Nixter

Hi all, NooB to the sport of r/c airplanes. Just picked up ABC from LHS, thanks to Dick at ABC in Waukesha.

Thanks also to aeajr for the hints and tips he has posted here and in other forums. My Challenger is waiting for favorable winds and a bit of re-enforcement at the tail-boom/fuse junction. Have already done the motor re-inforcement.

I am really pumped about my first flight. Going to do it solo, clubs around here are real expensive. If I continue in this sport, I'll find a club to call home. Mightbe getting ahgead of myself but as I waited for my plane to arrive I've found other planes to add to the hangar and I've yet to get minute one in the air!!

Is this normal?


GWS TM400 and GWS C-130 have both piqued my interest. I know, they are both beyond my skill level but thety both look so cool.
I've already asked Dick at ABC about radios for my future planes and he pointed me towards the JR radios. They seem to be in my budget (if I make allowances) and can handle all my airplane needs in the foreseeable future.

I mentioned aeajr by name earlier in this post but there are many posters that I have learned something from, thanks to you all.

Hope to see you on the field.

Nixter
Looking for my first flight.

michpittsman

My Feedback: (11)

Yes, daydreaming about future airplanes is normal, but be careful that you don't wind up with a closet full of airplanes that represent changing desires. It sounds like you found someone whose opinion you trust, so I would pick his brain unmercifully; make a list of all the airplanes you would like to buy, put some money away in your secret model fund (we all have one!) and every couple of weeks look at your list and cross off the ones that no longer interest you. In a few months you will probably have crossed out almost every one of them. By the time you're ready for them, something better usually comes along. There is something to be said for making your own mistakes-those are the lessons you remember....Jim

Nixter

Time for a confession. NooB went out today for a flight. Couldn't resist the urge to fly even though it was too windy. Lawn darted about 300 feet from take-off. Wing shifted upon impact and prop tore into wing about an inch from trailing edge. Broke one of the rubber bands holding wing on and hinge where canopy attaches was a bit torn.

Dick was told I folded my wing in the tailgate of my pick-up as he isn't a big fan of electrics and wanted me to go gas for my first plane. But he did have a new wing and some rubber bands which I purchased from him.

I WILL learn how to fly this thing. Need to get over excitement of it all. When it was actually airborne I basically blacked out. Just saw the plane nose over and down she went while I was trying to turn. This flying stuff is a rush,even though I crashed and broke stuff.

Sorry for sounding like a damn NOOB, but I am...

Been wanting to fly model planes since I was about 10. I am 37 now...

Hey Dick, if you happen to read these forums. Sorry for the snow job and get over it, I'm going electric.

Nixter

MiPitts, hear you about changing your mind... the list of possible planes changes hourly. Need to concentrate on learning to fly this one first.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Noob,

Print this and take it to the field.

PREFLIGHT AND FIRST FLIGHT PROCEDURES FOR PARKFLYERS
by Ed Anderson
aeajr on the forums

Here are some quick tips and a "check sheet" for preparing your parkflyer for
launch. If you are a new pilot, you really need to heed the wind caution.
If you are experienced, use your own judgment.

Here is how you prepare for your first flights. Skip a step and you open
yourself to problems.

Respect the wind - For new pilots, dead calm to 3 MPH is perfect. No more
than 5 MPH for
early/training flights or you will be fighting the wind, not flying the plane.

1) Make sure no one is on your channel BEFORE you turn on your radio. If
someone is flying on your channel and you turn on your radio, they will crash!
Check first!

2) Do a range check before the first launch of the day

3) Make sure that battery is fully charged just before the launch. Not 3 days
ago. Not last week. Last night or today!

4) Make sure all your surfaces are properly aligned and move properly before
you launch. Check the manual if the surfaces do not appear to be properly
aligned. Also make sure your wing is straight!

5) CHECK THE TRIMS! Check the trim slides on the side and below the stick(s).
Be sure you have not bumped one out of position. A bumped trim can cause the
plane to crash. Make sure the surfaces are properly alligned on the tail and
the wings.

6) Always launch and land into the wind - ALWAYS

7) If you are hand launching, - good firm level throw or only very slightly
up. Never
throw the plane upward - Always use full throttle!

8) Let it fly out and gain speed. I would say a minimum of 50 feet, and 100
would be better. From a hand throw, it will drop a bit, that is OK. It
should start to climb
all on its own. If you use the elevator, only use a small amount.

The plane must get up to speed before applying strong elevator. Apply the
elevator
too soon and you will "stall" the wing, the nose will drop and you will crash.

IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST FLIGHT AND YOU ARE LEARNING ON YOUR OWN

If your field will allow it, launch, fly out 100 feet or so then come back to
about 1/4 throttle and let
the plane drift down for a landing straight ahead. Just before the plane
touches the ground, cut the motor.

Use the rudder to keep it straight. Avoid turns. Do this a few times till
you understand how the plane launches and lands. Then you can go for climbs
and turns.

I fly electrics and gliders. With my gliders, I ALWAYS do a test glide, with
a hand throw, straight out then glide to the ground before launching off the
hi-start or the
winch. This confirms that the plane is balanced and everything works right.
Good idea for
electrics as well using that straight out launch, under power, then land.
Saves much damage and embarrassment.

If the plane is properly trimmed, it should climb on its own at full throttle
or require only a small amount of up elevator.

Use the elevator carefully! Unless you are going for a loop, use small
elevator inputs. Too much up elevator with the plane flying too slowly will
cause the nose to rise, the wing to stall and the nose to drop. Do this near
the ground and you crash.

Flight tips

Keep your control movement smooth and don't over do it. Turn before you need
to so you can give the plane time to react. This is called thinking ahead of
the plane. Plan you moves.

For three channel parkflyers that use rudder/elevator or two channels that
only have rudder, don't hold rudder commands for more than a couple of
seconds. On these planes, rudder commands will cause the plane to bank, or
tip over in the direction of the turn. That is good because that is how they
turn. However, if you hold the rudder too long, the
bank will continue to steepen to the point where the wing will lose lift and
you will go into a dive or spiral in for a crash.

Of course you read the whole manual several times and watched any videos that
might have come with the plane before you fly.

Clear Skies and Safe Flying!

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Also sounds like you need this:

FIXING WINGS AND TAILS

Repairing a CREASED wing with packing tape alone doesn't really work very
well. It works better on the tail because it encounters different forces, but
what I am about to explain works MUCH better on both the wing and tail and is
easy to do. It should also apply to the Xtreme, and all the Firebirds.

A creased taped wing might fly, but at the first real stress, its gonna fold
and you are going to crash. Tape alone has no body or stiffness of its own to
resist a fold since the wing's internal foam is compressed. Net Net, there is
nothing to resist the next fold. You need to stiffen and support the wing.

Here are things I have used for wings and the V tail with pretty good results.

Take a hobby knife or razor blade and open the vinyl covering at the crease or
stressed area

Get the wing set in the proper position, even bend it slightly the other way
to open up the gap.

Fill the folded area with Elmer's white glue or titebond yellow glue. I have
not tried Gorilla Glue, but that might work well. The white and yellow glue
will seep into the foam and bond with it and stiffen it.

Let it partially dry, at least 90 minutes, then fill it again. The first coat
will soak in. The second coat will fill the gap. Let it dry
at least 24 hours, then check it. If it is fully dried, apply a little clear
packing tape to help it resist pulling open.

Another approach I used for large folds, especially center folds is to bond a
thin but somewhat stiff strip piece of wood, like 1/32 ply, to the top of the
wing. You can use some contact cement or double sided carpet tape works well.
Then take a piece about 1-2 inches wide inch wide and at least 2 inch to
either side of the crack should work well. It is stiff enough to resist the
next fold, but will still flex with the wing. Then cover it with clear
packing tape stretched so that it forms a smooth finish with no sharp edges so
the air can flow nicely over the wing. You might not notice it at all. If
the repair is well out toward the edge of the wing, you may need to do the
same on the other side just to keep it balanced.

I have never had one of these fold. The bird can handle the weight of a light
piece of plastic or wood.

Embedded supports

If you want to get more aggressive, you can cut the covering on a new wing or
a damaged wing, remove or compress some foam and embed the plywood or a dowel
support piece into the wing and glue it into the foam with Elmer's white glue
or Titebond yellow glue. The wing does have to flex a bit. Then tape over
the top to cover it. I have not used this approach but I may try it if I
badly bend a wing.

While Epoxy is strong, it doesn't move with the foam the way Elmer's or
Titebond do so I have seen a tendency for epoxy to pull away from the foam
which weakens the area.

If you look at the Firebird XL wing, or the Aerobird Xtreme, they have a
support rod embedded into it when you buy it. Other similar planes, like the
T-hawk, have these supports in their wings when they are new. If you do this,
I suggest doing this so that is spans the body of the plane as many folds
happen where the rubber bands attach. Too often you make a hard off angle
landing on one side of the wing but see no damage to the wing. You think you
have a clean wing, but in fact the foam inside has been weakened. You fly and
the wing folds and you say "what happened?" What happened is 5 hard landings
ago you stressed this spot, compressed the foam enough to weaken it and boom
you have a fold.

Give it a try. The key message here is don't depend on tape to keep the
crease from folding again. Tape is good for closing up damage on the front or
rear edges of the wing and for reinforcement of a new wing by the prop area,
but it can't keep a creased wing from folding up again.

flyingace451

I have an ABC that I just maidened yesterday and I now have 2 flights each using about 2 batts. I have done 4 loops so far and I have yet to crash it or do any damage to it! I think that my Firebird Scout exp helped a whole lot. I have had birds chase my ABC because I fly it low to the ground and I fly it slow and graceful. It must look like a hawk.