Well I just had my first flight...and what a buzz it was. I know I should have had an instructor and all of that but there just isnt anyone in the small town that I live in who could teach me. Anyway I headed off at 5 am and even got pulled over by the police for a RBT. The copper was more interested in the plane though asking me all sorts of questions about it. It all went really well the plane took off and after almost climbing vertical I was quick enough to give a bit of down elevator to level it out. I must admit I was shaking like a leaf the whole time but the trainer did fly slow enough to be able to give me some reaction time. It seemed to fly fairly straight and only needed some down elevator trim to stop it wanting to climb. The only real mistake I made was to drop the throttle to much. At one stage the plane was only a metre or two from the ground when I gave it full throttle to climb again. The second time I wasnt so lucky and it came in for a crash landing although it was slow enough to give me time to flair the plane and let it land on its feet. The plastic strapping that holds the under carriage broke but that was the only damage. I will replace them with some metal ones that came with my plane and should have been used in the first place.
I have read enough posts on this forum to know that what I did was very lucky and next time I may have a bad crash but I have put it off for too long and without an instructor available I need to start somewhere. I cant wait to tell the guys at work this morning.

Regards,

Troy.

Yee Haa....Good job, Mate.

Congrats....nothing like the first time!!!

Congrats on lossing your virginity!!!!

Stays with ya a while don't it!! Oh! What a feeling....!! Good for you.

Congrat's glad to hear it and good luck on next flight. BTW : Those plastic strap's are break away for the reason that they did. To save more serious damage to the fuse on a hard landing. Before you replace them with metal, maybe give plastic another chance or three. HAPPY FLYING Buz^

troyp,

you might want to reconsider replacing the plastic straps that hold the landing gear on with metal ones. With the metal straps, on hard landings you may actually rip the gear out with part on the fuselage still attached, leaving you with some repairing of the wood structure. The plastic ones will probably break away like they did, not damaging the botom of your fuselage. My plane has aluminum landing gear. I use nylon wing bolts to attach it to the fuselage. On rough landing, the nylon bolts will shear before the wood fuselage bottom is damaged by the gear ripping out. You may want to invest in a half-dozen or so sets of the nylon straps, then when you have mishaps such as the one you had, just replace the straps and you're ready to go. Just a thought. And congrats!

Hi Troy from the East Coast

Sounds like a good result. I'm amazed - I taught myself to fly electrics but I still found the first flight with a glow plane pretty challenging (and that was with an instructor and buddy box).

Couple of suggestions:

1. You could hone your skills with something less fragile than the glow powered trainer before you smash her up. Take a look at the S&B models warbirds (made here in Brisbane). They are great looking electric planes that are almost unbreakable. They fly similar to a glow plane except slower, so you can sharpen your skills a bit.

http://www.sbrcmodels.com

There's other good cheap electric planes around that will do a similar job. A zagi will give you hours of fun and is great preparation for aileron flying.

2. Practice with FMS on your computer. This is a free RC flight sim. If you have a computer transmitter you should be able to plug it in to your computer and get some stick time without risking the plane. Again this is a good way to sharpen skills before attempting the real thing.

Hope this helps.

Good luck

Peter

Congratulations How's it feel?

I did the exact same thing you did... I went for it without my instructor being there... and I almost stalled it on take off about 20 feet up. Everything went well though.. Insted of ripping off my landing gear, I came in a little fast and nosed it over at a slow speed at the end of the field.

Congrats again, Keep it up!

that's awesome. Be sure to let us know how the next flight goes. have you had any simulator practice?

Thanks for the words of encouragment guys. I was just as excited to get home and read the posts as I was to fly my plane this morning. I will re-use the plastic clips on my undercarriage as pointed out by Pauly and Buz. In answer to your question daltrey I have used a simulator but not with my transmitter, just with the keyboard and joystick.
Regards,

Troy.

Troy

It makes a big difference using the transmitter on a simulator, as it helps to embed the commands. I have a Flash 5X and bought a cable from a guy in the UK over the internet - money well spent.

Peter

WOW Troy, u did a great job there!
I went for my first without a instructor too, but the plane lasted about 30 seconds at the most (the takeoff was perfect though). And to think I had spent 3 months building it. Didnt deter me....went back, rebuilt the model and took a couple of lessons from a senior, and was on my own again.

Hi troyp,congralation's on the first flight and I wish you many more.

Good job, remember that a plane never crashed while flying, only when they stop do you have a problem!

Also don't forget that no matter how great you get you will still shake like a leaf. Not every day and not every flight but when you fly that plane you have spent months on or the plane that you always wanted. I think the nervous part is what keeps bringing up back.
I think anyone that flies should fly on a sim (FMS, RF, whatever). You have to get those thumbs working without thinking and learn what you can and can't get away with.
CONGRATS! It's worse than crack! Your addicted~!

What's an "RBT"?

RBT = Random Breath Test. Police pulling cars over to check alcohol breath readings (0.05% limit here in Oz).

An RBT is a "Random Breath Test". I know it sounds a little strange that they would breathelize someone at 5 am in the morning, but they are trying to catch people who had a big night the previous night and may be on their way home.

Regards,

Troy.