Do
you really want to do this ?Do
you really want to do this ?I learned to fly last year so while it is still fresh in my mind here are my impressions of the experience..
Learning to fly radio control aeroplanes is like your first driving lesson. You know where simultaneously depressing the clutch, moving the gearstick, turning the steering wheel, looking in the mirror, and indicating seems impossible (unless your an octopus) Whilst your trying to puzzle out how to do it, some idiot in the next seat is screaming over and over again 'Brake!, Brake! for chrisake Braaaaaaaaaaaaake!.
Model flying is like that but a bit harder. A car stays on the ground, model aeroplanes fly (surprisingly) so there is an extra dimension to contend with, which, by the way is moving (wind). Also your not sitting in what your controling. This causes all sorts of problems with perception of which way round the model is and where it is in relation to other objects - like trees. Plus numerous other difficulties to overcome. For instance, any time it feels like it your powered model may suddenly decide to become a glider (usually at the most inconvenient moment) .
Lets not go on with the problems - you might get discouraged!. The main point is you wont learn to fly in an afternoon, or a weekend. Its going to take a lot dedication and time from both you and your instructor to get you proficient at flying. Are you sure your prepared to make that commitment. ? Its also going to cost a lot of money to buy a model and necessary gear (most model shops do a 'startup' set for under £250) plus club membership fees and other 'miscellaneous' expenses. Your probably not looking at much change from £400 to get setup. Oh yes if the worst happens your model might look like the one on the right . So more expense for either a new model or glue, parts and coverings for repairs.
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Books on Radio Control Model Flying
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As with learning to drive a car once you have learned it seems easy. Why ? Because after enough practice it becomes automatic. That is the key to flying model aeroplanes lots of practice until the basic controls become automatic. Once you have learned to fly it is a real achievement and suddenly evey facet of the sport is open to you.
A year after I learned to fly I had a go on a computer flight simulator for radio control. (Great Planes Real Flight G2) and if I had this when I was learning I wouldnt have smashed up as many models as I did. Although they can be expensive (there are free ones) I highly recommend trying one of the flight sims to help make your reactions automatic on the sticks.
How longs a piece of string ? Why are we here ? Is there life after death ? Will England ever win the World Cup ?
These are all questions to which there is no awnser. One thing for sure the more time you put in the quicker you will learn. I learned to fly in 3 months going out 2 or 3 times a week, each time a minimum of 1 hour flying each time. A vital aspect is an instructor. So we are clear on this let me repeat - You Need Someone To Teach You. Read on and you will get the idea why:
I first bought a little electric model plane made from polystyrene with just 2 controls one for throttle and one that let you turn in gentle spirals. The whole thing complete with batteries and controller was under £100. I had some fun with this and it was'nt difficult to fly. It certainly whetted my appetite for model flying and I wanted more. After a couple of months with this little electric plane I went back down the model shop just to 'look' at the bigger 'petrol' engine models.
I bought the starter kit from the model shop which comprised an Irvine Tutor 40 ARTF (Almost ready to fly) trainer model aeroplane model with a thunder tiger GP42 two stroke IC (internal combustion engine) a Futaba Skysport 6 transmitter with 4 servos, receiver, and battery and chargers, a glow plug charger, gallon of fuel, a pack of 30minute epoxy and a chicken stick. (thing for flicking the propellor with so you hopefully dont get your hand hit). By the way the guy in the shop had said a couple of times to me 'You need to join a club to learn'.
I built the plane that night, installing all the servos meticulously following all the instructions. Set up all the controls making sure they all reacted and moved the correct direction for the correct stick as per the instructions. I started the engine an ran it in as per instructions.. (This was an experience if you've never dealt with glow engines before) Then I pondered how I was going to learn to fly ?. I was not aware of any nearby club.
I must confess I had no desire what so ever to join a club. I am definitely not a team player and any club, regardless of the hobby wether flying or fishing, drama or dance, you invariably find the same range of people in any group. Just like the characters portrayed by Harry Enfield - The 'you dont want to do it like that, you want to do it like this!', or 'I'm an unfeasably better flyer than yew are!" and more. I just wanted to fly my model aeroplane not get involved with 'nerds' trying to lord it over a novice.
I got an old book about radio control flying from the library. It was written in the 1970's and the author strongly recommended finding someone experienced to teach you to fly. But failing that if you lived in the sticks (as I did) and no instructor available, the author estimated you had a 1 in 5 chance of teaching yourself to fly. However this wasnt recommended.
Well I thought those odds werent so bad. I mean how hard could it be ? I'd been flying my little electric plane ok, there were just more controls and more power with the Tutor 40. You pushed one stick and the plane rolled, you pulled back the nose went up, pushed forward the nose went down, on the other stick it controlled the throttled and side to side the rudder. Armed with this and friendly advice from my book I felt it looked reasonably straightforward enough to try and teach myself to fly..
A local farmer said I could use his big field to fly in and being rural there were no houses or people around. The next nice calm sunny day I took the model to the field.
I started the engine, did a little bit of taxi'ing around testing rudder control and building up my courage, checked all the controls moved in the right direction, gave it full throttle and pulled back on the elevator.
My shiny brand new trainer raced along the ground engine screaming for about 15ft, suddenly it was airborne and climbing steeply. My first thought was total surprise that it was flying. Daft isnt it! you dont expect a model aeroplane to fly do you?
I had enough prescence of mind to carefully push the nose down a bit to reduce the angle of climb, and to throttle back halfway. Adrenalin was coursing through my veins and my hands gripping the transmitter were probably white as a sheet (I darent look down to see). Gingerly I moved the ailerons to bank the model round to the left and was surprised and delighted to see it reacting so smoothly to my control.
Suddenly a clump of trees jumped up and the model dissappeared within their branchs, the engine abruptly stopped and for several seconds you could hear snaps and crackles of wood and gentle thumps as things dropped into the undergrowth.
My maiden flight was under 60 seconds in the air. Interestingly the plane had been stripped of everything, wings tailplane etc and what was left of the fusealage was sitting about 60 ft up in the tree. It looked just like it had been thru a pencil sharpner. There was debris everywhere, odd pieces of balsa and covering on the ground and waving amongst the branches, along with one leg of undercarriage. It took me an hour to get the remains down and the pieces fitted neatly into a Tescos' carrier bag which I had in my pocket. I went home totally despondent calling myself all the prats under the sun.
My wife taking pity encouraged me to go and get another plane. Eventually I bought another Tutor 40 which cost £70 and I needed a replacement carburretor (which had sheered off) cost another £20. On building the MK2 Tutor 40 I was more cautious now. I looked around for a club to join to get tuition. However a friend of my wifes had a boyfriend named Ian, was an 'expert' and he agreed to teach me. Ian had been flying since he was 8 years old and under his guidance I was flying solo 3 months later. I only actually joined a club after I had learned to fly.
Final Thoughts
You need someone to teach you. Yes you could by sheer perserverance teach yourself to fly. However it would not only be very expensive but dangerous.
An experienced person instructing is so much simpler and safer. Not just taking over the controls when you get into difficulty but also an invaluable source of information on every aspect of the hobby: engine problems and solutions, fuels, covering, repairs and building, radio problems etc.
I was lucky both to have regular one to one tuition and the use of a flying field due to the generosity of a local farmer. Most people will need to join a club both for tuition and a suitable field.
Ian told me that a problem in some clubs is that teaching someone to fly is very time consuming, particularly if there are several novices. Remember teaching prevents the instructor flying his own models.. So often a learner may be at the flying field all morning or afternoon just to get a single 10 minute flight or even none at all. This means progress for the novice is slow and it is easy to get dissillusioned and give up. This is obviously a very general statement but perhaps worth questioning, prior to joining a club, about the number of instructors and how many flights you could expect in a session.
You also need the right mental attitude. If you are going to fly you have to take all the risks associated with learning. Also be prepared to put in as much time as possible - the more you fly the quicker you learn. So dont be shy! Politely and persistantly badger club instructors to 'take you up'. In general if someone is keen and eager to learn it makes the experienced flier feel more inclined to help. . If you cant be bothered, or appear that your not bothered why should anyone else bother ? Remember they could be flying their own models instead of teaching you !.
If there are not designated instructors dont go on who talks the best when looking for an instructor. As in all clubs there is plenty of 'hot air'. Study peoples flying and let their flying do the talking for them. You want the guy who flys controlled and smooth with soft landings. Politely ask if they would teach you. Also you dont need to have just one instructor. The more you fly the quicker you learn.
If you stick it out and begin to learn to fly then at one or more stages you may hit a mental wall where you think you just cant get the hang of it. (Usually after you've smashed up a model after a silly mistake which you knew you shouldnt have made) . KEEP FLYING - your nearly there! Its just experience - the more you fly the better you get.
