q8cub

I have been attempting for 2 months now to start doing 3d stuff on my sd yak 50cc but all I could do is a high hover (around 20-30 ft up) and high harrier.

I have been doing all difficult 3d stuff on a phoenix simulator and got to a point where I can do everything from all angles and automatically without thinking about it. I could do very low rolling harriers right and left almost endlessly on a yak, beast, pitts special and many other models and with high winds. Also, inverted harriers, knife edge spins,,, etc...

I also, did harriers, rolling harriers on a micro 4-site foamy indoor and outdoor.

However, everytime I reach the flying field I start to get nervous. All I could do was a high rolling harrier (about 30 ft up) and high hover and harrier.

Any recommendation what to do about this?

Thanks in advance!

evan-RCU

You may not get over it... I've been flying a long time and can do tail touches, hover, basically any trick in the book with certain helos and airplanes but when iI do it with my bigger helos and planes I still have that hole in my gut and find myself not going as low or as long as I want... I'm not sure why, I don't think it's a money thing in the back of my head but you never know... I guess it's what makes a pro a pro.

Good luck.

q8cub

I noticed one thing though: The more often I fly during one flight trip the more I feel comfortable. However, the next trip, it is like all over again

Maybe I will find a day that I can fly all day long, something like 10 or more flights. The most flights per day I had was 3 flights. Sometimes I fly once and then go home

phantomdriver

Our pocket book dictates alot to us / Just don't go lower than your comfort level.

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

You might find it less stressful and less expensive to fly the 3D stuff with a throw-away foamy or a beater plane of some sort until you get comfortable. There is not replacement for practice. A simulator will only get you so far.
zx32tt

q8cub

Actually it is not only the cost factor but also the safety factor especially when you are close the plane while it is torque rolling or hovering. And it is easier to do a low hover than a high one since I should be able to see it clearly.


Would a micro 4-site be considered good enough ?

krayzc-RCU

My Feedback: (31)

the simulator helps alot

wind junkie

My Feedback: (1)

Pucker for most guys is all about fear of lost money and time. Only the truly altruistic think about safety first in the heat of the moment. In any case you gotta be confident so you don't scare yourself anymore or you really aren't over the hump. Fly often and use the correct tools to get you there.

I agree you gotta get down low with a plane you don't care about. A foamy is a good step, but as an important second step, I recommend a 40 size profile plane which will actually be MORE DIFFICULT to fly than your 50cc bird.

Guys think starting out big (ie 50cc or larger) is easier, but I think learning that way actually takes longer.

The foamy will teach you about handling wind currents and the differences between your sim and reality. But it will still be "too slo motion dreamy" and won't be much good in any kind of real wind. It reacts slowly so that gets your thumbs accustomed to the correct reactions, but it's too easy compared to your 50cc bird and that's not a good step to take.

A good 40 size profile should weigh under 5 lbs and be much quicker and more capable to do 3D aerobatics in close quarters. If you crash one of these down low, it's not a big investment and it will teach you how to respect your own personal space and learn to plan how to recover or "bail" when needed. Your reactions will get polished MUCH quicker if you fly this size plane cause it has a higher loading than either the foamy or your 50cc bird. After mastering harriers and TR's down on the deck, anything larger will be a piece of cake and will inspire confidence.

Look around and you'll see 40 size kits and ARFs available. Get yourself a Mojo or similar with a cheap 50 size motor swinging an 11x4 prop. If you have some cash, a Saito 72 or 82 with a 13x6 will sound nicer and give you a little more grunt for quicker emergency bail out power.

Andrew_S

My Feedback: (12)

U just gotta do it...set your mind to think that and only that..it works for me...

ddennison

My Feedback: (15)

Be safe

But when you are ready you have to not only be able to do each manuever but (as AndrewS) to visualize it ahead of time and anticipate the before/now/future.

I just did everything at a comfortable altitude until I felt that I knew the plane very well and then worked down from there. I always find my little voice talking me through the last 90 of rolling circles a little too..

Have fun
Dave

q8cub

Thanks for the advice!

Today I got a little lower hover at about 10 ft up. Wind direction was west while the runway is south-north; south to my right while north to my left. West winds coming from behind me so I had to come to a hover with the belly facing me which made it more difficult. I am crawling slowly but this makes me feel more comfortable.

ghoffman

My Feedback: (3)

I got a little 42 inch electric AJ Slick to practice that stuff with. At $140 for the whole plane, and it flys just like the bigger versions, I can practice until I crash or decide to go home. It is small enough that I can keep it in the back seat of my truck so even if I have only 1/2 hour and I am near the field, I can get some stick time in. I practice on the sim to learn how to do things, then go out and do it up high, and bring it down lower. I think that stick time and then more stick time is the only solution.

skip1320

Lower! I struggled with this,10 feet is high enough to damage plane in engine failure,and it always gets easier the closer you are,good luck.

ghoffman

My Feedback: (3)

Well, maybe that is it. The electric never has an engine failure unless you do not pay attention to the time and run out of battery (ask me how I know). I bought 2 of the AJ Slicks, so back in my head I knew I had spares.

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

True, true, true.

So...and I'm really not meaning to stir anything up here or be a smart ***...this is honestly just my experience:

Learn to rebuild the wrecked ones.

Seriously...I was timid, scared, and unaggressive with my 102" Wildhare Edge, despite it being an EXCEPTIONAl airframe to teach me this sort of flying. Eventually, I wound up putting it in the dirt, and, among other things, breaking it in half. A few months later, a rebuilt, recovered "Paul Bonhomme Edge540" made its "remaiden".

That one simple process...knowing I could rebuild even a large airplane, and fly it again, did away with TONS of pucker factor. I'll drop my 110" Yak down on the deck with the best of them now, and not think twice about it.

For me, anyway, it wasn't so much confidence in FLYING abilities, as it was confidence in RESTORATION abilities that led me to get over the pucker factor.

bbrown2828

My Feedback: (76)

Get you a 40 sized profile with a satio 82 and it will really sharpen your skills I am in the same boat as you are I have two 50cc and I can not get past the puker factor to put them down on the deck so I got me a 40 sized profile Yak off of ebay and I love it I started out with a os 46 on it and then got down on the deck and couldnt get out of trouble and I broke the Fuse in half since then I have re built it and put a satio 82 on it tomorrow will be the first flight with the new motor I cant wait

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

I think this would be a huge problem for me. If I only flew 1 to 3 times a day that would simply not be enough. I fly on average of 8-12 times an outing and often even more than that. There are days when I get 15 flights in and there are days I get around 4-5 but that is only if some unforeseen event comes into play. Usually the average for me is at least ten flights. While I am flying I practice many different things. Some days it is just the basic circuits and landings.

When you start flying 6-10 times a day you should become much more comfortable with your plane and much will just start to be natural for you. You learn your plane and you know just what tendencies it has and after a point you don't even think about how high you are.

Also, something I was thinking. Why is it so important to hover right at the ground? What is wrong with hovering at 10'? If that is a good safe area then nothing wrong with it. After all, who set the standards that you have to hover and touch the tail and so forth? It is not like it is a written law. If it is something you are just challenging yourself to do, then that is cool. [8D]

wind junkie

My Feedback: (1)

Mostly because you get far less damage when botching a recovery at 2 feet above the ground compared to 10 feet. Also, having the ground in your immediate view prohibits the "tunnel vision" syndrome so it's easier to discern the required balance between the alpha/elevator/power combination to maintain altitude.

You say you can start at 10 feet, but without the ground in view, that will vary more, and you could end up much higher and then you're back in the same boat of a slower learning curve. If you back up so 10 feet does keep the ground in view, now you can't see the subtle cues as well.

I find 2-3 feet is a good goal for starting. It gives a buffer, but still keeps the plane in view with the ground within a wingspan for easy visual measurment. Dropping a plane from that height isn't a big deal, and something like a Mojo will survive it no problem (ie very tough landing gear, and a tube to resist the broken profile fuse issue).

Those who touch the tail are just showing off (ie, demonstrating prowess ) and that's not needed at this learning stage.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I'm no 3D expert. But I would recommend a progression from the simulator to larger and larger planes. Each plane will teach you something different. They are all cheap, until you get into the gasoline powered model. The gasoline model is NOT the place to learn 3D. It's too expensive. The sim teaches you the muscle memory that you need to go out and practice with a $200 foamy. The foamy teaches you about real world coupling and it's actually flying - not a simulator. Once you can confidently fly the foamy, then go get yourself a nice 3D slab and fly the heck out of it. Only then... get the gasser. AFTER you already know how to 3D.

simulator
foamy
40-60 size profile
gasser

I'm currently in the foamy, profile phase. No balls yet to try it with a gasser. But I am not good enough yet. I'd just wreck it or hurt somebody.

q8cub

I think I found something that will beat the pucker factor. This is it, the e-flite Carbon-Z Yak 54. You can skip the size 40 profile/foamies/.. etc with this one. Just go straight from this one to giant 3d.

http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/De...rodID=EFL10080

Nice thread here, (it simulates a giant 3d 100%)

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1322537

this is a video,

http://www.e-fliterc.com/ProdInfo/Files/EFL10080_hi.wmv

another video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl_ro...yer_detailpage


Do you guys know how I can embed youtube within the page instead of a link?