I'm getting near the point of flying my first turbine (Kangaroo with P80). I live miles from anyone else who flies jets so will probably 'go it alone' for the maiden.

I have a fair amount of full size turbine experience so I am not worried about turbine operation. However, as time draws near I am a bit worried about my flying ability.

What sort of models did you guys fly before your first turbine? How easy was the transition?

I am currently flying a Balsa USA Enforcer (ST 61 powered) that I don't find that difficult. I also have a Magnum with the West engine. I can fly it but have to concentrate quite hard as it is tiny! Are these suitable training machines or should I have a go at something else first?

Thanks

I think that is worth make a several miles trip to get assistance for the first flight and trimming of
your roo... a experienced jet guy talking with you while you fly can make a lot of difference! also some G2 flight simulator (or the like) helps,, if you can fly and land decently a F-16 or a F-4 several
times without runouts of the landing strip can help... you could also simulate the high trustline of the roo in this models just to see how the plane reacts in the pitch trimming while you throttle up the turbine in different flight speeds...


Regards, Enrique

Unfortunately the only people I would trust to fly my new pride and joy live about 10 hours drive away. If I can spare the time I will get their help but it may not be possible. I have seen too many club 'instuctors' in the past that I wouldn't even let fly my twinjet foamie. That has put me off letting others fly my stuff unless I know their track record.

I have loads of G2 time though. I hadn't thought about changing the thrustline on G2. I might give that a go later.

Thanks.

How far North is "North Scotland" ? (I used to live up in Invergordon for a while - are you beyond that ?)

If you don't feel you can trust any of the other Scottish guys for whatever reason, and you need to go it alone... a few suggestions:

1) First take one of your current models, and program in a servo-slow function on your throttle. Set it to match whatever the throttle-up delay is on your chosen turbine (typically anything from 2 to 6 seconds). If you like, use a switch activated mix to turn the throttle-slow action on or off, so that if you get into trouble you can rveret to "normal" operation until you get yourself sorted out. Get used to flying with this delay (including doing lots of touch & goes and intentional go-arounds) before you find yourself facing this behaviour in your turbine.

2) Add ballast as necessary to whatever you are flying just now, to get the wing loading to match (or be close to) the loading that you will have in your turbine model, so that you get used to dealing with a higher stall speed (etc) if you're not already there...

3) Go find yourself an ENORMOUS runway to fly from, so that if you still get caught out with energy management re throttle lage etc, you have plenty of room to work with, instead of trying to get your model down in a relatively small spot. When I flew in Invergordon, we had two ex-WWII bomber airfields to fly from - I think one was near Alness and the other was near Dingwall (?) - RCU user HarryC could probably elaborate on their location if needed.

4) Think hard about it... you say the other guys you could trust are 10 hours away - is it worth 10 hrs of your time (or much less of theirs, if you fly one of them up to you) compared to possibly many more than 10 hours of repair / rebuild work (not to mention the money) if you end up re-kitting the aircraft ?

If you do still go it alone - good luck, and keep up advised of your progress.

Gordon

siclick33

Hi just to give you some info for your decision. I also have Tens of thousands of hours in heavy transport category turbines. Real Flight G2 probably logged 1000 + hours on that. There is no maneuver I can't fly with regard to Jets and 3D airplanes on the Sim. Is it the same not really.

My fleet presently has numerous large Jets and yes I don't use instructors nor do I care for them. Typically I test fly and setup every model I have ever owned. However with the large Jets I would recommend getting the smoothest and best RC turbine pilot you know just to check your work and run the first trim out flight. Then either use a buddy cord or hand the transmitter back and forth. This will allow you to get a feel for her. After that try some approaches and landings thank your buddy for helping you and order him a Smithwicks.

Good Luck
Ian

Cheers guys. Lots of useful stuff coming out here.

I live the other side of Inverness to Invergordon (Near Elgin). I have not long lived here and don't know of anyone who flies turbines at my club. I do have access to a military airfield for test flying.

I would just like to point out that I have nothing against local jet jocks. I am sure there are some great pilots within reach. I just don't know who they are. I will not let my jet be flown by anyone just because they are flying jets. The lack of waiver system means that I have seen some awful pilots flying turbine models.

If anyone can recommend people nearby that could help then I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks