All us newbie pilots, lets share..

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings GMan,

Anxious to here something on the maiden of the Pitts!!

Congrats to Diane as well as she progresses in the hobby.



Bill L.
In Okla.

[Grossman56]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

I was hoping for today, but the winds are gusty>  Besides, I think I can only take one maiden a week anyway, hard on an old guy either way you look at it!

By the way, did
I mention that the battery in the Pitts has to be an insane amount forward? Like just past the last (forward) strap/tie down. I added some weight to the nose just to be able to bring it back slightly and just able to catch the first strap. Also picked up some industrial strength Velcro from Walmart. Man this stuff sticks! You think your ripping ot of the foam, but no, that's just how strong it is

Grossman56

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings GMan,

Unfortunately, the weather here is perfect!!!!

I say unfortunately because my wife has 'other plans' for my time!!   :@ 

Oh, well.... Happy Wife, Happy Life!!!  :angel: 


Bill L.
In Okla.

[Grossman56]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

True, but in my case R/C flyin' wife, happy life!!!

Old Crow had a bit more damage to her than I originally thought. The inner gear door servo on one side was stripped, so I had an FMS servo that was sent to me by mistake as a replacement flap servo. As it wasn't the same as the one I had in the plane, I ordered another and put this one away. Now it has a happy home, in the Old Crow. I McGyvered the gear doors back together, but Motion just go them back in stock so I ordered a new set. She took some scrapes and bumps, the biggest damage was to the right wing as the landing gear ripped out of it, taking the leading edge it was under with it. Got her all glued together again, but I'm thinking of fiberglasing the little spot where it separated. Any thought toward that?

Grossman56

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings GMan,

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you.

Since your working primarily on one wing (if I understand correctly) I would recommend checking the balance of the plane by supporting the prop and the tail to insure it's not listing to one side too heavily from the glue and/or fiberglass.

Good luck and let us know how it finishes out.


Bill L.
In Okla.

[Grossman56]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

well, she's looking like her old self now.  Instead of fiberglasing, I tried a different approach.  I have some metallic chrome tape that is like duct tape in a way but its very thin aluminum I'm thinking?  It has a backing that peels off and is beautiful stuff to work with.  I was originally thinking of doing the whole plane with it but I was cautioned about whether it would interfere with the radio signal.  Anyway, I just cut out a piece to fit over the damaged area and stuck it on.  It looks pretty good and does add some strength.  Took the gear apart and got it broke down as far as I could.  I couldn't figure out how the oleo came out of the upper shaft, so filed it and sanded it as best I could, yes I used a very fine file and sandpaper then, I used everybody's friend, WD 40 on it and it works great.  I'd ordered a spare strut and two extra sets of prop blades so I have some reserve.  The gear well light had snapped off at the base so I had that out and glued back together with epoxy but didn't hold worth a dang!  Out with the old reliable Testors model glue and she's great now.
Whew, what a relief!  Thought I'd lost her!
Actually we all know that its impossible to loose a plane, we just order a new wing or fuselage and begin again if worse comes to worse.  Just like the full scale guys, a name plate is a good place to start a restoration.

Have a great weekend of flight guys and gals

Grossman56 

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings GMan,

That's good news!!

I hope she flies the same.



Bill L.
In Okla.

[Grossman56]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

I Hope she flies better!!
The first flight was actually pretty good, but with the gyro/aileron setting being reversed on the second flight and an old guy at the controls would didn't heed his own advice and turn the gyro off, it wasn't pretty, she went into a wing waggle the likes of which I'd never seen.  Went to the field this morning but the wind is up, away, found a couple of pieces I was missing (lucky or what!?) so it wasn't a total loss.  Hoping for better tomorrow, would really like to maiden the Pitts

Grossman56

[PappaBear]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Hi Everyone,

If you'er in the process of learning to fly R/C or at the stage where by you are thinking about it, and you want to take the plunge but are unsure of where to go and what to buy. You may find the following to be helpful advice.

If you wanted to learn to fly the real thing you would start with a good trainer, and an instructor. Flying R/C is no different, start with a good trainer and a good instructor, someone who can answer your questions, and someone who has a claim demeanor. Believe me, I fully understand you want to fly a warbird or a jet. However you wouldn't dream of trying to fly an F18 without proper training and instruction would you.

Motion RC can supply you with an excellent trainer and a lot of valuable advice. Next join an AMA club and seek out an instructor. Listen to what he says and practice what he tells you to do. Learn to carry out a proper preflight check, and if you have difficulty remembering it write it down and follow it every time you fly. Check the flying controls for the correct direction,at full power and idle. If you are in any doubt what so ever about anything, do not fly. Carrying out this simple test will prevent a crash

Do not move on to a more advanced model until you are confident in flying the trainer. Take off, both left to right and right left. Fly figure of "8" circuits until you can position the aircraft exactly where you want it to be, not where it happens to be. Practice landing circuits left and right, practice landing, both from the left and from the right. When you are completely confident with all the above, then its time to move on to a more advanced model.

If at some point you are struggling with an advanced model, go back to a trainer for some practice.

I hope this helps anyone who maybe in the process of learning to fly RC or thinking about taking it up.

Martin.

[Flygirl]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Hi Everyone,

If you'er in the process of learning to fly R/C or at the stage where by you are thinking about it, and you want to take the plunge but are unsure of where to go and what to buy. You may find the following to be helpful advice.

If you wanted to learn to fly the real thing you would start with a good trainer, and an instructor. Flying R/C is no different, start with a good trainer and a good instructor, someone who can answer your questions, and someone who has a claim demeanor. Believe me, I fully understand you want to fly a warbird or a jet. However you wouldn't dream of trying to fly an F18 without proper training and instruction would you.

Motion RC can supply you with an excellent trainer and a lot of valuable advice. Next join an AMA club and seek out an instructor. Listen to what he says and practice what he tells you to do. Learn to carry out a proper preflight check, and if you have difficulty remembering it write it down and follow it every time you fly. Check the flying controls for the correct direction,at full power and idle. If you are in any doubt what so ever about anything, do not fly. Carrying out this simple test will prevent a crash

Do not move on to a more advanced model until you are confident in flying the trainer. Take off, both left to right and right left. Fly figure of "8" circuits  until you can position the aircraft exactly where you want it to be, not where it happens to be. Practice landing circuits left and right, practice landing, both from the left and from the right. When you are completely confident with all the above, then its time to move on to a more advanced model.

If at some point you are struggling with an advanced model, go back to a trainer for some practice.

I hope this helps anyone who maybe in the process of learning to fly RC or thinking about taking it up.

Martin.

Amen to that.... I started my son on the little Hobbyzone Champ. Not sexy but he learned very fast with that little plane. He still has it and still flies it occasionally but has moved on to the Hobbyzone Cub (now flying on floats), a Bixler 2, and a Dynam Corsair. I bought a little Hobbyzone Sport Cub S just to play around with on wheels and floats. While on vacation an old friend and I reunited and he had always wanted to fly an RC plane so I gave him the controls. First flight was a total success even off the water. Martins right.... Go slow and work your way up the ladder. It pays dividends!

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings,

I would also like to add/recommend a good or at least decent RC flight simulator as well.

I great deal of benefit can be derived through the use of a simulator and regular practice.

Plus, mistakes made during the learning process and quickly and easily cured with the push of a button!
Like most activities repetition is key.

It shouldn't totally replace live instruction if it's available but, it certainly shortens the learning curve.

Most simulators will most likely have the plane/trainer your looking to buy within its database which means you can fly it before you buy it!!

Just a thought.

Bill L.
IN OKla.

[Grossman56]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Couldn't agree more.  As you all know, I'd started out on Ol' Weedwacker, my ParkZone Piper Supercub.  We had many an adventure.  Over a year since my first flight and I'm flying the Mustang I always dreamed of and she flies fantastically!  I know that without the hours and hours of flying the Cub and the two Pandoras, the Mustang (which was actually the first plane I bought before saner heads prevailed)would have been a major mistake and would now be in the basement in pieces as a testament to my having tried to run before I could crawl.
Was the wait worth it, heck yeah!!
Diane's Apprentice is an amazing plane to train on, and I'd highly recommend it. The new Sportsman  S+ by Hobbyzone looks to be an amazing trainer as well.  I'm looking forward to some feedback from pilots using it as their primary trainer.
Diane did her first solo take off yesterday with the Apprentice with no trouble and is building her confidence quickly thanks to this plane.  She was going to try a landing but some fool in a full scale decided to check out our field, so I took the controls and brought it in.
Why aren't there rules that would prevent F/S pilots from doing what we are not allowed to do at airports!!
Anyway, these two incredible planes make it truly possible to get up and flying effortlessly.  To transition from the Apprentice to the Pandora or something similar looks to me to be an easy one.
From there, I personally put so many hours on my Pandoras that going into the P51's was not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.  I now have 9 flights on Big Beautiful Doll and man what a dream aircraft to fly, especially when you've done your homework to get there.  Crawl, walk, run!!

(And, "Yes" check out the 1ST US R/C Flightschool, no better way to get your feet wet!)
http://www.rcflightschool.com/
Sorry Bill, just had to say it!!

Grossman56

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings GMan,

They surely owe you a sales commission!!  ;) 


Bill L.
In Okla.

[Grossman56]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Well, boys and girls, mark this one down in your calendars!!
Diane soloed today!!!!!
Yep, took off, flew the pattern and landed five times.  4 out of five landings were perfect, one she was a little off the runway, but still landed fine.  These flights were in a 5 mph crosswind!  We're both thrilled as this is soling in the true sense, no buddy box and I didn't have to take the radio from her, she did beautifully!
I'm so proud I'm popping buttons off my shirt!
Had the Waco up today as well, and she behaved herself very nicely.  Got some aerobatics in with her and a fair landing, she doesn't like cross winds or listening to me, but I've got her number now.  I did some fine tuning in the radio, you know,'this isn't responsive enough, this is too responsive', and have got her pretty close to dialed in now.  Can't give up on her, I've got too much glue invested in her!
Took Shangrila up as well, but there was some very strange noise coming from her.  The tail wheel gear doors weren't retracting all the way so I thought they may have been vibrating while in flight.  So, I landed her and checked her over.  Turned the motor up and was getting this strange noise, so throttle off and safety switch on and moved the prop manually.  You could feel it scrape, so I pulled the prop to see what was going on.  Looks likes some of the winding is letting go in the motor as the copper wire looks loose at the 12 o'clock position, and it was catching on the magnet, scraping over it while the motor was on and causing this noise.   Good thing I landed and checked as the motor could have seized and that's not fun!

Anyway, time to order a new motor.  Other than that she flew well, but I did notice that she likes to tip stall faster than Big Beautiful Doll does.  Three things may cause this.  The motor might not have been hitting the RPM that  thought it was at a set throttle setting, the surface is a flat coat, causing a bit more drag than the glossy coat on BBD or it might be that when I drop flaps, one may be slightly more down than the other, giving a little more lift than the other.  Anyway, I'll check everything I can think of while she's grounded.

Still a very cool plane to watch fly! When she flashes her belly at you, with all the wear marks and grease stains and faded paint (All air brushed on) she looks extremely authentic!

Gotta love that!!


Grossman56 and Wife

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings GMan and W,

Diane (W), Congratulations!!!!! on your solo!!! Welcome to the fold!!!

Gman, it's time to take her shopping so she can now start accruing her own hangar of planes.

AHHH, I can see it now..... His and Her's Mustangs!!!!   


Seriously, well done and Gman I know you're proud of her, as you should be!!! Outstanding!!!


Bill L.
In Okla.

[Loneflier]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Congratulations to you Diane, that is great that you have soloed now!

And congratulations to you too Gman for sticking with the Waco and getting her dialed in. Sounds like you are really doing well with flying now, and nice save on the P-51 too. Catching those things before they can bite you is a sign of good preparations.

Sounds like a good day flying.

[Hippie 64]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Way to go Gwoman !!!!!! That's awesome . I wish my wife would do that I cant even get her to come at all anymore . Nice catch and save Gman on the P51 . You open that motor to see if you can bend or move that wire back down and save the motor .

Bryan

[boomer108]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Congrats Diane! 

      Maybe the G man will let you borrow one of his Warbirds, I'm sure he wouldn't mind.  :dodgy: LoL

Roy B.

[Grossman56]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Hi guys and gals!
Diane says thanks to all for the support!  I think its terrific that we have another lady in the fold as they seem to be rare!
This from a girl who was so nervous to even fly in the Sim, but that Apprentice is a very special airplane, I'd highly recommend it.  My buddy Brad, in Virginia has one as well, he was one of the fellows at the course with us in May.  Got to e mail him and see how things are going.  He joined a club but they seem a little uppity for my (and his) taste.  I told him to find a big field and go and fly.  What we did is went over to the school ground and taxied for two batteries and it gave Diane a chance to get the left turn/right turn down before she had to take to the air.
I'm not sure about the motor, I ordered a new one and will be pulling the old one apart just to see what make them tick.  I'm sure that we're all in agreement that the motor has  to be in perfect working order, so I'm not taking any chances.  Besides, what's life without an order in to MotionR/C to anticipate arrival!?
I also noticed that they had the light holders in for the F/W Mustang, its the little plastic piece that the landing lights in the main gear wells attach to.  I tried gluing the old one back together with E/R and even model glue but nothing seems to hold it, so ordered two, one for spare.  Old Crow is looking like her old wonderful self again.  Had the spray gun out and repainted the invasion stripes on the gear doors so all matches up, then a new coat of Minwax (I looked for the Polyurethane that the Doc was talking about but couldn't find it) So the only thing left is the light stand and the bomb racks which are on their way.

Yeah, warbirds for rent, just sign over your car, break my plane I break your car, sounds fair, right?

BTW, had an old guy moment yesterday while painting.  All these paints are water based, so I'm spraying away and the light goes on, why am I waiting for it to dry?  Upstairs and grab Diane's hair dryer and hit the paint with that, a minute later, she's dry, gotta love that!  I should have know better as when I used to paint in acrylics, I'd use a hair dryer to speed up the layering process.  And it works with Minwax as well.  So if you want to keep going but the drying time is slowing you down, there's your answer.

Grossman56

[Rocketeer]

RE: All us newbie pilots, lets share..

Greetings GMan,

The hairdryer assists when using acrylics on plastics as well.

Be careful not to got too close, or stay in one place too long or you'll begin to expand the foam beads!!!


Bill L.
In Okla.