Anybody took a while til solo been training looks like forever and am close to solo but not there yet, feeling bad sometimes that I'm taking too long to solo and am using instructors too much. Instructors are nice about it but feel like I should be there and doing it myself. Any stories out there that might me feel a little better?

<--First thing ya need to do is smile! After that it's all downhill. Keep your chin up and remember that your a part of the best hobby out there...RC modeling! And, on top of that, you in the best part of that hobby...RC FLIGHT!!!! What could be better than that? Take your sweet time and wring every bit of experience and wisdom out of your instructors. That's what they are there for. Sounds to me like your very sincere in your efforts, and your instructors probably see it. Do your homework and make sure your ready everytime you get to the field. Batteries charged, plenty of fuel, and most importantly, remember to bring your TX! This is not a hobby that you really want to rush into. Some people may be able to fly quickly, but flying well takes lots of practice. Getting the basics down is fundamental to being a good, safe pilot. Hang in there and keep in mind that every RC'er in the world has your back! [8D]

Naaah, you *are* a klutz ... just kidding. Feel better yet?

Seriously though, there are a lot of factors that come in to play, but three factors are normally most significant:
"stick-time" - the amount of time you have actually spent flying
"Natural ability" - some people just fly, others actually have to learn to fly
"Instructor" - There are three types of instructors: gung-ho-go-gettem types, conservative cover-all-the-bases types, and inattentive types.

An exceptional instructor will be able to push you with just the right pressure so that you feel you are always accomplishing things, while at the same time you are re-inforcing all the things you have learned already. There are very few exceptional instructors.

For the most part, instructors err on the side of caution, and they keep you flying in a way that re-inforces the things you learned so far... master your current skills before moving on to the next skill. Some people find this to be boring, but, the instructor shuould have the final word (safe flying is the instructor's responsibility).

The go-gettem instructors will progress people too fast, and you will have "winged" pilots with 3 flights under their belt, and never have flown in wind more than 5kph... ;-) I believe that people should have a broader experience than just 30mins stick time before they get their wings... but I am somewhat conservative.

I am rambling... so let me get back on track.

Try not to measure your progress in weeks and months till you solo... rather measure it in stick time (or gallons of fuel). I'm not going to put firm numbers against things, but I soloed after about 1.5 galons of fuel (about 20 8minute flights if I recall). Because I did that stick time in rapid succession (wednesdays and sundays for 4 weeks) I got my wings in a month. Many people in the club thought I was a "fast learner", but in fact, I am no faster than the guy who comes out every couple of weeks, get's 10 minute's of flying, and takes 6 months to get their wings.

So, just relax, take pleasure in the other things at the field (conversation, weather, people, birds, etc...) and stop trying to compare yourself to others.

gus

Everyone makes progress at their own pace. If you think you're progressing too slowly, here's a tip : Try a simulator. You already have the computer, so pick the best simulator you can afford, and wring out the training plane in the sim.

Plus, you can practice at night, or early morning, or on rainy days. The planes might crash a lot, at first... but the computer will reassemble them almost instantly!

Good luck!
Dave Olson

Hi Knightmagic,

The absolute thing you do not want to do is compare yourself to how others are doing. Everyone is different and learns at a different rate. Look at it this way...Would you rather solo quickly and possibly be unsafe and have everyone at your club running for cover when you fly, or would you rather take time and experience then solo and have your instructor grinning from ear to ear when he sees you fly and learning things on your own.

I beleive in the second choice. I was somewhat of the exception and soloed in a month with 7 flights total. I was just a natural at it. I have trained multiple students in the last few months and some were ready even sooner than I was and some are still in training.

My instructor grins allot when he sees me flying and training someone else. It makes him feel good to see how I have progressed and I am the same way when I see a former student or a current student do things that I have yet to show them or never did in the process.

The solo flight is a big step and I can understand the hesitation. It sounds as though they all feel you are ready but only you can make that call. One thing is for sure, you will always remember it.

Take your time and enjoy this great hobby. You will know when you are ready, the easiest way for most people to tell is if you can run through all of the required items your club calls for and can do them without a whole lot of thought, will the exception for saftey, you always want to have safety foremost in your mind. It's called second nature and it's just like driving a car, you jump in, put on your seatbelt, start the engine, put it in gear and go without even thinking about it but you still drive in a safe manner.

Good luck and by all means keep us informed on your progress and if we can be of any help, that's what RCU is here for.

All that has been said is right on. There are a lot of factors to get to solo. It seemed to me like it was taking forever and I thought the instructors were getting iritated with my pace. Looking back I doubt that they were getting iritated about it at all. They are really nice to me. Anyway, just keep doing what you're doing and it will just click together. What got me to turn the corner was after I had crashed my Avistar about 4 times and rebuilt it. It was frustrating but I finally got to where I didn't care if I totalled it or not I just kept flying. After I started landing and taking off. Now it just comes natural.

It took me 13 months and 66 flights on my Superstar to solo. Could I have solo'ed sooner, maybe. But I ran into problems during the training and it was nice to have someone there to help out and talk to. Now when I am on my own, there is not too much that catches me by surprise. Take your time and progress at your own pace. Get as much time under an instructor as you can. This way they know how you fly and when they let you go they know you can be trusted. I would feel much more comfortable with a person that has both quality and quantity flight time under an instructor than the "I solo'ed on my 5 flight" quickies.

Good Luck!

One other thing I do as an instructor is after each flight with a student I sit them down and talk about what they did and did not do well. I prasie the %$#@# out of them for doing things well and I try to find another way to help them with what they are having trouble with, even if it means adjusting my training style slightly. If another instructor is present and has been watching I will sometimes enlist them for advice if I cannot seem to get my point across.

Try to get time after each flight with the instructor to talk about what was done, how well it was done and anything that may need improvement. you will be amazed at how much you will learn and how quickly it will all start to fit together. This is assuming you are not doing this already.

I agree with everything that's been said. Do NOT worry about whether or not you're learning quickly enough, worry that you're learning the right things.

It took me about 20 to 24 flights on the buddy box over a 2 to 3 month period, but my instructor taught me well. Proper use of rudder to coordinate turns, how to land in a crosswind, how to do rolls and loops....

I'm an instructor now, and try to duplicate the way I learned. I do get frustrated with a student every once in a while, but only with the ones that don't seem to want to listen when I explain what I expect from that session. I'll say something like, "today I want you to try to do figure eights while maintaining a consistent altitude", "we'll start by flying downwind, then entering a left turn towards ouselves, followed by a right turn....". Only to have the student fly repeated right hand ovals, with me saying, "remember? Figure eights?" Then, "How about another one?"

Anyway, now I'm rambling.

My brother was solo after his first flight. (I was both proud and embarrassed. ) I've had students take 30 or 40. It doesn't matter to me how long it takes, as long as the interest and enthusiasm to learn continues.
Dennis-

if none of that helped, this might

I was on a buddy box for alittle over a year. The feild that I flew at had HIGH grass, I mean my trainer had 500 foot takeoff rolls and you needed to taxi at full throttle, becuase of this I could never get it off the gound, yet my intructor manged to, after that I flew the whole flight. Any way, after the year and a half, I went to another club (which my instuctor invited me to, he was the Pres.) It had nice short grass, and I soloed that day.

thanks for all the replys it makes me feel a little better I know instructors are just helping me to grow in the hobby but just wish I could get stick time for solo. Know I will get it done thanks

Knight, you`re right. You WILL get it done!! Try not to put too much pressure on yourself. I took 2 YEARS to finally solo ! In my own defense, I`d go a couple of months between trips to the field sometime. Don`t worry, just try to enjoy the process and, like others have said, DO NOT COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS!! Especially at this stage.

I would also bet that those instructors will tell you that if you ever need any help after your solo just ask. They sound pretty good and it really sounds as though you are making a sincere effort which will not go un-noticed.

knightmagic,

Take it easy, and don`t be too hard on yourself.

Listen to the good advice; get a simulaotr and work at it because it WILL make the real thing a lot easier.

I fly full scale for a living, and I can tell you that learning RC flying is more difficult than the real thing; well I found it so, but others may not agree.

Whenever I had a down day, or crashed, I looked around and concluded that if these guys standing around could learn, then so could I. It was occasionally embarrassing, but what the hell.

Crashing taught me a valuable lesson though, apart from the obvious one, and that was that I really enjoyed repairing and building, probably more than the actual flying.

It was difficult at times because I didn`t have a buddy box, or sim experience at that stage, just a guy standing there giving advice in Japanese, and I don`t speak Japanese!!!

When you do finally get it, you will never believe that you had trouble because it will seem so easy. Before you know it you`ll be doing aerobatics.

KnightMagic, I know EXACTLY how you feel. I'm in the same boat, cant get stick time, cant get instructors to teach at weekends, [&o]its too windy, raining, (not that that happens too much in Australia right now![8D]). Its a nightmare.[>:] BUT I think perseverance is the answer. I've been at it just over a year, only weekends, and one day only at that, but what the heck! I'm still enjoying it, and I'm sure you are too. It is frustrating, you just want to snip that black cord, I know. Our time will come, suck in all the knowledge, enjoy yourself, and fly with the eagles when you can.

Best of luck sunshine

thats how it is with me also can only get away at certain times some days doing great and then others seems I've lost everything I've leared getting easier though and I am having fun can't wait to solo and then not too soon another plane

knightmagic. i know many people that have solo'd on the their fifth flight... they are on thier tenth plane in as many times back to the field. seriously, i know people that crash a plane every single time they are at the field. and each of them will show off how fast they got off the buddy box. if you ask me, they should still be on the buddy box.

it is second nature of us men to be on the edge, to be overconfident of our abilities. i went from a trainer to a cap232... that plane lasted all of what 2-3 trips to the field? i would say that you are doing it right. maybe the instructor is a little on the conservative side. let him know that you think you are ready. but cutting the cord don't make you a better pilot.

japanflyer - i like how you said that you now enjoy repairing more than flying... that's so JAPANESE! hehe... I also love to repair things. In fact, I beg my friends to buy new planes so that I can assemble them for them and see them fly. Actually, though, they force me to maiden their planes all the time... I really really hate that. Although I have yet to botch a maiden flight, I swear I'm still on the verge of a coronary when I fly any plane for the first time. You know my trick? Regardless of how confident I am of the plane, I always give it a little elevator so that no matter what happens, it goes up. That way you have time to trim.