Stixoz

Well as a few of you know i have recently got the bug of RC aircraft and like all other newbs wanted to get it straight in to the air. To cut a long story short, i couldn't get to a club so built, balanced, trimmed, ran in and tested my Boomerang 40 by myself with the help of many of you fellow RCUniverse members. The time came this afternoon for it's maiden flight.

Down to my (which i now know) very small flying field, i fueled up, tested my controls, tuned the engine a little more (with my girlfriend holding the tail in a short dress Mmmmm) then taxied on to the field. With my hands shaking and heart pumping i did a final wind check and runway check, this is it, opened the throttle to about 75% and away she went!

It seemed stuck to the ground, 50m still rolling, full throttle! Damn running out of runway, little bit of elevator and up she goes! Damn it's fast! In to my first turn straight away, all good, climb baby climb! Came back down wind and i was having a hell of a time with a sustained climb the nose is all over the place. Dipping hard, going almost vertical, feeling totaly out of control i struggled with it for another full circuit doing partial hammerheads and scarring the hell out of me, damn i forgot to bring a garbage bag i thought to myself.

I realised i was still at full throttle so backed down to 75%, got a little more control back then actually started thinking about what was happening, studied the plane and my control inputs and started to adjust the elevator, 10 clicks up and wow! a totally different plane, dropped the throttle to 50%, added another 3-4 clicks of up elevator and damn! She is flying! was still very touchy on the elevator than i quickly looked at the TX, i still had the elevator and rudder on high rates damn! switched it to low rates and what a dream!

Grinning from ear to ear i did a few more circuits and let out a good cheer when i flew it over my head. Nerves calmed a bit and i was in heaven, loving every minute of it. I didn't stay like that for long though, the realisation of landing came in "got to land, going to run out of fuel".

I did a few tree level passes and thought this is going to be impossible, it was to fast and my field is to small (150m), i chopped the throttle down to about 25% and tried again aiming for about 2-3 meters above the ground, first pass looked good, second pass i started to high and was to hot, plane didn't "sink" enough. 3rd pass i dropped the throttle to about 15% and it looked really good, nice slow decent down to about 1m, tried a small flare to get the feel then powered up to go around for the real thing.

Houston we have a problem!

Half way through the circuit the engine died! I didn't panic and had it on a very very nice glide path, i was celebrating my landing a little too soon, just as it should of touched down it disappeared from a view and all i heard was loud crack. The plane was about 20m further away than i though and landed in long grass and shrubs off the end of the field.

Damage report, a small scuff on the left wing tip, small pea sized indent/stretch of the covering on the right wing and a bit of grass.

I cleaned it up and started it again, all ran fine, still had 1/3 a tank of fuel so although it wasn't textbook i'm claiming it is an outstanding success! Thank you everyone!

Stix

the_madgenius

Stixoz , congratulations, your first successful flight which didn't end in match sticks. Now you know it's speed and the need for more room, i strongly suggest you find a more suitable field for your next flights , and remember keep your mind on the flying , not the legs in preflight.
Bill

Korps

Congratulations!

jetmech05

way to go

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

Congrats!

A tip my instructor told me was to 'land over my shoulder' meaning that as you turn in toward the runway, the plane should look like it's almost even with you, and you should be looking over your shoulder to see it. I think one of the most common mistakes us newer guys make is landing on the 'other side' of the runway.

bkdavy

My Feedback: (1)

A trainer should easily land with the throttle stick at its lowest setting. Get the engine set so that you can drop the throttle stick all the way down without killing the engine. That will be your landing speed. You should have the throttle trim set such that the trim switch (assuming slide switch) will completely close the throttle at its lowest setting, and a high idle speed at its highest setting. Then when you set up to land, you simply drop the throttle all the way down and let the plane generate airspeed as it sinks. You can always point the nose down a little to generate more speed, and add throttle to generate lift. Keep practicing approaches until you can land the plane every time. Then worry about what you're doing in the air, particularly if you're still trying to go it alone.

Congratulations on beating the odds.

Brad

Irish R.Seer

My Feedback: (1)

Well done mate, have one for me,

Cheers,

Bill.

millertym2000

My Feedback: (4)

congrats on still having a plane in one piece. Start praticeing on slow passes to get the feel for landing, With the plane at least 2 mistakes high slow the plane down as much as you can to get the feel for how the plane is going to handle. Congrats again.

ABELL

Don't you just love it when someone beats the odds and does it on their own? Even after all of the " your going to crash - you can't do it - carry a garbage bag - hope you have a deep wallet" stuff. Let's face it most of us don't live in the Outback. We have instructors within a reasonable distance. Don't take me the wrong way, an instructor is the VERY BEST way to learn but, if you don't have access to one get good advice and do everything you can to make it a success, like STIXOZ did. Congrats and my hats off to you dude. Hope you and the little lady get that lobster dinner![sm=thumbup.gif]

Bob Mitchell

Congratulations on flying it and getting it back down in esssentially one piece. Now you're really gonna be hooked.

A couple of comments: That sounds like a lot of elevator trim. You might want to double check that the GC is exactly where it should be. If it is, then you should probably consider adjusting the elevator position so you can get your trims set near the middle of the range. I'd suggest noting the elevator position with your TX and RX both on and the stick neutral. Then, center your trim adjustment and re-align the elevator mechanically back to that same position using the linkage adjustments, most likely the clevis on the control horn. Screw it in or out as needed to put the elevator in the right position. Next time you fly you'll have to trim it again, but it shouldn't take 13 clicks to get it right. I'm assuming that your control linkage is square to begin with, meaning that the conrol rod is at right angles to both the servo arm at one end and the control horn at the other. I may be a bit anal about it but I like to make sure that with the control surfaces trimmed for straight an level, the trim adjustments are near (not necessarily spot on) neutral. Assuming that everything is square on the airframe (wings, and stabs square to each other) then excessive trim usually means that the surfaces weren't near neutral to begin with.

To echo a couple of others, I'd agree that you should have your throttle set up so that you're essentially at idle when on final and at flare. That will keep the airspeed down at touchdown. As another also said, practice slow flight a couple of mistakes high so you're familiar with how the plane handles and be able to recognize the onset of a stall. That will also help in landing at minimum airspeed and increase your confidence in doing so.

The depth perception thing will also come with practice and you'll learn to "know" when the plane is over the approach end of the landing area and when you can let it touch down. It took me more than a few touch & go's to get that "picture" in my mind and know where the plane was with respect to the end of the runway.

One other thing that will come with time is a solid mental picture of what a good approach looks like. After literally dozens and dozens of touch & go's and full stop landings I can pretty well tell as soon as I turn from downwind to crosswind weather I'm high or low, fast or slow. The simulator helped with that as well.

Good luck, congratulations and let us know how it goes.

Stixoz

Cheers guys, i must say i was pretty damn excited, i didn't rexpect it to go that well.

I will re centre the elevator, i think it might have been an issue on my half, when i aligned everything on the ground i put a ruler on top of the stabiliser and below the stabiliser and measured the gag between there and the centre of the elevator, obviously i should i have the elevator flush with the top of the stabiliser (seeing as the rudder is thinner than the stabiliser)) rather than centred.

Thanks for the advice guys, i will keep you updated

Stix

AstroDad

way to go! now go do it again!!!

fly boy2

Great job!! One thing;never take your eye off that plane; I made that mistake when killing the engine about 5ft up;almost crashed[X(]; The guy I was with that day told me; he had lost his trainer because hetook his eye off the plane to check the trim. Do it all by feel. Congrats on the first flight

Tom Nied

Wow, that sounds great! Go ahead and do a happy dance, I know I did when I first soloed. Definitely get used to using the throttle and I would suggest, practice take offs and landings. You can't do enough of them and you will really benefit from them. Congratulations.

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

Congrats man!..the one thing I'm not sure anybody mentioned is that trainers want to climb when at full throttle, nature of the beast kinda thing,,so as soon as you get to a comfortable height, drop that throttle back, the faster that prop is turning, the more prop wash over the control surfaces, they squirrelyer they are...guess you found that out! The plane wont be going anywhere near full speed but the engine will be...Rog
So how long was it before your knees started knockin

Lnewqban

Congratulations, Stix!!!

This link is to a method of teaching-learning without using a Buddy Box; it may help for your next flights:

http://www.ultimatecharger.com/teaching.html

Other useful reading for basic trimming and flying:

http://www.palosrc.com/instructors/teachrc.htm

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=8&ID=141

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=8&ID=142

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=8&ID=144

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=8&ID=20

http://www.masportaviator.com/fh_advancedtraining.asp

Regards!

Mr67Stang

I think the apropriate question is; how long was it before your knees stopped knocking?

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

...maybe more like 'have your knees stopped knocking yet?'

Stixoz

Hehe, it was more than just my knees shaking let me tell you ;-)

Looking forward to my next flights but the weather has been unfriendly, only about 10 knots which i'm sure is fine for you experts but it's well above my confidence level. Just a matter of tuning my engine a bit better so i don't get another stall on final.

Stix

Lnewqban

Stix:

Find tips for properly tuning the engine at this Australian RC website:

http://www.holdfastmac.com.au/howto.html

Check also the Tips and Techniques, Hints, etc.

Another one:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/insider...carburetor.htm

More important: build a simple model restrain that you can anchor to the ground; your girl holding the beast is not safe enough; remember my previous advice about the propeller.

Regards!

Wine Country Flyer

My Feedback: (5)

Good job-now do it again & again & again !!!!
John