I think this one belongs in this section
- Thread starter Truss_rod
- Start date
OP
Truss_rod
Ambassador of Picks and Sticks
OK @Session 5 , the maiden voyage was flawless and without the use of a safely net...
I had her in the advanced mode and didn't want to mess with beginner mode and went for the gusto. Absolutely flawless, and NO crashes... 51" wingspan and zero complaints. I cant wait for the plane on the work bench to be finished.
I had her in the advanced mode and didn't want to mess with beginner mode and went for the gusto. Absolutely flawless, and NO crashes... 51" wingspan and zero complaints. I cant wait for the plane on the work bench to be finished.Attachments
That looks a bit like Marty’s(from Mountain Men tv show) plane! I’m diggin’ it! Congratulations!OK @Session 5 , the maiden voyage was flawless and without the use of a safely net...
View attachment 42934
OK @Session 5 , the maiden voyage was flawless and without the use of a safely net...
View attachment 42934
Was this you first time flying RC? This is how my first flight ended (long story) circa 1979.
Short story version. Built that plane when I was around 14. Could not afford the engine or radio. When I moved across the country from MD to CA, it was one of the things I brought. Once I got a real job, I bought the OS engine and Futaba radio. I watched young kids fly at a local club site and figured, "How hard can that be if a 10 year can fly one. I know a lot about how airplanes fly and how the controls work.". So one weekend me and the GF drive over to an elementary school next to the freeway. No one around. So i carry the plane and gear over to a baseball diamond. Start her up on home plane, headed down the first base line with some throttle . Dang, not enough speed. Taxi back to home plate, turn around and firewalled it and added a little up elevator. Dang thing jumped off the ground and was flying right down the first base line, FAST. I did mention the school was next to a freeway. Within about 5 seconds the plane is flying directly away from me and is now OVER the freeway. Holy crap batman I was thinking, I DO NOT want to cause an accident. Did I mention things were happening fast? I used a little aileron and made a very uncoordinated left hand turn and got it turned 90 degrees, now flying about 50 feet over traffic! Oh sh#t. Up elevator! Gained altitude and used more aileron I got it pointed back at me, whew. Oh crap, what to do now, its doing weird stuff (never thought about the fact that when its flying at ya, controls are backwards). More uncoordinated moves and WHAM, full speed into a line of trees about 40 ft up. Heart was racing the whole time, this was maybe 30 seconds of flight at best. Never in this time did I even think about backing off the throttle 
.
We went home and I realized I better find someone to teach me.
.We went home and I realized I better find someone to teach me.
Session 5
Ambassador of Strings & Wings
That was a tough lesson to learn DonO. There are many who have experienced the same thing you did, and unfortunately left the hobby. Thats why I always recommend you learn from an experienced Pilot from your local flying club. This is the best and safest way to learn. Plus you get all the free advice from those, that know what they are doing.
OP
Truss_rod
Ambassador of Picks and Sticks
Yes it is but I bought a Realflight 9 simulator and I honestly believe I couldn't have done it with out it. The plane has a safe mode but I didn't use it..
Well done !
In 1982 I bought my first home in Mira Loma, CA. There wasn't much around the housing track and about a year later on the other side of the freeway they cleared about 100 arces and put in blacktop streets for an industrial park. So my next door neighbor, also named Don and I talked ourselves into learning ourselves. I bought this kit:
We'd fly every weekend and for about 3 or 4 months it always came home looking like this.
We both eventually learned how to fly quite well. When I retired this bird it had more epoxy by weight than the actual plane structure
. It took them years to start building in that industrial park and we flew there until 1988 when I moved to my second home.
Session 5
Ambassador of Strings & Wings
I still remember my first crash. I was out at the field in the evening after supper. I was the only one there at the time. It was my first time out after getting my R/C qualification to fly. I took off was having a great flight shakin like a leaf. So I had ben up for about 10 minutes, started thinking I better land soon before I run out of fuel. Trying to remember everything my Instructor taught me so any way I started to descend the wind was coming out of the North, so had to come across the field sun was just a beatin down from the West, I closed one eye cause the sun was so bright that I would come down underneath the sun, well it was so bright and I was giving it some left aileron and up elevator, I was blinded by the sun and lost it for a split second then I saw it too late straight down into the corn field. The engine was 4 inches into the dirt the plane was scattered over 12 foot area, completely written off. My Instructor said from the beginning have 2 planes in case you write one off, because he said you will. Well he was definitely right and I did have a second plane to fly which was a good thing. When I got my certificate the guys told me now you are qualified to crash .
Session 5
Ambassador of Strings & Wings
When I started there were no buddy boxes, no flight simulators, these are great tools for learning today. But no matter you're skill level you will crash. One needs to be prepared for that in your mind. You take a few minutes to reflect brush yourself off take the bull by the horns and get back out there. And learn from your mistakes.
