How in the heck do you guys keep from barfing and falling down from dizziness? I have tried a few Cox powered C/L planes in the past and even when I got the lines so long it wasn't much good of a flyer, it was still too much!

Is there a trick to it, or should I try something with longer lines and a bigger engine?

What would you think of a "Park Flyer" type of control line plane? Has this been done? I'm working on one now.

I have a Spacebug and some other small C/L engines, and I can also use any of my R/C engines with the throttle "preset".

Thanks in adavnce,

Jetts

Keep the anti-dizzy potion a secret!

Oh come on man! You know I'll figure it out eventually!

One way I know to do it is to keep doing "verticle 8's" for the whole tank.

I got a bunch of 30's through the 60's magazines (and I don't need to tell you that C/L was king then) and it rekindled my interest AND my headache!

In all seriousness, don't you guys have trouble with that, or is it just me?

Look away from the airplane once and a while. Look ahead of it and let it fly too you or fix on the background and let the plane fly out ahead. Also walk backward in a circle rather than spin. Watch an figure skater some time, they fix their eyes in one direction to avoid getting messed up.

Dave

Thanks Dave.

How much easier are the planes with say 52 foot lines as opposed to the old Cox RTF jobs?

I think it is mainly a matter of mind control. When I fly, I don't even think about getting dizzy, because I'm concentrating on trying to keep the plane out of the dirt, and whether, or not, I can get through that next loop, wingover, inverted lap, etc. When I'm flying in circles between maneuvers ( or what I loosely refer to as "maneuvers"), I do look ahead of the airplane to determine where it is in the circle. Glen

It's the background (clouds, trees) wizzing past that tends to make you dizzy because your eyes flick all over the place trying to lock on to something. I've always suggested to beginners to fix their eyes on the largest part of the model.

The other thing of course is the balance mechanism in our ears but that's simply a matter of getting used to it and the dizziness from that will stop. But that's kind of related to how fast you turn around so the longer the lines the better. Longer lines means a bigger engine and model but they're much easier to fly anyway. With the small Cox type planes you might be doing a lap every 2 seconds but with the bigger model and lines a lap will take up to about 6 seconds. That's a fairly slow rate so you get used to it much faster.

But training the balance mechanism really only works for the rate you get used to turning while flying. Get on a sideshow ride and you'll still get dizzy

Practice. You do build up a tolerance for it.

Phil

All of the above. And the one about focusing on the airplane is what flipped the switch for me. And I wanted to fly so bad that I used to stand in the backyard and turn and turn and turn.... until mother would yell at me about the neighbors seeing.....

Here in Chester, U.K. we have 2 or 3 sites to choose from on a Sunday.
One of them is a small sports field with trees on 3 of the 4 sides.
Although we are mostly pretty experienced flyers, this site still has a much higher "dizzy" factor compared to the larger, open view fields.
Funnily enough, at this site, we experience "disorientation" even when not "going round and round", like when flying pattern or combat.

Generally, focus on the model, and after some hours practice it stops happening.
I have noticed that after a few years "time off", I thought it wouldn't - re-appear, but it does, it's not "like riding a bike" !!

Thank you everyone! I'll keep you posted as to my progress.

I'm still going to make a slooooww park flyer type plane and go from there.

I'm working on my R/C buddies too.

I find it interesting that in the last couple of years lots of flyers are coming and having a go at C/L either again or for the first time.

Perhaps a revolt against the hi-tec, ready built, computer flown world.

Not revolt, whats the word I am looking for !!

To answer your question in post 5: The bigger models on 52+ foot lines are so much easier to fly than the Cox models that there is no comparison. Down here in the opposite corner of Ohio we have a couple club trainers that have slab wings and OS .20's flying on 52' lines. On many occasions I have had beginners flying them on the first flight.
Chuck

Also, Figure skaters only spin one way, they spin the other way THEY get dizzy and fall down.

You get used to it. Once you do get used to it, fly inverted and get used to it all over again.

u might not believe this jet but i was watghing the myth busters other nite and jamie had bad probs with getting sick going in circles and non of the medicines in use today worked but an old time remedy did, just plain old ginger cured his sickness first time maybe you can make up a candy or a drink ir gum made with ginger root

Part of the trick is not to get very dizzy in the first place. In your initial flights, make them short, 5 or 6 laps. Then as you get used to it increase your flight times. As soon as you get where you can fly maneuvers, particularly lazy 8's, your problem is solved. I'd suggest starting to learn to do maneuvers as soon as you can put the airplane where you want flying around level. Also learn to fly inverted as soon as you can. Easier to learn early, and you can deal with the reverse-rotation dizzies easier.

When I started out C/L flying a long time ago (on my own) I had some initial problems with dizziness. The solution is really simple, do not spin around like an ice-skater, instead walk backwards in a small circle. I find that even a small circle, say 3 ft, is sufficient to prevent dizziness.

/Red B.

Revolt!

You guys are all a lot of help and I can't wait to try this (again).

Like I said, my first venture into C/L was with a little Cox F-16 (I think that's what it was, a small "jet" anyhow). I got a buddy to hold it after I fired it up and then ran to the handle, and flew until it ran out of fuel, then fueled and repeated until I was sick, I mean SICK! I must have flown for two hours straight that way. I barely made it to work the next day, and was sick for a couple of days.....

If you look at the plane and ignore the background you won't get dizzy.

-David C.

Maybe it was my ADD at work Dave, but I don't think that worked for me!

ADD could confuse the issue, I suppose, but every person I knew who used to fly control line combat (literally dozens of people, and in competitions too) found concentrating on the model stopped you getting dizzy.

-David C.

Practice with a whip control model using a 4 foot cane, a strong thin string (such as used to fly 1/2 A models) with a weighted small wooden solid model, attach the string to the wing tip securely using maybe a 15 foot radius, adjust the radius as necessary. You will soon discover the maximum useable radius. This will build up your tolerance without the bother of crashing your powered aircraft.

I still sometimes get dizzy from 1/2A planes, even when using 42' lines if they can't do manuvers like loops and horizontal 8s. anything 52' and over is ok.
I did find something that helps from a few ballet dancers. You look ahead of the plane so that it's just inside of your peripheral vision, or maybe slightly ahead of the plane and focus on a fixed point until the plane is passing it. Quickly move your head to a new spot ahead of the plane and repeat. This helped me get over the dizzyness while I was in high school before I could afford anything bigger than an 099 powered plane.
Also, I've found that drinking a reasonable amount of water when flying on a hot sunny summer day also helps.

Stare at the plane and ignore the background, minimize the background by flying above tree and building level on a cloud free day. Don't fly above 40 degrees as the circle gets smaller the higher you go making the plane seem to fly faster. If all else fails, get a funnel collar from a vet, the kind they put on animals so they cant lick themselves. Fortunately all the above worked for me but didn't have to use the collar.