Brand New Pilot
Hello Everybody!
It is an absolute honor to be among veteran pilots! A little about myself, I’m a Marine Corps veteran, served on the Marine One helicopter squadron security forces as a military police officer for five years. There, I was privileged to make friends with the civilian flight instructors and was able to log about 80 hours in the VH-3 Sea King flight simulator, which was epically awesome! I have been fascinated by flight my whole life, and it all started with those balsa rubber band wind up planes from the five and dime store!
My only R/C flying experience has been with those tiny gyro helicopters goofing around in the living room with coffee table landings, and an earlier version of the Diamond 600 novice park flyer when I was in high school that was good for flying in circles and getting caught in trees.
After years of wanting to get back into the hobby, I finally pulled the trigger on a Sportsman S+ from HobbyZone, and it will be here Tuesday. I haven’t been this excited for something in a long time. I’ve read so many posts on Hobby Squawk prior to ordering, as well as my own research for what I thought would be a good starter “big boy” plane.
I am confident that I’ve educated myself beyond a basic understanding of my new aircraft, but what I am in the dark about is the AMA thing I’ve seen talked about. I know of an R/C club that has a beautiful runway and bleachers, etc, literally 1,200 yards from my house, but I have no clue as to the etiquette of approaching the club for membership to use the airfield, or how any of that works.
Also, I have a driving force of interest in flying a warplane in the future, however, I understand I have a lot to learn before I even consider purchasing one. I have the patience of a wolf stalking a deer, so I will surely be waiting for at least two years of flying before graduating to something that advanced. That being said, I’d like to learn about what I can do to upgrade this Sportsman S+ such as motor, ESC, etc. (all of which I am very uneducated on) so any input on that front would be greatly appreciated. Of course I won’t be adding upgrades until next season after this fall/winter of learning to fly. One thing I’m looking forward to is adding floats to fly off the lake!
Lastly, the Sporstman S+ RTF comes with a DX4 radio. I’d eventually like to add flaps and navigation lights and possibly a bomb door to have some fun dropping paratroopers or something. Again, I’m totally unfamiliar with the channels of radios or how they work with the receiver in the plane, so any insight y’all might be able to provide on a good radio to plan to upgrade to and receiver, etc is also greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for taking the few minutes to read my post, and I can’t express how appreciative I am for your time to reply! I’ll be out of commission for the whole month of October as I just recently underwent extensive back surgery to remove two herniated discs as well as a bone spur that was poking my sciatic nerve. I’m on week two of the recovery now and can start to drive on Tuesday, so it’s perfect timing to go sit in a chair and fly for a little bit! Thank you again for your time, and happy flying!
Respectfully,
Sergeant Charlie
It is an absolute honor to be among veteran pilots! A little about myself, I’m a Marine Corps veteran, served on the Marine One helicopter squadron security forces as a military police officer for five years. There, I was privileged to make friends with the civilian flight instructors and was able to log about 80 hours in the VH-3 Sea King flight simulator, which was epically awesome! I have been fascinated by flight my whole life, and it all started with those balsa rubber band wind up planes from the five and dime store!
My only R/C flying experience has been with those tiny gyro helicopters goofing around in the living room with coffee table landings, and an earlier version of the Diamond 600 novice park flyer when I was in high school that was good for flying in circles and getting caught in trees.
After years of wanting to get back into the hobby, I finally pulled the trigger on a Sportsman S+ from HobbyZone, and it will be here Tuesday. I haven’t been this excited for something in a long time. I’ve read so many posts on Hobby Squawk prior to ordering, as well as my own research for what I thought would be a good starter “big boy” plane.
I am confident that I’ve educated myself beyond a basic understanding of my new aircraft, but what I am in the dark about is the AMA thing I’ve seen talked about. I know of an R/C club that has a beautiful runway and bleachers, etc, literally 1,200 yards from my house, but I have no clue as to the etiquette of approaching the club for membership to use the airfield, or how any of that works.
Also, I have a driving force of interest in flying a warplane in the future, however, I understand I have a lot to learn before I even consider purchasing one. I have the patience of a wolf stalking a deer, so I will surely be waiting for at least two years of flying before graduating to something that advanced. That being said, I’d like to learn about what I can do to upgrade this Sportsman S+ such as motor, ESC, etc. (all of which I am very uneducated on) so any input on that front would be greatly appreciated. Of course I won’t be adding upgrades until next season after this fall/winter of learning to fly. One thing I’m looking forward to is adding floats to fly off the lake!
Lastly, the Sporstman S+ RTF comes with a DX4 radio. I’d eventually like to add flaps and navigation lights and possibly a bomb door to have some fun dropping paratroopers or something. Again, I’m totally unfamiliar with the channels of radios or how they work with the receiver in the plane, so any insight y’all might be able to provide on a good radio to plan to upgrade to and receiver, etc is also greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for taking the few minutes to read my post, and I can’t express how appreciative I am for your time to reply! I’ll be out of commission for the whole month of October as I just recently underwent extensive back surgery to remove two herniated discs as well as a bone spur that was poking my sciatic nerve. I’m on week two of the recovery now and can start to drive on Tuesday, so it’s perfect timing to go sit in a chair and fly for a little bit! Thank you again for your time, and happy flying!
Respectfully,
Sergeant Charlie
Comment