You don't mention where you're flying. Is it your own private property or a public park? There are many of us struggling to maintain flying sites, and reckless behavior by beginners in a public space can make it very difficult for us to convince neighbors and public officials that we can fly safely (by safely I mean no damage to surrounding environs, people, or property). Please consider joining a club and getting some help. You won't regret it. Neither will any nearby flyers.

As RCKen put it so well all I'm going to do is agree with him,

My first question would be do you jump into a full scale plane that is a type you are not familiar with or rated for and just "go for it"? Same thing applies here with the only difference being there is no law forcing you to get instruction.

As one full scale pilot to another, the only thing that carries over to models is aerodynamics. Yes, making the plane do what you want still requires basic knowledge of what controls to move and when, are exactly the same as full scale, orientation is key with models.

So unless you have lots of full scale aerobatic time, not just unusual attitude training, then I would also recommend an instructor. Learning to fly can be easy for some and hard for others. Being hardheaded can cause problems and cost you in the end. Besides just think of all of the new friends you will make if you also join a club. As a full scale pilot you already know that being a pilot pretty much automatically gains you friends just by going to your favorite FBO's. Same thing in a club, BUT as in participating in "Hangar Sessions" as you do in full scale, shooting the breeze with other club members will help you gain all of those little things that you only get from someone passing it on to you. Sure RCU is a great source of info and you will always find tons of help and opinions, but being there is allot easier than typing something into a box to reply to someones quyestion.

Sure, people have succesfully learned to fly on their own and if you really decide to do it that way, please follow everyones advice and verify your at least 3 miles from another RC field, and at least a mile from anything resembling people, buildings, well traveled roads.

Oh and one last thing, view this video, this is a 15 yr old kid that is severly handicapped and in around 20 flights with me look at how smooth he is and particularly his landing at the end. Sorta puts the stops on landing being hard to do and definitely shows how flying with an instructor will help.

http://www.hiddenhangarrc.com/video/...xpert_test.wmv

OK guys, I'll stop pushing my video now Can't help it, it's a pride thing

well i think this post pretty well speaks for itself.

I have a 15 acre field near Hudson, NY that I flew in. I agree with you guys about the instructor and I do realize there is plenty to learn from someone with more experience. I can't find anyone in the Hudson area that flys RC. I'm positive there is someone, I can't imagine there isn't anyone but I just haven't found anyone. No luck on finding clubs either. I drove to the closest hobby shop 45 min away in Lee, MA, the guy there didn't know of anything near Hudson, I'm not sure he was a RC guy though.

I wasn't trying to come off as "Look no instructor and my plane still flies", just trying to share my experience.

Anyway, I liked the video.

Anyone fly near Hudson, NY?? I come on the weekends sometimes and I have a big field.


So what is it saying??

Have you tried the AMA club locator. I did a quick search for Hudson NY and it found nothing but maybe you can find something with it that's fairly close to you

http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx

Thanks, I found something in Albany, hour away but worth a trip I guess.

Using zip code 12534 for Hudson New York, there appear to be several clubs within a 20-30 mile radius. The AMA charter Club locator can be found at http://www.modelaircraft.org

Check it out.

THis hobby is great, and after hours on FMS, i thought i could do it. I went to the field, had my instructor tune the plane, told me what was wrong, what was right, so i learned alot jsut by that. Anyway, the only thing that FMS taght me was plane coordination, which SI THE MOST IMPORTANT THING OF ALL. I mean you have to know how to get your plane back if its far away and you can barely see it. ANyway, congrats on your first few flights.