rob737

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hello friends. i am definately in a slump! i am new to r/c flying. i started with the hobbyzone super cub and the parkzone j-3 cub bl. i got to the point where i was really flying them well, and was very happy with my progress. i was even starting to do loops and things like that. but, the last couple of times i have been out with them have been a real bummer! both are now damaged, the result of crashes. it could be i got over confident and stopped being careful enough. today i used bad judgement and flew in too much wind, but i really wanted to practice and be ready for my new planes. i have two new models arriving tomorrow.......the parkzone t-28 and also their spitfire. i am leary of trying them out in light of my poor flying the past couple of times out........these models are expensive and not as easy to repair! any tips to get back on track would be greatly appreciated! thanks........rob

jdetray

I would strongly suggest you repair the damaged planes and get them back in the air as soon as possible. You need to get your confidence back, and flying your old familiar planes is the best way to do that.

I don't know any R/C pilot that has not crashed and repaired a plane. I've seen everything from foamie park flyers to $10,000 gassers crash -- it happens to everyone. Learning to fix crash damage is an essential part of the learning process.

- Jeff

ozrcboy

rob - I think anyone that has flown for a while knows the feeling you are going through.

Every accident has something to teach you..., sometimes nothing more than how important it is to get right back on the horse.

Accidents will happen - the fact that these things even fly still amazes me when I sit down to think about it.

Having your whole fleet out of action is terrible luck, but this probably wont be the last time if you want to stay in the hobby. Fix the planes, get back in the air, like jde said, before you fly your new ones.

Cheers,
Oz.

rob737

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thanks fellows........i feel a little better! i don't want to tell you this, but i flew my spit today after assembling it........and crashed it! yikes. the first battery went well. my next flight with the second battery was when disaster struck (again). even though i charged it "by the book" i lost power shortly after launch.....was unable to climb. i should have landed it strait ahead, but i attempted to turn it around and bring it back........i stalled it while attempting this manuver. so, here's the plan.....my trainers are repaired and now flyable. i am going to stick with these for a while......and practice a lot! the t-28 and the spit (when i get it fixed) will just have to look cool hanging in my hobby room til i get my skills where they need to be. thanks for all of your help! rob

Laggard

Hang in there! I once went through a two week period where every trip to the field resulted in an hour of repairs. Often I'd fix things, go back out and be at the field a whole two minutes before something went wrong and I had to leave. I came so close to selling everything at one point that I actually started writing the for- sale add before deciding I really wasn't ready to quit.

rob737

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thanks for the kind works. funny, the "sell everything" thought came to mind with me also! i too have been back and fourth to the field a couple of times in one day. i really think i need to concentrate a bit more. also, i have found out the hard and expensive way just how poorly these models do when it's windy. i can attribute at least two "bad" days recently to flying while it was too windy. it's hard to find decent weather during the winter to go fly........i'll have to learn some patience, i guess. thanks again for the encouragement........

BobbyGee

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Hang in there rob737 - those are the lessons we all learn. Impatience gets us all sooner or later. []

Those days when it's breezy and we think we can handle it are the testers. A little gust here, a bit of turbulence over a tree line or a building and we start reaching for the epoxy.

Like a couple of other folks have said, just fix them and keep flying. Every now and then take a look at connections, make sure that simple use hasn't loosened things up and gotten them out of trim. It can happen.

As for the new planes, they'll only be shiny for a little while. If you don't scuff them up a little you're just not getting your money's worth.

Enjoy!

BobbyG

rob737

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thanks! i should have stated (more accurately) that i am the one that flys them poorly in the wind! the blame is mine.....not the airplanes. here's to nice, calm days! rob

Gereke

I feel your pain on the wind issue.. My Park Zone FW190 is now just a wing and horizontal stab waiting for a new fuselage due to some wind. It was a bummer, though because it was only my 3rd flight with it.. (Also first plane in many years). It was a bit squirrely in the wind that I was flying in (nothing real heavy, steady breeze with the occasional gust.. probably about 10mph). Didn't bite me in the butt until I was landing... was turning around to come in for my final and wind gusted, and caused a really nasty nose first crash. (Fuse was a write off.. as was the gearbox, and plastic internal structure..). So now I'm sitting here with the itch to fly and my new parts won't be in till Monday. Neither LHS had what I needed in stock.

But, I much like you will be up in the air again soon... and I think I'll wait till a nice calm day to take her up again. The turbulence and whatnot was fine when I was a couple of mistakes up, but once I was low and landing.. nothing I could do except curse nature hehehehehe..

Leo L

Rob,

Go back to the basics. Go back to the stickies and re-read the advice for beginners, particularly from AEAJR. http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18

Especially read about the part that says NOT TO FLY WHEN ITS WINDY!!!

Then, when you have a good flying day, fly the SuperCub. After several successful flights with the SuperCub, put the J3 back in the air. When your confidence is fully back, take out the Trojan, NOT THE SPITFIRE! The Spitfire is much harder to fly than the Trojan and should only go in the air when you are very comfortable flying the Trojan.

rob737

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mr. gereke, i wrecked my super cub the same way. i was flying in way too much wind, but doing ok none the less. i brought it in for a landing and about chest-height a gust of wind slammed it into the ground. oops! leo, thanks the link and the great advice. i plan on following it exactly.......the super cub, the j-3, then the trojan but only when things are going well. my t-28 arrived yesterday and i put it together last night. my spit parts arrive tomorrow (total airframe replacement......that one was not pretty! nothing salvageable except for the electronics). thanks for all of your help fellows, i am excited to get back into the air! rob

rob737

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just read through that link.......great stuff. i think i made every mistake that the gentleman mentioned! funny what he mentions about licensed pilots........this hobby is not any easier for us. there is sure as heck no just jumping into it! i am glad we have folks like you all to help us out and correct our mistakes. thanks again! rob

Leo L

For the most part, the folks who are helping out today are the ones who made all of the same mistakes a couple of years ago when they were first learning. Experience that we gained from our own (costly) mistakes and those of other flyers is passed on in the hopes of saving someone from suffering the same heartaches. A year from now, you will be helping beginners by telling them what happens when you become impatient and try to fly when its too windy, and what happens when you try to go from a beginner plane directly to a warbird (RIP Spitfire).

rob737

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well, if i am able to offer help down the road, (and i have a long way to go!).......it will be based on my own mistakes, for sure! i had a great day flying yesterday, with both of the cubs. i also have found that flying my blade cx2 is good practice.......i have been practicing flying it away from and back towards me, and keeping oriented. also, i taxied the cub all around the parking lot.....again, out and back, and found that to be good practice as well. the spit is all repaired ($98 bucks later and after a full afternoon's tinkering with it). it will have to look good hanging up for a while. i am going to bring a cub and my t-28 out to the field on sunday.....i think and hope everything will be just fine! again, appreciate all of the help........rob

ozrcboy

Landing in the wind:

This can be tricky and sounds like a few people are coming a cropper with it. Was going to mention a couple of thoughts.

Landing in wind generally, in my experience makes landing easier (to a point obviously). Gusty conditions are a bit different

I think the place many novices get into trouble trying to land in the wind is that they try to land using the elevator rather than the throttle.

So - assuming the wind is less than your stall speed.

1. Land directly into the wind if possible.
2. Powered approach - don't approach dead stick. If the wind drops off and you are flying dead stick your model will stall as its airspeed drops. If you have power the plane will naturally accelerate to compensate when wind drops off. For a really stiff breeze have the throttle as high as possible provided you lose altitude.
3. Like all landings throttle set to lose altitude. Don't try to land using angle of attack - any fool can make a plane meet the ground at a designated point - the challenge is to make sure that the aircraft arrives at a speed and attitude so that it can safely land.
4. When it is windy anything but a neutral AOA is particularly dangerous. Nose up, and you will get a lot of extra induced lift from the wind striking the bottom of the wing, climb briefly, pass the critical angle, and stall. Nose down, and you will immediatelly lose lift as the wind strikes the top of the wing and acts against the aerodynamic lift of the aircraft trying to push it into the ground.
5. Just to reiterate because it is really important - when trying to land into wind you want to keep a neutral AOA if at all possible. Lose altitude by using the throttle, not the elevator.
6. Remember your landing approach will be shorter.
7. Be ready on the sticks to compensate for deflections left of right. The good news is that if you have your throttle set correctly and are headed into the wind your ground speed should be lower than normal, so even if the worst happens there should be little if any damage.
8. Be really careful with flareing - remember what I mentioned about angle of attack. It is very easy to misjudge flying speed in wind, and flareing may well make your model fly away. If you make a mistake, power up and go around.
9. Don't wait until your battery is flat to land if it is windy. You want to have the opportunity to go around once or twice at least. If you land too early you can always call it practice and take off again.

There's some more landing tips here if you are interested:
http://www.oz********.com/2007/08/advanced-landing.html