From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

How do I ever go from being a Beginner to an Expert?

I see so many people in here claiming to be an "Expert" and I want to know what I need to do to qualifyto bean Expert?

In golf, expertsare the guys you see on TV on the Pro Golf Tour winning all the Money! The other really good golfers that have to qualify every monday morning in order to get in a tournament are called "Rabbits" not Experts!

Are all these so called RC "Experts" in here winning National Competitions or is this just an ego trip to call themselves that?

Thebest 2 flyers in our club listtheir status on here as intermediate!

Andthey are reallygood!

I'd like to know what I need to do to list myself someday as an"Expert" in RCUniverse!

Edit added......Please note.....I am referring to a persons piloting skills they have listed in their PROFILE on here. Beginner to Expert.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

Shoot!!! I'm an expert, until I get to the field.  Then I am a beginner at best.  Somehow I lose something between home and the field.:D:D:D

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

I don't think there are any rules (but I may be dead wrong). If you want to call yourself an expert, then go ahead and do so, if it makes you feel better. A "beginner" is somewhateasier to define, as the term is self-explanatory, but "intermediate" and "expert" are more subjective. I consider myself a pretty good flyer and call myself "intermediate".

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

Goirish, after you flying for 22 years andlisting yourself as "Intermediate" at least you are being honest! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...wink_smile.gif</p>

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

perreback,

I'd sure like to fly that Nieuport N-17 you have in your dossier! Or do you only let "Experts" fly it?

http://www.rcuniverse.com/community/...p;memid=134274

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

On a few, very rare days at the field I feel and look like an expert and some days I'd rather look for a dark corner to hide in. Most of the time though I'm just a decent, safe pilot who manages to get his plane in the air and back on the ground without damage while havig fun.

There are a lot aspects to the hobby. You could be an expert in design, building, flying, aerobatics, scale detail, or whatever. Few master it all. I've met a few guys who were close though.

I think it is like being the best at anything else: love it, study it, practice it, live it, breathe it, sleep it, be absolutely disciplined and always look to learn more and improve.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

I don't know.

I can tell you what it takes to evolve from Beginner to Intermediate: having many conversations with everybody at your club, reading magazines and books, surfing the net, building and flying much and trying things that make you feel out of your comfort zone while trying to understand the physics behind those things, and over any other thing, becoming passionate about model airplanes and flying.

Now, I would be afraid of becoming an expert, because I feel that such believe would close the doors to keep learning and trying new ideas. May be I am wrong.

Here are some quotes about Experts:

“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.” Shunryu Suzuli

“Always listen to experts. They'll tell you what can't be done and why. Then do it.” Robert Heinlein

“My definition of an expert in any field is a person who knows enough about what's really going on to be scared.” P. J. Plauger
“An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” Niels Bohr

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

I don't claim to be an EXPERT but am reasonably experienced in SOME aspects of the hobby. I ATTEMPT to limit my advice to those areas or stipulate that I am guessing when I am. I think you need to put a lot of holes in the ground to be a true EXPERT.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

I've never seen an actual definition of an RC "Expert" so you can be one just by saying you are.

One of our club members won the AMA Nationals in F3A Pattern competition several years ago and I consider him to be an expert pilot. He would disagree and say that he is "pretty good" but nowhere near as good as he could be.

We have several excellent pilots inour club. Some compete (or have competed) and others just fly for fun. Absolutely none of them would say they are experts even though many of us watchiing them would say they are.

It's probably wise to be wary of self proclaimed experts, especially when only seeing an online persona. We can all be experts from behind the keyboard if we want.

I have learned a lot about RC in the several years that I have been involved. I do not consider myself an expert in any area. I know more than some and less than others. Most of my flying ability is beginner level. My kit building skills might possibly be intermediate on a great day but I really consider myself a beginner at building.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

When you know everything about everything, then you're an expert.http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

A Futaba Rep at a big bird fly-in we had last year was doing 16 point rolling circles 5 feet above the ground with a 40 % edge and he claimed not be a professionel or an "expert".

He said he is far from being an expert or a professional.

I'm just wondering why so many people in here claim to be "Experts?

I think they should lower their status in RCU and stop trying to fool everyone in here!

Other wise...I'm going to be an "Expert" too from now on in here!

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

An OLD saying
X = unknown quantity spurt = drip under pressure

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

When I can go a day without learning something then maybe Icould be called an expert?? Isee and know too many guys that can fly better then myself and build and design better then myself and Ican set my planes up next to another guys and his is a lot cleaner set up so he may be the expert and not me.
Ionce sat down with a four time world freestyle champ and he thought of himself as a pro and not an expert. Maybe RC isn't anything at all like golf???

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

There have been numerous articles written recently that it takes 10,000 hours for a person to become an expert on any subject.  I have little doubt that I have exceeded that amount of time (several times over) with model aircraft over the past 50 years of interest in the hobby.  Yet I have never built an airplane with a 4 cycle engine, even though I own a new YS .91AC.  I have not built any model with gasoline power, or an electric (even though I am a degree'd Electrical Engineer.)  I have flown control line, free flight and almost every form or nitro powered RC with a bit of slope and thermal tossed in.  So while a pilot might be very skilled with 40 to 90 sized models, he can get into very serious trouble trying to fly a giant scale model using the same techniques.

In other words, even the experts have weakness.  Perhaps a great example was "Sully" the airline captain that landed in the NY river.  Fortunately he also flew gliders.  An expert without that extra skill set might not have performed as well.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

Even an expert learns something new he or she didn't know untill then. So the expert status is a label added to a statement to make themselves feel important or omnishent, (spelling?) so anyone proclaiming to be an expert is full of dog poop, it's just knowledge collected throughout the time spent in the hobby, most of those experts never do what they say, they just recite what they've seen others do. So with that I'll be honest, there is no time span to become an expert, it's not like your going for a liscense to become one, so I've seen noobies go from trainers to 3D machines in 2 years and fly way better than I could ever dream of, does it make them and expert, nope, it just means they reached their goal they set forth to do. Ask them to fly in a pattern compition, it's not what they want to do, so they are not experts. Just shrug off anybody proclaiming themselves to be an "EXPERT", obviously you made a statement to them that contradicts what they know.;)</p>

</p>

BTW- I usually give advise but still after all these years,....I still learn something new everyday.</p>

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

I kinda figure you're an expert when you're winning major competitions regularly and talented people are coming to you for training and instruction. Being an expert doesn't mean you know it all. It means that you have achieved a level of competency that puts you at the top of the field.

Example: Any NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. Every one of them is an expert racer, and all will tell you they still have things to learn.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

The guy who considers himself an expert usually has the biggest mouth as well. They're pretty easy to spot.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

Every club has one or two guys like that... Myself and a few others call these people "Two Gallon Experts". Did you ever notice they don't fly much, but never stop flapping their gums while at the field?

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

Theres plenty of experts flying trainers!  :)

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

Guys, I think that "expert" isn't such a terrible thing to accomplish.  I've been flying my Aerobird for six weeks, and can keep my Yak in a hover for 5 minutes at a time.  The fact that it's on Realflight's hover trainer and I'm only controlling the roll axis and still manage to crash doesn't detract from my accomplishments.  I'm SURELY an expert.  I'll give you all tips!

Haha, on a more serious note...I do think that people like Andrew Jesky, Bill Hempel, Alan Szabo Jr, and Quique Somenzini (to name a few) should be classified as experts.  They won't admit it, or at least I hope they wouldn't.  I do think that you don't have to be an expert to give advice...nor do you have to fly much.  I'm one of the aforementioned gum-bumpers that doesn't fly much.  The reason I don't fly much is because I've had a string of small and stupid issues that have kept my planes grounded....and I've finally gotten fed-up with tweaking and fixing them.  That fixing/tweaking comes this week, and hopefully they'll all be ready to fly by next weekend.

Another thing, I think that people can be experts without having to be able to do everything.  A guy that focuses on scale flight and has a 1/3 scale Fokker Triplane completely scaled out and flying like the real one is an expert scale artisan/pilot.  What if QQ couldn't do it?  Does that make him any less of an expert?  I don't think so!  I still think he's an expert at what he does.

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

No, I'm sure you could fly it - it's actually quite docile. Next time you're in Finland, let me know. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

I would not worry about it. An Ex is a has been and a spurt is a drip under pressure. heh heh

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

It's all relative.  Your an expert when you can do one specific thing better than 99% of those who attempt it.  As mentioned, a NASCAR or Indy driver can out drive 99% of drivers in the world.  Tiger Woods is the top at his game.  It doesn't mean you "know it all", far from it but it does mean that your one of the best at what you do. 

Of course this is my definition of an expert, yours might be different.  That being said, I'm an intermediate pilot at best. 

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

You are an expert when other people call you an expert.http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/biggrin.gif

RE: From Beginner to EXPERT?
 

<p align="center">
Kind ofoff the topic, but I am a newbie! So heres the deal I started a blog site about rc stuff, like reviews, events etc. The reason I did is bcuz Im always looking up stuff for me and my guy, and decided I'd do a blog too. This site seems to have everything pretty well covered, but it be cool if you could check out my blog too. Its kind ofsmall right now, (like i said I just started) but I try to put up new products reviews or events everyday.

Heres where you guys could really help me, send me an email (its at the bottom of my page!) and let me know if theres anything you would want reviewed or if you know of an event or anything you would want a post about! I'll put it on my blog within 48 hours! You guys know what you like and I want to make sure I have variety so any product event etc, let me know about!

Thanks Guys!!!

<font color="#00265e">http://infiniterc.blogspot.com</font>&lt;Follow and Request Here!!!

:)</p>