tntbowman

Advice needed;
After a few years of kicking the RC flying thing around I finally decided to jump in.
This weekend I visited my local hobby shop and after a long discussion with the owner (a 50 year RC pilot) we decided that I should purchase the Firebird Freedom and give it a try.
I’m a little reluctant to joint a club just yet; I want to make sure I’m going to enjoy this.
Well to make a long story shorter…and after reading countless reviews and advice on the internet and watching the included DVD I thought I was ready to give a whirl.
My 20 year old son and I put the plane in the trunk and when up to the local soccer fields. The weather was perfect, a very light breeze, nobody around, perfect for my first flight.
After checking wind direction, the planes control surfaces and following the instructions again I decided it was now or never. Pointed into the wind and with ACT on and full power, I launched it. It started up then all of a sudden a quick turn to the right and crash. OK first time. Straiten things out, no real damage, launched again, a little higher turned right again and crash. Ok second time no big deal.
I remember someone (on internet) said ATC can be a problem and you should really turn it off, so this time I launched with it off. OK it flew pretty good for the first 50 feet or so but as soon as I went to turn it to the left it veered right and crashed HARD this time both wings creased, tails creased, battery door almost broken off hinges, the propeller came completely off the shaft and the motor housing bent a bit. Oh boy what did I get my self into I thought….my son however was having a heck of a time laughing at his old man at this point. I’m sure he can’t wait to get home and tell his mom!
Ok one more time, I’m going to fly this thing the way it is. We put it back together and one more time we launched it. OK now its flying right wing bent and flapping in the wind (how is this thing flying I’m thinking to my self), I turned it towards us, still flying, my son and I are in stitches laughing, then the crash. Again the propeller went one way and the rest of the plane went the other.
At this point although I’m still amused it was flying but I’m starting to feel a little disappointed that I failed this badly my first time out.
Is this normal, did I purchase the wrong plane for beginner?
Should I put new wings and tail surfaces on and try again?
Any words of wisdom or advice would be greatly appreciated.
I did have fun,
TNT

DepronJet

TNT

do not let one bad experience stop the joy,
i will write and post links to help you,
the joy of rc is directly proportional to success

Ray

DepronJet

TNT

http://cgi.ebay.com/RC-FLIGHT-Simula...QQcmdZViewItem

this allows you to fly a vertual aircraft,
you will need to set it up and you can PM (private message) me and i will explain how to set it up,
for $27 you can crash as many virtual aircraft as you wish and this will help you when it comes to the real life situation,

joining a club is a good idea as they can check out your model and even do a test flight and maybe even hook up a buddy box..

but if you want to go it alone then practice on the PC simulator and ask questions
there are lots of people who will give good advice,

if you want to download the FMS software to use a joystick you already have then its free from the link below.

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/

Ray

tntbowman

Thanks Ray

I've dowloaded the FMS simulator. I have no trouble flying the silkywind and piper cub (which I figure are the closest to what I have). I think my issue may me being a little heavy handed with the joy stick. I notice the FMS simulator takes very little effort to manuver the aircraft.

Tom

DepronJet

Tom

not knowing your set up i can only advise on why you type

there is a set up called expo !

it means if you move the stick a little using expo not a lot happens.. move it a little more and nothing much more happens.. but move it a lot and then you get full movement..
top pilots use it for good fine aerobatic moves..

it can help if your heavy on the fingers
amybe this will help you.. but you need a computer TX to set it up !

More $$$$$ [&o]

RAy

JasonRP

I think FMS is okay.. Probably the best thing it teaches you is which way to move the sticks when the plane is coming towards you, since the plane is orientated different than it is when the plane is moving away from you. It sounds simple, but this is a huge hurtle for newbies of planes.

If you want to get a much better sim, get the realflight.. The physics in it are such that I believe it is much much more realistic than FMS, and much closer to actual RC flying. I saved some $$$ by buying the older Realflight 2 when Realflight 3 came out.. You could try the same if you don't like the price of it, but I gotta tell you, I've saved WAY more $$$ than if I woulda just bought planes and wrecked them.

My dad bought Realflight as well, and learned to fly using it. I think this is a real solid way to go..

As for your crashes on your Firebird, I have a couple of ideas.. 1st, center of gravity is a crucial adjustment.. It must balance at the proper point on the wing, and that point should be listed in the instructions.. If your plane is tail heavy, you'll never get it to be controllable- if it was outta balance, adjust it, and you'll be starting with a level playing field!
2nd, after your first big crash that bent and creased things, your controls could have then been way outta wack! And also check and make sure your controls aren't reversed as far as the turning goes.. That can happen to even the pros- and many planes have been lost to that!

tntbowman

Thanks for the advice.

Went to the hobby shop on the way home from work and purchased new wings and tail section.
I have to say the second round went much better. I actully had 3 succesfull fights (about 5 min each). The last one someone put a tree in the way . It took me about 20 minutes to get it down. I was amazed the plane had as little damage as it did. Tighten a few things and off it went again. All flights were with the ATC off. I felt I had much more control that way.

Thanks everyone for the advice and links.

Im sure I have many crashed left in me.

OK whats my next plane...?

Tom

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

6 Keys to Success:


Edit: Links was bad -

Instead of fixing the link here, I posted the article two posts down.

tntbowman

Could you post that URL again. The link you listed doesnt work.
Thanks, Tom

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Instead of posting the link, I'll post the article here.

SIX KEYS TO SUCCESS
by Ed Anderson
aeajr on the forums

Whether you have a coach or you are trying to learn to fly on your own, you
will need to be mindful of these six areas if you are going to become a
successful RC pilot. After three years of working with new flyers at our
club,
and coaching flyers on the forums, there are a few things I have seen as the
key areas to stress for new pilots. Some get it right away and some have to
work at it. They are in no particular order because they all have to be
learned to be successful.

WIND
Orientation
Speed
Altitude
Over Control
Preflight Check

1) Wind - The single biggest cause of crashes that I have observed has been
the insistence upon flying in too much wind. If you are under an
instructor's
control or on a buddy box, then follow their advice, but if you are starting
out and tying to learn on your own, regardless of the model, I recommend
dead calm to 3 MPH for the slow stick and tiger moth type planes. Under 5
MPH for all others. That includes gusts. An experienced pilot can handle
more. It is the pilot, more than the plane, that determines how much wind
can be
handled.

The wind was around 10 mph steady with gusts to 12. That was strong enough
that some of the experienced pilots flying three and four channel small
electric planes chose not to launch their electrics. This new flyer
insisted that he wanted to try his two and three channel parkflyers. Crash,
Crash, Crash - Three planes in pieces. He just would not listen. Sometimes
you just have to let them crash. There is no other way to get them to
understand.

Many parkflyers can be flown in higher winds by AN EXPERIENCED PILOT. I
have flown my Aerobird in 18 mph wind (clocked speed) but it is quite
exciting trying to land it.

Always keep the plane up wind from you. There is no reason for a new flyer
to have the plane downwind EVER!


2) Orientation - Knowing the orientation of your plane is a real challenge,
even for experienced pilots. You just have to work at it and some adults
have a real problem with left and right regardless of which way the plane is
going. Licensed pilots have a lot of trouble with this one as they are
accustomed to being in the plane.

Here are two suggestions on how to work on orientation when you are not
flying.

Use a flight simulator on your PC. Pick a slow flying model and fly it a
lot. Forget the jets and fast planes. Pick a slow one. Focus on left and
right coming at you. Keep the plane in front of you. Don't let it fly over
your head.

FMS is a free flight simulator. It is not the best flight sim, but the
price is right and it works. There are also other free and commercial
simulators.

FMS Flight simulator Home Page
Free download
http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/index_e.html

Parkflyers for FMS
http://gunnerson.homestead.com/files/fms_models.htm

Getting Started with FMS
http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3893

The links below take you to sites that provide cables that work with FMS.
If your radio has a trainer port, these cables allow you to use the trainer
port on your radio to "fly" the simulator. This is an excellent training
approach.

http://www.allthingsrc.com/webshop/
http://www.simblaster.com/
http://www.customelectronics.co.uk/

An alternative is to try an RC car that has proportional steering. You
don't have to worry about lift, stall and wind. Get something with left and
right steering and speed control. Set up an easy course that goes toward
and away from you with lots of turns. Do it very slowly at first until you
can make the turns easily. Then build speed over time. You'll get it! If
it has sticks rather than a steering wheel even better, but not required.
Oh, and little cars are fun too.


3) Too much speed - Speed it the enemy of the new pilot but if you fly
too slowly the wings can't generate enough lift, so there is a compromise
here. The key message is that you don't have to fly at full throttle all the
time. Most small electrics fly very nicely at 2/3 throttle and some do quite
well at 1/2. That is a much better training speed than full power. Launch
at full power and climb to a good height, say 100 feet as a minimum, so you
have time to recover from a mistake. At 100 feet, about double the height
of the trees where I live, go to half throttle and see how the plane
handles. If it holds altitude on a straight line, this is a good speed.
Now work on slow
and easy turns, work on left and right, flying toward you and maintaining
altitude. Add a little throttle if the plane can't hold altitude.


4) Not enough altitude - New flyers are often afraid of altitude. They
feel safer close to the ground. Nothing could be more wrong.

Altitude is your friend. Altitude is your safety margin. It gives you a
chance to fix a mistake. If you are flying low and you make a mistake ....
CRUNCH!

As stated above I consider 100 feet, about double tree height where I live,
as a good flying height and I usually fly much higher than this. I advise
my
new flyers that fifty feet, is minimum flying height. Below that you better
be lining up for landing.


5) Over control - Most of the time the plane does not need input from you.
Once you get to height, a properly trimmed plane flying in calm air will
maintain its height and direction with no help from you. In fact anything
you do will interfere with the plane.

When teaching new pilots I often do a demo flight of their plane. I get the
plane to 100 feet, then bring the throttle back to a nice cruising speed. I
get it going straight, with plenty of space in front of it, then take my
hand off the sticks and hold the radio out to the left with my arms spread
wide to emphasize that I am doing nothing. I let the plane go wherever it
wants to go, as long as it is holding altitude, staying upwind and has
enough room. If you are flying a high wing trainer and you can't do this,
your plane is out of trim.

Even in a mild breeze with some gusts, once you reach flying height, you
should be able to take your hand off the stick. Oh the plane will move
around and the breeze might push it into a turn, but it should continue to
fly with no help from you.

Along this same line of thinking, don't hold your turns for more than a
couple of seconds after the plane starts to turn. Understand that the plane
turns by
banking or tilting its wings. If you hold a turn too long you will force
the plane to deepen this bank and it will eventually lose lift and go into a
spiral dive and crash. Give your inputs slowly and gently and watch the
plane. Start your turn then let off then turn some more and let off. Start
your turns long before you need to and you won't need to make sharp turns.

I just watch these guys hold the turn, hold the turn, hold the turn, crash.
Of course they are flying in 10 mph wind, near the ground, coming toward
themselves at full throttle.

6) Preflight check - Before every flight it is the pilot's responsibility to
confirm that the plane, the controls and the conditions are correct and
acceptable for flight.

Plane - Batteries at proper power
Surfaces properly aligned
No damage or breakage on the plane
Everything secure

Radio - Frequency control has been met before you turn on the radio
A full range check before the first flight of the day
All trims and switches in the proper position for this plane
Battery condition is good
Antenna fully extended
For computer radios - proper model is displayed
All surfaces move in the proper direction

Conditions - No one on the field or in any way at risk from your fight
You are launching into the wind
Wind strength is acceptable ( see wind above )
Sunglasses and a hat to protect your eyes
All other area conditions are acceptable.

Then and only then can you consider yourself, your plane, radio and the
conditions right for flight. Based on your plane, your radio and local
conditions you may need to add or change something here, but this is the
bare minimum. It only takes a couple of minutes at the beginning of the
flying
day and only a few seconds to perform before each flight.

If this all seems like too much to remember, do what professional pilots do,
take along a preflight check list. Before every flight they go down
the check list, perform the tests, in sequence, and confirm that all is
right.
If you want your flying experience to be a positive one, you should do the
same. After a short time, it all becomes automatic and just a natural part
of a fun and rewarding day.

I hope some of this is useful in learning to fly your plane.

Other resources you may find useful:


Books on RC Planes and RC Flying

http://www.stevensaero.com/shop/prod...cat=262&page=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Fencoding=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Fencoding=UTF8