Still a beginner
 

I have been trying to fly small rtf fixed wing aercraft and drones forthe past aboutfour years. My main difficulty is with the fixed wing aircraft. They have the safe mode (one was a sport cub s by horizon hobby and the other was a t-28trojan s. I typically would try starting in the safe mode and when I would get enough altitude (I'm guessing about 100 ft) Iwould switch to either the advanced mode or the intermediayte mode. But I would always lose controleither immediatly or within a couple of seconed of switching. If I didn;t give it too much bank, causing it to go into a dive, I would not give it enough and instead of turning it would get out of my visual range and I would lose it in the street or some tree or buildoing. My vision is poor and I don't have any glasses towear righ now but I'm not sure how well it would work with glasses (fishbowl effect). Can anyone give me apointer or two on how I can avoid this from happening? I have the same problem on the simulator.

George

Well George, there is just no way around the fact that you must be able to see the plane clearly to fly it. I have been flying with glasses all my adult life and don't notice any "fishbowl effect", any more than when I'm driving, working, or baking a cake. My suggestion would be that you get some glasses, get a bigger, easier-to-see airplane, and get an experienced model pilot to help you out. Trying to teach yourself is just too frustrating.

I would spend money on glasses before spending it on a model airplane.

Setting one's priorities is the key to success in most en devours.

"Stick Control" is something one has to develop.....and it takes practice. Small controlled movements is the key.
How do you hold the gimbal sticks.........pinch between forefinger and thumb or just thumbs?

Yes as mentioned , you have to be able to see the plane to fly it. With these smaller RTF planes you have to keep them close and that means constantly turning them left or right. If you are slamming the sticks and/or letting them spring back to center while flying you will have a very hard time trying to control the plane when it is not in SAFE mode.

Yes, get your vision taken care of first.

then look for someone to teach you. A day with an instructor is worth several months of trying to figure it out on your own.

once I get glasses I would like to buy an airplane that doesn't have safemode but is flyable to me not like sport cub and t-28 in advanced or intermediate (extreme transition for me frrom mode to mode). There used to be a Slo-Bipe. Is there anything simaler now or anything where the learning curve wouldn't be too hard? How many planes does a novice gothrough? I also have parkinsons and this affects my precision of control on the sticks. Other hiderences as well. The glasses may not solve everything.

Too bad you live 390 miles from me,because I would gladly teach you to fly and more than likely within a day or so. You can learn on my LT-40 and all I ask in payment is the cost of a gallon of fuel.
I taught a Canadian gentleman several years ago who also had Parkinsons. BTW, he had been a bomber pilot in WW2. His right hand would shake quite a bit. So I had him place his hand on his leg as he sat on a chair. Interestingly enough, after a few minutes of flying, his hand all but stopped shaking. Wonder if the medical establishment might be interested. He did solo that day.

Thanks , that is helpful. What is the LT-40. Is that a plane I could leasrn on. Is it homemade or rtf? If so who makes it?

Attachment 2253910

Sig Manufacturing carries the trainer. I'm not sure, but I think it's in kit form. Yes, I believe it's the best trainer to learn on.

Attachment 2253911

Sorry for the double post.

The GWS Slow Stick may be just the thing for you. It's a calm day airplane, but will putt around very slowly. It's cheap and easy to fix too when things go wrong.

The LT-40 is an excellent trainer, available in both kit and ARF versions. It is large enough to easily see and responds to control inputs well. It easily handles winds of 10 mph, with no problem.

In my opinion, it is a far superior trainer when compared to anything with a safe system.

If you have a Spektrum transmitter from one of your RTF planes then I would suggest getting a Radian powered glider, either the UMX micro or 2.0 meter version. They are very docile and a lot of fun to fly. In the right conditions you can stay airborne for 30min or more .
You could paint(foam safe ) the underside of the wings a bright color to help you see it.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/SearchD...ain=&pageView=

Does it have safe mode? I would like to try abvoiding that again. A hobby store owner told me that the rc gliders are strictly for experienced pilots and I have only a small flying area. Do you think that would be a problem? I had a spektrum transmitter but I gave it to my niece. Can you get it in rtf w/ a transmitter?

In regardto the slo stick, Can you fly it in a smal flying area smaller than a small schoolyard with lareg tres all around? I watch one on you tube. Do they have sort of a built in self correction in the airfoil design? If you release the stick does it leveloff? With the safe mode some of the small horizon hobby planes self correct , but I don't know if is too much like training wheels.

I built an astro blaster about 23 years ago and it crashed upon take off. Due to lack of interest I never got around to repairing it. I just have pictures of it now. I got away from the hobby for a long time and was preoccupied with my career. Some time after retiring I got interested again and tried several drones. I didn't have good luck contolling them either. I toyed with theidea of building a trainer from plans rathe than a kit and had it all planned out but several hobby store owners talked me out of it. Theysaid that Iwould justcrash and be disppointed. One of them said thatnobodybuilds from kits anymore. I don't know if thattrrue but my ambition for it has waned. I wouldrathergeta plane that it rtf that is like the slo stcikor theglideriftheyare possible to fly without crashing them constantly, especially in small areas. I've seeen the slo stick fly indoors on you tube, so maybe thatanswers part of thatquestion. Itlooked like the guy was pretty experienced though. My doctortoldme totake a step back from the sport since I have had severalinjuries when retreiving planes from crash sites. Maybe if I get back into it someday Iwillconsider one of these planes thatyoufolkshave mentioned.

Glasses needed, flying in the street, around buildings etc. so many red flags here you need to find a club or mentor that can work with you and the best place might be the local club. In my opinion flying in the street is not a good option.

Dennis

is a radian more managable than the sport cub s or the t-28 trojan s when they are in the advanced mode? I don't think it has sae mode which is good because I want it to bemanagable without it.You say this one is good for beginners?Idon't wanttospend the money If I van't fly it.

AMA E.D. Dave Mathewson asked some rc airplane industry members if they could use in-house rc flight instructor/promoters to help create more sales, They said that such hands-on promotion isn't necessary because they sell a lot of electric powered trainers with safe mode.

The micro Radian has AS3X stabilization but not SAFE. The larger Radian's have no AS3X or SAFE.

Based on your info I would suggest getting the UMX micro Radian. It is only elevator , rudder, and throttle so you don't have ailerons (and the trouble they can cause new fliers) , it's small so you can fly it in smaller areas, it's easy to fly and floats well ,and the AS3X helps keep it stable in wind.
As mentioned, get you eyes fixed first and then get the UMX Radian, fly it and keep it close.

OK thank you very much.

That was a good idea. Too bad it got shot down. The safe mode makes it possible to fly with "training wheels" but for some people (maybe just me) making the transition from safe to andvanced or even intermediate is nearly impossible.

Beginners need space. It's just that simple. If you can see it, you can hit it.
Slow Sticks are good smaal space planes, but you still need enough room to allow time to think and recover from mistakes. A football field would be minimum, double that world be ideal.

Don't even think about flying near public streets or houses again. Honestly, i can't imagine how a grown adult could think taking off in a neighborhood is a good jdea. You'll create a public perception of danger that we'll have to deal with long after you've moved on to some other interest. Go somewhere to fly where you won't bother anyone when you crash.

I was in a park, but it was a pretty small park. It's the only one around that isn't covered with goose maneur.

A good simulator will also prove useful and you can "fly" anytime day or night no matter what the weather is doing. I personally have RealFlight 7.5 and like it very much. It has since been replaced by RealFlight 8. Whatever you do, stay far away from RealFlight X! A sim won't replace an instructor, but it can make learning basic flying techniques much less costly!
Here is AMA's club finder:
Academy of Model Aeronautics - AMA Charter Club Search
This will help you find someone to help you! Good luck with all you do!