First flight tomorrow, alone
 

I read all about not flying a spitfire for my beginer plane. I have flown real planes and understand the fundamentals of flight. I have a spitfire with a .61 2s that has been in the air and flies well. I just need some basics on the controls. approx. what speed to take off and how far and how quickly to pull back on the controller to take off. And of course any other advice for first time flight. Other than take lessons and use a buddy box. I am 41 and average inteligence and realize this is not an easy task. Thanks

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

I like you fly real planes. I did not take advice from others about getting an instructor. My first flight ended up in the trash heap.

I did get an instructor after that and built another plane. It made all the difference in the world.

BTW, flying real planes didn't help at all.

This was many years ago.


Please, learn from my mistakes. Get a qualified instructor to help you.

Gary

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

Take a trash bag.

If you have flown full scale, you know all about pitch and angle of attack etc.

I think, at 41, you can afford to replace this plane.

Takeoff: Don't give elevator until you are SURE you have enough speed to lift-off and complete one turn if the engine dies

Flight: Have fun (Please get this on video).

Landing: line-up and glide in, but don't stall or land too hot.


Sorry to be so smug, but a first RC flight with a .61 Spitfire, no instructor and no buddy box WILL result in a crash. Your full scale pilot experience will likely hinder you at first.

Please reconsider and get some experienced help, if not an instructor....you WILL crash this plane and possibly hurt someone

HINT: Put the folded trash bag inside the fuselage. That way you won't have to carry it out to the pile of sticks hundreds of yards away.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

Darn, you beat me to it! It's obvious bald_gsxr has seen the suggestions that trying to learn alone is destined for failure. So, it seems bringing a trash bag is about the only additional advice he needs.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

I'm not trying to be mean, but it seems that you already know that the plane you've chosen is not appropriate for learning. The subject line of the thread implies that you are going to try alone, without an instructor, which you also appear to know is a bad idea. The only advice I can give you to ensure that your plane survives your outing tomorrow is to leave the transmitter, fuel, or some other essential piece of equipment home so you can't try to fly it. The odds of you actually being able to fly such a plane without prior experience are basically zero.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

sound advice:D


Having flown several spit's I'm gona take a wild ***** guess as to what your first crash is going to be like...

your going to start your take off roll... the plane WILL start to head in a direction you don't want it too... you'll over correct with rudder and ground loop/nose over... after several attempts you'll finally get it tracking straight(if you have enough props on hand) then it will nose over when the tail comes up because your not holding some elevator... again if you have enough props on hand you'll over come the ground handling and nose over problem by holding to much elevator/rudder... the plane will lift to soon... nose up... tip stall... at this point a box full of props won't help... agexperts trash bag in the fuse will;)

Listen to piper_chuck... leave your plane at home OR take it to your local field and enjoy watching someone that can fly it put it through it's paces.

John

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

Please, please, please, set up a video camera on a tripod so we can see the crash. That is if this is even a legit post and not just a troll, which I'm betting it is.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

hey man i bought a plane and thought the same thing and i am a begginer at this i got it in the air and made one pas before i began to over controll it. i am know fixin to purchase another one and i got a flight insturtor for this one.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

Hey baldy, (me too :)

Heed everyone's advice. At least get an instructor for your first flight. They will hook up a buddy box and take control when you lose control. Like you I have flown full scale - even worse - ultralights. I have a 2 place tandem trainer. Yeah I said trainer. I was a flight instructor and having that experience is a detriment, not an advantage. It will take you longer than most to learn. Take my word for it. I have a Cessna 182 Skylane and the scale version does not fly like the full scale. If you decide to do it anyway I wish you luck. You may be like the lucky few and do ok. Either way let us know the outcome. One thing I found out is that this group will not cop the "I told you so" attitude but will be supportive and offer advice on how to fix your sticks, the best adhesives to use, where to find the recovering tips, etc. hahaha
Seriously, get an instructor. They will not charge you. When mine found out that the plane had not flown before he took a long time in checking everything out. He offered to maiden her, and explained why. I gladly accepted. He flew her and trimmed her out. Made several passes, and when finished he offered advice, Everything from how to refuel, tune the engine, etc. First thing was that he explained the safety rules. Anyway, the lesson here is "GET AN INSTRUCTOR".

All my best,
Richard "learned the hard way" Wright

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

It's a troll :eek:.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

bald gsxr....From what I have seen in this hobby, having flown full scale airplanes will probably work against you. You will not be able to get out of the cockpit. You will probably get it off the ground OK. You may go into the ground on your first turn or another one soon thereafter. Your landing will get you for sure.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

I am a certified Rc Ace with 5 proven kills to my name. The only plastic pilots that will stay seated in my aircraft are the crash-test dummies, & they tremble @ the sound of my name![X(]
Because I too @ the age of 49 and "average intelligence" didn't have the common since to LISTEN!!!

You're asking when, how far & how quickly to pull on the sticks?? Quit it! You haven't even tried a sim apparently, while some feel they can teach you some bad habits, I think all will agree they do at the very least give you some touch on the sticks. By this I mean a sim will teach you that you need to get a feel for the controls & develope a very light touch, small smooth inputs. You're gonna be out there with that Tx in your hands trying to stir the fudge. The more the plane does the opposite of what you thought you told it to do, the harder & faster you're gonna stir that fudge as you watch that Spitfire spiral helplessly out of control.[:@]

Let me know if any JR radio components survive the crash, if so I may have a home for them.;)

Farewell Noble Spitfire:(

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

Got to be a troll. If not, would absolutely love to be there.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

At our very busy field near the busiest full scale airfield in the country (Van Nuys) we often get these guys. I can spot a beginner a mile away and have many times cut them off at the pass and offered assistance which has ALWAYS been accepted except for the occasional full scale pilot. The rank beginners usually don't even know about frequency control, yes I have found quite a few over the years who's first lesson consisted of use of the frequency board.

So at the very top of my list of spectator sports at the flying field would have to be the know-it-all pilot who can surely fly one of these toys since he flies the real thing. If they refuse assistance word quickly spreads and we all sit down to watch the show. As was stated before they usually get it off the ground (although a warbird will take several attempts to ground loop) and you think they may get it but that first turn when they are looking at the front of the plane and we all know the inevitable.

Now I'm not saying it can't be done, there have been a small percentage to have taught themselves to fly but a Spitfire? No way Jose. I have to disagree with Richard Wright in that I will be one of the very first to laugh my ***** off and say I told you so. Mark, I like your fudge analogy except that the "fudge he will be stirring" will be in his pants.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

does anyone that is expierenced at rc flying suggest that sim really is a good investment before attempting to fly with my instructor?

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

Before an instructor? Sure.

Instead of an instructor? No Way.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

This is a hotly debated question, and there have been some recent threads asking this very question. Many of the instructors here suggest that it's better to work with your instructor first and then use the simulator to reinforce what you've learned. This suggestion is based on working with students who have developed bad habits on the simulator and then have to unlearn them. Others suggest that learning with the simulator before working with an instructor is fine and that any bad habits can be easily corrected. I am firmly in the learn it right first, with an instructor, and then use the simulator to reinforce the skills camp.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

JEDIDIAH,
I usually catch a lot of heat when I say this, but it's my opinion that students wait until the at least meet an instructor before they start using a simulator. The reason I say this is because it's possible to teach yourself bad habits on the simulator. Then when you start with an instructor those "bad habits" need to be un-taught. I'm not saying that this happens with every student that uses a flight simulator, but there is a good chance that it's going to happen. Here's an example. I had a student that I was teaching to fly. When he started his landing approach he would dive at the ground and pull out about 10'-20' from the ground. I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he did that on the simulator because that was the only way he could find the runway in the simulator. It took me about 2 weeks worth of work to "un-teach" this bad habit.

Simulators are a great tool in teaching students when they are used properly. By this I mean that they are used to practice what you have already learned. Take what the instructor teaches you each week and practice it at home on the simulator and you'll be surprised how quickly you solo.

Ken

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

JEDIDIAH, You will get mixed reviews on that subject I am sure. I am not an experienced pilot yet, but I can now manage to fly & land safely on my own. I know alot of instructors would rather have a crack at you first before you get on the sim because of some of the bad habits we tend to teach ourselves on them without prior instruction. I think most would like to at least have a chance to talk with you about it & give you some do's & dont's while using the sim. Personally most of the instruction I was getting was " you need to go home & practice on the sim". So I did & eventually it worked, it helped me get used to the controls, & orientation of the airplane, & my obsession with crashing became much less expensive!

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

i appreciate both of your views, thanks

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

Jed,

Start a new thread with this question. Go back to the beginners forum and re-type it as a new post. (there are several similar threads).

In short, yes. But, get an instructor ASAP. You will find that crashing on a sim is far cheaper, but be warned that SIMS CANNOT TEACH YOU TO FLY RC. My sim experience helped me a lot with the... ,"which way do I move the friggin sticks now", syndrome.

Sim practice will help you, but it is, after all, Just a very elaborate VIDEO GAME.

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

I will say you sometimes get sloppy with the sim.

Real life doesn't have a RESET button :D

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

LMAO ( Is there a 12 step program for crashing addiction?).



Mark:"Hi I'm Mark".....Crowd:"HI MARK!"....Mark:"Its been 2 gallons since my last crash"......Crowd: (cheering). (Fish are freinds...NOT FOOD!)

Sorry, I have a 2 yr old....Nemo on the brain....

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

BaldGSXR,

I fly full scale too, have close to 4,000 hours flying professionally. I can tell you with absolute certainty that you dont have a CLUE what you are talking about. But, like me, you are probably hard headed, arrogant, and bound and determined to try it on your own the first time (I did). Take a trash bag, go fly, and record how many seconds you are actually airborn before you put her in. Then, after you realize that you DONT know as much about RC flying as you think you do (I didnt), suck it up, swallow that pilot pride and go find an instructor to teach you WHY full scale flying and RC flying have very little to do with each other except for the aerodynamics. You will make some good friends, have some good times, and learn how to PROPERLY take part in a great hobby.;)

RE: First flight tomorrow, alone
 

2 gallons of fuel since my last crash??? Oh if only I could get thru 2 gallons of fuel with the same airplane![:@]