HI ALL,i don't know if this is the right forum or not ,but,here goes.I have been in the R/C hobby for about 20yrs off and on,and i find it amazing how flyers make a lot of promises and never follow through.this is what i am talking about.i went into my LHS to discuss airplanes ie; cost best plane where to fly,etc.I waqs told, yeah you will love flying, the owner said" buy a plane and no problem, I will teach you how to fly myself", three months later and still not one lesson. i have gone to flyins,introduced my self,let it be known that i was interested in learning to fly,GOT A LOT OF PROMISES,AND EVEN MORE INVITATIONS TO JOIN A CLUB.OK, these were the nicest people that you would ever want to meet,(at a fly-in),i left my name,number and even my email.result,NO follow-up. i have all my own equipment(thanks again to my LHS).he even sold me a simulator that can not be upgraded.I love R/C inspite of the people that are in it. I run cars and trucks, and we bend over backwards helping each other regardless of the problem,consequently that aspect of the sport is growing by leaps and bounds.it seems that i will have to teach myself,although this will be relatively expensive,2or3 more trainers,but through all of this i still remain posive that I WILL FLY inspite of the negative response that i have rcvd.any other newbies out there speak-up. you dont have to be accept being treated like this. there are other options. IRA AMA #760839

IRAW,

Yes, airplane people are a strange lot! I know, I'm one of them. It is as if we airplane people want to keep our sport/hobby "secret", and have everyone think it's a "black art", or that you have to have a "special talent" to do it! Not so!And this goes especially for the full sized plane guys-just hang around an airport, and make it known your a total newbie. Although, not all are a bunch of self serving you-know-whats. Some HS owners are, as anyone in any business can be, after all it's their job to sell you stuff so they can pay their bills-to bad it's like that.
I can say from personal expeirience, that I will never join the AMA/local club, because I tried to go their route for so long I almost gave up the hobby. (You can fly when we say, you can't do that, you need to be on a waiting list, your plane has to be a certain type/way/whatever, ect.) I got sick of it, and went out and bought some stuff and taught myself to fly-definately the hard way to go, but I've been at it for about 16 years, with no sign of letting up.
I would also like to say, not all AMA clubs/fields/people are this way, or I don't think ANYONE would be flying.
Keep at it, try to find a kindred spirit in your area, GET A POWERED SAILPLANE, OR PARK FLYER, and GO FLY!!
Good luck,

Jetts

JETTS,NOT TO WORRY,i will learn HOW TO FLY,i have been on my simulatorand know that it does not offer a good ground-plane perspective,i also know that i will probably tear up a few planes in the interim,BUT, i will learn how to fly in spite of the "GODS"

Guess that link I sent you are the guy's you are talking about. Very sorry to hear about your negative experiences. It was just the opposite for me. Everybody went above and beyond to help me. Keep diggin...you won't be sorry.

Have you joined a club? I never heard of a club not having a training program, or helping newbies get started.

Yes, I joined a club about 7 miles from my house. The AMA has a rule about how many Instructors in a club..3 I think. I believe for an additional fee the number can be increased.
Did you click on the newsletter of the club I sent you?
Every instructor at my club can't be kept away from the newbies.

Oops, Question wasn't for me.

steve, i have e-mailed them, but as usual, no response

There is no AMA rule of how many instructors a club can have, there is a rule that clubs cannot have no more than 3 Introductory pilots, who can (with the proper paper work filled out) teach nonmembers for a period of 30 days. These 3 Intro pilots have to pay $5.00 for the privilege.

Thing is, I hear two different sides to the story, that of the instructor/veteran flier and that of the beginner from many different clubs. Unfortunately, too many stories are similar to yours Ira.

Take care,
CCR
http://www.kites.org/rc_instructors

Thank you.

Jetts

same thing happened to me, bought from the now defunct LHS and the "trainer" rarely made an appearance.. a couple of folk helped breifly but they were there to fly their stuff which I understood ...problem was also that big ***** .40 trainer that I paid so much for that crashed/fixed/crashed/fixed and finally I just gave up, but with the new parkflyers and a schoolyard in walking distance, I took what I remembered and flew my GWS stick right off the bat BY MYSELF!!now I am moving up into glow myself but I like the quiet clean electrics... Rog

hey iraw50

hey don't know how far you want to travel but we're here in fredericksburg with the fredericksburg rc airplane fliers
we fly every sat. & sun. come on down and we'll teach you to fly
have train a many of people over the yrs.
if you want to call me 540-898-0604
e-mail [email protected]
we are a fairly laid back club and our main purpose is to have fun flying we have about 30 members and unless the weather is totaly horrible we're normal there flying( even today with 30 mph gusts) come on out you'll have fun.
roy

IRAW50, like some of the others have said, it sometimes is not easy to get help learning to fly. Everybody (instructors) has their own agenda and priorities and sometimes the newbie falls to the bottom of both lists......

I spent two summers learning to fly. Some days I'd just go out to the field and watch (trainer gassed and ready), and go home. How depressing. But I wouldn't give up.

What seemed to accelerate my training was my willingness to help others. My training is in electronics, so I offered wiring special smoke systems, bompdrops, multiple receivers, multiple batteries, etc.

Soon, they came to me. But I had an agenda, and learning to fly was at the top of my short list.

Well, guess what? Within a few short months I had all the offers I needed and soloed.

So, even if you don't have any special skills, gas your plane up and go see if you can help someone hold their plane, adjust their engine, range check, anything.

Within a short time, I'll bet they come over and ask "Want to go up?"

Sorry it's not as easy as it should be sometimes, but once you learn and excel, you can change the field attitude and you can help the new guy without being begged.

Good luck, my friend.

hey guys, thanks a lot. it helps knowing that one is not alone in misery,but i have faith,and THAT,so i've been told has moved mountains,lol IRAW50

I'm glad that some of you are voicing your complaints about not getting much, if any help, as I have heard many times from experienced fliers that they never hear of any complaints from beginners. It is easy to see how disillusioned beginners might feel a little reluctant to complain for fear of getting on his instructor's wrong side.

Sometimes, the instructor honestly doesn't realize there was someone waiting for help, simply because the beginner kept silent.

Take care,
CCR
http://www.kites.org/rc_instructors

IRAW50,
I noticed you left your contact information, but have you proactively gone to the club with your trainer and asked one of their instructors for help right then? If a newbie gives me their number that is fine, but I'm not going to call the guy asking if he wants to fly. I'm also going to assume that if a newbie is hanging around and not asking for help then he is doing fine. If you want help you're going to have to actively go out and find it.

I am A newbie myself. I built my first kit just recently.The LHS is
so so. But at the flying field they are execellent. Sure I have to wait it comes with the territory. I brought my newly built plane to the field didn't tell anyone I had it with me. One of the guys who knew I was building a plane asked me how it was coming along. I told him it was done and ready for it's maiden flight and had it with me. He said bring it in and I filled out the form for the AMA.
Sal and another fella Bob checked out all the construction and radio gear. Satisfied they took it up for me and Sal even had a buddy box for me to use. It flew well though needed minor adjustments. Anyway nobody starts at the top rung of the ladder
you have to work your way up there. Someday I will be there (like I am now with my occupation) until then I will have patients,
keep my eye's, ears open and my mouth full of praise for those
who have accomplished what I am trying to do. Hang in there!

to flyfalcons, yes i have actively sought out help,here's my scenario,i was invited to the field by a member,but when i got to the field, the member that invited me there to train me said that another guy would be the "right" one to train me,but, he wasn't at the field that day. i went back and got the same response.Hey, I was born AT night, not last night. you don't have to shoot at me to run me away!!

IRAW50,

Doesn't your club have a dedicated "Training Night"? If it doesn't you may want to find another club. If a club doesn't have a dedicated training time, then it probably isn't dedicated to bringing new members into the hobby in an effective fashion.

I started at our club's training night in May and it took me a good two months to really get comfortable. What I found was that although a lot of guys wanted to be "instructor pilots", most of them just weren't very good instructors. It wasn't really from a lack of trying or anything, its just that teaching is a skill itself.

There is more to training than just hooking up the buddy box and go fly. Sometimes you need detailed explanations, sometimes you need to review things, sometimes you want to "stretch your wings". A good instructor will try and give you what you need at that moment, rather than just spinning the prop and getting out of the way. In my case, I had soloed for about a month, but had a crisis of confidence due to a couple of minor crashes (involving a large pile of dirt that was blocking the end of the runway). I asked the "good" instructor if he would take off for me and keep an eye on me in case I had problems. He didn't give me a hard time about going "backwards", and after a lot of low approaches and a successful landing, I got over my mental issues.

As to your guy who didn't want to train you and made you wait for another guy, how good a pilot was he? What I mean is, he may have been wary of training you because he wasn't comfortable assuming the risk of bashing your trainer. One thing you have to do is make it clear that you accept the possibility that the instructor my wreck your plane as a going in position.

Bottom line is that it's a cool hobby and once you get over the hump and solo (and become self sufficient), you've got nowhere to go but up.

GB

Hi Iraw: It's a shame you don't live in Colo. Springs Colorado. You do not, come out to our field to watch. You will get a trainer cord tossed around your neck and hauled out to the flight line. That's just the way it is. That's the way they got me. They are worse then drug dealers in a good way. The way we look at it, there's a chance the new guy/girl might be a little on the shy side, or somewhat intimidated. Especially when they see the guys doing even minor aerobatics that look impossible to someone with no experience. We started with 5 people and are up to 22. All were roped with a trainer cord, because they dared to come and try to just watch. We fly on private land with permission, but it is being developed. So we have maybe a year left. Then I will probably join a reg. club with high $ initiation and high $ yearly dues, and of coarse the high $ AMA. I sure hope they don't exhibit the qualities you have described. Speaking for myself I get a charge out of watching someone solo, every time. Good luck and happy flying.

Sounds bad out there. I would take the trainer to the field, and ask someone there for help. Its unfortunate they are that way. I know there are a couple at our field that will not help, and they are capable, but that happens. Don't get discouraged. Most people in this hobby are great. Wish you were closer, I would help. Keep on them. Join the club, get to know some people, learn the hobby well, and help others. Show them what being nice can do!

IRW50,

First off sorry to hear about you're problem getting help.

I was wondering.... Did you actually join the club in question and if so does it have a formal beginner night?


Reason why I ask is that if you didn't join their club maybe the club members aren't sure if you're serious.

Maybe you could go to the next meeting join up and then ask right then when and who will be able to teach you.

I've heard of some clubs with a policy of three flying days for free before membership is required. Maybe this club has a similiar policy?

Meeting the club members at a meeting in a non-flying environment might actually help you find the right person to help you.

My 18+ years experience has taught me that in general flyers are a generous and helpfull bunch of people.

Also remember some people don't like to teach..

Since most clubs teach for free its hard to fault the members if you're not getting help in a manner that is to your liking.
You could look around and see if someone in your area offers lessons for a fee then at least you're getting what you paid for. This will also be cheaper then crashes several planes.

Just a few thoughts good luck

IRAW: I am also from Richmond, Virginia and am in the process of soloing my second plane (the trainer met up with a tree) with a club in the area. I would like to know what club you have been going to if you don't mind telling me because I could send you a list of some other clubs and hobby shops in the area. The way that I get someone to help me take up my plane is just by bringing it out to the field and asking around to see who would like to help me out. I have yet run into a person that was not willing to help me out, but I just had to ask for their assistance. I would really recommend going to the club meetings and getting to know people because that will really help you with being able to find someone that can help you fly and also help you along the way in the hobby (building future planes, taking up new planes for test flights, or any questions you would have during the way. Again, go out to the field and to the meetings to get to know people and if that does not work, then I can give you some links to other club's flying fields in the area.

Wow, I'm terribly sorry to hear of all the troubles you guys had. I had a much different experience. I brought a piece of junk foam cessna (I was only 12 and couldn't afford much) out to the local field and was approached by a couple of curious members. Well, they took it up for me and helped me make a couple of circles around the field. The next week one of the members handed me a trainer and said to put an engine and my radio in it and that I'd like it much better than that little cox powered plane. The only string attached was that I had to pass the plane (or another trainer if I totaled it) to someone trying to get into the hobby and help them learn. I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to hang around.

IRAW50,
I just wanted to offer my experience with the folks here in Fredericksburg. I just showed up one Sunday to talk with to see what they do, and what I should be doing to get started in this sport. We talked a few minutes, and I walked around the pits a bit introduced myself to one or two of the guys hanging out, went back to talk with Roy somemore. One of the guys that was pitting with Roy offered to hook up a buddy box an let me fly his plane! Really cool offer. I couldn't stay - I had my wife with me and other stuff to get done so couldn't take them up on the offer.

I haven't been back since, simply because I've been thrashing to build my tower trainer so the next time I go out there I'll be more prepared for flying. I also fully intend on contacting Roy before just showing up to schedule some real training time.

Point is, if you want to make the trip to Fredericksburg, my first impression is that you would not regret the trip!

Good luck...

IRAW50,
I just wanted to offer my experience with the folks here in Fredericksburg. I just showed up one Sunday to talk with to see what they do, and what I should be doing to get started in this sport. We talked a few minutes, and I walked around the pits a bit introduced myself to one or two of the guys hanging out, went back to talk with Roy somemore. One of the guys that was pitting with Roy offered to hook up a buddy box an let me fly his plane! Really cool offer. I couldn't stay - I had my wife with me and other stuff to get done so couldn't take them up on the offer.

I haven't been back since, simply because I've been thrashing to build my tower trainer so the next time I go out there I'll be more prepared for flying. I also fully intend on contacting Roy before just showing up to schedule some real training time.

Point is, if you want to make the trip to Fredericksburg, my first impression is that you would not regret the trip!

Good luck...