new rcer
 

hello all,

Well I'm ready to take the dive into purchasing a plane and I've spent the last month flying on the clear view simulator and have become very comfortable with flying the pitts special. I've mastered some of the basic aerobatic maneuvers and am wondering if i absolutely need to begin with a trainer.

RE: new rcer
 

Definitely. I find that flying in real life is harder than flying in a sim - even if its a psychological thing. You definitely want to stat with a high wing, slower, more stable aircraft.

RE: new rcer
 

By no means do you absolutely need to begin with a trainer. Just don't forget the Hefty bag to bring your new plane home in after 15 minutes at the feild... assuming it might take you 14.5 minutes to set up and get airborne.

Seriously. Get a trainer.. even a used one. Also get help from an experienced flier, preferably a club instructor. It will save you enough money to buy your next plane. If you do or don't take this advice please come back and share your experience for others to see... even if I'm wrong! I can take it:D

RE: new rcer
 

Yes, get a trainer. Simulators are good but they just can't quite duplicate the real thing. Once you have your trainer try to resist the urge of putting a few good flights on it then deciding it is boring then buying an Edge 540 or something. Use the trainer to really become a good pilot. Make all your take offs and landings good, in all sorts of conditions. Get to a point where you are in command of the plane rather than constantly reacting to it and correcting it. Then get a nice low wing sport plane with a constant chord wing. After that, move to something more advanced and so on.

Full scale student pilots aren't shoved into a F-15 on their first day and told to hope for the best. They learn the basics on something a little easier and progress from there. RC pilots should go about it in a similar manner in my opinion. I personally made the mistake of moving too far too fast and my flying suffered for it. I had to step back and learn a few things properly.

Most of all, find a good local club. I guarantee that you'll find an excellent pilot or two there who can make you into one as well.

RE: new rcer
 

thanks for the advice, i promise i will take especially if it means saving me money in the long run

RE: new rcer
 

I would say that if you a very proficient with a simulator, you could safely start with an intermediate trainer, like a Tiger II, a 4* or a great planes Easy Sport, or hangar-9 Pulse XT. However, regardless of what plane you start out with, even if it's a basic trainer, you MUST have an instructor!

RE: new rcer
 

There is nothig like the first landing attempt made on a real trainer as opposed to a simulator. The sim's plane is always perfect - no engine problems, no exhaust to worry about, and no shaking of the knees when you are about to fly the real thing. Trust me on this, I have yet to have a student that went straight from a sim to solo on a real plane in one flight. A good trainer and instructor are key to really learning and enjoying this hobby. The sim is a great tool, but no substitute for the real thing.

RE: new rcer
 

Hi saintbret1
The saddast part of not using a trainer plane and an instructor is that after the resulting crashes many just decide this not what they want to do. This is a wonderful hobby. Do it the suggested way.

RE: new rcer
 

Before I ever flew a plane I was very proficient on the sim. I could fly any plane and even do some decent aerobatics. My first plane was a trainer and I'm glad. There is no way that I could have had a succesful solo without an instructor. The sim is great and I'm sure it will speed up the learning process quite a bit, but it's not the real thing.

Austin

RE: new rcer
 

I'm the same way, In the simulator you'd think im an intermediate pilot - but at the field you'll see that I'm definitely a beginner.

RE: new rcer
 

I have to agree with MinnFlyer. If you are really comfortable with your skills on
the sim, And plan on getting an instructor to teach you, then the tiger or 4 star
would probably be a great plane. My tiger 2 actually was easier to fly than the trainer.
also the Stik planes are another good stable type of plane on low rates.

I too am a simulator animal, I can do tail touch hovers, Inverted harrriers with the tail in
the grass, and even land from a hover. My favorite is a slow high alpha knife edge with the
elevator dragging on the runway. The problem is when I get to the field my brain and common
sense won't allow my fingers to let the plane get that close to the ground. the lowest I've gotten
in any type of 3d maneuver is about 10-12 feet (and the first time you do that the heart rate goes up)

The sim is a great tool to learn on and build MUSCLE MEMORY (you will see this term used a good amount)
Sims will help a great deal learning control reversal, basic aerobatics and more. I had a rule when I first
started using my sim, I treated every screwup as a crash even a hard landing and I kept resetting and
trying again until I got it right. I always treated the plane on the cpu like a real plane and kept it out in front
of me and at a good altitiude. I would reset and take off again if the plane headed over the pits behind
me. When I went for my first flight with instructor I already knew what I had to do, and I took a few minutes to
transition from sim to reality. I found that it wasn't harder to fly a real plane just different, with alot more
thought, safety and money involved And I think once you learn to fly a real plane the sim becomes even more fun,
as you can use it to practice new maneuvers before you try them at the field.

Good luck and keep us posted
Chris.

RE: new rcer
 

I too could fly a sim very well, so I took it apon myself to go out and try flying with out any help.. The first couple of times in the air I was so scared I just did a couple of circles and tried to land.. the first couple of landing were rough to say the least.. I learned how to change out props and spinners very quickly.. But the main thing I didnt know was how to do a good preflight check, or the knowledge of how the plane was supossed to handle in the air.. I went out one day and fueled up checked that the flaps moved when I moved the sticks, and took off. after a couple mins in the air the elevator pushrod came loose from the servo and down came my plane in a hurry.. The only thing that saved me was it landed in some very soft mud...All I had to fix is a broke wing, and prop .. But looking back I would deffinitly advise useing a instructor. I know it would of save my wing... But now after many many props and a new landing gear , and repaired wing, I feel pretty comfortable with my CG eagle trainer..