I've been flying RC airplanes now for, gosh I think close to 20 years if I include RC (non-electric) gliders which is how I got into the hobby. I've successfully (and sometimes not so successfully) flown and landed everything from micro EDFs to giant scale warbirds. One thing I've noticed in recent months is my landings are starting to regress a bit. Oh sure, sometimes I am still greasing the landings (no better feeling in the hobby) but often times I am noticing this trend of my wings not being perfectly level at touchdown.
I don't use gyros on most of my planes. As much as I do like gyros and find them extremely helpful (especially on micros and large EDF jets), the stubborn part of me just loves "feeling the plane" in every single twitch and movement of my fingers on the sticks (with some expo of course). That symbiotic relationship between myself and my plane in the air is still just as intoxicating today as it was the first time I flew RC many years ago.
I know what I am doing wrong but I can't seem to break the habit even when I am consciously thinking about it on the approach. As I get into the flare sequence, when I am adding gentle but progressive back pressure (up elevator) inevitably the stick isn't going perfectly 90 degrees to my 6 o'clock position but rather a touch to the left or right as well which of course causes one of the wingtips to rock out of level.
I should add that my stick style is that I hold my right stick like a pencil (forefinger and thumb) where I hold my left stick with the bottom of my thumb pressing down gently on the top of the stick. Neither right or wrong, just how I've done it for years and the muscle memory is deeply ingrained.
Sometimes I nail it, other times you don't even notice it unless I have an onboard camera with FPV where you can see it on the landing, and other times it's very noticeable and aggravates me to no end to the point of going around until it's a straight-and-level landing.
Sometimes I wish my stick had a sort of "channel" that makes it easier to lock into the 6 oclock and to then push it left or right would require a gentle bit of force.
I know the easy answer is gyro but I just don't want a gyro in every plane I fly. So I was curious if you guys had any advice? I hear sometimes you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.
:)
I don't use gyros on most of my planes. As much as I do like gyros and find them extremely helpful (especially on micros and large EDF jets), the stubborn part of me just loves "feeling the plane" in every single twitch and movement of my fingers on the sticks (with some expo of course). That symbiotic relationship between myself and my plane in the air is still just as intoxicating today as it was the first time I flew RC many years ago.
I know what I am doing wrong but I can't seem to break the habit even when I am consciously thinking about it on the approach. As I get into the flare sequence, when I am adding gentle but progressive back pressure (up elevator) inevitably the stick isn't going perfectly 90 degrees to my 6 o'clock position but rather a touch to the left or right as well which of course causes one of the wingtips to rock out of level.
I should add that my stick style is that I hold my right stick like a pencil (forefinger and thumb) where I hold my left stick with the bottom of my thumb pressing down gently on the top of the stick. Neither right or wrong, just how I've done it for years and the muscle memory is deeply ingrained.
Sometimes I nail it, other times you don't even notice it unless I have an onboard camera with FPV where you can see it on the landing, and other times it's very noticeable and aggravates me to no end to the point of going around until it's a straight-and-level landing.
Sometimes I wish my stick had a sort of "channel" that makes it easier to lock into the 6 oclock and to then push it left or right would require a gentle bit of force.
I know the easy answer is gyro but I just don't want a gyro in every plane I fly. So I was curious if you guys had any advice? I hear sometimes you CAN teach an old dog new tricks.
:)
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