helllp!
 

hi

i am a newbie and am having flying troubles. I went to the field with the hobby shop owner and my 1st plane--thunder tiger "sparky". I flew it for 30 seconds and he and i both felt this was not quite a "trainer" plane. I did not want to demolish it, so i stored it for now and bought a zagi fixx. I flew it twice. once for a minute and demolished it. I rebuilt it and flew on my own for about 20 seconds and demolished it again.

SInce i have a pretty penny invested and did not want to throw in the towel- i put the zagi fixx ( in 10 pieces) aside and am now building the wingo.

my question is: since it is hard to match schedules with the hobby shop guy, do you think I could learn to fly this myself? NO, i do not have a home computer so a sim is out of the question.

I thought that maybe i could taxi for awhile until i feel ready for take-offs.

Incidentally, I am left handed and I don't know if this is adding to my inability or not.

Any answers would be appreciated, as well as anyone's views on flying the wingo , or a good first plane.

thanks

helllp!
 

dear Jfish ,

best way to start without spending lots of money : find a club in your neighbourhood . You'll meet interesting people who can help you choose a model , give you flying lessons , take over your transmitter when your plane is diving downwards ...
It's cheaper to pay your membership than being a super-consumer of models !

If no club is near , start flying r/c gliders , ask your dealer for a good beginner's model .

don't give up , R/C flying is the best way to forget all your problems !!

Many greetings from Lier ( Belgium , near Antwerp )

helllp!
 

Listen to Bobby Balsa. Exellent advice. Hobby shop owners may be the salt of the earth but they have too many things going to give you the time required. If there is a club near you the Hobby Shop owner should know about it and direct you there. He would probably be a member as well. You certainly picked a lemon when you got the Zagi. I've been doing this for years and I still wouldn't want to recommend that airplane to a beginner. Your hobby man should have known this before he sold it to you. There are many trainers, both sailplane and powered. The nearest club is where you should go to find an instructor. Take his word for what aircraft to buy.
Most clubs have instructors and maybe even a buddy box. This is not a skill you can learn by listening to someone who is standing by your shoulder. Don't give up, just change your approach to beginning the most fun you can have staanding on the ground.

helllp!
 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] what i did in the begining when no one was around for help was go to the field and taxi up and down the field
with wings off so it would not take off the ground on me just to get use to controling the plane on the ground.
also get the feel of the controls as the plane was coming towards me. believe me it sure did help me. good luck.
I tryed to learn on my own to, got pretty good at repairs myself[LOL]

helllp!
 

You can also taxi around with a yardstick taped to the top of the wing, so t gives maximum drag. (stand on edge and brace with tape) The plane won't take off this way, and you get a better feel for how it will realy act making a turn on the ground at speed. (the wing will make it easier to tip over)

The Sparky SHOULD have made a good trainer... Sure it was properly balanced? The design is based on old 1930's FF aircraft and is very stable. If it was too touchy... the CG was wrong or the control throws needed to be reduced.

The Wingo will fly slower than the Sparky, and that may make it a bit easier... but it will not handle wind well. The Wingo is relatively rugged, except the nose tends to get crushed. (repair with yellow or white glue... or the new Polyurethane foaming glues) The Zaggi is more durrable than the Wingo... but isn't good for a trainer due to its shape. (harder to keep track of which way its going than either of your other planes.)

There is no good way to teach yourself. #1: The plane will probably not be properly trimmed to fly straight without constant input from the pilot... #2: You have no experience, wo you won't know how to correct when the plane goes other than where you expected. It is possible to succeed... but you'll break a lot more airplanes without help.

A 5 to 10 ft crepe paper streamer behind the airplane will tend to stabilize it a bit... That sometimes helps people that are trying to teach themselves.

helllp!
 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] yardstick good idea wish i would have thought of that makes good sense.

helllp!
 

thanks for the advice B.B.

i guess i am stubborn and want to do it myself , on my own time, instead of a club--I will be just taxiing in a parking lot today, and if I don't do well-then i will take your advice and join a club

greetings back at ya from Pittsburgh, Pa.

helllp!
 

what a helpful group of people!

thanks much to all for the great suggestions/ advice--

I will get back on soon with a heads up on how it went

by the way--my intention is to learn wingo, then sparky--saving my pieces of zagi for last

jfish

helllp!
 

Dear fellow modeller ,

The wingo is a good choice , but fly it at calm weather . Be sure your model is balanced properly ( see manual for position of CG ) and Wile E Coyote is at the controls !Hand-launch it near a field where the grass is high.
By the way : I'm also left-handed , no problem . If you've got a programmable transmitter ( I use Multiplex )
you can change the mode as you like .

Greetz ,

Bobby Balsa

helllp!
 

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>There is no good way to teach yourself. #1: The plane will probably not be properly trimmed to fly straight without constant input from the pilot... #2: You have no experience, wo you won't know how to correct when the plane goes other than where you expected. It is possible to succeed... but you'll break a lot more airplanes without help.<hr></blockquote>

If that statement is true, than I am abnormal. I learned to fly about 90% on my own. Te only help I had was Trimming my model once it was in the air for my first full length flight. I even had my first takeoff (accidental) nonetheless a takeoff on my own with my proud parents looking on! My major Help,Reading!!! I learned everything I could about the hobby and them some. Because I am only 17 years old, and with one of the only jobs I am legally allowed to hold at my age, My money has to stretch as far as it can when i comes to this hobby. After insurance and gas and other such necessities, I cant afford to break an airplane every time I go out. Although this is not to say I have complete disregard for the inherent risks involved with flying. I realize that my plane could malfunction at any time, leaving me with monocote covered toothpicks. Even worse having toothpicks that crashed into property that is valuable. Thanks AMA insurance!! I now have 1 Fully complete Avistar ARF from last year in 1 peice, and new cap 232 30 size from christmas I finished a few weeks ago with a new T6XA that i paid for with my income tax refund along with my birthday present of a 20 size j-3 cub that I just finifhed the one wing half. I am proud to say that I learned on my own, and although it was unorthodox, and I wouldnt reccommend it to anyone who is in a hurry to jump into the hobby, all it really tyakes is preperation. Know how airplanes work. You dont need to be in a desperate situation with your plane heading for the ground to learn that if you would have pulled up on the elevator, your plane would still be in one piece. Reading this before hand can save you a lot of money. Now I know there isnt one modeler out there who wants to piss theier money away, crashing every model they own, before knowing how the principles of flight work. So what do you do? Read and learn as much as you possibly can before starting that engine!!

helllp!
 

If are able and/or willing to make the trip to my area, I am willing to give you a few hours of FREE flight training on my trainer. I have several trainers available and will throw in a heli lesson, whether you are interested in helis or not. I live in Lockport, NY, which is 20 miles north of Buffalo, NY. It is about a four hour drive, but you WILL be able to fly safely on your own when you get back home.

No strings, but all I expect in return is for you to post here your experience, good or bad. I will teach you to takeoff and land, without even breaking a prop in the process. Like I said, I have several trainers sitting around, so don't worry about breaking anything. Just have to wait for the snow to melt. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Take care,
CCR
http://www.kites.org/rc_instructors