Mike Gunn Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Hi All Mike here from Thurrock in Essex. Started building balsa planes when I was around 8, and have always been fascinated with the prospect of flying by radio. I have got near it several times by building the models, but have generally bottled out not wanting to break my nice new creation. The closest I got was when I joined a local club, but no-one ever seemed to have enough time to instruct etc. In frustration I eventually tried it alone....well with the help of an equally inexperienced pal who brought his plane along as well. You have probably guessed the ending by now ? His 4 chanell trainer nose dived from height onto the top of an 8 foot concrete fence post.....what a brilliantly accurate shot !. Everything was shed from the fuselage, and the engine was scrap. He absolutely insisted that I have a go, and so my 3 channel beauty was hurled aloft. I did everything I had read apart from flying the circuit in front of me. I gradually span round as I conducted each turn (little up elevator plus rudder....whoopee turn 4 complete, and then all of a sudden a huge tree leapt into the air and caught my plane ! Hmmmmm. That convinced me that flying was impossible, so I sold the plane which surprisingly just had a little dink in one leading edge.Now the bug has bitten again after reading RCME and seeing where electric and EPP has developed. No smelly engines that hurt, planes that crash and bounce, or can be glued quickly, and flight sims that look real. I reached the age of 50, and realised I had 2 major life ambitions (just 2....sad eh) One was to play the drums (I did dabble when a teenager) and the other was to fly radio (which at the time I considered impossible) Now at 54 I play regularly in a rock band, and so the final frontier must now be crossed. Electric it will be atter I have done a good few hours on my new Phoenix flight sim which is just brilliant.Question....are there any small all electric clubs anywhere near Thurrock in Essex)Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Gates Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Mike There is a club at Canvey Island, which has a field at Billaricky (bad spelling I know) if that is of any help.If you do not mind a little travelling, then I will be more than pleased to help you get to the stage where you can take off, do a circuit and land safely. I am not a BMFA trainer but I have been flying for nearly 30 years and have trained others.I fly with a group of like minded modellers at a local park, predominantly electric although some glow is flow too. PM me if you want more info or wish to hook up. No need to bring model and radio initially, I can buddy you on one of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former Member Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 [This posting has been removed] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Gates Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 You be flying with the yellow UFO later then Eric? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flytilbroke Posted September 21, 2008 Share Posted September 21, 2008 Hi Mike, welcome back to a great way to spend money, oops, I shouldn`t have said that Electric motor power can hurt just as badly as IC engines, but they don`t have rhe correct smell or sound Puzzled as to why an ALL ELECTRIC club though, most clubs I think, have a mix of power source. Anyway I wish you success Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gunn Posted September 21, 2008 Author Share Posted September 21, 2008 Hi all Thanks for the warm welcome. Hi flytilbroke (great name)....looking at the wording I should have said all electric would be great, as I dont mind mixed either. I was thinking that by mentioning all electric I might widen the search a bit as I am guessing they can operate from fields closer to houses due to the lack of noise. As for the pain part, I just dont like adjusting the needle valve, as it's too close to the spinning thingy...lol. I do however agree about both the sound as long as it's a 4 stroke, and smell as this is a reminder of childhood days watching control line pilots on Barnes Common or Richmond Park....cant remember which lol.Hi Andy....thanks for a really kind gesture to get me in the air !!. I will pm you shortly, and hopefully we can arrange something soon. Biilericay( my wifes spelling) sounds great, as I have a caravan at Battlesbridge and spend most weekends there. Even from home it's no problem.I already have a bit of r/c kit in the form of a Zoom 400 micro heli which is all carbon/brushless. I'm reassemling it at the moment as it looked poorly set up after having a belt drive system fitted. I have also got an autopilot system to install which maintains the hover when you let go of the sticks (so it says on the tin). Judging by my poor heli performance on the Phoenix sim, it will be some time before this little machine takes to the air !My primary aim is to fly a plane, and it would be great to meet up at the field and check out what transmitters etc you all use, as well as discuss what would be a good trainer for me. Having a go at flying on a buddied plane would really be a huge bonus.Once again thanks to all who have replied. Really glad I joined !Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Mc Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Great intro and welcome to the forum Mike.I'm a bit north of you in sunny Suffolk, but... when you do get to a club check out the gear they're using (transmitters etc) and if you like the look of something then go along that manufacturer's route. It can be a right pain going along to a club where nobody has the same gear as you, as it can cause problems if there's nobody to help sort out any problems with programming and setting up etc. Best of luck with your flying.Andy Mc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Gates Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 Just to bring you all up to date, I met up with Mike on Saturday at the field I fly at.We had corresponded by PM followed by a brief chat over mobiles to get to know each other and to decide a course of action. I sent Mike a picture of the plane he was to be buddied on just so he was not too supprised by the size of it, not huge but if you have been seeing park fliers then a 6' plane is a little much.Blessed with beautifull weather, we really made the most of it, so after a brief run through of what is what, a pre flight check and into setting the buddy up so Mike could use his own Tx.With this easy to see slow flying model, Mike managed to get around 45 mins of flying on the buddy box with a definate observable improvement over the course of the day. Mike was actually beginning to enjoy the flying by the end of the day with the nerves gone and a great big grin on his face.Hopefully we will get together again and Mike will be able to progress further.For those of you who wonder why instructors teach others to fly, believe me the grins that come from the accomplishments of others is payment enough in itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Well done guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Yes well done indeed, that sort of thing is just what the hobby thrives on IMO - friendly help.PS welcome aboard Mike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gunn Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 Hi AllA huge thank you Andy for your piloting skills and infinite patience as an instructor. I particularlly like the use of the phrase....."no, the other left", when coaching me through turns.....lolThat really is a great aeroplane, and so tempting to build one myself, but I will probably stick to the original plan of a foam electric trainer to abuse in te early stages, and then think about a nice build once I have improved my skills.Looking forward to another bash really soon if thats ok......got a gig on tonight(my other hobby) so will be really late back tonight and will need to put in some 'home time' tmrw, else I'll be in bad books !Once again thanks for a really enjoyable afternoon, and look forward to meeting up again really soon. Till then I'll keep practicing with the simCheers.....Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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