succesfull first flights
 

well people i flew with a instucter today and it was great.i did loops and did circles.i even took off 2 times on my own.well 1 gallon of fuel later he was ready to go.so i cleaned my alpha 60 trainer and packed up and we left.by the way he used a buddy cord but really didnt need it due to my countless hrs on sims.he never let me land and that kinda bothered me.he said right before he left to never fly alone i said ok.well we left but i had to come back and land that bird and so i did but before i land i noticed the eng was stuck on 3 quarter throttle.i was getting nerves then so i tryed to use the trim on the throtle but no luck.the so there was only one way to land this bird and u got it my first dead stick and my first landing all in once.i started to shake uncontrolable.landing on a concrete runway was out of the question.well 20 mins later after a perfect solo flight she died on me.so i just laid her down gently on a bush.i mean it was like a hellicopter landing it went so smoth.no damage at all.if anyone no which needle i need to adjust please let me no to idle her down.she was rolling on ground with throttle all the way back and trim all the way back.gonna go buy a mina video cam in morning.ill have some videos for u guys soon from the airplanes point of veiw.any suggestins on which mini video cam to get.money is not a option here.
i would love to hear about everybodys first flight succes storys. ty

RE: succesfull first flights
 

I want to congratulate you on your first solo flight.
I know you didn't ask, but I would take the advice of the instructor.
I know you are impatient, but I would wait until he is comfortable enough to let you fly solo.
While you may be competent and nothing bad may happen, I have seen many people who do good with the instructor only to crash later because they think they are ready to fly alone.

RE: succesfull first flights
 

I am very happy that you got it back. Congratulations!!

However, you did not land, you crashed. You did not listen to your instructor, and if he finds out, he may refuse to continue with you.

I am glad you had a good time, but landing is a bit different than what you have described here. It's a good bet that you will be able to land on your own the next time you are out. Don't be discouraged by what I have said here. It is merely the truth.

It sounds like you will do very well, but listen to your instructor or he may lose interest in helping you.

Congratulations on your successful dead-stick. Any dead-stick with no damage is a good one. Good Job!!


Mark

RE: succesfull first flights
 

clayton_crowder,
As the other 2 have said, you got lucky that you got it back in one piece. But just because you got it back down doesn't mean that you are finished with your training. Please got back and let your instructor finish your training, if he will finish with you. Your not knowing how to adjust the motor is evidence that you still need more instructions, this is just one of the many things an instructor will teach you. As far as learning to land, you don't learn everything in one lesson at the field. Most instructors will teach you and advance you along as your skills improve.

This may sound a bit harsh, but that's not the way that I intend it. Going back out after your instructor left was a bit reckless on your part. If nothing else you ran a good chance of losing control of your plane because of a low battery. It sounds like you had quite a bit of time at the field with your instructor so your battery was probably getting close to being too low to fly. Taking a plane back up in a condition like that is reckless. As I said above, you got lucky that you didn't lose your plane.

As agexpert said, it's probably a good chance your instructor won't take you back. When I am teaching a student to fly I have 3 rules that I lay out to them from the start. One of those rules is if the student comes out on their own to fly before their training is done, then I am finished with them.

My advice would be to go back to your instructor and ask him to finish teaching you to fly

Ken

RE: succesfull first flights
 

I think people forget that these planes can really hurt people if they lose control. If the new guys continue to ignore the advice of the seasoned guys, then eventually something bad is going to happen and ruin the sport for the rest of us.

RE: succesfull first flights
 

First congrats on keeping a cool head when the throttle stuck and mananaging to not break your plane. The fact that you didn't land the plane back on the runway after the engine died means that you are not ready to solo. You have just found out that takeoffs are usually pretty easy compared to landings as long as the engine is running properly. Simulated deadsticks are part of the training but should only be taught after you have proven that you can do slow fly bys at low altitude. So please don't rush things and continue your training. It will benefit both you and your club. On the sticking throttle, 2 main things can cause this, 1. the servo tray has popped loose making the throttle servo movements useless. 2. the throttle barrel in the carb has jammed. This happens in particular brands such as Super Tigers. If this has happened ask your instructor how to fix it or if the engine was bought from a local hobby shp, take it back and ask for a new one! [8D]

RE: succesfull first flights
 

Regardless of whether you are a beginner pilot or veteran pilot, you should always try to fly with at least one other person at the flying site. Even though some people do fly by themselves, flying alone is really not that good of idea. Glad to hear you are enjoying the hobby clayton, but always remember that safety is always top priority. You want people at your flying site to view you as being a safety first pilot, and they will feel comfortable with you around. If they deem you as a safety risk, and someone who has trouble taking good instruction, they will avoid you like the plague eventually. We all strive to become the best pilot we can be, and do it as quick as we can, but there are just certain rules and safety concerns that always have to be considered for your sake, and for those who may be around you. At our Club, you could actually have gotten yourself banned for failure to be approved by a safety officer to fly unassisted. I am not trying to sound like an old crabby sob. I would just like to see you enjoy this hobby for a long time, and not start down a path that will always make others leary of you. The sims really are a great tool, and it sounds like you have really made good use of it. It sounds to me like you will be on your own in no time, but be sure to get back with that instructor so he and others can be confident that you know what you are doing.

RE: succesfull first flights
 

The flying alone thing. While I have to admit I did it too when I was at your stage of the game, it can be very dangerous! I haven't done it since. Your Instructor specificly told you not to come back out & try to fly for 2 reasons IMO 1) Because he didn't feel you were ready to land, much less solo or he would have had you doing landing approaches & then landings & touch & goes, Which he will probably get to soon if he takes you back as a student. 2) If you were to catch a prop cut in the wrong place like severing an artery & you're all alone out there, you could bleed out before anyone got there to help you! I know that sounds rather extreme but it is very possible. Just something to think about. Nobody wants to see ya get hurt here or discourage you in the hobby.
Just think about what happened as well as what has been said here and I'm sure you'll realize that everyone, including your instructor just wants to see you succeed safely!

As agexpert pointed out a no-damage crash into a bush doesn't exactly count as a successful landing, you got lucky.

Finding RCU about a year ago was a very humbling experience for me too. I was trying to fly planes on my own that were way over my head & I was killing them as fast as I could line them up![:@] After finding RCU I took 3 giant steps backwards got Trainer planes & while it may not have happened as fast as I would have liked, it did happen for me. I am soloed & signed off by the head Instructor of our club & now being told that I'm ready for that #2 plane. So hang in there & see if he won't take you back. You'll be flying on your own before you know it, hopefully with a flying buddy though not alone, bad things can happen when you are out there all alone. Good luck.

RE: succesfull first flights
 

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't it just a few years ago that people had to learn to fly on their own? I'm betting that all of your instructors had to learn to fly themselves when they started out. Why all of a sudden is it such a big deal to teach yourself? If he paid for the plane then it's his choice to take the risk of flying and possibly crashing. I flew solo this weekend after only 2 lessons, my instructor came out and saw me on the field and complimented me about how proud he is that I was able to come out on my own and teach myself to land. And trust me, this club is VERY strict about rules and who they let into the club. They all have a common goal, and thatt is to see people fly. I know this will rattle some cages and I don't mean for it too. Just asking a reasonable question.

RE: succesfull first flights
 

Alladin- You are correct. I learned solo 15 years ago even though tools were available to use buddy box etc.. But with laws, restrictions, leases, insurance, and everyone looking to sue someone we have to be more careful than ever. I have witnessed a trainer loose Rx control and fly off. In this case it flew for 11 miles over NAS Oceana VA and ran out of fuel and sort of landed on the beach in Dam Neck VA.

The guy flying it decided to get one more flight in and the battery died shortly after takeoff. The dumb thing just sputtered off at about half throttle. A guy running on the beach saw it come down and called the owner the next day after finding his contact info inside the plane. During that flight the potential for disaster was uncomfortably high and had something happened we would have lost our flying site.

Hunting for a new place to fly is not a enjoyable endeavor- And it is getting harder every year.

RE: succesfull first flights
 

You are correct, it is possible to teach yourself, and alot of people fly by themselves. I am sure there are people who have taught themselves and fly by themselves that are very safe. That really is not the point here. Nobody is saying that it is impossible to learn on your own, or that you will definately get hurt if you do, or that you will 100% positively crash your Plane on first take off. What people are trying to say in my observation is that from experience it has been found out by many that your best chances to succeed are with a Trained Instructor. There are countless people who can tell you that they were self taught, and are very safe, but I don't think any veteran pilot would recommend that you learn on your own over using a Trained Instructor. Clayton does have access to an Instructor, and should make better use of that fact. You also have to remember that no 2 people learn at the same speed. For me to suggest to someone new that I don't even know to just go out and do it themselves is reckless advice, when it is well know that the right advice would be to recommend an Instructor. I understand there are people who just don't have access to instruction, but this is not the case here. When you have somebody who is willing to take there time to try and help you learn, it is almost a slap in there face to just to do as you please after they have asked you not to do something. The time will come soon enough after you are off the buddy box that you will be making the critical decisions. I am not trying to rag on clayton here either. I really want to see him do well, as I do all new people joining the hobby, and I will be one of the first to congratulate and celebrate his first solo flight. I am really just trying to pass on a little advice he might find helpfull.

RE: succesfull first flights
 

WRONG!!! He was at a club field (apparently) and failed to follow club rules. It is NOT his choice to decide WHEN or HOW to fly as a beginner. His flight could easily ended up much different and depending on what happened could have even resulted in the club losing it's field or being subject to a lawsuit.
It's great that he was able to crash his plane without damage but that is what it was-a crash. I don't know if having the instructor there would have helped any but I would bet that the plane would have landed properly. And yes, what about the radio batteries? And his own personal safety. I have seen serious prop injuries that required IMMEDIATE medical attention. Has not several others been on the field one of them may well have died.
This type of self-centered flying would not be tolerated at the field I fly at, nor should it be.

Clubs have rules for a reason, follow them!

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Congrads Clayton. Hope you have many more landings that are no damage. Good landing or bad, when everything goes home in one piece, it was a good day. [8D]

RE: succesfull first flights
 

I also want to say to anybody that thinks maybe people are comming down hard on this guy, that when you post in a public forum you should always expect to get peoples reactions, and sometimes those reactions may not have been what you were looking for. What has to be understood is that there are alot of years of flying experience roaming around on these forums, and most people(not all) are really trying to be helpfull, and pass some of that experience down to others. So please don't take it personal and detur you from learning to fly. Make good use of the good and free information that people share with you. Sometimes you will run into some clown on the forums who is just trolling, but the majority are just here to help and learn.