First ever flight

[Zinzan]

Had my first ever flight today. I got over to the club field early this morning so nobody would be around to witness the trauma. Although it was a bit windy for a foam trainer I managed to get it in the air, sort of fly it round the field and land it without any damage. Woo hoo! Took off again and watched it disappear over the adjacent ploughed field as the wind took hold of it and watched it fall to earth semi-gracefully and land nose first into a furrow. It broke the plastic prop so I replaced it from the extensive stock of spare props I carry and tried again. The wind was gusting too strong so I called it a day. Still, I'm happy with what I'd achieved but I think I'll get a lot more practice in before attempting to fly the Magnatilla I've built. Here's hoping for a windless day in Lincolnshire. Some hope.

[Don Fry]

No, you did not do your first flight, you did a landing, there is a BIG difference. Take off is voluntary, landing is compulsory. A code which all flyers should have engraved in their soul. Well done, you are getting there. And you walked away from the bad conditions, double well done.

Edited By Donald Fry on 08/09/2015 19:07:04

[Steveflys]

Training???

As safety officer for our club I would have taken a very dim view of you turning up unsupervised for your first flight.

I would suggest that you were very lucky to get away with a broken prop and not possibly have hit someone or something. I certainly don't want to quash your enthusiasm as it's a brilliant hobby, but it is fraught with danger and has to be treated with respect.

I urge you to get some training, you'll really benefit from it.f

Good luck for the future.

[Dave Hopkin]

I think you can count yourself lucky to be taking a plane home!

It sounds like you lost control of the aircraft due to a mix of inexperience/too strong a wind for the model

I have no wish to dampen your enthusiasm and pleasure BUT you also have a legal responsibility to ensure that each and every flight you make can be carried out safely.

Please hook up with a club instructor and learn to fly that way - I assure you no-one will laugh at you and you will get more respect for understanding the safety implications

[cymaz]

One of the biggest lessons you learn from having an experienced instructor is knowing .....

When not to fly.....this seems to have been the case. You will learn this with experience and help

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Steveflys on 08/09/2015 19:10:11:

Training???

As safety officer for our club I would have taken a very dim view of you turning up unsupervised for your first flight.

I would suggest that you were very lucky to get away with a broken prop and not possibly have hit someone or something. I certainly don't want to quash your enthusiasm as it's a brilliant hobby, but it is fraught with danger and has to be treated with respect.

I urge you to get some training, you'll really benefit from it.f

Good luck for the future.

It really depends on Dave's club's rules whether or not he was allowed to fly his (probably lightweight) foamy trainer. While it would be against ours, I'd hesitate to condemn him for doing what many have done before without knowing his club's policy - yes, the services of an instructor will probably lead to earlier success but poor old (or young?) Dave's parade seems to have been heavily rained on!

Well done - and very well done for realising that the model and your experience weren't up to further attempts - you've probably learnt a lot today, so keep up the good work!

[Gavin Livsey]

Hmm. Why join a club if you're going to insist on going alone?

Care to say what club you belong to in Lincolnshire? Not mine, I hope. Like most, I should imagine, you can't fly solo until you have either done your "A" or been signed off by an instructor.

Edited By Gavin Livsey on 08/09/2015 20:50:07

[Zinzan]

I'm beginning to regret making the post. Suffice to say I'll not be posting again to this forum if this is how you treat a newbie. We all make mistakes sometimes.

[cymaz]

Posted by Dave Allen 2 on 08/09/2015 20:52:12:

I'm beginning to regret making the post. Suffice to say I'll not be posting again to this forum if this is how you treat a newbie. We all make mistakes sometimes.

A bit harsh....fellow fliers are all to aware that things can happen and get out of control very fast. this may land up in an accident or damage. No one wants to see that.

Suffice to say stay safe and watch yourself.

[Tony F]

Congrats on your first flight Dave I'm in a club and flew by myself due to my shyness and the attitude of some of my club members. I now only ever fly by myself and find it extremely relaxing. All I'd recommend is get insurance. Enjoy your hobby mate

Tony

Edited By Tony F on 08/09/2015 21:13:15

[Dave Hopkin]

Dave, what we are all concerned with is safety - a flying model, even a light weight foamie can turn into a missile and cause a great deal of damage - and in windy conditions its actually very easy with a lightweight model to fly yourself into a position you cannot recover from.

There has been at least one person killed by model aircraft, my own brother in law (non flyer) suffered a broken leg when he was hit by a glider whilst walking on Ditchling Beacon years ago

Please take on board the advice thats been offered in the spirit it was intended rather than take it as a put down

[Piers Bowlan]

I feel for you Dave, Why some people feel the need to make sanctimonious and judgmental comments when a newby makes this kind of post is beyond me! I mean, it was a little foamy trainer not a multi-turbine LMA scale job. It was early in the morning and maybe the nearest vessels, vehicles, persons or structures were several miles away, so the only risk was to Dave himself and his model. He has joined a club in any event, so what are some of you complaining about?

[Shaunie]

Hi Dave,

Congratulations on your first successful flight, but please don't take all our advice the wrong way. What we want is for you to succeed, none of us want you to fail. If you continue in this hobby and I hope you will, you may well look back and go "did I really do that?" What may seem reasonable to you as a beginner will make many experienced pilots toes curl.

Get some tuition, enjoy the hobby.

Shaunie.

[Richard B (DB Sport and Scale Ltd)]

Hi Dave,

Well done for taking your plane to a club for starts (many people would be tempted by any open space) and yes, it can be daunting to fly with other people around. However, everyone else has undoubtedly crashed something at some time. It's a big initial hurdle but worth it.

Get some help because it will save you money in the long run and it's so demoralising if you crash and are out of action for repairs (and you don't want to injure yourself or others). We all want you to be successful when it comes time to fly your Magnatilla.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Me i'll keep out of it, I would say though, this forum provides a lot of help and information from a lot of people, worth staying with I reckon.

John

[ChrisB]

Hi Dave, I think you have done reasonably well for your first attempt. Please don't be offended by some of the rather strongly worded posts. As others have said, they are all meant to assist you in progressing in our wonderful hobby in a safe and considered way which won't cost you money.

You mentioned you are in a club. Do they have a training scheme or instructor to help you? Its been 20 years since I first began flying but we've all been there and while it can be daunting to fly with other people present, everyone has their moments and old chinese proverb say "the man who never made a mistake never did any work".

Cheers

CB

[Jon Laughton]

Hi Dave Allen 2

You did very well to manage the flights you made and are to be congratulated but remember that the comments made here in response to your initial post, whilst they may lack subtlety or even tact (?), are made in the interests of everyone in this hobby/sport.

Anyone who recklessly endangers themselves, others or property by flying unsafely or beyond their capability gives the 'anti drone' lobby et al plenty of opportunity to potentially further restrict flying for everyone including those who are skilful and have been doing it for years! Nobody wants that....

The recommendation to get help / supervision and assistance will be pretty universal not just in this forum but in other forums and at all responsible clubs. Good luck with your flying however it goes in the future!

Jon

[Alan Thorpe]

Hey Dave,
Well done! Its great to fly for the first time and come back with model in one piece.....you fared much better than I.....walked into gate and broke tail before it even got in the air!

I yhink you did the right thing.....early at field nobody or thing around.....and you called it a day when wind became too strong. Perfect.

i flew my biggest glider just last week for the first time....i did as you did....early flight and nobody about. It flew and survived.....i breathed again and went home happy!

Hope you get a calm day soon and enjoy some nice flying!

What does the build look like so far? Stick up some pictures.......i'm slowly very slowly finishing a glider!!

Good man!

[Rich too]

Ignore 'em Dave, I taught myself, and feel better for it. Well done

Make sure you've got insurance and get back out there, you can't beat stick time.

 

Good luck

 

Edited By Rich2 on 09/09/2015 06:38:15

[Mark Kettle 1]

Adventures and New Excitement found from RC model flying.

Hello Dave Allen 2, this is Mark Kettle 1 from Rutland, don't get to disgruntled by some of the comments and posts made on here, I can tell with the tone of the comments made by forum members that they only want the best and positive outcomes from your adventures and new excitement you have found from RC model flying.

To have someone at your side when you fly ie:. - a Trainer, Instructor or maybe someone you know who's already a model flyer already helps a lot in your early days.

If your close to Rutland I'm willing to stand by your side and help with any early flights and learning.

Here's a video that leads into a set of early learning RC beginner series.

This is number 4 in the series.

 

 

Oh and by the way, Welcome Dave to this forum I'll enjoy reading (watching) your progress.

 

 

 

 

Edited By Mark Kettle 1 on 09/09/2015 07:12:07

[Peter Miller]

I don't know which trainer you are using however maybe this will give you some encouragement.

WE had a new member come along with an Eflite Apprentice. He said that it was fully stabilased etc. One of our members took it up to check for trim etc .

The new member then took it off, flew round for 5 minutes and landed. with someone standing beside him He then spent the rest of the afternoon flying on his own.

No one told him he couldn't. they just watched to make sure he was flying without problems.

[Dai Fledermaus]

Dave you will get nothing but help and encouragement on this forum, but what you have to keep in mind is that not only do you have a responsibility for your own safety and those around you, but also for the reputation of the Club and it's members.

If your model had got away from you and caused some damage to someone or to someone's property, then the focus will be not only you but also on the Club itself. There is increasing pressure on flying sights, for all sorts of reasons, so we ALL need to be collectively responsible and mindful not to antagonise the Natives.

[Peter Christy]

I think a lot of people forget how they got started in this hobby! Like the OP, I too had my first flight solo, and that was 50 years ago! There wasn't anyone around to teach or advise, we just got on with it! 10 years later, I was doing the same with helicopters - again, no-one around to help or advise, if you wanted to do it, you just got on with it.

Of course, there are provisos! My initial flights were well away from civilisation, where there was little chance of an accident causing any damage or injury. I could already fly control-line, so I had some modelling nous. And those early single channel models were little more than "radio affected" rather than "radio controlled". But so what? The sense of achievement was enormous, and probably one reason why I've stuck with the hobby for so long.

As long as the pilot is sensible about things, and chooses his equipment and site sensibly, then I see no problem. It would certainly be a lot easier today than it was in those far-off times.

Of course, if he had been some idiot trying to fly a scale Spitfire in a public park without any training, then it would be another matter. But from the post, it seems he did things sensibly and learned a lot from his experience.

Good for him, I say!

--

Pete

[ken anderson.]

hello dave...dont despair at the replies that you have had from other forumites......its only advice on how you maybe should have done things.............take a deep breath and progress on......most people on here will have your best interests at heart....all them years ago i did the same as you .... as my enthusiasm took over my common sense bit.......have fun along the way....steep learning curve at first...

ken anderson...ne...1 ....support for dave dept.

[Ross Clarkson]

I'm not being funny but I regularly see experienced modeler's at the field who can just about manage what Dave completed.

Some of the "trained" elders with "years" of experience struggle to keep a model airborne, never mind land them in one piece. It's pretty standard to see a prop flying off, a wheel departing, controls reversed, running out of fuel etc.....

Well done Dave, it's certainly a learning curve but keep it up, keep learning and good luck for the future.

I have a sneaky suspicion I know why you felt it necessary to go early and avoid some particulars! Don't let them put you off, take a deep breath, check and re-check and then fly.