Today I went to the Aerodrome Flight Club Field outside of Camilla, Ga. They have a great field and are a fantastic group of guys who are alot of fun to be around. Even when things went "off center"....

Here's the scoop: I took the Falcon to get my friend to check it out, and to make it short, the "old style" of mounting a single servo in the center of the wing for the ailerons is (a) a massive pain to setup and (b) NOT reliable (in my friend's words). So he did not feel comfortable putting it in the air.... oh well.... (I'll tell you one thing: That 30 year old Webra 10ccm glow engine PULLED LIKE A TRACTOR ON NITROUS OXIDE!!!!! I was REALLY blown away by it, even though it hasn't been run in 15 years!)

BUT what he did have was an old Tower Trainer 60 that he thought I might be interested in, but he didn't have an Rx or battery pack for it with him. We settled on a "trade" deal with an old DVD cf and I talked him into using my Tx, Rx, and battery to get it flying and have some fun, especially with the Falcon out of commission. Quite frankly, this TT60 is a rather ugly plane that spent YEARS in a garage being neglected (wrinkly mylar, kinda ratty looking), but it flew PERFECT (like "look ma! No hands!" kind of long distance level flight). It has an OS .60 engine and Futaba servos so that worked out nicely with my Futaba Tx/Rx setup. The plane is an all wood + balsa and covered in mylar so it's SUPER light for a 60" wingspan plane with a monster OS MAX .60 on the end. In other words that plane would HAUL!!!

We hit the flight line and he "put it through it's paces" just to test it (he hadn't flown it in a couple of years himself! > he's got about 8-10 planes, so flying a "trainer" is just a little boring for him, I guess...). Then he decided to get one of the guys to "buddy cable" me to it...

The "instructor" guy has trained probably 100 people so he knows what he's doing and talking about, plus he's a great guy so I was good with this. He got it up, trimmed it out, and went through a few figure-eights (and a SWEET, PERFECT double aileron roll followed by a Split-S! just for kicks) pointing out this and that about how it flies and how to MAKE it fly. Then he flipped the switch and POOF! I'm in control. Everyone commented that I was doing REMARKABLY well and kept joking that it was really the instructor flying it and not me. I was making nice smooth turns with just a touch of elevator to keep the altitude up and not messing with the throttle b/c that .60 engine on a 6 1/2 lb plane was SCOOTIN' even at 1/3 throttle and I was making nice, smooth turns with very little over-control issues. A couple of "oh, sh**" moments (of course) where he took over (always b/c I held the aileron stick just a LITTLE more than I should have, but mostly to calm me down than anything else ). And I have to say, that flying that plane was just about better than sex! No kidding!!!! I loved it THAT much!!! It was a FANTASTIC feeling and I AM TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH THIS SPORT, HEART AND SOUL FOREVER NOW! It was just a beautiful experience that I can't really describe fully. I guess the best way to put it is just to say "It was Magic and it resonated within me"

Then the world decided I needed an attitude adjustment: he let me get it a little too far down field and over the pine-tree forest...... A BIG gust of sudden wind hit it RIGHT in mid turn and I was at a little too low of an altitude and INSTANTLY the plane went "wings vertical" and it disappeared down into the forest with alot of crunchy sounds...... I was utterly MORTIFIED, HORRIFIED, and wanted to become invisible all at the same time!!! Here I am, a first time guest at a club, with a bunch of guys I've NEVER met, flying a plane that isn't even MINE, and I go and crash it into the woods!!!! [:@] I was so embarassed I couldn't even stand up. I just sat down and put my head in my hands and cussed myself blue for five solid minutes. The instructor thought some of my "colorful phrases" were pretty funny and he kept telling me that it was really HIS fault b/c he shouldn't have let me get that low and that near the trees, especially during the FIRST time I'd EVER touched the sticks on ANY PLANE, but I still felt like a TOTAL IDIOT and a major screwup and cussed for a while longer until I got tired of cussing.

About 4 of us headed off to the woods to see where it went. I wasn't exactly dressed for hiking in dense forests (sandals and shorts!) so the briars were almost as much fun as the FIVE ticks I pulled off of me! I have a feeling that tomorrow my butt is going to look like I lost a fight with a cheese-grater b/c of the "red-bugs" (chiggers to those outside the south). They leave itchy, painful, LARGE red :welts and burrow under your skin to play havoc....Can you say "Un-Fun"? I'm really looking forward to this because there's nothing more impressive to a prospective employer like DEMANDING a Zen Level uncontrollable "butt scratching" during an interview

After about 10 minutes, someone found the elevator on the ground > it had sheared off (but it sheared cleanly, if that means anything). Unfortunately the plane was 50' up in the top of 2 interlaced pine trees about 15" to 18" diameter each. I took a good look at it using someones digital camera zoom and I was shocked to see almost NO damage! Sure, there were a few rips and holes poked in the mylar, but other than that it was just sitting up there like someone placed it there on purpose!

The guys immediately and with NO reservation or hesitation said they'd handle it Monday with a big, long PVC pole to dislodge it (apparently the trees are full of gnomes that hate planes... so to them, it was just another Sunday). I told them I'd drive over and help, just tell me the time, but they absolutely wouldn't let me (not b/c they didn't want my help, but b/c it's a 2 1/2hr drive for me and they didn't want me to waste the gas doing something that would take them 10 minutes at the most. As it turns out, the guy on the other end of the "buddy cable" is also a top-flight builder and volunteered to re-cover the mylar ON THE WHOLE PLANE FOR FREE!!!!!!!! The complete and unsolicited offer to find it, retrieve it, fix it, and do a GREAT job recovering the all the mylar was nothing short of wonderful and extremely kind. They're "just good people" (btw, that's the highest compliment a Southerner can give ).

I'm still completely mortified, horrified, and utterly embarrassed at the fact that I dumped someone else's plane into the top of a pine tree at a club field where I was a 1st time guest and a TOTAL"stick virgin". But the open, honest, willingness from EVERYONE to help to make everything right was really special. I still want the plane (especially if they can knock some of the "ugly" off it! Guys, there are some SERIOUSLY tacky looking birds out there and this trainer got built by a blind man!) and I am really looking forward to visiting again next weekend, even though it's a 2 1/2 hr drive. They want to hook me back up to the buddy cable and continue to train me!

Well, there you have it. My VERY FIRST TIME behind the stick > even with a buddy cable < and I STILL managed to wreck SOMEONE ELSE'S plane! Thank GOD I live in the South and there isn't a shortage of "Good People" here

But as a "First Flight Story", this has GOT to be a chart topper and I still feel terrible for what happened.... But I can say I've learned a valuable lesson about what happens when you hold the aileron stick off-center for ANY more time than 3/4 second!!!

All around, I met some great people and got to (at least for a little while) taste the magic of flying. I just wish it would have ended with me BRINGING THE PLANE HOME! (the guy who actually owned the plane said to heck with it and don't bother retreivig it, but it's got MY receiver and battery inside it and I can't afford to loose those because, being unemployed, my wife ain't letting me drop a single penny on ANYTHING!!!!

I guess it's just another day in paradise on the flight line [sm=tongue_smile.gif]

wow. what a story. most of us southerners are good people. Thats why i love texas. You go drivin anywhere outside the big city and everyone waves and smiles. That club sounds amazing to be in considering how nice they are. It might just be worth the drive.

I agree. It's not hard to imagine a group of people who would have watched the plane burn into the trees and said little more than "Wow, that s*cks" and walked away to discuss the local football team.

To find a group of people who will take in a total stranger who they JUST met THAT DAY and go THAT far out of their way to help them > I mean not only retreiving the plane as if "NOT"retreiving the plane never even crossed their minds, but VOLUNTEERING to re-skin the mylar on the WHOLE THING AND rebuild the destroyed elevator for free!!!!!

These people just don't grow on trees, even in deep south Georgia! "Good People" are in short supply and they've definitely inspired me to be a better person because the alternative is being a jerk

I think southerners make good people because we know that grits are magical [sm=idea.gif]

welcom to the sport/hobby of RC you will have trouble finding a better bunch of people, you just had your first lesson.

that suks , but i bet you will be mates with those guys for a very long time
the people in this hobby are "bloody awsum" they will always help you out
happy flying for next time

simmo

too bad you pranged one on your first flight...but it isn't your fault...how can you blame a student on his first flight for anything????
as far as a sigle aileron servo goes there is nothing wrong with that....unless it's the way the servo was mounted..
Stick with it..sounds like you made some new buds

Well you learned a leson on how far to let the plane go. I did not crash my trainer but it disapeared into a line of trees at the East end of our feild. The instructor took over and put full up with full throttle (I did the same thing on the buddy box and actualy thought I saved it) and it was a lucky day for me b/c the plane popped up from above the trees. We landed it and found pine needel in between the landing gear and tire. It grazed the trees.

But I managed to crash my trainer more than a few times learning to land.

Yeah, don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault. I am an instructor, and frankly, if a student is new and just learning to fly around and the airplane crashes it's my fault - period. I've never had this happen, but that's how I feel about it. Teaching a student to takeoff and land is another animal altogether.

I'm glad you found some nice people to help you. It seems that this hobby has a disproportionately large number of nice people in it.

lol i cant read this word>> disproportionately
i am to tired i think ill try again in the morning

Ugh, now I'm getting flak for using five syllable plus words in the forums too.

Nathan King: You've said EXACTLY what everyone else told me at the field (including the owner of the plane). Everyone said that "I" didn't crash the plane, the instructor did....

BUT I still feel REALLY bad about it...

on the bright side, I hope he can re-coat the plane and change the color/design so it won't be so danged ugly I swear this plane was designed by a blind man! There's "so ugly it's kinda cool" and then there's "oh my.... what were they thinking?" kind of ugly. This plane definitely fell into the latter category

Maybe he can give it an "Ugly Stick" design? I've always liked the way that setup looked (red with white wingtips and big Maltese crosses on the ends). If he can't, how hard is it to strip mylar and re-lay it across a whole plane? or is there a special paint you can apply directly to it? I'm serious -> this plane flew BEAUTIFULLY but it was FUGLY!!!!!!! [:'(] (it had that "cheap fake cockpit" kind of design that you see on alot of trainers, and the color scheme was an eyesore. Not to mention that the plane is 15 years old and the previous owner had pretty much neglected it and kept it in a hot storage shed so it was slightly bubbled and wrinkled in places. The overall look was hideous [:'(] [:'(] [:'(]

>> The instructor thought some of my "colorful phrases" were pretty funny and he kept telling me that it was really HIS fault b/c he shouldn't have let me get that low and that near the trees, especially during the FIRST time I'd EVER touched the sticks on ANY PLANE, but I still felt like a TOTAL IDIOT and a major screwup and cussed for a while longer until I got tired of cussing. <<

I'm relatively new myself, under 6 months, and while I've never had that happen to me, the response you got is pretty typical of most RC guys I think......at least those in my club.

From what I've heard at my field and from what I've read here and on other boards the reaction is pretty typical. Most instructors tend to feel the same way, I think. They wouldn't be instructing if they didn't enjoy helping other folks and usually feel directly responsible if someone on their buddy box puts one in a tree or on the ground.

I've been out at my field a few times when there was no one else there, and although I still enjoyed the flying it's the socializing that adds to the hobby. (The only exception to this is when I flew for the first time after soloing. I was kinda glad not to have an audience for that.

That's weird, I get hand gestures in Texasbut they aren't friendly ones. Maybe its the OU tag and upside down horns on my truck?

Spacemonkey,

I know how you feel, everybody can tell you it was not your fault but that doesn't make that nagging feeliong in your stomach go away.
You were on your first flight, don't be so hard on yourself. I put my trainer [loaned to me by neighbor] in the trees this last Sat. [total loss except for engine, receive, etc.], but this is my 5th crash and third lost airplane. I felt like just chucking the whole program until the guys started telling me their early expierences. Mine don't sound quite so bad compared to some of their stories.

If you don't give up, I won't.

Gary

Bassfishingworld, huh??

Back when I was flying my trainer my instructor had me on the buddy box. One time we took off no problem with the brand new 8UAF (10 years ago). I took over and was flying for maybe 10 minutes and all of a sudden it became uncontrollable. I screamed for help as I was trying to get back closer to the runway. He took over and noticed something was not right and he immediately killed the engine and sat it down in the high grass. As he was gliding it in I looked over and notice the antenna was completely down. He never pulled it out. Anyway, the landing pulled off the nose gear and that was the extent of the damage. These things happen. We both laughed about it and moved on. I still have that trainer and the 8UAF. I was a couple of mistakes high too so Futaba earned my loyalty on that one.

Roo Man! I was just in Huntingdon about a week ago talking to some people about a job! I didn't get the position, but the area was great and looked like it would be nice for flying!

and there is NOOOOOOO WAAAAAAAYYYYY !!!!!!!!!!! I'm NOT giving up on this sport !!!!!!!!! The feeling I got when things were going "right" was just too amazing, too full of wonder, joy, a touch of fear, and a dose of excitement. I've been wanting to fly planes since I was 4 years old watching kids fly those old "Cox" gas planes on strings in the early 70's! Now a bit over 30 years later, I've got my chance and I'm RUNNING WITH IT LIKE MY HAIR IS ON FIRE !!!!!!! Just seeing that plane in the air and KNOWING that I was the one controlling it was one of the most amazing things ever!

Besides, I'm looking on the bright side: I was in the process of acquiring the plane from the guy who "owned" it, but I really didn't like the way it looked and the mylar was a bit ratty, wrinkled, torn, and discolored from almost 15 years of non-use and garage storage. Now I get a plane with ALL NEW SKIN !!!!!!!!!! and it won't be that AWEFUL "fake cockpit" design that, when done badly, looks horrendous. The plane is a Tower Trainer 60, 69.5" ws, an OSMAX .61 engine that runs like a top and pulls like an OX!!! and it has Futaba servos in it. The ONLY thing I'm worried about is that b/c the wing is a balsa/mylar construction, it's going to be ALOT more delicate and just ONE flubbed landing flip over could sent it to the hospital.... I might have to look at a 1 pc monocoat wing just to add some durability if I need to.

And to top it all off, I get to go back to Claxton, Ga, visit the Dogwood RC Aerodrome again, hang out with a great bunch of guys, and they're going to teach me to fly! (again )

In the meantime I've downloaded FMS simulator (it ain't G4, but it also ain't $100! it's free!) and using a Thrustmaster Firestorm Analog controller with 2 thumbsticks to get used to the eyes/thumbs coordination when the plane is moving at a weird orientation to you. I've also found an $8 cable that hooks my Futaba Tx to my PC so I can practice bouncing pixelated planes off of pixelated ground I know it's no substitute, but like I said, if I can get my thumbs and eyes on the same page and that would be a BIG help!

Spacemonkey71,

Who were you interviewing with? I work in Huntingdon and live in Jackson, 38 mile drive, not good with gas at $3.50 to $4.00 p/gal.

I'm like you, when flying the high is great, my problem is that the lows really get to me. My confidence is really low right now. I've talked to many and they all tell me it's normal when beginning but sure is fristrating. When I called the guy that loaned me the trainer I just crashed he was very understanding and said that he gave it to me unconditionally and that he knew there was a chance it would come back in a bag. He also said not to worry that the dumb thumbing will get better, never altogether go away but get alot less.

I have a 60 size U CAN DO that the guys in my club say is what I should fly next. They will help me set it up so it will fly very slowly with very conservative control settings.

If those darn trees just didn't grow so close to the runway.

Gary

Gary, we don't have a tree within a half mile of our field. We had to train the barbed wire fences, dear fences and the grape vines to do their job. We even have a couple ponds to clean the planes when they get dusty, or lazy and dont want to fly anymore.

Don

You guys are all the best! I SINCERELY Thank You all for the support and making me feel better. I still feel bad about the crashed plane, but hearing that I'm not the only one who's dumped a plane on their virgin flight makes me feel a lot better. I know that this has happened to an number of people who later on became top-notch competition pilots and who now train others and are considered "experts" in the field. So, with that in mind, I'm still going to continue to learn as much as possible at every available opportunity and become the best pilot I can be. Who knows, maybe in a few years, I'LL be the guy on the other end of the buddy cord talking some scared, but starry eyed new pilot through his first cruise through the sky [sm=teeth_smile.gif]. I love to teach and I love to fly, so I think I could make a good instructor one day and be a "good shepard" to some people getting into this wonderful hobby.

I'm learning alot about "general" plane handling using the FMS simulator. I've been flying basically the equivalent of a "mid-wing" Fokker "ugly stick" b/c it seems to have alot of the same trainer characteristics as the big, slow flier I'll be flying. The guy who's fixing the plane is also going to "tone down" the flight characteristics of the plane (like reaction time/speed/movement) so that it won't be quite so easy to get away from me, and if it does, I'll have enough time to collect myself and bring it under control. I don't mind this at all !!!! I'll take all the help I can get and if that means slowing it down, so be it. I've got the rest of my life to "fly fast and loose". I've even toyed with the idea of putting a tri-bladed prop on it to slow it down a little more (has anyone tried this? I've heard someone say that tri-blades tend to bring the speed of the plane down a little vs the standard props)

Also, since this plane has a balsa/mylar wing that's ULTRA light and WAY delicate (i swear it feels like it's made of "solid air" ! ) , would it be a good idea to try to put a big foam core, monocoat "plastic" wing on it? (is "monocoat" the right term? I'm talking about the hard, but lightweight, thin plastic feeling stuff that's wrapped around styrofoam -> like the wing on the Falcon) I know the .60 engine is strong enough to get it moving (I'm still shocked at how much thrust a .60 can make!!!! WOW !!!! I can't even IMAGINE what a 1.20 would feel like!). The wing would definitely weigh more, but would it be completely unflyable? ->or so difficult to fly that it would be basically "impractical" or just a mess? What do you guys think? I like the light weight of the balsa wing because it gives it GREAT "soaring-gliding" abilities in the event of a deadstick, but I'm TERRIFIED that even one "soft" FLOP on a flubbed landing is going to bust the stuffing out of it.... and then it's back to the repair table again....
>And I KNOW this happens ALOT because I saw FIVE very, very experienced pilots go "wheels up" on landing last weekend > they landed great (not too fast, not too slow) but hit a bump, hole, patch of grass, rock, gust of wind, whatever, and BLOOP! the nose went down and the tail went over the top and the plane was then sitting upside-down on the wing! [X(]

Any ideas on how I might be able to increase the "durability" of the wing and plane in general? Also, any other ideas on how to slow it down (or stabilize it during flight) a little more? I know the "right" answer is "Don't crash it!", and "Don't hold the ailerons more than a fraction of a second!" but I've already proven that THIS option isn't always an opportunity that's available.... It's already got one feature that I think is indispensable. It's got two big 3"-4" soft wheels that are set REALLY WIDE apart to aid in "not so pefect" landings (it's a nose-wheel "tricycle" setup) and I know that little feature is going to save my butt ALOT

Great story. Keep one thing in mind. The only people who don't crash planes are those that don't fly planes. Been there, done that. I got my SuperCub stuck in a 70 ft pine tree with no limbs for the first 50 ft. Took 3 days to get it down and eventually just happened to be there when the wind blew it down.

For the record, I've had nothing but bad luck flying someone else's plane. I've decided I'm not doing it again. I've done it twice, crashed twice. At least your instructor is going to fix it up for you. The main thing is don't let it get to you. I'm totally convinced that flying is 85% confidence. I had a couple of bad crashes in December and January....just now getting my confidence back. It's hard to do, but if you can act like it never happened, you will progress much faster.

Hang in there. IT GETS BETTER!

try epoxying a fibre-glass cloth around the centre of the wings and it should be pretty much solid, and youd be surprised at how hard you can land some of these planes before they break, i managed to dead-stick my plane (came on approach too fast and overshot the strip) onto a rough, recently-ploughed field which just broke the wheels off, simple matter of epoxying them back on to the bottom of the fuselage.

MonoKote is the brand name, the plastic sheet stuff is just known as "covering".

Dude screw the plane! Ticks arggg I hate insects especially the type that bite. Chiggers? Geez and your worried about the plane.

I wouldn't go to that place without a full blown camo suit. Or bio hazard suit.
[X(]

Steve

Spacemonkey;

Welcome to the sport. The treatment and favors you received is more typical than atypical, from what I've seen. Flyers are just a great bunch of people. One day, not so far into the future, you'll have the opportunity to pass those favors along to some one else. Do so. That's what makes this such a great hobby. I know that I, as another relative newbie, have received more help and assistance than any one man deserves. Good luck; good flying. Thanks; Ernie P.