first flight at new club today

[JayCee]

Well Dave what a lot of good advice and welcome to the forum.

 

I started flying last year after retiring and I did find it difficult to begin with, what has been said is true you don't learn quite so quickly when you are older but if you stick at it I promise you it will come.

 

I crashed so many models to begin with it was embarrassing, but all of a sudden it just clicks, you stand on the line one day and you realise for the first time that you feel relaxed, when thing go wrong, as they will, you don't panic, you reduce the speed and level the wings and all is well.

 

I now have seven models and practice with all of them as much as I can, younger members have passed their 'A' before me, I hope to take mine later this year...but it's not a race it's about enjoying a hobby which is great fun.

 

JC

[Tom Wright 2]

David I don't think you investment to date has been wasted,if you had gone out with a typical ic trainer, your initial lone flying experience would have been less constructive, more expensive ,and more destructive, and you may have never gained the enthusiasm to go to a club and progress on to bigger things.I think it would be quite easy to reduce the dihedral on your foamies ,add ailerons ,and change the mode in line with the club trainer.Best of luck for your next club session.

[Tim Mackey]

Sorry David, I accidentally deleted your post instead of editing it for mild language.

Rescued from my deleted box..here is Daves reply.

 

 

Thanks again i like the clothes line and the low wing idea i will try this next week and let you know if it works for me , and i was flying on the same mode as my foamy so i cant blame that idea, im not going to give up i have invested a lot off money on membership and 3 planes, i wish i had waited on buying any planes as i dont think any of them are sutible, may be my super cub is the only one if i convert it to ailerons, what i have spent i could of got i realy good trainer a bit annoyed about it , next week im going to enjoy myself

thats why i have come back to the hobby after 25 years never give up.

 

[fly boy3]

Hi David. the flying towards oneself is a bit more difficult than other manouveres,but if possible try nor to get into this position at all until you have a few more flights under your belt. Another cheat is to turn your shoulder one way or another until your chest is parallel with the models flight path (when it is coming towards you,) then normal rght/ left stick inputs will be ok. This may not be the 100% correct thing to do , but it may help until your cofidence has built up. Cheers

[JayCee]

I'm pretty sure the 3 channel Super Cub stick controls are more or less the same as a 4 channel alerion model.

 

Mode 2 Throttle only left stick. Right stick elevator and rudder!

 

JC

[Tom Wright 2]

Yes Jay Cee but if David has the old type tx that came with the cub its only got 1 chan on the left .......a slider for throttle.

Edited By tom wright 2 on 13/02/2011 15:06:50

[JayCee]

Surely that's Mode 1!

 

JC

 

Edit:- your to quick for me Tom  you changed Right to LEFT while I was typing!

 

JC

Edited By JayCee on 13/02/2011 15:10:41

Edited By JayCee on 13/02/2011 15:11:21

[Tom Wright 2]

JC quick !....... not me still got big L plates on this pc key board thingy.

 

Hope your spit maiden goes well.

Edited By tom wright 2 on 13/02/2011 15:25:10

[david 7]

Hi all, thanks again for your help, just some info for Tom wright, and jaycee 2, the super cub is a lp model 2.4 ghz bnf, i am useing the dxe 5 from my radian thats still in the box and bound it to the super cub lp, the controls are the same as the club buddy box.

Tim sorry if i offended any one with my mild language ref.

[Hamish]

David, what I found with Spektrum buddy lead system is that both controllers need to be trimmed separately and then linked by buddy lead, which is a bit of a nuisance as you have to bind and then rebind. I previously had Futaba and the system could be programmed such that the trainer took the master settings or the other way round however it had been programmed. Any others find this?

 

No doubt your trainers will guide you accordingly

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Hamish there's no need to rebind.

 

If you bind and set up trims on the "master" transmitter as you would normally.

 

Then plug in the "pupil" transmitter to the "master", hold over the trainer switch on the master and set up the pupil trims.

 

As a final check, keep switching the trainer switch and check that there's no movement of surfaces when you switch between master and pupil. And you can check that surface directions are correct at this point too.

 

Simples

 

 

If the master is a DX8, then there are more trainer options. It can be set up so the master has complete control of trims and the pupil just has to be set to "standard" all zero configuration.

[Hamish]

Thanks Chris. I found it easier to set up individually as it is not just trims but rates, equipotential, wing type etc however this was with the DX6i. You are also flying the model and therefore get the feel.

[David Davis]

David

 

There is an unending argument as to whether it is better to learn to fly on a three or four channel model first.

 

For what it's worth I feel that older learners are better off on three channels but having said that I've seen old (and infirm!) beginners taking to ailerons like ducks to water and even if you did start on three channels a time would come when you would progress onto four and in the words of one four channel enthusiast, "You have to learn all over again."

 

Having had a few flights on a four channel trainer, keep practising and with a competent instructor you'll get the hang of it and will wonder what you were worried about once you've got your A Certificate.

 

PS. Even experienced pilots like me can crash a model. I even succeeded in wiping the undercarriage off a six foot trainer by landing too quickly. It went backwards and took out the rear fuselage. I was left with a three dimensional jig-saw puzzle in the end, but it's all part of the hobby.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Yeap, I took an undercart out this weekend as well. I was unsighted by the sun on finals - we're not used to seeing the sun up our neck of the woods. By the time I picked it up I was far too low and too fast.

 

So don't worry David, we all do it now and then!

 

BEB

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Posted by Hamish on 14/02/2011 12:06:09:
Thanks Chris. I found it easier to set up individually as it is not just trims but rates, equipotential, wing type etc however this was with the DX6i. You are also flying the model and therefore get the feel.

I agree Hamish, fly the model and get the feel with the master, but I'd then just set up the pupil transmitter to match exactly, on the ground. Not go through the whole trimming rigmarole again in the air.

[Tom Wright 2]

BEB Was it a ME109/

[Hamish]

Thanks Chris and probably simpler but everybody has there own preferences. My point in posting was to make David aware that other adjustments may need to be made and its not just a plug in buddy lead and fly.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Posted by tom wright 2 on 14/02/2011 13:25:43:

BEB Was it a ME109/

 

I didn't get that at first! - but once the penny dropped -

 

Just for the record though - no it wasn't, it was a pretty little Miles Maggie I built a while back - now in need of some minor repairs!

 

BEB

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Posted by Hamish on 14/02/2011 13:40:56:
Thanks Chris and probably simpler but everybody has there own preferences. My point in posting was to make David aware that other adjustments may need to be made and its not just a plug in buddy lead and fly.

I certainly agree that there's always plenty of ways to do things.

You are quite right that there's plenty to set up.

[david 7]

Hi all, looks like i have a lot of intrest on my post, when i said i was useing my dxe 5 transmitter it was not for my flying lesson or being used as a buddy box, the club has 3 sets of futaba gear that they use and by the look of them they dont look cheap ones, again he set and trimed the plane when it was on the ground and some very small adjustments when we was in the air, been thinking about the proping up the low wing idea when flying towards me i think i will try this idea on saturday and see if its works for me,had a bit off spare time last night at work so i got a small lenth of wood a set a diffrent angle facing me to see if i could get in my memory sounds a bit stupid i know,even my work mates seem to think i had lost my mind and could not work what i was doing and said i think you better go home are you feeling ok, i said to one of them get the stick and run down the warehouse angle the stick as you turn the corner and run back to me, no one would do it but i did try, i think the simulator would be better.

 

Dave

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Nice try David, I might try that at work and see if I can get sent home..

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

My work mates think I'm mad enough as it is - that would just finish me off in their eyes completely! Good try though.

 

BEB

[aidan mcatamney]

just reading some of the earlier comments on the benefits of using the phoenix sim, i couldnt agree more. i like david just flew small foam models on my own for 5 or 6 years. most sundays for weeks on end i would crash and it ended up that there was more glue on the plane than elapor foam. these were just rudder control foamies and when i crashed i was always glad that no one was around to witness the disaster lol. anyway i took a mad notion of learning to fly a glow plane but before i took the plunge i bought a phoenix 2.5 sim in april of 2010. i carried on flying the foamies throughout the summer and at every oportunity when the weather was bad i got onto the sim mainly learning how to fly a high wing ic trainer. this piece of equipment was invaluable for when i decided in jan of this year to get an alpha 40 it helped me to maiden the plane totally on my own. since then ive had over 12 flights and i put a lot of it down to training on the sim. ive now joined a local club and the members are fantastic at offering advice and help whenever i have any questions to ask. flying all those past years with foamies on my own was just ok but im really glad to be in a club now sharing and exchanging knowledge with other members plus it can be great fun too. im now 47 and i hope im still flying at 70 because i love it that much. i would say to anyone your never too old to learn., just keep going and it will all come together .

[david 7]

Hi all, thanks for advise was going for lesson today no one avalible on rota today any way its raining, took advise and got sim yesterday did not want to spend loads so got reality craft looks ok for the money £20 any one used this or have any tips useing it, hope it helps with my orientation problem when i can get on the sticks again hope it helps with the cofidence thing that im having at moment, if it dont work then i have given it my best shot.

 

Dave

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Hi Dave

 

I have not used Reality Craft extensively but I have tried it on someone else's computer and it was absolutely fine.

 

Should be ideal for your orientation problem. Just remember that it is actually easier to see a real plane than the sim one. If it gets too far away then no one can tell orientation, it's not just you.

 

Sims are great,any problems and you can just start again. No costly crashes.