first flight at new club today

[david 7]

Been used to flying small foamys on my own but i wanted to progress to bigger

models, i joined my local club as advised and made my way to my new club today , i met my trainer at the site and helped him set up the club trainer, it was ic and a lot bigger than i was used to, my trainer said how are you with ailerons, i said i dont do ailerons only rudder, he said forget rudder and use the ailerons, the first flight was rubbish he had to take over from me a lot,by now my confidence had gone and i wanted to go home i have only been used to a rudder, he was a great guy a tried to get my confidents back, he said if it was easy every one would be doing it, i watched a couple of beginers and they were good but they were only 12 year old and i am 53, it was my turn next and things were going better made some good circuit and i could feel him nudge me in the side when it whent well when i was flying lost orientation a couple of times he said so much better than the last flight but i did not feel any better, if i could get my super cub out and show him but he said its to windy, realy felt like i had come home with my tail between my legs i have lost all my confidence

may be i am to hard on my self but i dont know what do you think

 

all th best Dave

[Andy Harris]

David

 

You've clearly made progress over two flights.

 

Rudders are more tricky than Ailerons. It will all be OK.

[Ross Clarkson]

You're last line summed it up!

Definitely too hard on yourself!!

 

Its totally a confidence thing, and over time that will come!

I lost my confidence when i had my first crash this year, totally destroying my aircraft!! That soon went though, the next time i went flying and i was airborne again!!!!! I was soon reminded i was getting too confident again after a couple of near misses!!!

 

Its all a learning curve, and just when you have your confidence back, you will then get too confident and do something silly, which reminds you to not get over confident!!!!!!

 

Its all about how you get your confidence back.

 

Stay with it, it will come and you will thrive on it.

 

Keep it up, good luck.

[Tom Wright 2]

David don't worry, today you have done something different ,but if you been asked to steer using the stick opposite to the side you are used to,then that is a bit like changing modes,if this is the case then you have my sympathy.If its just a matter of using the same stick , with aileron instead of rudder things could have been quite easy for you.

,Asking a student to go from three controls on an EP foam job to a 6lb 5ft affair with a ic 40 or 60 screaming away at the front ,and four controls to think off is asking a bit much!

[Delta Whiskey]

Sorry to be short - but get Phoenix !

[fly boy3]

Hi David, don't forget we have all been there in one guise or another, even your tutor will agree with that. As you stated you wanted to progress, and you have gone the right way about it. I agree with Tom, the move is quite large, but with a few more flights under your belt you will be there I am sure. I started at 51 years old but I love flying still after 20 odd years. cheers Hope you will post again to let us know how you are getting on.

[BB]

David, I started on a 3 channel thingy. And its good sometimes to have your tail between your legs. Least you know where it is if you need to grab it quickly !!

 

Sounds like your instructor is very forgiving. Stick with it. You'll surprise yourself next lesson.

 

If it ain't fun, your doing it almost right !!!

 

BB

[Tom Wright 2]

Delta Whiskey ?

[flytilbroke]

Sorry you found it hard to accept, I will say you wanted to learn to fly bigger (more complex?) models. This you cannot do only flying your little model.

 

Do not confuse older age with the ability to learn quickly, kids can nearly always outperform older people in the learning stakes. Accept that your instructor will do his best for you, also that the Trainer model IS the best way forward and that it will take time.

 

Remember that there is nothing to stop you flying your little model other than just perhaps confusing yourself with different flying characteristics.

 

Please persist, it will happen quite quickly as you do have some idea of how a plane looks in the air.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

FTB has a good point there David. Don't use youngsters as your yardstick - they learn very quick. But believe me no way is 50 odd too late to learn - it just might take you a little longer than when you were 12!

 

You are in a bit of an usual situation. You have achieved a level of competance with your small model and you are surprised that your flying with this more complex, bigger, models is not so good (yet!). You probably feel like you are going backwards - right? But the key to this is that this trainer is more complex. Not necessarly much more difficult to fly than what you are used to - but definitely different. It takes time to take used to it - give yourself that time.

 

Your instructor sounds a great guy. Believe me, he will have seen much worse than you, and much better! So don't feel ambarrassed. He seems to be handling your learning really well. Looking after you when you are in trouble, encouraging you when it goes well. And he's dead right - if this was easy anyone would be able to do it, and there would be no sense of achievement when you suceed - as you will!

 

The advice to get a simulator like Pheonix is good - it wont teach you to fly on its own, but it will help you make progress faster.

 

So, finally, hang on in there. It will all come together. Remember, somedays will be great and you'll feel on top of the world and others will be a mini disaster area! But overall you will make progress. Try not to be so anxious about it all, and enjoy learning at your own pace.

 

BEB

 

 

[Steven Butler]

This is my story of how I learnt to fly

 

I have learnt to fly using Phoenix. I went to the Southern model airshow in September last year to take my son for a day out. I was so impressed with the planes I bought a copy of Phoenis with a DX6i in October. I started to learn helis but was more drawn to the fixed wing after a short time.

 

On the way home from work in November I popped in to the LMS and saw an Alpha 40 trainer that I had to have. I then started practicing more and more on fixed wing on the sim.

 

I knew I couldnt just go out and fly the Alpha so I joined Maidstone Model Flying club. Very friendly and the chairman helped me to set up the plane and took it up for the first flight.

 

I took the controls and was quite competent as a result of using the sim. After two flights I did a landing, after four flights I did a take off and after 6 I did a full flight while my instructor rolled and smoked a cigarette. He then passed me as solo after 7 flights. I had done basic aeros (loops,stalls etc). It would have taken months to progress to solo without the sim.

 

With real flight you have to have the time off at the same time as an instructor who has to have the time to train you on a day when there arent too many people wanting to fly, if you have a problem with the model flying stops, if its bad weather flying stops. Based on this it is unsurprising it takes so long. The sim however is always there and available in all weather. You do not need 4 hrs in the day to go on it. If you only have a spare 10 minutes you can get a couple of flights in. If you land heavy or crash you just take off again and fly.

 

It will quickly teach you the muscle memory a beginner needs to fly much more instinctively than you are currently capable of.

 

My alpha is now up for sale as I have a cougar 2000 and a 120 size yak 54. The cougar was maidened by me a couple of weeks ago and I am able to do loads of aeros with it and it is a HOOT to fly. The yak is much more of a challenge but the sim gave me the confidence to have a go and I took it up solo last week for four glorious flights in bright winter sunshine.

 

I have been told I should now practice for my B certificate as the instructors feel I an capable of achieving this.

 

This post is not a boast about the way I fly but simply a demonstration of just how effective practicing on the sim is. It would have taken me all year and probably a few crashes to have progressed to where I am now. My advice is get the sim but try and be disciplined and practice take offs and landings, circuits both ways, then progress to figure 8's low passes etc. You will benefit massively from this and be enjoying the actual flying much quicker than you could imagine. My only issue with a sim (after doing the real thing) is that it is like flying whilst looking through a letter box and it is much harder to orientate yourself for landings etc than doing it for real. They also have tutorials for aerobatics and loads of different planes to enjoy. Also when you have finished with it just sell it on and you will get most of your money back.

 

I hope this post is useful to you. I think the sim is invaluable to get you going and couple that with your instructor at the club you will have a fantastic summer and will probably be solo before you know it

 

Steve

[David Ashby - Moderator]

That's exceptionally good going Steven, very well done there 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME Administrator on 13/02/2011 07:26:24

[david 7]

Thanks for all your words of advise, i will look into the phonix option i think the problem that made me feel not confident was when flying up wind i could do a nice turn giving it a bit of up elevator to keep it level and a bit of oposite turn to keep it staight, but going down wind i could not tell what the plane was doing as it looked very small , and only found out that the plane would stay in a turn if i did not give it some oposite input, and this model flys a lot faster as well , do you have any tips on useing the controls when the model is flying towards you and then away as i tend to get a bit confushed .

 

thanks for all your help

Dave

[Tim Mackey]

One tip that may work for you was given to me when I was learning - when the model is flying towards you, imagine that the aileron stick is like a clothes prop, and the wing is like the washing line...if "the line" appears to be sagging lower on one side, then push the prop ( the aileron stick in this case ) over to the the low side IYSWIM.

This unfortunately reveals just how long ago I was being taught....who has clothes lines and props these days

[Josip Vrandecic -Mes]

David 7, please du not give up ...better less than more confidence (to start)

All the best Jo (age 64)

[John Privett]

David, a piece of advice often given to beginners when flying towards themselves is to move the stick to "prop up" the wing that's low.

 

In other words, if, flying towards yourselves, you find that the wing on your right has dropped (so the plane is now turning to its left) then, to correct this, move the aileron stick to the right as if to prop up that wing. The resultant right-aileron will bring the wings level at which point centralise the stick.

 

With practice the control inputs become instinctive and you don't really conciously think about them any longer. Rather like when you learnt to drive, initially changing gear was a battle of memory and concious thinking. After a while it just "happens automatically."

 

[Edit] OK, it seems that Tim types faster than me...

Edited By John Privett on 13/02/2011 10:58:02

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Yeah, I'm another supporter of the "prop up the low wing" technique for beginners! This will help you at first. But John is right, after a while you simply don't "think" about it - you just do it.

 

This whole thing is usually called the "orientation problem". If you think you have it tough wait until you see a full size pilot learning RC - they often really struggle with this!

 

This is something that Pheonix can help you learn. Its part of what Steven calls "muscle memory" - with lots of practice your fingers just do the right thing without you consciously thinking about it.

 

BEB

[Delta Whiskey]

Posted by tom wright 2 on 12/02/2011 19:51:18:

Delta Whiskey ?

 

Phoenix RC Flight Sim would be a good place to start moving from a 3 to 4 channel setup - and as you go along too !

 

 

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Is there a reason everyone is plugging Phoenix? There are other simulators, for all budgets.

 

FMS can be downloaded for free and can be made to work with a very cheap adapter cable. Or even better value is a copy with a controller such as this

 

RC Planemaster is another option at a good price.

 

Aerofly Professional is very good indeed and there are quite a few others.

 

See a few examples here

[Delta Whiskey]

No Chris, other than that I have tried them all, and IMO none are better than Phoenix !

[DH 82A]

From the OP's description of using rudder only on his foamys, I would think he's been flying on Mode 1 ( rudder on rt stick ). If then his club instructor is getting him to use a Mode 2 Tx, that could be most of the problem. If the club could try him on a Mode 1 Tx, with ailerons on the Rt stick, he would get on much better I'm sure.

[Steven Butler]

The reason I am recommending phoenix is because that is the system I have used. I do not believe in personally recommending things I have not tried. I am sure the other sims are also good.

 

Steve

[Les Holloway]

I was 63 when I started flying RC, and I struggled for the first 18 months, getting only occasional "lessons" from the designated instructor at my first club. Whether I got to fly depended on whether he had remembered to bring the club trainer, whether the engine would start or not, and how many others were in the queue before me. With sometimes several weeks between each flight I seemed to make little progress.

 

I then joined another club which ran a proper training scheme. For a modest fee I booked a series of six one-hour lessons (in three 20-minute slots) at weekly intervals. Targets were set, practiced and achieved, skills steadily improved. At the end I took and passed my A certificate.

 

Sadly, not many clubs are so well organized. If flight simulators like Aerofly Pro and Phoenix had been around then I think they would have speeded up my progress no end - but there is still no substitute for the real thing and a good instructor.

 

Incidentally I am now 75 and still flying a wide range of both i.c. and electric aircraft - so don't let anyone tell you age is a barrier to enjoying this wonderful sport!

Edited By Les Holloway on 13/02/2011 13:09:41

[Stephen Grigg]

Im not into simulators.I took up flying at 63 so your way ahead of me so far Dave.Ive now been flying 3 years and just starting my 3rd year with a club.Ive seen people come and go over the 2 years Ive been with the club and one collegur=e has taken a long time to get the hang of flying but it is now just starting to click.Alab Bahia has been an amazing help ti this member,and has himself come on unbelievably quickly in only a couple of years from beginner to instructor

[ericrw]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to the forum. Using Phoenix played a big part in helping me to get my "A" within 18 months. And that at the age of 79 yrs. You'll know you are on the way when you lose the "dry mouth" syndrome. Good luck to you and don't give up !! Eric.