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Wheelchair user would appreciate some help??


bailieant
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Good evening,
 

Firstly thank you for having me onboard this forum and from reading through the topics and posts it looks like a great place particularly if you have an interest in model flying.
 

Around 3 years ago I developed a rare neurological disease which has left me wheelchair bound. For as long as I can remember I've always dreamt about flying rc planes, jets etc. Since my health hasn't been great over the last few years I decided to bite the bullet and have a go at flying rc. 
 

This is what brings me here.! Having done some research I've listed several trainer type planes which I've shortlisted as suitable for getting into the hobby. They are ;
 

Aerscout 1.1m 

 

Habu sts 70mm

 

Apprentice 1.5m

 

Carbon cub s2 1.3m

 

T-28 Trojan 1.1m   

 

Apprentice 1.2m

 

Sport club s2 umx-

 

Bigfoot 1.3m-

 

Pioneer 620m

 

 I'd appreciate you're thoughts on the above models. If there are any others you feel should be in my shortlist please feel free to add them. Also forgot to add my 10 year old son would have a great interest in RC so he could come with me to help and fly also.

 

Cheers 

 

Joe

 

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Hi Joe and welcome to the forum.

 

I have flown with a wheel chair bound gentleman whose flying was a real stress outlet for him.

 

He wanted to do as much as he could for himself as most disabled people do (my wife is disabled).

 

With the greatest of respect, can I suggest you venture into RC model flying the other way round?

Go and speak to your local clubs and see what facilities are available to you. Ask what the folks at the site / club most suitable to yourself would recommend, as they will be the ones to be teaching you on either their own machine or on yours.


Very best of luck and keep us posted.

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22 minutes ago, Andy Gates said:

Hi Joe and welcome to the forum.

 

I have flown with a wheel chair bound gentleman whose flying was a real stress outlet for him.

 

He wanted to do as much as he could for himself as most disabled people do (my wife is disabled).

 

With the greatest of respect, can I suggest you venture into RC model flying the other way round?

Go and speak to your local clubs and see what facilities are available to you. Ask what the folks at the site / club most suitable to yourself would recommend, as they will be the ones to be teaching you on either their own machine or on yours.


Very best of luck and keep us posted.

More to the point, I reckon a club can sort out a second hand trainer. Be aware, trainers are the equivalent of a Biro in this hobby. Cut costs, and especially cut misspent purchases.

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1 hour ago, bailieant said:

Habu sts 70mm


All the advice you’ve received above is good and I would agree with, but we can comment conclusively on one model in your list… don’t go there! I don’t care what Horizon Hobby state in their marketing twaddle, an EDF is a bonkers choice for a first model for lots of reasons (too fast for a beginner, short duration, no prop wash over the surfaces to help low speed manoeuvring, harder shape to orient etc etc.). Stick to a traditional high wing electric or IC trainer with instruction from an experienced hand and you are far, far more likely to succeed.

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Wow!!!!  Thank you everyone for the prompt and helpful replies. Having flown quadcopters several times I naively assumed it was just a matter of picking a model I liked the look of!!! Lol. I'm definitely going to contact a few local clubs and take it from there. I'll be sure to keep you all updated. 

 

Cheers everyone 

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Flying RC needs good eyesight and even so a plane in the over 1.3 m size is much better as it is much easier to see at distance.

Many clubs fly in farm fields and wheelchair access might be tricky, while a few clubs fly in public parks where access might be easier.

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1 hour ago, bailieant said:

Wow!!!!  Thank you everyone for the prompt and helpful replies. Having flown quadcopters several times I naively assumed it was just a matter of picking a model I liked the look of!!! Lol.


If it was a camera platform from DJI, Parrot or similar don’t underestimate how much the automated systems were doing for you. In the default (most automated) modes the human is doing very little actual piloting; the flight controller is doing all the hard work actively stabilising the platform. Flying a non-stabilised fixed wing is completely different - it will be reacting to the pilots inputs and atmospheric conditions all the time, so you have to understand what the model is telling you and react correctly  to keep it in the air. 

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The key will be finding a club to give you advice and that can offer suitable access for  wheelchairs and their users - on and off the site, often via locked gates and then to and from a vehicle and around about the flying area. Thinking about my two clubs which operate from reasonably level grass, the access would not be impossible but very difficult and troublesome even in summer with assistance in dry conditions. Forget it in winter. Many of our clubs are still in the dark ages when it comes to toilet facilities, bad enough for the able bodied, but impossible I should think for a wheelchair user.

I'm sure you'll find a suitable club, but it might mean a  journey to get to it . I'm sure BMFA would be happy to asist you.

Good luck Baileant.

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34 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

The key will be finding a club to give you advice and that can offer suitable access for  wheelchairs and their users - on and off the site, often via locked gates and then to and from a vehicle and around about the flying area. Thinking about my two clubs which operate from reasonably level grass, the access would not be impossible but very difficult and troublesome even in summer with assistance in dry conditions. Forget it in winter. Many of our clubs are still in the dark ages when it comes to toilet facilities, bad enough for the able bodied, but impossible I should think for a wheelchair user.

I'm sure you'll find a suitable club, but it might mean a  journey to get to it . I'm sure BMFA would be happy to asist you.

Good luck Baileant.

 

Agreed. @bailieant, you may want to consult the BMFA club finder to identify local clubs that can support you as you begin to learn...

 

https://bmfa.azolve.com/clubFinder.html

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