First Flight
 

I finnaly got my plane together, am buying a radio tomorrow. And I'm going to attept to fly it either Saturday or Sunday.

Am I making a mistake by trying to learn to fly by myself?

Any Pointers?

Thanks,
Chris

First Flight
 

I learned with the help of a instructor, and would highly recomend it. Although it is possible to learn alone, it is extremely difficult to sucessfully fly with out any help, trying to fly a plane that is way out of trim will be a handfull. Im still new myself, but i would at least find someone to look the plane over and make sure everything is set up correctly and; if possible have someone with a little experiance fly the plane for you to help trim it out.

If nothing else download FMS, free flight sim, at least it will give you an idea of the orientation of the aircraft, or if you can swing it, and absoulutly cant find anyone to help you, I would highly recomend buying real flight G2, its expensive but will increase your chances of sucess greatly, plus it will help you down the road with aerobatics and such.

Anyway, im sure most everyone here will agree to get help with your first few flights, or as I mentioned at least have someone look the plane over. One more thing, you should join the AMA to receive insurance, plus most clubs require it to fly at their fields.

Good Luck!!!!

First Flight
 

What do you mean by trim? Like out of balance?

And how can I find information on the AMA? And do I need it to fly in public areas, like parks?

Thanks,
Chris

First Flight
 

Hi Chris,

Yes, it's kind of like out of balance meaning that the plane will not fly straight. It will want to either bank one way or another or dive or balloon up by itself. Unless you can build the plane perfectly straight (or if you do reviews for some magazines :D ) most planes will need some trimimg (via the trim tabs on your radio) first time out. Also, you should make sure that your plane balance at the CG after you have installed all the flight equipment.

Advise that you get help your first time out. After that, you can determine for yourself if you can go at it alone. :cool:

First Flight
 

Chris:

What type of plane is it? Electric or glow ?
If it is glow, please get help from an experienced pilot. It will save
you a lot of time and MONEY in the long run. I realize today it is an ego trip to proclaim that "I taught myself" but you'll enjoy the
hobby much more if you don't have to do a lot of unnecessary
rebuilding or replacing the whole plane.
Trimming out just means to get the plane to fly straight and level.

Randy

First Flight
 

I learned to fly on my own but that was on a slow comet 60 size bird but it only had motor, rudder and elevator this wing was 75 inch long build to fly on a sail plane. I flue it into a hanger. in a tree, more than once, hanger roof, and a tomato field. But I had a whole crop dusters strip to land on and I remember a couple of times having to walk that strip to bring the plane back, and on a hot day the plane would not land unless you shut the motor off because of the lift, and this plane weighted 8 lbs. made out of plastic foam and plywood. So it can be done but you need lots of room and the right plane for slow flying to keep control long enough to learn what you are doing...

First Flight
 

Catfish . . .

While it is possible to teach yourself how to fly, it may not be worth the risk. Do yourself a BIG favor and get hooked up with a club and/or instructor. If you don't there is a very good chance that the time and effort you have already put into your plane will be wasted and your maiden flight, if you're lucky, will probably last less than 10 seconds.

If you don't knwo what "trim" is, that's another good reason to get with an instructor. A good instructor will spend some time going over your plane to make sure it is air worthy. A good instructor will spot problems before you fly. He will take it up and get it all trimed out for you so that it flies the way it is suppose to.

As far as information on AMA, here is the link to their site: http://www.modelaircraft.org/ . Check it out and join. You'll have the liability insurance should something ever happen while you are flying and most clubs will not let you fly without membership.

It can NOT be stressed enough to get with a local club and/or instructor. With a club, you'd be surprised all that you can learn from the old farts that have been flying since Moby Dick was a guppy.

Good luck,

First Flight
 

i agree - i just got my first flight ever a couple days ago- its not even funny how much helpful it is having your instructor training you, even though in 1 day i was doing touch and go's and a
pattern around :) anyways, that was from being on my friend's simulator all winter - so all in all - in my opinion both are a very good thing

First Flight
 

Yes,
head up to SW St. Louis and visit the field at Lydia Buder County Park. Their is a RC and CL field there. At least get someone who knows what they are doing to check out your plane first.

I-44 & Mo-141

First Flight
 

I really hope this is a joke...

Flying an untested airplane in a crowded area with a rookie pilot is an accident waiting to happen...

Film at 11...

First Flight
 

im not sure if there is a locator for airplane instruction, but heres a heli pilot locator, im sure some of these guys fly airplanes as well and would be willing to help you out

http://www.p-locate.rc-helipad.com/

First Flight
 

The park I am talking about has a 50 acre field, and the closest thing near the feild is a fishing lake. But I found a club in my town, will find someone there to help me.

The plane is a 3ft Electric Trainer. I was told it is easy to fly, but I rather have someone teach me.

First Flight
 

Good for you!!!

Remember, the term "Easy to fly" means that the plane is "easy to fly for someone who knows how to fly"!

Let me give you an example of what I mean (and remember, this is only ONE example, there are HUNDREDS of things like this that you need to learn before you can go "solo")

When you are flying, and you get in trouble (which happens a lot at first) the basic human response is to want to make the airplane go higher, so you instinctively feed in UP elevator. The problem is, if your plane is hard banked to one side or the other (which is usually the situation causing the "trouble") pulling the elevator UP is just going to cause the plane to spin into the ground. You need someone there to "rescue" you until you master the technique of "Leveling the wings" FIRST, before making ANY other corrections.

Like any sport, this takes a little time to get used to. The problem with this sport is that when you make a mistake:

A) You have very little time to correct it
B) You must do the right thing to correct it
C) If you do the wrong thing, you make the problem worse
and
D) YOU CANNOT STOP! (this is the one people seem to forget about)

The only way to make your plane stop is to come in contact with the ground, either on it's wheels, or on some "less desirable" part of the plane.