OK, just about a year ago, bought a nexstar...have flown it exactly 4 times...gave up and switched to helies (blade cp...might still get a raptor)

I could fly the plane, that wasnt the problem, was told by 3 different people i could solo as soon as a check pilot was around...the problem is, the 2 places i have to fly are pretty unorganized.

One isnt even a "club" (which is nice, no dues) just an active naval airport that lets us fly off the taxiways on the weekends. That was a great place as far as the generosity of the people that are there..but getting someone to buddy cord me and check me out was a pain. After a couple of months of going out just to watch someone else fly and not get to fly at all, i gave up there. Then there is another feild about 30-45 min from my house, grass field, kinda nice. Same issue there though, i went out there about 6 times, only 2 times was someone else there, and only one of those was someone willing to buddy box me.

After being so aggrivated i just went out and got a stryker to fly around at the parks, and i can fly that thing like its nothing (i have probably flown well over 100 hrs on the sim just airplanes, another 100 easy in helis) ...

I was thinking about selling the nexstar and my almost completed BTE Venture 60 (saito 91 in it) to support my heli habit, but when the time came to start the process of selling them, i couldnt do it, not without giving it another chance. I wasted 60 bux on AMA last year since i didnt fly, so im kinda ticked i have to again, but such is life.

So starting this weekend im going to head back out to the airport to see if anyone is there and start mingling again and see if i have better luck. I would definatly rather fly there, if not for the lack of dues needed, for the asphault runway.

Also, the nexstar is getting upgraded right now, adding dual airlerons and flaps (i know it doesnt need it, but what the hell, i have a futaba 7C...cant let it go to waste on 4 channels ). Now i also have the 7C, so the buddy box problem isnt a problem anymore...i will bring it with me (for myself, and anyone else who needs it)

I'm really getting excited again, almost as excited as I was last year at this time when i picked up the nexstar. Im going to act like ive never flown a plane before and let whoever teaches me teach me like a newb...just to make the process smoother. I wish i knew more people around me...would like to really have some flying buddies like i have with the heli...but those guys are never going to fly a plane bigger than a park flyer (but that new mini ultra stick is sweet)..

eh, enough rambling, hopefully in a month or so ill be flying solo...finally...

You are a lot more patient than I am. If you can fly that stryker, then I suspect you'll not have much trouble flying the nexstar. Just take it easy, and don't over-do it. Remember, you don't have to fly full throttle. Half throttle is a lot less intimidating. I'd go do it. Especially at the airbase--there isn't anyone who can stop you. Just be careful. I suspect if you can fly heli's, the stryker, and have that much experience on the sim, then you'll be fine. But, you may crash and burn. Either way, the plane is doing you no good right now.
I hate it when people aren't willing to help new people out!
I usually do not advocate doing it on your own. but, it sounds like you've exhausted all other avenues. If you truely have the skills you say you do, then why not try? Don't try, however, without AMA coverage!

One other thing--asphault isn't all its cracked up to be. A nicely manicured grass field is sometimes a blessing. Especially for hot landing airplanes.

Glad to hear you're back. I understand what you went through last year, I too got aggrivated,& frustrated at a lack of training time for other reasons, but they prompted me to go out & get a NexStar too, when I allready had a perfectly good Tower Trainer, so I could practice on the sim of the same plane. It worked, & I did eventually solo myself with it. I had an extra Futaba 6DA & I bought the proper cord from Tower so that when I went to the field I had everything I needed to buddy box. I'm sure you will have better luck finding someone to take you up when you have everything needed right there with you & all you need from him is his experienced thumbs. Good luck & don't give up, as soon as you find the right guy I'll bet you'll solo in no time with all your sim time. One bit of advice I would give you with the NexStar is to turn off the AFS on the sim & practice without it, if you haven't allready. The problem is that it works great everytime in the sim, but in real life any little change in lighting conditions that it doesn't like & you'll be fighting it all the way. I learned that the hard way & have never used it since.

Yeah, i dont have/never had the AFS turned on in the sim or real life. AFS will be gone tonight anyways when i put the 8ch reciever in the nexstar. I've pretty much flown every bird in the sim. Can do nice 3d with the helis and some of the plane (sim is Realfight G3, btw) ... The onlything that doesnt interest me in the sim is the gliders (Yaaaaaawnn!) ... i think my favorite things to fly as far as planes is the cessna look alike and the mustang...but in real life ill stick to the nexstar and my venture for a while...

I will get help, and you still cant fly there without being cleared...even though its not a club, the navy did set rules that follow AMA guidlines...we have multiple jet fliers there so they do keep an eye on what you do.

It wasnt so much a lack of people willing to help, but a lack of people willing to get the timing right. I take some of the blame for it...they let us fly there thursday, sat, and sunday...the job i had at the time i was working wed-sat ... so i could only come on sundays..and saturdays were always busier...

Im going to go back as optimistic as possible and hope for the best...now i can fly on thursdays after work, and on both weekend days, so my chances are much better.

I did like the atmosphere there before...i mean, how many other feilds can say that everynow and the the navy guys tell us to shut it down for an hour or 2, and you just get to sit back and ralax for a bit and watch real f-18s doing touch and goes 100 yds away...

Here's a view of the field...

[link=http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=36.698292~-76.130404&style=h&lvl=16&sp=aN.36.699238_-76.129439_Our%20fliught%20Line_We%20fly%20off%20of %20the%20taxiway%20here~aN.36.698344_-76.128044_Real%20Runway_F-18s%20take-off%20and%20land%20here]Fentress[/link]

RJM,
It's good to hear that you're back, but to be honest with you I didn't even realize that you had left!!!

I know getting training and a solo flight can be frustrating when you are trying to hook up with an instructor, but hang in there because the reward is well worth the effort!!

Let us know if there is anything that we can do to help

Ken

Actually, maybe there is...you have any good pages about installing control arms and zbends and such...seems so easy, then i went to do it and got dumb all of the sudden...and whats the best hardware for it? Need it for the dual ailerons...

Very cool, I could handle taking a break to watch the F18s do their thing!

What are dual ailerons? All the airplanes I have ever known have two ailerons. Is this what you are calling the flaps, when they can also act as ailerons and are not "flapping"?

The use of a telephone might help you get in touch with an instructor. If at one of the fields and no instructor is there, ask the fliers there, who is a good instructor and if they can give you the instructor's phone number.

It is not law that you must fly with an instructor. Local clubs may have rules that this is how the process works for that club. The club you describe as not actually being a club likely has no such rule. Still, going up with an instructor is a good idea and if you can arrange it, I would do so, unless you have confidence in your abilities to be successful!

rjm-

If I could make a suggestion, why don't you try to get phone numbers of some people at these different clubs and arrange times to meet someone and fly. I ran into the same problem. With small clubs there's no guarantee someone will actually be flying.

-Scott

This is the second post in this thread that has hinted that it would be ok to go to an established, but not managed by a formal club, flying site without approval of the people in charge of the site. Fortunately, RJM has already responded that he knows better than this. However, for the benefit of others, here are my thoughts on the subject:

If there is a group of people who has established a formal or informal relationship with the owner of a flying site, this relationship must be respected. The rules and policies of the flyers who have permission to use the facility to use the site must be followed. Ignoring these rules, such as flying alone there before being signed off, should never be done. Any individual contemplating such action needs to realize that doing so could very easily result in a situation where the flying site is lost to EVERYONE!

RJM,
Here is my list in order of what I prefer for connecting pushrods to servos.

1. Ball links [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD897&P=0]Dubro Ball link, threaded[/link]
2. Solder Clevis [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD895&P=0]Dubro Solder clevis, 4-40[/link]
3. Z-bend [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXXC81&P=ML]Great Planes z-bend pliers[/link]4. L-bend [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAZC3&P=0]Dubro E/Z Links[/link]
5. EZ connectors [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD925&P=0]Dubro EZ connectors[/link]

The first diagram is a how to for making Z-bends. The second diagram shows what L-bends look like.

I know that there are those that disagree with me, but I don't like using EZ connectors on critical flight surfaces like the aileron and elevator because I have seen them come loose in flight and if that happens you will loose the plane. I use them on non-critical applications like the throttle and nose gear steering.

Hope this helps

Ken

I want to chime in here and add to what Piper_chuck said. I too have noticed in the last week or so a few people that are looking for places to fly where they don't have a club to join and don't have to pay AMA dues. IMHO this is an extremely bad idea to do this. I understand that the dues and extra fees can really hit hard sometimes, heck I don't like paying them any better than anyone else. But in my mind they are just a cost of the hobby, just like the cost of fuel, especially the AMA dues. I advocate this for one HUGE reason, to protect the pilot. Whether we call them model airplanes, scale models, radio controlled airplanes, or just plain toys these objects are dangerous. You have an object that weighs (using a sport 40-60 size plane for this example) 5-12 pounds, traveling at 50-120 mph, and has a razor on the front spinning at 9,000-12,000 rpm. This can do very serious damage to somebody if it hits them. This is where the AMA comes into play, the liability insurance you get with your membership. In this lawsuit crazy world I can assure you that if you hit someone and injure them with your airplane you will find yourself on the wrong end of a high dollar lawsuit. A couple of years ago Dave Brown's editorial talked about an insurance claim that the AMA insurance paid out and if I remember correctly the amount of the claim was for $900,000, and that is just medical and legal expenses and not any personal injured award. I don't know about you all but I sure don't have a spare million dollars laying around in my bank account. I know that some are going to chime in and say that their home owners insurance will cover them and that the AMA insurance won't pay until after the home owners stops paying . In many cases it will, but not all. One needs to check their policy to make sure that you are covered and for how much. In this case it's nice to have the AMA in case your home owners insurance isn't enough to cover damages.

I've been in this hobby for about 10 years now and I've seen lots of people like this that "buck establishment" and don't want to pay AMA for whatever reason. They are usually the same people that will say that "it's not going to happen to me". "I'm never going to hit somebody." "I'm not going to fly near anybody". Hey, stuff happens. Electronics burn out causing loss of control. A fly-away plane can travel miles and miles away (well out of visual range) before it comes down. So to have the "it's not going to happen to me" attitude is just really sticking their head in the sand and ignoring reality.

I know that it can and does happen. How do I know? Because I have been hit by a plane before. I was standing at the back of my truck in the parking lot at our field. A pilot was flying a 1/4 scale Extra, and made a couple of bad decisions in the air that led to him stalling the plane above the parking lot (well outside of the established pattern). Luckily the plane hit the raised window of my truck topper which killed the motor before it hit me, but it still hit me in the back and took me to the ground. The next day I had a bruise that covered about 3/4 of my back. The pilot immediately started saying that he would pay for all medical bills if needed. He said that because he hadn't paid his AMA dues yet so he didn't have any insurance. Luckily I didn't need to go to the doctor, but if I had he would have been screwed paying for my medical bills.

To wrap it all up, there are a lot of reasons why flying at a club is good and why you need to have AMA, but just to protect yourself in the event of an accident is more important in my mind that just about anything else!!!!

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now. Just wanted to give something for people to think about.

Ken

Thanks for the info ken, on the control selections, im liking the idea of the ball link....i trust it more now that ive flown helies...

As far as the AMA/Club stuff, im kinda shocked somone would come out and suggest in a begginners forum of all places to just go fly whenever/wherever you want...thats retarded...Especially without AMA

I wouldnt risk flying at the airfeild when i wasnt supposed to...kind of a silly thing to risk getting picked up by an MP for to me...plus even though there are no dues (the navy doesnt charge us) there are rules, its still technically a club...there is leadership, freq. board, etc...

One thing i love about that feild, there are no worries about it getting shut down for noise, would be silly to kick us out for noise when f18s fly there all day

Dual ailerons - meant using 2 servos in this case. One in each wing.

Yes - call an instructor

Fly whenever you want? NOT!!! The controlling agency here in the U.S. Navy. It could cost ALL of them to lose the use of this excellent facility. I'm sure you want to rethink this suggestion a bit.

Yeah, sorry for the confusion, by dual airlerons, i was speaking of dual servos

I am uncertain how both Piper Chuck and RCKen came to the ridiculous conclusion I was recommending RJM1982 fly without AMA, or, at a non AMA site!

I have no idea if the site is a site operated by an AMA club; or not, or if that club has rules, or not! Mr. RJM1982 suggested he was going to join AMA again, so he could fly there, so I assume he would do so!

All I really said was that it was not LAW that he has to have an instructor to check him out, but went on to recommend that he do so! I totally agree that he should abide by any guidelines stipulated by property owners and the clubs at the locations he should chose to fly!

I don't care one bit that I have been made out to be the heavy here and expect an apology is in order from both of you as you have misconstrued what I have said, completely!

I'm MAD!!

wasted post because im superstitious and dont like having 666 posts...

Show me where I said; "Fly whenever you want?" You quoted me directly and I don't see it any where in what I said! What the heck is going on here!?!?

Mode one,
I wasn't referring to what you had said, but rather I was talking about some posts that have occurred in other threads over the last couple of weeks. Since Chuck had opened the subject I decided to vent about it. In hind sight it probably wasn't the best place to make the statement that I did. While I still firmly stand behind what I said, I will state that I was in no way, form, or fashion implying in any way that you said that in your statement. I am sorry if you thought that. Please accept this as a public apology if I in any way made it sound like you were advocating somebody skirting the rules, because that was not what I was talking about. I was talking about those that seek out places to fly that don't have a club or don't require AMA because they don't want to pay the dues. That's where my statements were directed at. I am sorry if I implied otherwise.

please give me a few minutes to pull my foot out of my mouth here.

Ken

Did I say anything about AMA?
RJM had already posted that he couldn't fly there without being cleared. As far as the site in question is concerned, this is "the LAW".
Fine, be MAD!! If I misunderstood your post, I apologize. Your statement, "Still, going up with an instructor is a good idea and if you can arrange it, I would do so, unless you have confidence in your abilities to be successful!" was vague and, as has become obvious, could easily be interpreted to mean if you think you are good enough, go ahead and fly there even though you're not approved. It's good to know that was not what you meant.

Mode One, you did say: "Still, going up with an instructor is a good idea and if you can arrange it, I would do so, unless you have confidence in your abilities to be successful!"

In this statement you condoned him flying at the Navy site if "HE" felt like it even though he had already stated it would violate the rules at that site laid down by the Navy. It is not an option for him to make.

No apology from me. Stay mad if you like.

"Fly whenever you want" While not a direct quote, that is what the statement boils down to

Some of that could have been aimed at me as well. HOwever, I too, in my post, said DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FLY WITHOUT AMA COVERAGE! Especially on military property.

We did have this quote:
Well, you have apparently been flying your helicopter somewhere--where was that? Just whenever/wherever you want? What about the stryker. In the park? Around other people? You came on here crying about how no one would help you, and you had learned heli's and the stryker on your own, and really wanted to either give it up or give it a try, and then when someone encourages you to, you call the encouragement retarded? I never said go against any rules, I said get your AMA membership, and give it a try. According to what you wrote in your OP, the military base is open to activity on the weekends (which, I assume, is when they are not using it). So, if it's open, then it's open. You said yourself that it wasn't a club--then you came back and said that it was. So, what is it. A club or not? There is a difference. I know of one club that flies on public property. Like it or not, they cannot force dues or membership on anyone because of the public property issue.

[/quote]

I wouldnt risk flying at the airfeild when i wasnt supposed to...kind of a silly thing to risk getting picked up by an MP for to me...plus even though there are no dues (the navy doesnt charge us) there are rules, its still technically a club...there is leadership, freq. board, etc...
[/quote]
SO, do they let you fly or not? Why would the MP care about who is flying out there. Either it's open, or it's not. MP's have better things to do than check and see if all flyers have been "checked out."
And, is it, or is it not a club?

I'm not finished with my thoughts, just out of time for now.

Sorry if I offended the RCU Gods.

Well, now that you mention it...

It's become clear that flying anywhere without approval is discouraged. Perhaps it's time to get back to helping RJM get his wings?

2slow, flying a parkflyer or an indoor heli are way different than a nitro bird. I fly the stryker at a park, and no, if there are more than a few straglers out there, i wont fly...as for the heli, i fly in my garage or in my backyard...I wasnt saying i wanted help or encouragment to go it alone here, The post was more of a vent about not being able to find help at the field, but then i also said that i would wait again for an instructor.

And yeah, the military does enforce who flies there. There is a sign-in at the quarterdeck every day when you get there and when you leave. They do enforce what goes on because it is an active installation, they enforce all the ama rules and some of their own. They arent going to come out and just randomly check people, no...but risking getting caught is dumb, since being there and doing something that is posted as against the rules would constitute tresspassing on gov't property...not too good of a deal. They do watch us, if we fly over the main runway they will come out and warn us...(crash on the runway = possible FOD for real jets)

And if someone did come in and ask to fly by themselves, without ama in a public place, even if thats directly what they asked, you still shouldnt tell them to do it...

I dont agree with the safety police here often, ive been in a few arguments over it actually, but when you suggest doing something downright dumb and dangerous in a begginers forum, thats a bit dumb to me...in another forum i might not have even though twice about it.

so 2slow, im not trying to tick you off, its obvious you just got different information from my post than what i meant to convey, its the internet, these things happen. So no hard feelings, please. I appreciate that you responded at all and did try to help. Me saying that doing that was retarded wasnt meant as a direct insult to either of you who suggested it, it was more meant so that the real noobs that come in see that and dont think that just doing it alone is a good idea. When i was posting in this forum before, 2slow, you helped me out on a number of occasions, so im not trying to insult you or anything, just dont want to see someone read that and do something dumb.\

Anyways, im going by the lhs today and getting the hardware to finish up the mod to the wings (servo wire extentions, controll rod stuff) and ill post pics of it done, for the heck of it, since everyones seen about everything anyone can do to the nexstar...war-duck is still my fav though...

Gotta love the Warduck!!