Second Solo!
 

After a 10 year break I put together a Goldberg Eagle 2 ARF that was lying around my parents house for 7 years. Also found an old OS .40 LA and a Futaba 4 channel radio system. Finally after a a few weeks on the buddy box I soloed today. It feels great to be back in the hobby and I can't wait to finish my Tiger 2 kit build.

Happy flying everyone!<br type="_moz" />

RE: Second Solo!
 

Well, that's great news. Wellcome back!!! You will LOVE that Tiger II.

CGr.

RE: Second Solo!
 

Welcome back!! A quick question, was it like learning all over again or was it easy for you to pick it back up??
Gene

RE: Second Solo!
 

I;ve got an OS 60 and I hear the tiger 60 size are real nice flyers.  I'm thinking of building one myself with a little kit bashing of course.

RE: Second Solo!
 

Gray Beard,

It wasn't like learning everything all over again. I could easily put the plane where I wanted it. However, approaches and landings gave me the most trouble. My instructor (my dad) wouldn't let me solo until my landings were up to his standards, and they are high standards. It took me a while to get in the groove for landing, mostly nerves when the plane gets low and slow. The past month we've been flying off and on, weather permitting. Today the weather was great and we went out to the field. My dad put me through a full tank of buddy box touch and goes, thenrefueled,and he let me solo.

It feels great to be flying again.<br type="_moz" />

RE: Second Solo!
 

CGr,

I only hear great things about the Tiger 2, I can't wait to get this plane in the air. I want to make it a tail dragger and put dual aileron servos on it.

Does CGRetired stand for Coast Guard Retired?
<br type="_moz" />

RE: Second Solo!
 

Don't bash it too much, the Tiger is excellent just the way it is

RE: Second Solo!
 

Congratulations on the solo! Did the same thing a few years back and still get the thrill with every new plane.

Curious, where around CC do you fly? Saw my very first RC airplane fly at Cuddihy Field.

Regards,

Clay

RE: Second Solo!
 

Clay,

We fly mainly at Bill Witt park, once a month at Waldron Field, and sometimes at the Bishop airport.<br type="_moz" />

RE: Second Solo!
 

From Flour Bluff to Bishop is a fairly broad loop and I'm unfamiliar with Bill Witt park but its nice you have atleast 3 fields to fly from.

Waldron Field would be neat just because :D,

Clay

RE: Second Solo!
 

I had a Tiger 60 myself and loved it. It was my second plane. I beat it all up and it kept on giving back to me. What was nice about it was the size, larger than the Tiger II gave great visibility. You could actually see immediate results from minor inputs during landings. It was great. I say was, not because I crashed it, but because someone really wanted to buy it from me so I sold it. Yes, I miss it... but I have a great replacement for it, my Skylark 70, which is another great flying plane.

And, yes, it stands for Coast Guard Retired. I retired as a CWO-4 (ELC) in July, 1997 after 26.5 years of active duty.

CGr.

RE: Second Solo!
 

I was always landing off the runway center line, usually away from me or on the opposite side of where it should be. What got me right was my instructor telling me to set up the final with the plane pointed right at me, and watch closely to make sure I could never see the bottom of the wing. So, I did just that. Eventually, it just happened and my landings were much better.

One thing that is difficult is to see it coming at you at "such a great speed" and reacting to it.. or in the beginning, over-reacting to it. It was interesting to me to try to do two or three things at once.. focusing on the landing, then making sure I didn't over-control, watching the bottom of the wing, and so on. But, what happens is if you do the right downwind, the right turn to base, and the right final, things just work out and the plane settles in without much work at all. It's nice when that happens.

CGr.

RE: Second Solo!
 

Clay,

Yeah it's a big jump but I haven't made it yet. but I hear that people from Corpus, Bishop, and Kingsville meet at the Bishop airport. But it seems there's a group of people at Bill Witt almost every morning. Not sure if you still remember the area or not, but Bill Witt is on Yorktown between Rodd Field and Cimarron. Waldron is a great place to fly. I learned to fly at Waldron, before 9/11 we could fly there every weekend. After 9/11 the navy changed the rules and it wasn't until recently that I found out the field is open to flyers on the first weekend of the month.

RE: Second Solo!
 

CG,

I can't wait to get the Tiger built. My dad wanted to get the 60 size but I ended up picking up the 40 sized kit that was laying around his house for 6 years.

I also was doing the same things on my landings, landing away from centerline. I haven't been told to not be able to see the bottom of the wing but I was taught to bring the plane to my shoulder on the base leg. It seems very similar to how you were saying to fly the plane towards you. It was the three things at once that took me a while to get a feel for again but it's starting to feel better.

Semper Paratus, my dad retired in 2000 he was an AT, HH-65 flight mech, C-130 navigator, HU-25 radio operator, and he probably did some other stuff but that's all I can remember.<br type="_moz" />

RE: Second Solo!
 

Welcome Back!
The Goldberg Eagle II is a great little trainer. Mine only lasted 15 years;).
I finally killed it in a tree upon returning to flying after my eight years off from RC.
I got my eyes checked after that and flew a lot better[8D]
It is really amazing how brittle a balsa and Monokote plane can get after that many years. It look like confetti after flying through the tree.