Here's why you need an instructor...
 

People have given lots of reasons why you need a good instructor and club environment. These include the fact that planes can be dangerous and that it's real easy to break your pride and joy (which if you are anything like me took you a lot of time to make). Today I discovered another REALLY good reason to join a club and have an instructor.

My plane had a few problems today. Air was seeping in to the fuel line with bubbles appearing and intermittent engine failure. It was driving me up the wall. Not only did my instructor and club fellows identify what the problem was, they immediately set to fixing it for me because I did not know what to do about it! When I did not have the bits I needed they provided them! Had I been on my own working out what was wrong and fixing it would have taken me hours and hours of research. In the end it was something as simple as the clunk line falling off!

I am really glad I am in a club. I can not recommend it enough.

photoniq (ERFC - Epsom radio flying club member).

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

Glad to hear your club came to your rescue! Enjoy'em..

Jerry

PS There are three types of people: those who can count and those who can't!

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

nice save photonig , but if I have any problems I have four hobby shops to choose from as far as getting free help with fixing any plane I bring even if I didnt buy the plane from them , I live in New Jersey and Im glad Im surrounded by people like this .....Also I taught myself to fly and yes it was costly but At least it was my own misdirection causing the costly repairs, besides the challenge is what drives me .....just my oppinion, I tried to join a club and not one member could give me the address so I could show up to the meetings so bleh WHOS NEEDS THEM !, hopefully the one guy, I recently met, that belongs to a club and works in the hobby shop will just give me invites when I get into flying OS planes and I need a big field to fly on. :).

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

Dude... That's 4! :D

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

RCU should set up a whole forum dedicated to arguing this point[sm=lol.gif].

Just kidding...

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

I`m sold on the local group/club. I`ve had a ton of help and advice. Admittedly a lot of it has been from one member who owns the hobby shop I buy from, but it`s still good advice and free. He`s a wizard on both fixed and rotary wing, but in spite of having been around model aircraft a long time almost took a finger off on my prop a few days back. No extra charge!!

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

hey .....some people arent mechanicaly inclined.......

Im not an auto mobile mechanic but I can repair my brakes, change my belts , replace my water pump, change alternator,change my battery, keep oil levels filled and checked, fix lights , etc.

the point being is if you need help get it

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

Now you could have solved this real quick......with an electric!! :D:D
Doesn't really apply in some circumstances eh? Need is a pretty strong word.
Wings....yes, where is the novice instructor vs. self-taught forum??!! [>:]
Is this beat to death yet? I warrent not..............more to come, stay tuned all brawl junkies!!

Brian

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

I really don't see the need to start another thread about this :eek: But I'm glad you got the help that you needed. As stated this subject has been beat to death. So I'll try and stay away from the "instructor" posts from now on
Joe

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

AMEN TO THAT DUSTOFF

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

RCFiend,
Are you as nasty as many of your posts seem, or do you just come to these forums to troll?
Dennis-

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

DB I dont even need these post ;)

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

RC,

Can you re type that last post in english. My pig latin skills are a little rusty.


Wings

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

Man, this Instructor thing seems to be a rather hotly debated subject. I am NOT debating it here, I just think some of you should stop trying to debate it and enjoy the hobby and the forum. We are all here because we ALL like our RC Planes. Lets focus on that shall we[sm=tired.gif][sm=idea.gif]

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

Amen!!

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

Amen !

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

sorry - this thread was not meant to be a 'dont learn on your own' thread. It was just me wanting to tell you all i got great help at my club. sorry if i posted something wrong..

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

I like your signature, it took me a second:D


Wings

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

That's great that you have helpful shops in your area. I wish I did.

But there is one significant difference here... he didn't have to leave the field. They fixed his problem right there and he got to keep on flying.

I'm not knocking the shops though. A good local hobby shop is a great thing.

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

at my club, there is a little bit of ego. it is a good thing because if you have a problem, people will swarm around your plane and if you ask them what is wrong they will say, here...let me show you and they do all the work. i happen to be one of them. one of the guests we once had went out and bought an rtf. they assumed that it really was ready to fly. rtfs never really are. i have seen about 10 rtfs with the wing dowels not glued in and when i mention it, the response is "ohh. really? they didn't say anything about that" same with the screw on stabs. same response. so this guy's came to our club and had a guiy at our field fly it first. it was really tailheavy and had no up elevator. so when this guy went to land the thing, ( at our field we have to kind of make a sharp diving turn to land into the wind) it wouldn't pull up. i will bet you are already guessing what happened next. actually, no. that didn't happen. instead, the instructor managed to crash land it with a broken prop and landing gear. we took it back and after all the trim, full up elevator was about 1/16th inch down. that was FULL UP ELEVATOR. before the flight, the instructor had asked if he had gone over it and checked everything the guy at the shop said. he said yes. JEEZ! myself and about 4 other members went out to adjust the servo and stuff. the control tods were too short, they were hitting something inside the fuselage, the servos were in the wrong place with the wires bent wildly to fix it, (couldn't they have jsut moved the servos? duh.) the servo arms were too chort and in the wrong place, and the control horns on the stabs were twisted. this plane was a wreck. that was rtf people. also, guess what was not glued in. the wing dowel. after a while, we got it fixed. they pilot and his dad (the pilot was a litle younger than i. i am 13. he was probably 11 or 12) were getting a bit bored, and were listening to the radio in their car. they came out and we gave them a little summary of what was wrong and how rtf is never really ready to fly and why. the dad was a little spooky. thruought the whole time, he was sitting there nodding and saying ohh... uh uh.... right... i see... all in a string in a very irritating nasaly voice. several times, my mind strayed and i thought about adjusting his tone control. anyway, they went out and flew. they ended up having a good day, but that is why you have an instructor. our field is situated on top on a hill, with only feet between the sides of it and the runway. also, our next door neighbor is the lovely, busy, 118 freeway. we were here first, but they tell us we can't fly over it anway. that guy surely would have put the club out of it had he tried it alone (even though you have to have an instructor at our club if you are first starting out). our field is like an aircraft carrier. he surely would have missed the runway if he even dared to try and landed in the "water". in our case at the time, the "water" was an overgrown hillside of brush and bushes. any plane that went down good wasn't found until the simi-valley fires swept accross our field. except, then, it was all melted. anyway, that is a good reason to have an instructor.

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

If it didnt have up elevator how did it manage to take off and fly around? Or maybe the plane was dropped from another plane just like the earlier X-planes.....[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

i had a simular problem once and my instructer and club members found out the problem.

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

I didn't think it was, personaly, but it was starting to degenerate into one;)

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

he managed to fly it around because it was to tail-heavy. the thing always wanted to go up, so they had to put in a lot of down trim. and of fourse, what do you think happened when he hit the straight down part of the dive turn?

RE: Here's why you need an instructor...
 

Seems to me poor trimming from the instructor, first lots of down trim then flies around "assuming" level flight since there was no elevator response, then forgets about the down trim on final. Oh well.....