Any Tips???

[cdo6275]

Hi All

I'm new to the RC scene and have zero hours of flying time/experience. Although I have always had a keen interest in the hobby Ive only now found time to get into it, although I got about 6 months before I leave the UK for Afghanistan again I'm hoping I can get pretty good before then.

I've got a FW 190 and a Super Cub on delivery which will be my first RC plane i'll fly, can anyone give me some hints and tips on everything to do with my first flight, trimmimg, CG, etc. I've read alot on the internet about parkzone planes and studied the instruction manuals but any extra info would be great and extremely helpfull.

Sooner I can get out and get some experience under my belt the sooner I can get my FW 190 up and the sooner I can get the Spitfire.

Many Thanks in advance

[ChocksAway]

Greetings

Buy some flight simulator software and associated USB transmitter and spend plenty of hours on it!

Don't use a game pad or the keyboard as you are not learning anything.

(Unless you can use a game pad or keyboard to fly at the field!)

Good luck

Colin

[Anthony]

I'd take your super cub and find a very large grassy area on a calm day. If possible get a friend to hand launch the plane into the wind at full throttle, whilst you hold the controller. Just watch the plane as it goes away from you and if you don't like the look of it, cut the motor power and let it glide down onto the floor, perhaps pulling the stick back slightly a foot or two off the ground. You may find that it flew slightly to the left, if so add a bit of right trim on the controller. Then try launching the plane again, if you feel confident to let it fly then keep at full throttle and fly forwards untill you have gained a bit of height and gently turn one way or the other, once you have got a bit of height you should easily be able to fly at about half throttle or a little less which will make the plane slow enough not to rush you. At first it may be useful to turn using just the rudder, if you find you are loosing height, level the plane out by applying rudder in the opposite direction to the turn and then use a bit of 'up elevator' once the wings are level. If you use the elevator whilst turning you will increase the turn rate and probably get yourself into a bit of a pickle. After a few minutes of flying you may find you start to confuse which way to push the stick to fly the aeroplane, especially if it's a fair distance from you. At this point it's a good idea to have a break which means coming down again (hopefully without crashing). I find the best thing to do is fly a big circuit leaving the plane at about house height flying into the wind, once you are happy with the direction of the plane reduce the throttle and allow the plane to start decending on a gentle glide path. When its a couple of feet off the ground throttle right back and the plane should land by itself, all you may want to do is pull the stick back slightly to make the touchdown a bit softer. At this point you will probably be feeling a lot of relief, and saying things like "woah, what a rush"! Haha

[Radweld]

You first of all need to establish if you can use the radio, can you mentally reverse the controls when the plane is coming back towords you? if you have no RC experience then download a free simulator like FMS or buy something a little better like Pheonix and practice flying. These sims wont simulate how the real thing flys but will teach you how to move the sticks and how the model reacts.

When you can fly the sim model, start with the cub before moving onto the 190. Of course you can always try to fly straight away, this depends how deep your pockets are because your highly likely to crash and do major damage.

[Anthony]

The thing is... buying a sim and a controller with a USB is more expense and messing about. The cub is designed for beginners such as myself and I've never even been close to crashing mine, it really does fly very well. I think it's probably more fun to practice in real life than on a computer anyway. Get out there and have a go!

[ChocksAway]

Myself and a number of friends tried the "go it alone" method 30 years ago and I guess that things haven't moved on a great deal when it comes to the maiden flight.

All that research and theory seems to pass you by when you are faced with your aircraft lifting off or being launched for the first time. All of it goes out the window.

You could find the learning curve a bit steep , around five seconds before impact.

Clearview RC simulator is only £20 , USB transmitter is £28 ish - not too bad really.
Having flown both the Parkzone Spitfire and the one on the sim (with wind, etc) it is not far off the real thing.

You can practice until you can fly circuits without even thinking about it , so the stick movements become second nature.

I just wish the RC sims were available 30 years ago as it would have saved me a lot of balsa , tissue paper + time!

Worked for me - better late than never!

[cdo6275]

Hi all,

There's some sound advice on here now. I have come along way since I first asked for any tips and I took all the advice on board. Those of you who are reading this and you are a beginner take note because its good advice. I started with the Super Cub and its still going strong today, its a great training plane and it helped me along nicely. I've just moved up to the Spitfire and flying it with confidence now but im still quite nervy with it as you have to concentrate on it constantly watching what its doing and reacting accordingly to any sharp movements. But before I started flying I used a flight sim and I have to say that the initial time spent on that helped greatly.

Thanks to all who have replied and keep them coming as your never stop learning.

[zippy5131]

Hi to everyone out there in PZ world, I bought simulator for the PC called RC PlaneMaster distributed by CML it only cost £20 and comes with a ready to go TX all you need to do is install the software and set up the TX re-arrange the channels and away. The guy's are right in saying its a different thing when your on your first real flight than a sim but it gives you a sense of which way the plane goes when coming at you. A friend of mine told me to move the aileron in the direction of the dipped wing when it comes towards you this works. If the chap is going out to AFG your something to do with the military, I was in the RAF and we had flying clubs, so might be worth while finding one where you are. Anyhow enjoy the flying I've got to rebuild my FW 190 after tip stalling it showing off to my girlfriend. OOOpppssss!!!!!!!!