The New guy.

[saint]

Hi Saint, welcome home! And thank you for your military service to our great nation!

I like your plan a lot, and I think you've paved a good path to success by building on a solid foundation first. I tell my students to begin with the simulator and practice until they can fly a complete flight profile to perfection (taxi, takeoff, circuit, maneuvers, inverted, stall recovery, touch and go, reverse pattern, etc, including a perfect landing in the same area, at least 25 times in a row. If there's any deviation from the flight profile, or a bounced landing, or anything not perfect, the count resets to zero. Not until they make the 25 times in a row requirement do they then transition to an actual airplane. This instructional path takes longer, but instills the discipline required to maximize the probability of a successful maiden and subsequent flights.

Hey Alpha what simulator do you use for your students? I now have the Real Flight RF 7.5 and am using the flyzone trainer for practice. Do you know which applications on this program do the Flight profile you suggested. I have some bounced landing and a few smooth ones but so far so good. Thanks again for all the help.

[Alpha]

It depends on what the students already have. I use Real Flight, Phoenix, and ClearView. The first two are superior, significantly, and well worth the investment. Your Real Flight simulator is an excellent entry into the hobby. I wouldn't worry too much about profiles at this point. What you're looking for is consistency. Before you takeoff, have a flight plan. It sounds corny, but say it aloud. What you're going to do, what maneuvers and when, what altitude, what speed, etc. Talk it through, then execute. It helps to have a spotter/onlooker to keep you honest. Stick to the flight plan.

Take off, straight, predictable rotation, consistent climbout, stable turn into the pattern, level in the sky at a consistent altitude, turn to base, reduce power, level wings, rudder correction to maintain alignment, throttle managed descent, touchdown, gradual power up, rotation, repeat. Continue a couple circuits then land. Wait until you're 100% proficient in flying that consistent pattern, then progressively add more maneuvers into your pattern. But the takeoff and landing components that bookend your flight will always remain the same.

Remember, takeoffs are optional, but landings are mandatory.

[saint]

Thank you sir. Will do! Starting to really love this hobby and the fact that my man cubs are loving it as well.

[saint]

Alrighty.... landings are getting there. Using the flyzone trainer on the sim but was getting small bounces on the landing. Had a few great glide in one that were rock solid but still small bounces is my consistent process. So..... I tried the glide in approach again but this time as I touched down I pushed elevator forward there by no bounce.... Is this right or wrong?

Thanks as I have no crashes so far and doing simple take off, come around and then final approach.

[radioflite]

Hello saint ..welcome to a fantastic hobby ..I think your game plan is rock solid ...the SIM is the best choice and then the apprentice ..as for the rest of your plan things change or you will see another plane you like .I tell pilots that are ready to step up to just be honest and listen to the more experienced pilots . Motion RC is a phone call away and they are super nice to deal with , they can steer you towards a second plane that you will really enjoy. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress . always here to help , reach out to me any time .

[radioflite]

It you have not picked out a SIM yet I l9've the real flight Sims ...outstanding !!!

[rtwatkins]

Welcome Saint!

just adding my 2 cents, but if you don't mind a bit of folding & hot glue.... you might check out some planes at www.flitetest.com to start with. I have nothing against the apprentice!! my thoughts are just... it's WAY cheaper to replace foam board ($2 or less & some time) then to replace foam parts (that, and you don't really care a much about a crash :P)

Simulators are great, but transitioning to an actual plane there's still a lot more that can happen that you may not expect. The foam board planes still look cool, but more importantly they can be a very good segway into both starting out as well as trying different aspects of the hobby.

For example: After I crashed a couple planes when starting out, my dad and I found flitetest and picked up their FT22. Was a cool looking pusher 3 channel that was easy to fly, a blast to fly, and helped with learning the stick movements.

later, when I wanted to get into 3D flying.... I picked up their FT3D and practiced on that, then moved on to more capable craft.

Really not meaning to step on MotionRC toes for a sale.... but I just feel that when you can take the cost factor out of learning to fly... you learn at a much faster pace and can get out to enjoy the hobby quicker ;)

Also, with foam board you can have your kids decorate your plane for you.... makes it a nice way to get them involved too ;)

[saint]

Outstanding. Especially when learning to fly. Then as the confidence builds I can graduate up to the Motion RC warbirds. Thanks. The simulator is getting there. No crashes, steady flight plan and landings are getting nailed. Love the sport flyer on the RF as it responds well and allows for tight banks for quicker landings.

[rtwatkins]

Outstanding. Especially when learning to fly. Then as the confidence builds I can graduate up to the Motion RC warbirds. Thanks. The simulator is getting there. No crashes, steady flight plan and landings are getting nailed. Love the sport flyer on the RF as it responds well and allows for tight banks for quicker landings.

Exactly! Confidence is easy to build when crashes aren't as much of a financial blow ;) The simple truth is that you're going to crash, and it's going to happen more frequently as you start out as well as when you transition to different types of planes.

planes like these, they work really well to make that learning curve a lot less drastic :)

Also, check out their beginner pilot series of videos..... LOTS of great information on how & why everything works, as well as what to do when starting out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOziFzntXq4

[saint]

Thank you sir.... everyone on this board is great. It has been a dream since I was a kid to fly these planes. Now at 46 I can finally do it and have my man cubs doing it with me. Appreciate it!

[saint]

Yea baby! 20 successful landing of an A 10 warthog on my RF7.5 now working on the Mustang.... got to 16 landing before the family took over the tv lol. Will get to it when they are done. Love it! Then it will be the low wing trainer and then the high wing trainer with 20 each.... This includes simple figure 8 flight plans.... a few rolls, one loop, adjusting the trim to get the plane to fly the way I want it(mustang was nose heavy) and taxiing the plane to where I want it. Having fun and looking forward to flying a real trainer mid summer.

[saint]

Progress.....

Total of 80 successful take offs, simple flight plans(few tricks here and there ;) ), landings and taxi off the runway. They were done 20 each from 4 different planes:

1. A-10 warthog

2. P-51 Mustang

3. Flyzone Switch sport

4. Flyzone Switch Trainer.


Again.... hoping to be flying by mid summer. The Simulator is a blast!

[XF-15DCC]

Progress is good!

I may have missed it in an above post but have you added any wind to the trainer yet? If you can adjust your sim with a light breeze with a few gusts could add a challenge and increase training. Very few "calm days", well at least here in New England.

You will be draining batteries before you know it.

Kevin

[saint]

Will do... So far I have been using stock settings right out of the box. Thank you.

[saint]

Progress is good!

I may have missed it in an above post but have you added any wind to the trainer yet? If you can adjust your sim with a light breeze with a few gusts could add a challenge and increase training. Very few "calm days", well at least here in New England.

You will be draining batteries before you know it.

Kevin

What is a good wind speed to practice at?


right now turbulence is at 100%

[rtwatkins]

start with something low like 3-5mph, and be sure to practice both landing & takeoffs into the wind.

[XF-15DCC]

Yep 3-5 is what I was thinking also. Then mix up the direction the wind comes from, even see if you can have multiple directions and add an occasional gust.

Not sure what your turbulence setting represents. Never had a simulator. I found a plane, found a field and let it fly! I also had glue..............

Kevin

[saint]

Yup... glue and tape...ahahahaha.

[saint]

start with something low like 3-5mph, and be sure to practice both landing & takeoffs into the wind.

Thank you sir!

[saint]

Yep 3-5 is what I was thinking also. Then mix up the direction the wind comes from, even see if you can have multiple directions and add an occasional gust.

Not sure what your turbulence setting represents. Never had a simulator. I found a plane, found a field and let it fly! I also had glue..............

Kevin

Kevin I see your AMA number and wondering.... do they have a flight school for the RC hobby and also how do I get my own AMA number? Thanks.... and am loving this hobby!