You know you're hooked when you enjoy fixing them as much as flying them.

Well I thing I learned was to slow the plane down I was trying to fly to fast when you get old you don't move as fast and you don't think as fast .Next thing not to try to stay in as close were my turns are so tight. the biggest problem is right now I need to work on comeing staright down the runway at a lower hight.will keep trying and letting Y'all know how I doing. .

A friend of mines brother was really nervous about landing, and psyching himself out.. I think a good exercise is to practice flying the pattern at about 40 feet high..when you can go straight down the runway. make gentle turns without losing altitude, and then fly the back of the pattern parallel to the runway lap after lap..just perfect that boring level oval in the sky .....then move on to this. Continue the pattern at around 30 feet high down the back.make your gentle turn to final, let the plane settle with a little less throttle then fly ten feet above the runwayas centered over it as you can., throttle up and climb to about thirty feet gentle turn to the downwind leg..hold elevation, turn to final and fly ten foot pass again.

Once you can fly the pattern with a higher leg on the back, and about ten feet down the strip..consistently. you are just a slight chop of the throttle from landing a trainer..

It helped my friend get used to the gaining and losing altitude by his command, instead of letting the plane fly him..he was landing soon after wards.. Hope this helps...

Hey, Once you get your landings down, I would be proud to be your wing man sir!

Well I'm glade ya'll talked me into keep trying to fly. today march the 18 at 2:30 I soloed the olny thing i didn't do it with a trainer but with a mini ulta stick that right with a ulta stick a friend has been helping me fly and we decided to mess around with the stick and when I got it up he said now land it . the landing wasn't the best but it was on the ground and still ready to go rigth back up.what a great felling.
I want to thank ya;ll for tell me not to quit but to keep trying it's great to fly on my owen.

Luker - congratulations! I'll bet you can't wait to get back to the field and take her up for another 5 or 6 flights! (I hope you've got free time - this stuff is addicting!)

That is so wonderful to hear. I remember teaching last year and the plan was for me to take it up and take it down and my student could have the time in between. Well I told him to at least do some taxi tests as we were alone at the field. On the 3rd taxi down the runway I told him to just slowly keep feeding in power. He did and the plane very gently rose off the runway. He was so excited, after some circuits I told him to practice some approaches. I told him to not even worry about landing, just line up the plane to the runway and practice slowly cutting power. He got closer and closer with each pass and finally I didn't tell him to go around but instead cut power and before he knew it the plane gently landed on the runway. Sometimes all that time you have to think about all that can go wrong gets in your way of just having fun. Glad to hear your having fun. I have really learned to enjoy those warm summer Saturdays at the field flying and watching others fly and the friendships that go along with it. Never to late to start is a great motto.

Lukar, Since I was a small boy and bought my first RC Mag, I knew I wanted to fly! Tried to when I was small but my dad ended up in the hospital for years and had to help with the bills, Got older and then married and my wife bought me a PT-40 kit and I built it, She hated that plane and always threaten to break it, Then when my youngest daughter was about 5 weeks old she left me and my four daughters. Between being a full time dad and working full time there was no time to follow the RC dream so I sold the plane and did not start again till years later, Then one of my daughters got sick and had to sell the RC stuff again! Now forward years later, I now am an RC pilot and love everything about it, all the great freinds I have made and fly every chance I get, And am now teaching my grandkids! 53 airplanes now, Was it worth the wait? you bet!

Way to go. We old dogs can learn new tricks.

It took me a long time to get where I think I am actually an RC pilot, keep em in the air.

Gary

A Telemaster or Sig Kadet are great trainer aircraft. Anything big is better believe it or not. Use fiberglass props instead of wood for now. They are harder to break. Get a new instructor. Remember that the elevator controls the speed of the airplane and the throttle controls altitude. You have been flying long enough to visualize what the airplane 'should' do with radio control inputs. Practice virtually. Have a flight plan when you got to the field. Fly patterned approaches. Seems regimented but it works. Also, once you are finished training you can modify your trainer with floats or, maybe, a camera for different fun! Good luck, ARUP

CONGRATULATIONS on having a good day!

If you start breaking props again AND you are using APCs you could try Graupner grey props they are more forgiving.

I didn't have time to read 4 pages, so I'll just answer it with what comes to mind. You're going to do a lot better if you fly something slow. Not all trainers are equal.
The right plane for you is out there. Like you said, you love to fly. Imagine what it feels like to pick the right plane and have many successful days, especially when it's slow and forgiving?
Suggestions

Bigger is better, so Kadet Senior. Telemaster Senior. Butterfly with a .25 LA on it. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXYXJ4&P=7

I trained a cannabis burnout once, that was about as toasted as a waffle.
He was the slowest learner I ever met in my life and for obvious reasons.
He was crashing Tower trainers faster than his disability checks could cover.
So I found a Butterfly and threw a .25 LA on it, and he flew that 3 channel wonder at a top speed of 25 mph beautifully for several months until one day it blew out of the back of his pick up truck on his way to the field and he couldn't find it.

I moved him up to a Telemaster Senior, and he had a blast.
That is my best advice. These planes are very slow to respond, lift off the ground at 5 mph, land at walking speeds,
and are a pleasure to fly, for both straight and burnt out hobbyists alike. No offense to anyone, it's just a true story.
Don't put a .15 LA on a Butterfly as Tower suggests, you're in Texas, windy there, yes? The .25 helps you bring that flying glider back to the runway a lot easier and it's a kit, so building it may introduce some extra weight, a .25 can handle with ease.

Don't ever stop trying. I'm 71 and hope to fly from my grave. I've loved flying since I was 13. Hang in there.