Beginner Dad training beginner son!
08-20-2009 | 10:55 AM
#1
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From: Yucaipa,
CA
Beginner Dad training beginner son!
I just started flying again about 2 years ago after hanging it up after a crash right after soloing 20 years ago. My son urged me to start flying again because he wanted me to teach him. He didn't want an instructor, he wanted me! To explain about my son, he has ADD with slight gross and fine motor skill problems. He is an out going kid but i can tell he is self consious about his disabilities. He spent about 15 seconds on my glow trainer and was scared away from it. I pulled out an old glider from the rafters and put on an electric motor and he really liked it. It was slow moving and reacted slow until he could get used to controlling it. He has been doing fine on it and only had problems when the wind would start blowing. We decide it was time to move up. I bought a Fledgling by ModelTech. An Electric trainer with a wing span of about 52". I was kind of nervous about training him. I had someone at the feild maiden the plane and it flew great right off the runway with very little trimming. I flew the plane for alittle to get the feel for it and then at 3 mistakes high i handed it over to him. He did very well even though i could tell it was alot more difficult for him than the glider. He liked it and this weekend i'm buying new 2.4 radio's so i can buddy box with him to make it easier to train. I was worried about not having enough experience but it seems to be working ok. It's fun having a son to fly with. With something slow like a motorglider anyone can train someone.
skeeter
skeeter
08-20-2009 | 11:46 AM
#2
RE: Beginner Dad training beginner son!
That's awesome, skeeter! I don't know of too many other sports or hobbies where you'll find so many fathers and sons of all ages hanging out together. It's great to hear that your son is sticking with it, he's excited, and he seems to be picking it up and getting better all of the time. You might enjoy watching him fly as much as he enjoys flying.
I'm glad to hear the Fledgling is working out well for you guys. That's a really nice electric trainer ARF, and you should both enjoy flying it. Have fun and let us know how things are progressing!
I'm glad to hear the Fledgling is working out well for you guys. That's a really nice electric trainer ARF, and you should both enjoy flying it. Have fun and let us know how things are progressing!
08-20-2009 | 07:13 PM
#4
RE: Beginner Dad training beginner son!
It sort of sounded like you might not have ever used a buddy box. If that's the case, I suggest that you have one of the instructors help you set it up and then have you fly him a couple of times so you get the feel of using the buddy box. It's no big thing but it might be easier on your son if you have a better idea of how it works and what you can do with it. ENJOY !!! RED
08-21-2009 | 05:47 AM
#5
My Feedback: (1)
RE: Beginner Dad training beginner son!
We have a grand-pa and grand-son combination at our field and it's just great watching the inter-relationship between the two. And, at times, it looks more like the grand-son teaching the grand-pa!! 
Really fun to watch.
Just make sure you focus on some of the safety aspects of the hobby, though. It's very important that he does not hurt himself in the learning stages. This could ruin it for both of you.
Keep us in the loop. Sounds like a great story to follow up on.
CGr
Really fun to watch. Just make sure you focus on some of the safety aspects of the hobby, though. It's very important that he does not hurt himself in the learning stages. This could ruin it for both of you.
Keep us in the loop. Sounds like a great story to follow up on.
CGr
08-21-2009 | 01:29 PM
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From: Grant,
FL
RE: Beginner Dad training beginner son!
Skeeter,
It feels good to have quality time with your kids! [sm=thumbup.gif]
I would recommend looking at one of the simulators out there also. Maybe it will help him, maybe it will help you. But that will be a good way to get one of you out of "beginner" status in a low stress environment. Who knows next week you might be posting about how your son has trained you! Best of luck!
It feels good to have quality time with your kids! [sm=thumbup.gif]
I would recommend looking at one of the simulators out there also. Maybe it will help him, maybe it will help you. But that will be a good way to get one of you out of "beginner" status in a low stress environment. Who knows next week you might be posting about how your son has trained you! Best of luck!
08-21-2009 | 07:13 PM
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From: BrisbaneQLD, AUSTRALIA
RE: Beginner Dad training beginner son!
Heya Skeeter...
I work as a carer in the intellectual disabilities field, and I "play dad" to a friend's 5yo son (who is currently sitting in my lounge playing with my PS3) who has a condition similar to your boy's, so I can understand the extra difficulties, as well as his need to be taught by you rather than a stranger. My advice would be to talk to an instructor and explain the situation, and get some tips on teaching methods. As Red Head suggested, getting an instructor to set up and teach you to use the buddy box would also be a great idea. If your wallet can stretch that far a PC simulator can also be a great training aid or for use on windy/rainy days, and a decent one can probably also be set up to use the buddy box.
Once he's comfortable with flying you can extend the relationship buy learning to build planes together... this is also a great tool for helping him with his patience and concentration, hand/eye coordination, fine motor skills etc. I'm looking forward to when my friend's son is old enough for me to be able to teach him to fly too (plus it'd give me an excuse to rebuild my old trainer).
Good luck to both of you
I work as a carer in the intellectual disabilities field, and I "play dad" to a friend's 5yo son (who is currently sitting in my lounge playing with my PS3) who has a condition similar to your boy's, so I can understand the extra difficulties, as well as his need to be taught by you rather than a stranger. My advice would be to talk to an instructor and explain the situation, and get some tips on teaching methods. As Red Head suggested, getting an instructor to set up and teach you to use the buddy box would also be a great idea. If your wallet can stretch that far a PC simulator can also be a great training aid or for use on windy/rainy days, and a decent one can probably also be set up to use the buddy box.
Once he's comfortable with flying you can extend the relationship buy learning to build planes together... this is also a great tool for helping him with his patience and concentration, hand/eye coordination, fine motor skills etc. I'm looking forward to when my friend's son is old enough for me to be able to teach him to fly too (plus it'd give me an excuse to rebuild my old trainer).
Good luck to both of you
08-22-2009 | 03:26 AM
#9
My Feedback: (13)
RE: Beginner Dad training beginner son!
ORIGINAL: skeeter_ca
I just started flying again about 2 years ago after hanging it up after a crash right after soloing 20 years ago. My son urged me to start flying again because he wanted me to teach him. He didn't want an instructor, he wanted me! To explain about my son, he has ADD with slight gross and fine motor skill problems. He is an out going kid but i can tell he is self consious about his disabilities. He spent about 15 seconds on my glow trainer and was scared away from it. I pulled out an old glider from the rafters and put on an electric motor and he really liked it. It was slow moving and reacted slow until he could get used to controlling it. He has been doing fine on it and only had problems when the wind would start blowing. We decide it was time to move up. I bought a Fledgling by ModelTech. An Electric trainer with a wing span of about 52''. I was kind of nervous about training him. I had someone at the feild maiden the plane and it flew great right off the runway with very little trimming. I flew the plane for alittle to get the feel for it and then at 3 mistakes high i handed it over to him. He did very well even though i could tell it was alot more difficult for him than the glider. He liked it and this weekend i'm buying new 2.4 radio's so i can buddy box with him to make it easier to train. I was worried about not having enough experience but it seems to be working ok. It's fun having a son to fly with. With something slow like a motorglider anyone can train someone.
skeeter
I just started flying again about 2 years ago after hanging it up after a crash right after soloing 20 years ago. My son urged me to start flying again because he wanted me to teach him. He didn't want an instructor, he wanted me! To explain about my son, he has ADD with slight gross and fine motor skill problems. He is an out going kid but i can tell he is self consious about his disabilities. He spent about 15 seconds on my glow trainer and was scared away from it. I pulled out an old glider from the rafters and put on an electric motor and he really liked it. It was slow moving and reacted slow until he could get used to controlling it. He has been doing fine on it and only had problems when the wind would start blowing. We decide it was time to move up. I bought a Fledgling by ModelTech. An Electric trainer with a wing span of about 52''. I was kind of nervous about training him. I had someone at the feild maiden the plane and it flew great right off the runway with very little trimming. I flew the plane for alittle to get the feel for it and then at 3 mistakes high i handed it over to him. He did very well even though i could tell it was alot more difficult for him than the glider. He liked it and this weekend i'm buying new 2.4 radio's so i can buddy box with him to make it easier to train. I was worried about not having enough experience but it seems to be working ok. It's fun having a son to fly with. With something slow like a motorglider anyone can train someone.
skeeter
one of my sons has cerebral palsy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
I can tell you first hand it can be a real challenge working past learning or physical issues, he and his brother realy like the model building aspect, and both enjoy useing the sim, his motor skills may never allow him to fly a plane but he still enjoys hanging with dad in the shop,when there not playing video games,if he decides he wants to give it a go I will always be there to help him make it a reality, just spending time with your kids is a reward worth cherishing.
08-22-2009 | 12:26 PM
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From: Yucaipa,
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RE: Beginner Dad training beginner son!
Yesterday we went out and bought 2 RDS8000's with a buddy cord and are going to have fun installing and programming. He is very excited about the new Tx's and immediately turned it on and was flipping through the menus to see what everything did. He really tested my knowledge by asking countless question, quite a few a could not answer. He may just turn out better than me when it comes to using the features on the radio. He was mad when the battery went dead from the initial charge and had to stop playing with it to charge it. Today we will start installing them in the our planes and set up the buddy box system. Will be fun. I still have to fix my plane from last weeks minor off runway excursion. Erik is afraid of crashing but i do think he knows that it can just be part of flying. He has seen me crash and repair mine several times so he knows it is not the end of the world.
skeeter
skeeter
