Well, maybe I am not a total newbie. When do you stop being a newbie? Actually, I have been back into CL flying for a little less than 2 years, and that after a lay off of about 56 or 57 years. But back then, I could do loops, upside down and lazy eights. My how things have changed.
So why am I writing this note? Well, I am still "newbie" enough to remember all of the things I did wrong and those that worked well for me as I got reacquainted with the sport. I would like to share some of those with any of you that are either coming back to the sport or getting into it for the first time. I am going to start from ground zero so if you are just getting ready to start or are into it for a short time, maybe some of this will help. Anyone else that reads this, please share your thoughts and experiences as well. Here we go.
I am old enough to remember the multitude of Cox .049 plastic kits that were all the rage for awhile. Cox began making those in 1953 and stopped in 1976. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, Cox had a fairly wide variety of prepackaged plastic airplanes. They were all powered by the Cox .049 and they were "ready to fly." I guess they were the first of the real RTF's. They introduced a lot of folks to control line flying. I am not sure if that was good or bad since they were abysmal to fly. If that was a person's only exposure to control line flying, they probably think model airplanes are far too quirky to be fun. They flew like a tethered "Pet Rock." (You remember the Pet Rock don't you? Oh well, I guess that's another story, something else I didn't invent.)
The only reason I bring this up is to point out that generally speaking, as the planes get larger, they become easier to fly and have more "mass" which will equate to better line tension at the end of the control lines. That is a really good thing. A very good combination from yesteryear, and still good today for someone getting started or getting back into the sport after a layoff, is the Ringmaster with a .35. It will fly decently and is durable enought to withstand some, but not too dramatic, "close encounters of the ground kind."
Speaking of encounters with the ground, it is not uncommon to hit the ground while inverted, or upside down as some of us less sophisticated might tend to call it. When that happens, often it is a broken propeller and needle in the needle valve. Whenever I order a new engine, I order at least 1 but usually 2 spare needles for the needle valve. The needle is not very costly and they are not always available when you need...le it. (Sorry, that was just too good to pass up.)
Do yourself a favor and run any new engine on the bench before trying to fly it. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations, but put on at least 30 minutes of bench time. I like 60 minutes. Aside from the risk of engine damage by not breaking it in before flying, trying to learn to fly with an engine that is too new to be consistent will be frustrating and not particularly fun. Fun is why we are doing this. While I am on the subject, follow the manufacturer's recommendations for fuel. You can mix you secret blends after you become a more experienced flyer.
When I got back into the sport, I "scratch built" a Ringmaster from a set of plans. My 56+ year layoff from building airplanes was really exemplified, all in this poor Ringmaster. I had to use a series of clamps to "pull" parts of it close enough together to apply the glue. But it flew. It flew well enough to get me back in the air and actually back to loops, upside down and lazy eights. All was good until I tried something else and momentarily lost sight of the plane. Did I mention, if you can avoid it do not begin learning on blacktop. Most unforgiving.
My biggest reason for sharing this particular airplane is to open up the discussion to, what I like to call, "chasing the nuance." If it has not happened to you, it will. It starts innocently enought. Someone who has been flying for awhile will say something like, "Do you have adjustable lead outs?" ... "What kind of tip weight do you have?" ... "You need a Randy Smith needle valve." (Yes they are good.) ..."You need an idle bar glow plug." ... "You need a ..." Bear in mind these are all good suggestions and may help your airplane fly slightly better but in the early stages of learning/relearning to fly, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. Remember those suggestions for sometime down the road. In the short term, FLY THE AIRPLANE! FLY IT! FLY IT! FLY IT! More experience is what you really need.
The inevitable crash. It will happen! What to do. My suggestion would be to do what I did. I found an airplane that flew well for me and was easy to build. I made an assembly line that Henry Ford would have been proud of. I aptly named my airplanes QNDT's (Quick and Dirty Trainers.) No sanding, no fillets, no fancy paint jobs, only paint enough to protect the airplane from the ravages of fuel should it last that long. I went through number of these but they proved their worth. I flew my first contest in Eugene, OR in May (The Northwest Regionals) and I actually placed 4th in Intermediate Aerobatics.
I would be remiss if I did not also point out that anything I recommend here is NOT intended to take the place of getting advice for a particular problem. If, or when, you run into a real problem, put that question or issue to experienced flyers both where you fly and on the forums. Those are both great resources.
In summary, I believe I would have "come along faster" had I followed my own advice to "FLY IT! FLY IT! FLY IT!" and left "chasing the nuance" for later.
Topic: From One "Newbie" To Another (Read 3186 times)