Iconic Aircraft Aviation Forum

by **Spitfire** » Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:45 pm

Aceyone wrote:All this is leading to a question-how do you learn to fly one for the first time without the risk of serious damage to your lovingly constructed model ?

Well there's 2 ways ...

1) You start at the age of 10 and you build, crash, repair, learn - build, crash, repair, learn - build, crash, repair, learn - until you are 30 - then you have just enough inate ability to just build and keep learning - but the crash and repair doesn't happen every time - then when you are 62 you've pretty much cracked it - you still crash occassionally - but now you don't give a sh*t because you get great pleasure from the repairing and learning bits

http://www.iconicaircraft.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=8683&hilit=+spitfire

2) You find your local club and join - you get what's called 'buddy box' training in that your transmitter is cable joined to an instructor's transmitter and he can take over - sort of like car dual controls - then the rest is just practice.

So as you can see - as none of you are 10, with 52 years to spare, option 2 is the only real way =))

AND - as a first priority - you join the BMFA http://www.bmfa.org/ and GET INSURED in case you hit something/someone - and the BMFA will tell you where your nearest club is ... http://clubmap.bmfa.org/

Ready To Fly planes (and especially helicopters) are the scourge of the hobby - idiots taking them out of the boot and thinking you can just do it - flying a helicopter model is like balancing a ball bearing on a knife blade whilst riding a bike ~x(

Join a club - Join a club - Join a club .... oh AND - Join a club

Go to this site - http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/index.asp?whl=GBR and just noodle around - cheap as chips ...
I'd start with a high wing monoplane as a good trainer http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__28679__HobbyKing_Mini_J3_Cub_ARF_Blue_UK_Warehouse_.html £25 :-o

I couldn't build it for that - Stable - made of foam so light and repairs easily ... you will need some other small bits like a motor etc - and also the radio - but that's not overly expensive nowadays ... and once bought it's interchangeable model to model.

This one is pretty much ready to go - all you'd need is radio and a battery and it's done ......http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__27037__Wilga_2000_Trainer_EPO_1160mm_PNF_UK_Warehouse_.html

Then there's even simulators now too http://www.phoenix-sim.com/

Its all very absorbing ... I've just been dabbling with quadcopters carrying cameras ... now that IS amazing with the new GPS flight controllers ... here's one I've just finished ...

I could go on and on and on ... but we'll leave it there or I'll bore you rigid .... I said I was a nerd :))

by **Aceyone** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 11:26 am

Well this is all very interesting,thanks for the links :ymapplause:

I'll give this some serious thought, as I don't seem to have enough time to spend on my present hobbies( or money ) but I know I could get interested in this !

by **Spitfire** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 1:11 pm

Aceyone wrote:Well this is all very interesting,thanks for the links I'll give this some serious thought, as I don't seem to have enough time to spend on my present hobbies( or money ) but I know I could get interested in this !

Well my brain is full with 52 years of experience - so if you want any help/guidance ask away

Whilst I'm on it I just thought of another fun starter plane - It's called a SLOW STICK and it's GREAT fun - I have one - and as its name suggests its S L O W as a trainer ... just radio and a battery needed again ...

It's light as a feather and as the wings are only banded on any arrivals means a minimum of damage

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__47340__HobbyKing_Slow_Stick_Brushless_Powered_Airplane_EPO_Carbon_Fiber_1160mm_PNF_UK_Warehouse_.html ... 90$ is about £55 ... brilliant with everything on it

by **Aceyone** » Wed Oct 01, 2014 3:43 pm

Cheers !

by **Spitfire** » Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:56 pm

Owe you a thank you Ace

I've been meaning to resurrect my own Slow Stick for ages and your questions brought me back to it and what fun it was ...

So I got it down out of the workshop rafters and dusted the cobwebs off and have improved it by converting it from an old brushed motor to a more modern brushless and adding ailerons which it didn't have before

I shall look forward to flying it again now ...

by **Spitfire** » Tue Dec 09, 2014 10:31 am

Oh dear - this newly resurrected model is no more - I took it out of its very dusty hibernation and got all enthusiastic about it again - converted it - tidied it up and all of a rush took it out flying without really taking too much note of the weather

First mistake ...

I tend to do my spur of the moment flying over on the sand dunes and there's a nice little hollow with a flattish bottom where I can safely fly ... what I had forgotten is that on a windy day its calm down in the hollow and windier up above the dune tops - this is a VERY light plane and I strayed too high (second mistake

)... the wind hit it and I managed to get it back under control a bit too late and it buried itself into the middle of a large gorse bush (the scourge of Cornwall!

) which was in itself copiously covered in blackberry brambles :((

The plane's wings are made of very thin foam called Depron and they don't take too kindly to nasty gorse and bramble spines so it was well impaled just out of my reach ... so in order to retrieve the expensive bits like the radio receiver etc I had to sacrifice the wings and just beat it out with a stick I found ~x(