Rich Griff Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 Toto, is there a slope soaring site near you that's "legal" to use that is used regularly by other fliers, for tuition ? Is there a flat field ( the larger the better ! ) near you for electric glider use that is "legal" to use that is used regularly by other fliers, for tuition ? At some point you need to know how to land "dead stick"... A slope soaring site in suitable wind and simple 2 channel model with basic radio will teach you lots and lots and lots, depending on your stamina and tx/Rx battery life ! A slope soarer can be "parked" in lift to give you a needed "rest" from time to time, many many "landing approach practises without actually landing and sessions can last as long as you, the wind and batteries can safely. Wiggle about, crawl, walk, jog, run, then train for a marathon. You get the idea... It sounds as if you can "fly around" but can you take off ok, and LAND consistently with minimum/no damage most of the time yet ? Keep the faith, you will get there, hopefully before your budget rubs out. On holiday, only take a cheapo foam chuck glider with you and learn how to trim it out, the kids will love it. Crawl walk run etc.. Enjoy ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 Hi Rich, I would need to look into the slope soarer facilities in my area. I still need more general flying control as well as taking off and landing though. I'd go as far to say that I have still not mastered the basics consistently yet so a bit to go yet. It's another Avenue though and I do have a max thrust aggressor 1.8m span glider. Worth a thought Cheers Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Bowers Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 1 hour ago, toto said: I would need to look into the slope soarer facilities in my area. I would definitely recommend that, for when the time is right. In my opinion, powered fliers that don't slope are missing out. Big time. As with all flying, there's a broad range of what works. Wind conditions and terrain dictate what's possible on the day. The flier has to choose the model and courage. I'd say the breadth of opportunity is wider on slope than flat field powered, happy for others to disagree. My logic is simple. When the wind speed is low, but lift adequate, your aggressor will be delightful. Please do be aware that some landowner agreements are "no propellers". So take it off. A bit breezier, and EPP wings such as the Wildthing https://www.balsacabin.co.uk/product/wildthing-46/ EPP wings are almost indestructable, which is handy, as landing become "controlled crashes". I fly an M60 and a Weasel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 I don't rule myself out from slope soaring ..... or anything for that matter. its maybe just that they haven't been top of my agenda ...... for now. i'd like to bet that I'll get around to it at some point though. i don't think I'll even touch the subject with my trainer though. i think if i can get any kind of adequate time sticking with one " type ", I'll be grateful with that for now. 😄 my trainer seems to be a aerobatics sort of a guy in his own time and when watching him ...... I understand why. I have a couple of models in the stash at the moment that would be considered aerobatic but to be honest I bought them with more normal day to day routines in mind rather than some of the more extreme manouvres. I just liked the look of them. To try and split my time between someone who takes me up with my usual outfit and someone who does slope soaring would be a step too far at the moment i think. its hard enough trying to coordinate planning with one instructor at the moment. As I said though, given time, and actually progressing my flying to a solo standard, nothing is ruled out. cheers for now toto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 Excellent answer Toto- you have enough on your plate right now without even thinking of slope soaring. That can all come later, as an extra part of the hobby. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, toto said: It's another Avenue though and I do have a max thrust aggressor 1.8m span glider. Whilst an Aggressor will slope well, it’s quite a fast model for a newbie, and certainly not what most would recommend as a first slope model. I wouldn’t take it to a slope until you are a very confident pilot of your FMS Beaver, and have got used to flying the Aggressor off the flat, otherwise the famous acronym may come into play… S.L.O.P.E = Smashed, lost or pulverised, eventually! Edited June 6, 2023 by MattyB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 thank you kind Sir. Once I get myself sorted generally and decide it is time for the slopes, I'll be back on to take further advice as to something that will hopefully set me up for success in that area of the hobby. I have no doubt there will be a few more models to grace my shed before my buying days are over. Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chaddock Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 And I have no doubt you buying days will never be over, after all even with an own design and build you still have to buy the material and electrics!😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 Hi Simon, I dont mind buying odds and sods for a particular project but the initial blitz is over. I have most of what I want for now and that's enough to keep me going for some time to come. Get it whilst you can afford it. The emphasis is on gaining experience with the ability to try building something to break the boredom of having to accept the pace of the tuition. As long as I can be involved in some faccett of the hobby at any one time be it flying or building, I'll be happy. Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 Fso .... this weekend ..... the last before flying out to Cyprus for a fortnight. So far the story goes like this. Sunday looks like the day allocated by my instructor ( official one ). If my wing hinges arrive in time then I have a repair to do to the Beaver and shall be using that for the day. If not ... he has offered his boomerang for the day so hopefully, weather dependant... I will be flying regardless. Saturday .... nothing certain yet but I intend going to the field anyway and usually you can " gadge a flight " with one of two other trainers. It may only be one or maybe two .... but every one counts at the moment. Let's see what happens. If the hinges arrive, I'll post up some progress pictures on my Beaver thread ( warts an all " to show how I go about doing my repair. It looks pretty straight forward. After that its Cyprus soaking up the sun. I'll be missing my fix of all things RC planes so will probably be on annoying the crap out of everyone asking some questions regarding some of my future kit assemblies. Chose to ignore these if you like. it wont put me off asking as I'll be bored out of my mind otherwise. Cheers Toto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 (edited) 2 hours ago, toto said: Sunday looks like the day allocated by my instructor ( official one ). If my wing hinges arrive in time then I have a repair to do to the Beaver and shall be using that for the day. If not ... he has offered his boomerang for the day so hopefully, weather dependant... I will be flying regardless. You can still repair it temporarily (or permanently) with a tape hinge, they work absolutely fine. You can do either both sides (remember to apply the tape with the surface pushed away from you, then flip over, push the opposite way and attach the tape on the other side - see video below) or do a local tension hinge at the same point as your broken hinge. Both methods only only takes a few minutes, and if done locally can be easily removed once your replacements arrive (though I have models with these hinges that have lasted up to 10 years)... Tension hinge: Full span hinge: Edited June 6, 2023 by MattyB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 9 hours ago, toto said: Fso .... this weekend ..... the last before flying out to Cyprus for a fortnight. So far the story goes like this. Sunday looks like the day allocated by my instructor ( official one ). If my wing hinges arrive in time then I have a repair to do to the Beaver and shall be using that for the day. If not ... he has offered his boomerang for the day so hopefully, weather dependant... I will be flying regardless. Saturday .... nothing certain yet but I intend going to the field anyway and usually you can " gadge a flight " with one of two other trainers. It may only be one or maybe two .... but every one counts at the moment. Let's see what happens. If the hinges arrive, I'll post up some progress pictures on my Beaver thread ( warts an all " to show how I go about doing my repair. It looks pretty straight forward. After that its Cyprus soaking up the sun. I'll be missing my fix of all things RC planes so will probably be on annoying the crap out of everyone asking some questions regarding some of my future kit assemblies. Chose to ignore these if you like. it wont put me off asking as I'll be bored out of my mind otherwise. Cheers Toto Judging by the pictures that just popped up on Facebook, it looks like you are in very good hands with your club, which obviously has a very well organised and maintained site. Congratulations on the club's 25th Anniversary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 11 hours ago, MattyB said: Whilst an Aggressor will slope well, it’s quite a fast model for a newbie, and certainly not what most would recommend as a first slope model. I wouldn’t take it to a slope until you are a very confident pilot of your FMS Beaver, and have got used to flying the Aggressor off the flat, otherwise the famous acronym may come into play… S.L.O.P.E = Smashed, lost or pulverised, eventually! +1 for slope soaring, a few years back, but my son came on leaps and bounds when he started flying a Wildthing on the slope, virtually unbreakable, so when he first planted it and I just picked it up checked it over and threw it off again. Still available from Balsa Cabin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 I am pleased Balsa Cabin are now selling the Wild Thing. Everyone should have one that has access to a half decent slope, whether beginner or expert. It is indestructable and will last forever, if not longer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 9 hours ago, Piers Bowlan said: I am pleased Balsa Cabin are now selling the Wild Thing. Everyone should have one that has access to a half decent slope, whether beginner or expert. It is indestructable and will last forever, if not longer! Mine is only about 20 years old, it has Digifleet servos in it (re-plugged for current receivers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted June 7, 2023 Share Posted June 7, 2023 Digifleet FPS 17's just keep going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 (edited) Excellent day today. Conditions a little bit changeable with the wind but nothing that couldn't be managed. First flight .... ok .... a little bit of getting ,y fingers tuned in to eradicate overkill with my finger movements but it didn't take long. Pretty good. Second flight .... my hand and my eye were in. Great flight, subtle with the control.s allowing lovely controlled and even elegant turns and keeping the nose up as I went. Approximately seven minute flights on both. Next ..... some real progress, time to attempt my first take off ... keep it in mind ..... this is flight number 3 for the day. So, we are sitting on a grass runway and I get the confirmation that I have the controls. So ........ I up the throttle using a little rudder to keep her in a straight line and then start to pull back on the elevator ...... disaster, the model seemed to spiral severely to the right and the take off fails. My trainer took a look at the model and discovered that the flaps had been operating and were in the down position. His fault not mine. ....phew...... he programmed out the flaps ..... and we go again. So .... a small correction and we go for it again ........ throttle forward , very little rudder needed this ti e and as the throttle increased sufficiently, pull back on the elevator and up she goes. Keep her nice and straight and just allow a nice steady increase in altitude eventually taking a left turn to join the desired pattern direction. We were up and I was chuffed. three more takes offs accomplished over the space of the afternoon. Each one pretty good. I did take a little longer on the second last and came reasonably close to shredding the model through a stock fence but I was left to correct this and averted any disaster. All in all the instructor was pleased and I was delighted. I was informed that now I have mastered the take off, that s my duty from now on ..... there is no going backwards. Back at the field tomorrow for more although the forecast raises the potential for thunder and lightning so it could be an aborted visit. Fingers crossed we are spared that. Time for a well deserved beer. Cheers for now Toto Edited June 10, 2023 by toto 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Griff Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 (edited) Nice one Toto, practise practise practise...landings soon. When landing on an approach I tend to "fly" my powered planes with good airspeed ( just in case I have to abort and go around again ) dropping gently and end up close to the ground ( powered glide path, oxymoron ? a)Then chop the throttle to idle ( unless doing a touch and go with both wheels or just one ) and gently flair in a touch down, rather than approach just above stall speed etc.. Your instructor will advise. Slope soarers can be floaters or very aerobatic with everything in between. Never heard that s,l.o.p.e. saying before, lol. I wonder what a similar saying is for powered flight, there's no f in electric lol. Enjoy Toto, your getting there. You will absolutely love slope soaring, literally a breath of fresh air. Research slope clubs in cypress, I bet there are some. Edited June 10, 2023 by Rich Griff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 All I have to say Toto is..Good innit. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 10, 2023 Author Share Posted June 10, 2023 It is good. although my less spectacular attempts were still progress over having never flown before, the buzz when all of a sudden things start to fall into place is amazing. I appreciate there is still the potential for having days where you feel you have maybe slipped backwards a bit but the fact is ..... I've just proved I can do it. It's just working on consistency and as you say ...... practice, practice ....... and more practice. Getting the chance to do the take off's was a much needed confidence booster. So, in my mind ..... steady the ship a bit ..... get more successful and consistently good take off's under my belt and focus a bit into turning my very acceptable turns into creating more regular circuits improving on my sense and awareness of space in the air. My turns are much better as mentioned but I need to improve in creating the overall form of my rectangular circuits. I look at a rectangular circuit as 4 turns in whichever direction I'm flying. Clockwise or anti clockwise. In between each turn is either a long or a short straight. What I need to do is get the length of the straights evened / averaged out to make the circuit formation into a nice geometrical rectangle and also maintaining the same height throughout. It is getting there. I had a word with my instructor and told him that in the past I was relying to heavily in him telling me what to do. I was not using my own initiative to correct height or start my turn ins as I was literally scared in case I was doing wrong, even when my gut was telling me that I was doing right. He confirmed that I should be using my initiative more as my theory was correct, I just heeded the confidence to follow it. At the end of today he had said that " you'll notice that my intervention both physically and verbally has become less " when that happens ....... you are making progress. Towards the end of the day, when I identified that maybe the wing was lifting the nose of the plane up, I automatically adjusted by myself rather than " thinking " that I needed permission to " take control " of the situation. I feel more empowered to actually fly the model now. I think it's taken a while but I've actually got rid of some of my fears. Thar may just transform into more noticeable progress without getting too over my head too quickly. If this can relay into tomorrow and I can achieve another day like today ......... things are looking much better. Cheers Toto 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted June 10, 2023 Share Posted June 10, 2023 2 hours ago, Rich Griff said: When landing on an approach I tend to "fly" my powered planes with good airspeed ( just in case I have to abort and go around again ) dropping gently and end up close to the ground ( powered glide path, oxymoron ? a)Then chop the throttle to idle ( unless doing a touch and go with both wheels or just one ) and gently flair in a touch down, rather than approach just above stall speed etc.. I do much the same, flying the approach with some power on until the wheels are nearly touching. This is much like the modern full size way. Recon as modelers we stuck to long with the early era method of cutting the power and gliding in. During WW1 being heard "rumbling in on the engine" as it was called would result in a pilot having to stand a round at the bar. Perhaps understandable with the engines of the day, Rotary's more so which were slowed by cutting the ignition in short bursts with the "blip" button as messing with throttle, fuel, air mix could result in a stop. Early rc engines were often a bit unreliable on pickup so that maybe how cut and glide became the usual approach method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted June 11, 2023 Share Posted June 11, 2023 Idealy on landing what you should be doing is using elevator to control speed and throttle to control the rate of descent. but different fields need their own technique, at ours landing in one direction requires flying the downward leg over some trees and then quickly dropping on the strip, the other direction can have a shallower approach, just make sure you clear the hedge 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 11, 2023 Author Share Posted June 11, 2023 Well, Back from the field today, 4 flights in thr bag. Procedural turns were the name of the game today. I wouldn't say I have mastered then as yet. Takes a bit getting used to going from one direction into another whilst maintaining height with the elevators. Took a couple of dives as a result but nothing unrecoverable. I was using a different model today from yesterday. This one is a little bit more frisky and reactive so once I got used to its settings again I managed to get back to a certain level of control again. As far as flights go ...... that's me until I return from holiday on the 1st July ...... booooooo. . Dont get me wrong, I'm looming forward to having a break ..... but more from life in general than from flying. I just hope that when I return, I have not lost all of the confidence and the run of growing consistency that seem to have built up especially over the last couple of days. It has been a real turn around in flying fortunes. Great weekend on the whole .... the best by far ....... 10 decent flights with definite results, I need to keep the momentum going. Cheers for now Toto 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leccyflyer Posted June 11, 2023 Share Posted June 11, 2023 Really, really pleased for you Toto, your approach has been spot on, in terms of listening to advice, getting together with a very good club and an instructor, you're getting the flights in, learning all the time, documenting your progress - super job all round. Well done - you deserve it. 😎 Enjoy your break - try not to think about flying you much and when you come back refreshed and even more keen you'll soon be picking up the threads again and making yet more progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toto Posted June 11, 2023 Author Share Posted June 11, 2023 Thanks leccyflyer, it's good to be finishing up on a high for the holidays. As I said before, I am looking forward to getting away for a break but its mixed emotions as things have really seemed to turn a bit of a corner in terms of progression after a bit of a mixed start. My missus and I love our annual pilgramige to Cyprus and usually sit in despair on the last day at the thought of coming back, but between you and I ( and the rest of the forum ) I'm gagging to get back ...... just dont tell the missus. Everything just seemed to click this weekend, the weather... the availability of instructors .... for both days .... the working condition of the models ...... and of course last but not least ..... the approval of the RC gods. I've done all I can to throw myself into this and had some great support in return ..... from all parties ... I hope I can follow it through and reward everyone buy in with my own success. ....... get me solooooooooo. Cheers for now ..... I'll be reporting in from Cyprus. Toto 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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