Do you remember being a beginner???
 

PLEASE DON'T LET THIS THREAD TURN INTO ANOTHER STUPID ARGUMENT ABOUT CLUBS AND POLITICS IF YOU WANT
TO ARGUE THAT CRAP TAKE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE. PLEASE BE COURTEOUS OF OTHERS AND THEIR STORIES. MAYBE
YOU THINK THEY ARE WRONG, BUT GUESS WHAT YOU CAN'T CHANGE IT.

I was in the garage this afternoon and came across the fuse and radio of my first airplane. It was a Hobbyzone firebird XL
2 channels, throttle and V tail. I bought it for $150 RTF, took it home and assembled, watched the VHS video that came with it
charged the battery, and went out to the biggest field I could find. I went to full throttle, threw it into wind and watched it start
climb out. The throttle controlled the altitude and the V Tail banked it, so I climbed out and gained airspeed like the video said
let the throttle down a bit, and tried to turn, It worked, and the plane started to bank. The moron at the controls was so excited
he kept the right stick hard over and the plane spiraled in, That was a fun 10 seconds. I walked out put the wing back on
and hand launched again this time I did better and flew about 5 mins all left turn circles. cut the throttle and slowly flew it to
the ground, it flipped over on landing (cheap little gear and little tires on grass) in the flip it broke the tail. on the way home
I stopped at the LHS and grabbed a wing and 2 tails and a second battery for like 25 bucks for everything. next morning with
a fixed airplane I was back at the big field. this time I took off and tried right circles and did pretty good. I flew the plane
40 or 50 times, replaced about 6 tails and 3 wings. when i put it away I figured "Well I proved to myself I could fly airplanes"
Funny I didn't remember at the time I was flying it, But 12 years later I remember always being nervous, and having
to tape something back together every few flights from a crash.

About 6 years later I was working with a guy who used to fly RC planes, he had a few in his garage that had some damage
we decided to rebuild his SIG Kadet Senior so he and I could get back into flying. We hooked up with the instructor at the
local flying field, and he buddy boxed both of us. when it was my turn he took the plane up and said you got it, I had
been on the SIM for months so I knew what to expect, i finished the first flight and realized that was already hooked.
we did a couple flights that day and I even landed once. Next week we went back, and both of us soloed. I had already
finished building MY PT40 trainer so my instructor maidened it for me and the rest of the day and the next 2 weeks
I flew that. I don't remember being half as nervous flying my nitro trainer as I was with that cheap firebird XL.

Since that cool November day with my instructor I have flown in excess of a thousand flights with all different planes
I have trained students, competed in pattern competitions and just really enjoy flying RC planes.

When I bought the firebird XL the guy at the hobbyshop tried to talk me out of it, he told me if i bought a nitro trainer
he would teach me to fly for free, But i didn't want to go through all of that club and training thing. I just wanted to do my
own thing. I have always wondered if i would have let him train me, where would I be now?

I made this post to share my experience, and for others to share their stories. did you go the instructor, club route?
did you learn to fly on your own? how long did it take for you to become proficient? Be honest, and let us know your
experiences.

I posted pictures of the Firebird, the other is my instructor landing the Senior, I will always remember how good he landed a plane
his aerobatics weren't that great but he could land. HA

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Oh yeah... I was a 13 year old kid living on an overseas military installation (Clark Air Base, Philippine Islands) with my family. I learned to fly control line with a plastic Cox PT-19 then a McCoy .35 powered Sterling Ringmaster circa 1965.

First R/C model was the Sterling Minnie Mambo on single channel escapement. Babe Bee .049, some off-brand Asian single channel transmitter (had a speaker so you could hear when you had the button pressed), super-regen relay receiver and an OS escapement. Covered entirely with colored silk and clear dope.

Back in those days one had to glide test models to get the glide slope correct since we had rudder-only for control. Tall grass was our friend.

It flew successfully then one of the colonels offered to help me land it and he promptly crashed it. He offered to replace it with another kit, a Midwest Li'l TriSquire but I never finished it.

Had another couple of attempts at RC after college but finally got back into it about 8 years ago when my son was old enough (he was also 13). He also was flying control line at that time. Together we built a Sig LT-40 from the kit, powered it with a Thunder Tiger .46 Pro, Futaba 6XAs 72Mhtz radio and did the club thing with the buddy boxes. Took us 6 flights each before they said to [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3477988/tm.htm]take 'er up by yourself[/link].

Still fly today and club member. Enjoy helping other beginners.


http://my.pclink.com/~dfritzke/minniemambo.jpg

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I Remember like it was yesterday,,,,Hey!! wait it was yesterday:D:D:D

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Oh yea I remember......Joe McCary was my instructor on my LT-40.......That was back in Fredericksburg Va at the Aeromasters....lost Joe a couple of years ago but I will always remember my instructor

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I am older than a lot of you. I learned in 1973. Built an Andrews A-Ray with an OS 35 converted to RC. No muffler just an exhaust baffle hooked to the throttle to provide back pressure.

Back before that I flew control line, we had no super glue, no arfs, no monocote, no trainer cords.

When I started RC the instructor stood either beside you or behind you reaching around you. I was luck enough to have Don Lowe as an instructor in Dayton. A very nice man.

After a few lessons I though I could handle it. You guessed it, I went into the ever tighter grips of the death spiral and destroyed my plane. I was out for a year cause I had no money.

Now the internet is a godsend. We are advancing so fast.

I only hope that the art and science of construction and internal combustion engines does not die out!

What we have today is great. Arfs, great radios. My first radio did not even have servo reversing.

This is a great time to fly rc!

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I almost forgot. The horrible feeling of asking one of the "gods" a question. Always felt like I was asking a stupid question. I always remember that feeling when a newbie asks me a question now.

I was telling some of the other old timers that we are the experts we used to look up to! God help everyone!

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Sure do, who doesn't? Besides, after 12 years I still consider my self a beginner because I am always learning new tricks and different ways of doing things other than the way I do them. Also I stick to the basics everytime I fly for safety reasons.


My first planes about 10 years ago. I think I joined the AMA shortly around the time this picture was taken. I was in the hobby 2 years prior to that and flew out of my local private airport:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...thmyPlanes.jpg

Goldberg Eagle .40 kit and custom Hobby Lobby Art-Tech Wing Dragon 3-channel.


I built Guillow Kits in the 70's and 80's but I don't count that with my experience with RC. I'm 45 turning 46 in July, so I'm old enough to fart dust now.


Pete

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

77 makes some good points. There is a lot of us out there that do remember getting started. I wish more would remember. Hope this stays just what the OP wants. You can consider me a old timer. However, just when I have reach the point I think I have seen it all. Something new comes along. That something new is in the form of another beginner. New comers are the very heart of the hobby/sport.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I really enjoy hearing other peoples stories, and seeing the pictures.
Rexbirk, it really is a great time to be in the hobby. The amount of planes and options are incredible.
the RXR, TXR, Bind N Fly. RTF and ARF market makes it so easy for the new flyer to get into the hobby.
The hardest question is, what to buy? When I started the forst time, the Firebird and maybe a few other
planes were available ready to fly, the only other option was a nitro trainer.

Oberst, I Built a Carl Goldberg Eaglet 50 when I was 10, we got it all ready to fly and my parents felt I
was a bit too young to start, so we sold it and got an RC car which is an addiction that I have had for
the last 26 years.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Learned to fly in the early 60s with ground based valve transmitter AND Hill valve receiver plus a rubber powered Fred Rising actuator. The rx required a tune before every flight and range was about 200 yards so just flew left hand circuits with two to three minutes fuel. The model was a KK Super Sixty with a 2.5 cc diesel and yes it was given test glides over long grass.

Not so much radio control as interrupted free flight.

Graduated to home built transistorised RCM&E TX and RX which had much better range and stability. The lighter batteries allowed for smaller models which bounced better. Eventually I had a Sharkface designed by Eric Clutton and actually wore out two DC Merlins flying it.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I Learned to fly a pice O Cake . 1985 with Roy martin as my Instructor at Cacalico High school In Denver , PA.   <div>
</div><div>Thank You, ROY !</div>

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

My first plane was a Goldberg Falcon 56 that I built and covered in the early 70's after my return from overseas. I am self taught and ruined a few planes to learn. I had the Falcon 56, a Top Flite Headmaster and a Tidewater Pronto. Good days and good times....Dave

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

When I moved to Orlando 5 yrs ago I heard engines in my backyard, when I looked up there they were, beautiful model airplanes drilling holes in the sky:).
I just moved to the back of RC World, probably the only whole neighborhood created around an RC club. Even the roads are named after the hobby, crosswind, inside loop, inverted S, etc.
That lighted the bulb, I wanted to do that. I started with a RTF foamy that I crashed 15 secs after take off, then I decided to go to the field , see and ask questions.
It took 7 long months to solo. Sadly RC World closed last year but I moved to two other clubs (one close to home, the other close to work) and have now 10 planes RTF in my garage. Im addicted.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I also am self taught, first tasting R/C flight in the late 80's with a Cox Easy Bee, 1 channel. I flew it at many places I shouldn't have, like shopping center parking lots, streets, and even over lakes that I had to swim in to retrieve it when it ran out of fuel. I didn't care... flying it was a magical experience, even though I really didn't have much control of it. Got married in 1990 (I was 18, heh), and got a Hobbico Flightstar 40 ARF. I did about 1000 imaginary flights with the futaba transmitter, and armed with that and many years of R/C car experience I flew it off of a road on the edge of town. It was terrifying and amazing! The only other time in my life I felt a rush similar to that moment was when I skydived for the first time- kind of a sensory overload. Anyway, I fought it the whole time trying to trim it, yelling, panic-stricken, then it finally dead-sticked really far away. I really thought she was a goner as she flew over a hill and out of sight, but when I RAN about half a mile I came up on it completely intact in a smooth, dirt field. It had made a perfect landing! About 30 feet of tire tracks led right up to it. I was so excited, I gassed it back up and flew it again... but this time I wasn't so lucky. I pulled too hard trying to loop for the first time, cleaning the wings off in the process. It flew straight through a tree at about 100 MPH and crashed in someone's front yard (oopsie). I eventually joined the local club.

Not the best outcome, but what what a rush!!! I was so hooked that I stopped by the hobby store on the way home and bought a new plane. The wife wasn't very happy about that move. Nevertheless, I finally mastered R/C flight with that plane and flew it for years to come.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I remember trying to fly a plastic jet type control line bird with a Cox in 1979. Could never keep the engine running. Went to bording school and built a hi wing control line, kept putting that into the ground all the time.. My 1st RC plane a areoflight? hiwing trainer back in the 80s then built a 4* 40 in the mid 80s. That a was only detroyed last year by another pilot who told me he could fly she was getting fragile any way The old OS still sings.. Wasnt untill 06 when my eldest son asked about the old 4*.

I was going to be so rusty so I bought a Electrafun XP. Still have a few Electrafuns but not in stock set up...My son and I Still thrash the bags out of her.
The rest is history..

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

flew 1/2A control line until I was 14

about 1977 I got my first RC kit a Falcon 56 built it with ailerons powered by a K&B 35 horrible engine and I had a Kraft 4ch radio, there was a hobby shop owner in Ventura,Ca named Carl that flew right around the corner from my house in a undeveloped area that had paved streets but nothing else,its filled with condos and a shopping mall now, he helped us kids learn to fly the local club out in Ojai was way too far for us to get out to and they had all kinds of membership hoops to jump through so the streets were our best option,I just looked up the club they still fly out there there called the Comets http://vccomets.com

after doing that for a few years and loosing interest as teens do, I rediscovered the hobby about 7 years ago, got a shop full of planes now glad I came back to it always loved building planes its just great fun, I belong to the peninsula channel comanders in N.Cal now http://www.flypcc.org/index.shtml great club we have a sweet field for all sized planes

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Back in '74 I built a 48" free-flight glider. When I took it out the first time and threw it, it flew, to my astonishment.  I was hooked. My first rc was a 0.49 powered  cox foamie in '84. My brother could fly a little and helped me. When I took it out by my self the first time I put on quite a show. All over the sky being late on the sticks and over controlling. The flight ended about a 3rd of a mi. away  up in a tree not to badly damaged. Then I really got the itch after that. I picked up a Ace Allstar bipe. I could take off and land OK, but had to hand my radio over to a experianced stranger to land it for me. He said he didn't like flying other peoples planes, but helped anyhow. He said it flew pretty good. What a tough little bird that one was. I still have a good flyable one that my son eyeballs.  

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

My first R/C model was when I was 13 and in the 8th grade. I skipped lunch and pocketed the 35 cents I was given daily for lunch for months. It was a Carl Goldberg Jr. Falcon. Cox .049, single channel rudder only pulse proportional with an Adams actuator and borrowed Galloping Ghost Tx. Hand launched, it flew "off the board". I was using the old EverReady Carbon/zinc AA cells and on the third flight, it flew out of the low voltage reduced range, (<100'). Totaled it. I already had a Mini Mambo half built, so the engine and radio migrated to that model. IIRC it crashed on a rooftop. I recovered the wing, but never found the fuselage. I believe some kit grabbed it and ran inside. Hundreds of crashes and thousands of enjoyable flights later I'm still hooked on the hobby.
sp

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Where to start. Started off in model rocketry at around teh age of 8-9. Then around 10 my dad bought me a used Testors Fly Em' control line plane. Well, most of you know how well those went. Even after the first crash, he screwed the elevator in place saing that it would now be easy to fly, wow was he wrong.... But fast forward 3 years. Got my first balsa rubber power kit. Built and unsuccessfully flew itself into pieces on its first trip out. Next was the r/c. Wow. Father and I went to the city to get one from the LHS. After inquiring how much, dad was not as enthusiastic no more. We were shown and recommended to get teh Sig Senior or Seniorita. High wing planes were trainers they told us. Dad said lets go for a drive. Less than 5 minutes later, we were at a pawn shop. They had a beautiful red plane hanging, with a wing on top (trainer, right). Bought for around $275 if my memory servs me. Well, back to the LHS to get the remainder of supplies that we needed. Told them we found a used one, and they said they would look at it. Brought it in. Turns out it was a Goldberg Falcon 56 MK2. NOT a trainer..... Well, dad said we didn't need a club and that it could not be that hard to fly. We went to a place that people gathered to fly, not a club, and asked for help. Turned out the plane needed some adjustments and a little work. Also had tough time to start the engine (Webra 40 Speed). Went home and did all the fixing. So I firstly practiced taxiing in the driveway. Got good, I will say. Then over comes the neighbour saying that's cool. 'Lets see her fly', he said. I was very nervous as we live in town. Neighbour said he would take all responsibility if anything happened. So had him at the bend of the street to stop traffic from coming around teh corner, and dad was at the other intersection stopping there. First attempt, lifted up, was headed right for my other neighbour's sister-in-laws NEW truck. Cut throttle push up on the right stick. Abort with only broken prop. Next attempt. Get up, away from truck. Gets about 30 feet up, banked hard left, disappeared with a thud! Go to neighbours again. All the fuse and wing on the ground safely with only a broken prop. Found teh landing gear on the roof. A few minutes later, all fixed up, again. Reality hit, and we went to a provincial park. All set up, take off down the road, just miss teh boulders, trees, and only light pole. YES, I yell. Going great and a huge smile. 30 seconds later lose control, watch my first lawn dart! Done! Get a Sturdy Birdy 2 for my next birthday. Built it, but never flew it, even today. Got into foamies a few years ago, learnt to fly there. Now I am coming back to balsa. Said I would never come back to wood, but it's happening. Got many foamies in my hangar, and now a porky/oversized Lazy Bee, and a Fireball 500 in wood. LST trainer almost complete, them the Seniorita I never had before. Thats my story.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I remember being a beginner like it was yesterday. It was in Western PA, in the winter, in the snow, in 1972. I knew two friends in RC and was not aware that there were RC clubs. My friends flew wherever they could find a flat field. One of them gave me two lessons and taught me how to hand launch. After that I would go out alone on a Saturday morning, go into a snow covered field, hand launch the plane, crash in a few minutes, drive home, warm up, repair the plane, eat lunch, go out for another flight. Eventually I discovered an RC club near by, joined it, and have been a club member since. That is 40 years ago. Now I design my own planes and build them from Coroplast or Fan-Fold-Foam. Yesterday I flew my Electric, Foam Flying Wing with Pusher Prop and landing gear.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I don't remember exactly what prompted me to suddenly want an RC glider, other than I have always loved planes. So in about 1980-81 I stated my desire to get a plane. Of course radios were a fortune at the time and I was only 11 or 12 and I got the obligatory "we'll see." Well about two weeks later my mother came home and said "guess where I just got a job?" My mother is an engineer and she just got hired at Kraft, the RC radio manufacturer. So here was my chance to get that glider. My mother picked up a brand new 2 ch straight off the line for $50 and one of the other engineers had a Bridy Soar Birdy glider that he gave me with the promise to teach me to fly. So after about 3 weeks of building and less than $100 total, amazing for the early 80's, we went to his house to learn to fly. He attempted to get it up high enough to give me a go, but it was a no wind day and we were using a slope for lift. He took me to a plowed field and handed me the Tx and said "this is up, this is down, this is left, this is right," and threw the glider and let me make some shallow turns and land it. I did this several times and he felt I had the hang of it, so I let my dad try, yeah big mistake, he ran it right into a picket fence. After repairs we went to a large hill overlooking Lake Hodges and my dad threw it into the air and I started flying. I flew for about a half an hour before I decided to land. Well we were at the top of a hill with an Avocado grove to my back and nothing but sage brush all around, so my dad said just slow it down and stuff it into a bush. Well that worked great and we spent the rest of the summer flying. After awhile I learned it would be fewer repairs if I just caught the plane instead of stuffing it into a bush. I eventually progressed to small foam 1/2A "Cessna style" planes then up to a .20 sized trainer. I never did get formal training, but by the time I was flying the Aerostar 20 I fell in with a group of guys that flew behind Mark Smith's old hobby shop, and they taught me a lot about aerodynamics and set up. During all of this I was never really nervous or scared, and strangely enough when I started learning to fly full scale I have still never been nervous flying, just happy like it is what I was meant to do.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Absolutly! remember it like my wedding day!:D went by the local field and stopped in to watch, a member started talking to us and asked if we would be interested in learning to fly, you bet! so we went home, got on the internet and bought a tower trainer. went back the next week and started lessons and joined the club. my son and i both soloed on that plane. He was a little faster at learning than i was, he soloed in about a month, it took me six months:eek: I will always remember how helpful all the club members were, now I always try to return the favor to anyone needing help. I get just as much pleasure from helping others out now as I do flying and building!;)

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

In 1995 I bought a used Avistar and all of the field equipment. The Futaba servos were old enough that they had the G connectors. I joined AMA. I went to a club field and talked to an instructor. He inspected the plane and flew it. We did one flight on the buddy box. The mode 2 transmitter was very uncomfortable for me because I have to use my left hand for aileron and elevator. I did not know about different stick modes and I do not think the instructor did either. The people there pushed very hard about needing to join the club or they wouldn't help me. Looking back, that part was possibly just poor communication skills but I was very turned off by the experience and sold all of the stuff at a huge loss.

In 2000 or 2001 my brother started flying with a couple of guys he worked with, at the Greenville RC club. It is 45 miles from my home, and 36 from his. He invited me to go with him and the atmosphere was totally different than it was at the local club. Everyone was friendly and relaxed. I went out there for a about a year, never flew, and learned quite a bit about what was available. Eventually I boght a Hobbistar 60, TT-61 and a Futaba 6XAS (my brother switched it to stick mode 3). The Hobbistar died on the maiden flight. Apparently the battery wasn't secure. It moved and came unplugged. We just had to watch it dive into the ground. It was August by the time I got another plane. When I tried to pay my dues for the year they said I didn't need to pay until January. I started working with the instructors and I have enjoyed being around the people as much as the flying.

It has been about 10 years. I have been club secretary for several years. My brother has been president in the past and coordinates our friends and family picnic every year. I am still a beginner but I have learned a lot. I cannot teach anyone to fly but I can find answers and help troubleshoot problems.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

I learned to fly on a three channel glider using a high start. I did have an instructor and the most difficult time was getting it launched. Once airborne and free from the arresting hook my instructor took me through the paceses. From gliders I moved on to a glow powered high wing trainer and learned all over again however this time I had no instructor. Last but not least I ventured into glow powered helicopters and again it was starting from the begining all over again. This hobby is not a walk in the park and it takes dedication and a whole lot of practise prior to profficiency taking the front seat. One last thing to point out is there are far to many in name only pilots who don't know what the rudder is used for. Unless you have mastered rudder input don't call yourself a pilot.

RE: Do you remember being a beginner???
 

Hey me too, and back in the mid 80's. But before that I tried to fly several .049 2 channel planes slightly larger than todays park fliers but weighed 10 times as much and flew about as well as a brick, crashed them all.
I then bought a piece of cake and taught myself to fly. Then progressed to a 3 channel Kadet jr. rudder on the right stick.
First aileron plane was a small SE5 biplane and the rest is history.
An instructor for a Piece of cake? What did he do throw it for you? Just poking fun.

The Pamster
AMA 202345