Meh, bleh...
 

Stuck in a rut..

Guys, just curious, how do you keep your enthusiasm for flying pattern?

I've been flying nothing but since I got back onto modelling in 2000, and now I'm finding myself getting very lacsadasical about the whole shemozzle.

I'm just about to step up from sportsman, and I can't seem to get enough motivation to fire up my lovely new pattern ship and fly the maneuvres..

How do you guys keep happy with it? How do guys like Quique and Chip Hyde stay focused flying everyday??[X(]

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

I think i'm almost got my new plane or i'm almost to the next class or i need to get good at this new class.

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Okay I've got anew plane and I'm almost at the next class, but I just can't be bothered flying and haven't been for the last 2 months!

This is serious, I could turn to golf next !!! [:@][:@]

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

take a break do some 3D. look at other types of flying for a month......then go practice for relentless hour and hours and hours.......[sm=devious.gif]

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Wow -- pattern burnout and how to avoid it --

this might be heresy...
but there are other kinds of flying besides Pattern...
In between the 300-400 practice flights a year, there's fun stuff like
-- being a club instructor pilot -- teach a few guys to fly
-- helping other sport pilots -- maybe show them how to set their low and high speed needles???
-- flying your Kadet LT40 - upside down, knife edge, (ok, TRYING knife edge...)... rolling circles... trains of Kadet touch and go's at dusk with 2-4 other pattern guys and THEIR kadets...
-- find a guy at teh field who's like you were - on the verge of getting hooked on the sleek, precise toys we use
-- electrics
-- sport planes...

you get the idea - it needs to stay FUN, and sometimes that means doing different stuff. You won't be banished from Patternland for it -- we promise!

Just my $.02

Rick

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Yeah that's what I'm thinking...

I was talking to my old man who was the prime pilot of our club many moons ago, and he gave it up after doing something similar...

He said, go and build a B17 with 4 DA 150's in it!

"HAHAHAHAHA! Take yer hand off it dad!!!"

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

When I get major burn out like you seem to have I start building something that has nothing to do with pattern/3D. I found some small stick an tissue planes to build and forced myself to build at least one of them all the way. This is where I first started building planes and it is amazing how I started to remember when times were so much simpler and how back then I could have never guessed I would be flying the planes I have now. People wonder why there are no more pattern fliers than there are but when you think of the amount of dedication needed to be competetive not to mention money and time then it is not to hard to see why pattern is so hard to stay with.

Another thing that I do is try to remeber what it was that was so much fun and interesting enough to keep me in r/c for 30+ years and go do that. Go to different hobby shops in other towns or go to the flying fields in different towns and get a breath of fresh air about the many aspects of R/c.

These are the things that I do when I get dug in to far...maybe some of these things may help you...good luck!

Boss

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Hi
I am not at your stage but my advice is go fly something else.
Helicopters does it for me, or scale or vintage I try them all.
Model flying is supposed to be fun and fortunately I like building ( crap at it but i like it ) so variety is the spice of life.
I also get alot of fun out of helping others, in a perverse way I find flying a trainer smoothly and accurately much harder than flying any Pattern plane. And teaching is not for everyone but it is fun to those you give it a go. ( it also ages you, raises you blood pressure, and has several other physical side effects.)
And believe me trying to master a Heli will keep you occupied for quite a while and it will teach you how to use your left hand.

Mike

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Thank **** no one has said give it up yet!

Break time, but what am I gonna do with my lovely pattern ship and my ultimate?!?!?

Aeroplanes get ornery when they don't get flown for a while don't you know?

Thinking of maybe one of thsese babies... that should be the ying to the pattern yang..

http://www.stinsonreliant.com/images/1141487_img.jpg

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

heheh uhhhhh ya.

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Well...about $250,000 should put you somewhere near the drivers seat[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Boss

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

What Drives Chip, Quique, CPLR?

I don't know for sure. I know what drives me.

Passion and the desire to reach my goals....

Set goals for yourself. Make realistic short term and long term goals. Desire plays a huge role. There are days that I don't feel like flying....then I think about the fact that somewhere somehow another guy is practicing and is doing it better than I am.

Therefore I go out and put up some good practice anyway. This is usually my best spent time practicing.....I decide to go fly and have the drive to reach my goals. The reminder of what my goals are in fresh in my mind so I have a better practice session.

Troy Newman

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

quote]Thank **** no one has said give it up yet!
[/quote]

I Think you just answered your own question? You obviously still want it? Just mix it up a little like others have said.
Try flying the schedule with your tail heavy fun-fly, lol, you will soon learn to appreciate that nice sleek pattern ship again, lol.
Trust me don't go near them 100%Er's if you want to keep luxuries like r/c planes.
I've found that out the hard way. I'm Just starting an Aviation Degree, and the flying fees are horrendous, 80% of my pay goes to the course, the other 20% is to live on........ just. Kind a kills of any ideas of new rc planes.....servos.... um even fuel, lol.
But this comes back to Goals as Troy mentioned, My goal is to be a proffessional Pilot, and im not going to let anything stop me. That is the Challenge, just you against the odds and the rest of the world.
Competition, that is life. I personally thrive on it, and love nothing better than to be told I can't do something. All the motorvation you need right there, just to prove to somebody that they are wrong..........And more to prove it to yourself that you are right.

With that in mind......... set yourself a goal you know is going to be hard to reach, then simply have at it. Like say- Goal to move out of sportsman, into advanced, and be knocking on the door of masters come 2005?
The desire to be the best you can be, it has to come from within.

Cameron.

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Recently what has helped for me is several other people getting interested in the area. Plus a change of pace w/ these little foamy electric things....

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Buy a turbine jet, that will get your juices flowing again and pattern flyer's make the best jet flyer's in my opinion.
Seriously though, Troy is correct in setting goals for the season to pace you through the year. Whether you're trying to lose weight, learn a new language or place top 3 in sportsman class in July setting short term goals as opposed to one big long term goal 2 years down the road is your best chance at success and more enjoyable in the long run. For me I try to map out 3-4 pattern contests and and 3 scale contests and then I go back 6-8 weeks from each of those dates. For each of those events I ask myself what level of flying do I expect from me and then plan my 6-8 weeks with the most focused practice during the week before the event. The final week leading up I practice on flying relaxed and confident and if there is a maneuver I can't do well I don't worry about it and that is a short term goal for the next contest, not this one. I believe that success in any type of competition but especially competition that is judged, the more relaxed you are before you begin, the greater your confidence when actually performing and the less likely you are to let one mistake set the tone. We've all been down the road where we blew the first or second maneuver and then continued on to make a mess of the rest of the pattern because of it.
Oh, and about that golfing idea,... I was a golf pro for a couple of years and chased that little white ball around for quite a few years. I gave it up 6 years ago and took up building and flying model airplanes and haven't looked back since nor have I had the slightest inclination to pick up my clubs and play a round. Even thought about selling them on ebay the other day. :D Jim

RE: Meh, bleh...
 

Something completely different...

Pico Jet pylon racing. We do this once a month at our club. It is very silly and stupid, but very funny and completely different from what we usually do.

The course is only about 30 yards long or so. If you dont have flags to fly around, its not important, we have flown around a traffic cone at one end and a sun shade umbrella at the other. With the course so short it keeps it interesting.

Usually at least one Pico Jet gets destroyed each race, but no matter they can be fixed with a bit of epoxy or cyano :D. And they are so cheap to get into the air on standard setups.

Basically you can not take racing a big hunk of foam too seriously so it is just a laugh.