Should I Quit
 

I'm 68 years old and I been trying to learn to fly RC air plane. I have crashed about 14 or 15 planes. I do fly without a buddy cord and do pretty goodthe biggest problem is landing.I seem to try to land to fast and i also have had other problems like putting my planes in tree and losing the wing in the air.I should say that i do fly glow and like it better then electric. what do you think give up the hobby or not?</p>

RE: Should I Quit
 

I for one am kind of curious about not using a buddy box. Mind if I ask why that is?

Also wondering if you're trying to learn this on your own, or do you have someone helping you. People can and do learn on their own but I'm glad I didn't take that route. I started that way but found myself much happier when I did hook up with an instructor. A couple of them matter of fact. Fly with them quite often when I go now.

Long and short of it in my book is, do YOU feel like you need to quit? It's easy to become discouraged, and not everyone will/can learn at the same pace, so I think it's more up to what you feel is best. You're NEVER going to be too old as far as I'm concerned.

RE: Should I Quit
 

Well, if you have 14 or 15 planes invested in it, then I would say keep at it. You're bound to get the hang of it sooner or later. Do your research and see if you are going about it the most recommended way.

RE: Should I Quit
 

Don't quit. I have been through something similar with a friend who has now passed. He broke a lot of equipment and made some mental mistakes that cost him nice planes and a few cuts on his arm. But he loved to fly and tinker with his planes. So unless the frustration out weighs the fun or it is killing your budget, stay with it.

david

RE: Should I Quit
 

Pdm is a little more diplomatic than I'm going to be. Your method obviously is not letting you progress at the pace you would like, so humble yourself a little and get some one to help you on a buddy box!
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...wink_smile.gif
You also didn't say what size planes you were flying. If you are flying .40 sized planes, they are going to be harder to see and judge speed and distance. I hope you are flying .60 sized or bigger. My 1/4 scale cub is the easiest plane I have to teach people with.

RE: Should I Quit
 

You didn't mention whether you've got a simulator or not - it might help with some of the spatial concepts and landing practice is a whole lot cheaper!

RE: Should I Quit
 

I'm all for the buddy box route...I learned that way...I won't teach without one......
You see an instructor will teach you so much more than how to fly...he'll teach you safety for one....and perhaps you wouldn't have lost that wing with a more experienced eye looking over your aircraft.....
It's a lot more fun, cheaper too, on a buddy box

RE: Should I Quit
 

NEVER give up the hobby. It has a long rope and you can never get completely untied. It nags at you, pulls you back, and no matter how many times you try to escape, there it will be standing in front of you, staring you down. :D BTDT several times. Hobby - more like obsession - always wins! :D
Crashed a lot of planes = poor training and lack of understanding. Putting it in a tree = more lack of training and self discipline along with little or no planning ahead. One of my favorite memories is that when a pre-solo student in USAF Pilot Training, after a flight and being critiqued by the instructor, he asked, :How do you think you did today?" I was answering that I thought I had done better than the previous lesson. He replied that my main problem was, "If the airplane crashed today, it would have been 2 hours before you got hurt." In other words my planning and reaction was 2 hours behind the airplane. Never forgot that one. :D
Landing too fast is simply that you have not had proper training and understanding of the landing situation and what the airplane is doing or better IS GOING TO DO,
where you have to be ahead of the machine.
68 years old Ha Sonny, not a problem. I make 76 two weeks from yesterday. You are still a youngster. OTOH if you have a eyesight problem then that could well be a significant problem. As a youngster, I had 20-10 vision. Around 50 it began to change. At 65 I was I was wearing some thick glasses. About 5 years ago I finally found a real eye-doctor that had more than a billing machine, and he took the cataracts off my eyes. Now left eye is 20-15, and right eye is 20-30. Corrective lenses equal the eyes and takes away the strain. Most of the time I don't wear them except for flying RC, driving, and shooting.
Therefore be CERTAIN that your eyes are in good care and that doesn't mean these fly-by-night types that only want to sell you newer and thicker glasses every 6 months.
If you don't have a GOOD instructor, then visit a club and talk to one. Get the techniques he uses to teach final approach, round-out and touch-down landings.
A few things that many newbies without and with full scale experience don't apply in the landing phase:
1. Do learn to slow fly the model. Practice - at a safe altitude - slow flight. Fly the airplane straight and level using all controls. Aileron and rudder for directional, elevator to hold level, and minimum throttle to keep it flying.
On Final approach, use the throttle to maintain the glide path. Hold the attitude with elevator, If it starts going high reduce throttle a bit but add it back BEFORE you SEE the need. If the model is in a good attitude, but starts dropping, add throttle, but reduce before you see the need. Jazzing throttle back and forth while holding ATTITUDE with elevator will at first be LATE but you will get the feel of it after a bit. IT WORKS.
3. Know that on final approach to the landing that when about one wingspan high, the model will tend to level off due to a reduction in induced drag, thus stays rather fast.
Keep it descending but don't drop the nose very much if any.
4. When a foot or two off the ground began a slight round out and reduction of power. When you reduce power, the accelerated airflow over the stab/elevator is reduced thus reducing the elevator from holding the wing in a lifting angle-of-attack. You have to respond - ahead of time - by increasing the up-elevator to hold the landing attitude. Once you close the throttle for landing DO NOT reduce the up elevator until touchdown.
Once you know what you are looking for and get ahead of the airplane, it becomes rather easy. YOU CAN DO IT as long as you practice the basics and don't expect perfection a 100% of the time. We all bang one now and then!
Best of luck to you Young Fellow!

RE: Should I Quit
 

Maybe yu like building more than flying. If so, that is cool. I like building as much or more than flying. But, I am able to fly and land safely. cannot do pretty aerobatics, of 3D, but up, around, and back is all well within my ability. I suggest that you get on a buddy box for a little while and get to the level where you can relax a bit because you know that the odds are in the 90% range that you will take off, fly and land with no damage. Buddy box is great to help keep you relaxed and focused on lessons rather than getting nervous.

RE: Should I Quit
 

luker737 the AMA says there's a handfull of clubs within 50 miles of Glimer. One only 18 miles away

http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx


http://www.easttexasaeromodelers.com/

Have you tried working with any of these to improve your style?

RE: Should I Quit
 

Hi all. I fly with Luker locally. He is a friend and great guy and flies pretty well. He trained on a buddy box with a competent instructor, and graduated and has been flying on his own for more than a year. What I'll say here is what I've all ready said to him in person and may make sense to many others.

Luker likes a variety of airplanes as many of us do. He doesn't have years of experience however with the wider parameters of a fleet of planes. He does quite well with his sticks but other designs get the best of him, because they present new flight envelopes that he hasn't the experience to cope with.

Probably most of us cut our teeth with one air worthy plane at a time. Luker is a great trader and likes coming up with a new airframe... and it is my opinion that has presented a challenge and frustration. It is hard to stay on top of all the various flight window parameters and maintenance issues.

RE: Should I Quit
 

This may sound boring but put aside the powered airplanes and move over to a glider. A three channel glider will teach you the fundamentals and they almost land themselves. Find a club that with members that fly gliders and relate your problems to them. Once you have mastered the art of silent fligth then transition back to your stable of powered airframes.

RE: Should I Quit
 

I's tend to agree. There are times when "variety is the spice of life" and then there are the other times.

RE: Should I Quit
 

Like I tell people, I built my first model airplane in about 1939 and have built about 1000 more since. How many do you think I have left? These things are complicated and bust easy. RC airplanes may not be a good hobby for a nervous person. But all that said, Stick With It and you will one day soon find that that somehow without knowing when, you have mastered these things and no longer even think about crashing. It's like learning to ride a bicycle. You can do it and if you stick with it, it will pay off with more pleasure than you can imagine.

RE: Should I Quit
 

To much to fast judging from what AA5BY posted. Most folks are in far to big of hurry and jump to inappropriate types before mastering each step up the airmanship ladder.

So in direct reply to your question no do not give up. What you need to do is step back down that airmanship ladder a few rungs and truly learn to fly your second step airplane well and that is only if it is really a second step airplane.

John

RE: Should I Quit
 

I struggled for the first 1 1/2 years. One day i had one of those "Eureka" moments. It was like somebody turned on the light switch. I know some guys that never happens to. I also know some that it happens in the first five minutes.

Hang in there. At least for the time being stick with one aircraft till you have that eureka moment or you crash again. Then start fresh, but stick with the new plane for a bit.

Ken

RE: Should I Quit
 

A hundred years or so ago my dad told me "I quit never accomplished anything" but "I will try may succeed" I never forgot that.

RE: Should I Quit
 

You seem to have given him sound advice and he is not following it. One more suggestion for someone who wants to flying something more than they can handle - get a simulator! I tried heli's wihout one and gave up. Now after using RealFlight I'm ready to try again - with a properly set up unit.

RE: Should I Quit
 

I destroyed my trainer on the first lap.

Left the club and bought a micro CP heli

Haven't looked back.

RE: Should I Quit
 

I teach a lot of older Gentlemen at my Club......we are located in Florida...lol. As one person said earlier, as long as you are still having fun, and it isn't a budget thing, keep going. I would also like to strongly suggest that you have your eyes checked, if you haven't in the past year. I had one student that had been around planes all of his life, had his private license, was a builder (not an ARF assembler), and could fix his mistakes. I watched his health deteriorate over the years from when I met him when he was 73, and I was willing to help him on the buddy box. This went on for 3+ years, and I just thought that he would stay on it for the rest of his life. He would solo, total an airplane, then come back to the buddy box. Then, He had his eyes checked and had cateracts in both eyes. Fixed his eyes, I soloed him in three flights and he never came back on the buddy box at 77. I would give him help with a new plane, but that was it. He has now stopped flying just this past year at 81 due to arthritis in his legs, etc. So, get those eyes checked!! Very important in this hobby. If you can't see it, you can't control it!!

RE: Should I Quit
 

If the OP does fine with a stick, then he should just fly sticks for a while. It's very true that flying too many different planes keeps you from developing your piloting skills. At least half of good flying is really knowing your plane, and if it's a different one every week there's no way you can do that. The best pilots in my club seem to only fly 4-5 planes regularly, and maybe 2 of them always get brought to the field. Unless you fly 2-3 times a week any more than that is just not going to let you get to know your planes well enough to control them in every situation.

RE: Should I Quit
 

+ 1 on the glider recommendation. I will say that it is not boring but rather very fulflling to stay aloft for long periods of time with no help of a motor. In Texas in the summer it can be a thermal paradise resulting in long flights and a lot of fun riding the thermals.
Gliders can teach you the art of a landing approach but you don't get to go around and try again, you must land. A simple Gentle Lady or similar design can be lots of fun and basically land themselves you just have to line up the approach.

No don't quit but change your approach, no pun intended.

The Pamster
AMA 202345

RE: Should I Quit
 

i highly recommend the dynaflite butterfly http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXYXJ4&P=0
put an asp .12 on it, plenty of power http://www.hobbypartz.com/72p-12a.html
it flies very slow, and on windless days lands itself
i bought one to put a digital camera on/search for thermals but recently i have been training someone who has had 3+ instructors and everyone (but me) gave up on him, he does much better on the butteryfly than any other plane.

if you enjoy it do not give up

ps
the key to slow landings is throttle management, and prop selection
i highly recommend an apc 12x4 or 11x5 for .40 sized trainer planes, you would be amazed how quick the plane slows down with the 11x5 compared to the 10x7, in flight stall speed is drastically lower too

RE: Should I Quit
 

Does someone need a hug?

Kurt

RE: Should I Quit
 

It sounds like nobody ever explained glide slope and a standard 3-leg landing approach to you. I preach this to everyone who is willing to listen. Those who take it to heart and adopt it, have much more predictable landings. Until you get real good, leave the swoopy freestyle landing approaches to the experts.

Your planes probably are using props with too much pitch too. Many experts don't consider the needs of a beginner and recommend props with too much pitch and landings get hotter as a result.

The 3-leg approach is explained here:

http://www.dynmodel.com/sig/023.htm

The 3-leg approach is the same landing technique taught to novice parachute students i.e. people who have their LIVES on the line. It WORKS.