1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

I have over 40+ hours on my AFPD flight sim because I enjoy the Sim so much but 0 real flight time. I have always been interested in RC planes and heli's since I 1st heard one buzzing around some 30 years ago. I tried a Heli about 20 years ago but sold it after a few weeks. (never got it off the ground more than a foot on purpose or for more than 30 secs at a time). I decided a flight sim would be great to get started in the hobby so I would be use to the control reversing when flyng toward me. I wanted to get a slow and stable plane that would fly around me close in and could not understand why people wanted to fly overpowered fast planes but after a few weeks on the flight sim I was turning into a speed freak and the slow floaty planes got real boring. I was looking at the Aerobird or the Easystar to get started but came across a good deal on a SlowStick and went that route. I know the Slowstick is about the easist plane to start with and very tough so I guess it's a good thing since I will be flying on my own. I really feel I have already outgrown this plane and I have not even flown for real yet. I guess we will see how Flying in the flight sim converts to the real thing in a few days. I am so cocky I don't expect to crash it till I start doing stuff I shouldn't but ordered a few extra props just in case. I already want a GWS C-130 4 engine Cargo Plane and a Jet. The most fun plane on the sim to fly is the C-130 because it looks so real the way it flys and I could really get into a 150 mph flyover.

RE: 1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

Good Luck. Let us know how you did. To fly the SloStick, remember NO WIND!

RE: 1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

As I was given the secrets of rc flight the last couple of weeks with my firebird freedom I'll pass what was given on to you... get up in the air.... way up. Don't fly in the wind. If you can feel the wind on your face it's too much wind until you get some hours logged in. Good luck to you though, I'm positive that slow stick will treat you kindly.

RE: 1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

Still waiting to get the correct rx crystal. What a mess, lol. Tx turn out to be on a different channel and the pnly hobby shop in 50 miles don't have one or any crystals in stock it seems.

RE: 1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

Got in my 1st 3 flights last night and all went great. It would be dead calm then a breeze would kick up for a few minutes then get calm again. It was really hard to get myself to throttle up as I was not sure what to expect. Finally I just did it. Take off was easy. Circled around and realized there was more wind than I thought or it had kicked up again to the point the plane was not making much headway into the wind so I just kept it in the air above me till it calmed down then I practiced turning and coming down for a landing a few times then cut the throttle and floated down to a nice landing. The wind calmed down completely so I took off again for a few minutes before the motor cut off and I floated down to another nice soft landing. I recharged the battery and made another long flight before dark and all was great. I got up this morning and it was calm so I went to fly again. Forgot to screw the antenna in the Tx and I left it at home. Doh!! Went home and got antenna. Breeze was beginning to pick up every now and then but I went for it anyhow. After fling around a bit the breeze got stronger and started blowing the plane around into a circle each time I would try to head into the wind and it was getting harder to turn it around and getting a long ways off so I decide to bring it down. I cut the throttle and headed it toward the ground and thought it was down when I see it come back up in a big loop and back down. Got the plane and headed home and then noticed the prop shaft was bent. Took the shaft off and straightened it back out, don't want to do that again. Tested it on the plane for vibration and all was good. Went out again this afternoon and made my longest flight yet. Was calm then a light breeze started blowing so I would just fight my way upwind then circle back around. It started blowing stronger so I just cut the throttle when I came back around into the wind and floated down for a landing. With a light breeze it was a pain just keeping the plane going where I wanted it and really took the fun out. I would guess it was about a 5 mph at times. This morning it kicked up closer to 10 mph. The weather man said 5-10 mph winds. I guess I will limit my flights to late evening when it gets dead calm because 0-5 mph is as good as it gets during the day.
As far as the fling went I had no problems with the controls and orientation because for all the practice on the flight sim. The actual flight was close to the sim. I would react naturally to whatever the plane did just like in the sim. Even flying in high wind and letting the plane get to far downwind and crashing was the same, lol. The slowstick I downloaded from rc.sim.de flies really close to my slowstick except the real wind seems to have more effect on the real plane. I would have to crank the wind up way up on the sim to get close to the same effects, more like 15 mph to get the plane to act like the real plane in 5 mph wind. I don't think there is any way I would have made even my 1st flight without practicing so much on the sim 1st.

RE: 1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

Congratulations on your successful flights. Keep us informed of your progress.

RE: 1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

Had another great flight this evening. The wind must have been alot stronger than I though earlier. I had a breeze this evening that I would guess was 3-5 mph and it was very managable. Got a longer flight since I could back off the throttle. This has got to be the easiest r/c plane to land there is. I was worried about the wheels not rolling well while landing but they don't have to roll much. This plane glides so slow by the time it lands it is not moving forward it just kinda sits down like a bird. Think I am going to the motor and glide around a bit next flight to see how long it will stay up. Really wanting a plane that can handle 10 mph wind now so I am not so limited as to when I can fly, but I can see why this plane is so highly recommended as a trainer. The slower the better while learning and knowing that parts are cheap to repair if you do mess up takes alot of pressure off the thought of making a mistake.

RE: 1st real flight coming up either Saturday or Tuesday.
 

If you think that you are ready to move up to a faster plane that can handle some wind, check out the EasyStar.