TX-Deck's R/C PT-40 project

[TX-Deck]

Update!!!I attempted to get with my instructor 2 weeks ago, but there were races going on at the field, so no dice.I scheduled again for last Sunday, but the instructor sees at least 10 different people every weekend, and our signals got crossed somehow.   I set the appointment for 9:00am, he thought it was 10:00am, didn't realize that I was the one training, and I got skipped.    He walked by and saw me sitting by my PT-40 and asked "oh, you have a plane out today?"   Doh.   He thought I had just dropped by to spectate, which people often do.SOOOOO....  I have another appointment with him at 7:00am tomorrow morning, and unless something drastic happens, I'm bound for stick time!!!In the meantime, I spruced up the PT-40 with some stripes....And a closeup of the tailfins....I'll keep y'all posted and let you know if I still have a plane by tomorrow afternoon!TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

Looking great!! And that will help a boatload with the visibility and telling which end is up while trying to recover after a botched turn . . .er. . i mean. . while doing acro  ;-)Too bad you dont live out west man. . .youd be getting some serious stick time. . and solo by now for sure. I guess you have a popular instructor. . 10 a day is a lot!!  With the buddy cord you shouldnt have to worry. . . just keep your bank angles low, and your altitude fairly high (but dont overdo it, you want to be able to see the thing too!). Another trick I used to use for new pilots was to have them face their body the same way as the plane is flying, and look over their shoulder. . this helps those who are new to R/C keep perspective when the plane is flying towards them. (r/c car or boat drivers probably will have no problem with this)Anyway good luck. . . I hope ya get some stick timeS!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX Squadron XO

[TX-Deck]

Well......   I HAVE FLOWN THE PLANE!Only took me four months to do it, but I can honestly say that I have flown the plane.We got in three flights today.  The first flight was short, setting trims and then the instructor brought it down dead-stick after the engine cut at low idle.  After drilling a hole in the fuselage to get a screwdriver to the low idle adjustment, we tweaked it on the ground and sent her back up for the second flight.   I actually got to take control this time, and we practiced a few gentle and controlled turns.   He had me start a large figure eight pattern, with the middle of the eight setting the plane on a path directly towards us on the flight line.   After 5-10 seconds of straight flight towards us, I would bank it out to the left or right, alternating each time.  He brought the plane down and we gassed her up for run number three.    During the first 3 or 4 minutes, he noticed I had a tendancy to bank the plane and apply elevator as instructed, but then I would ease off on the elevator too early.   He took control and applied a massive amount of down trim to the elevator, then turned it back over to me.   This required me to fly with constant up elevator, and gave me a feel of how much and how long it would require.  I thought that was a pretty cool trick.  He removed the trim and we continued to fly.He pointed out some fairly specific ideas about stance and location on the flight line, and to me they made sense, and I sort of gathered from the way he talked that it is how they expect people to fly at that field.   He had me stand next to him in the "cage", with feet and chest parallel to the edge of the front of the box.  When the plane was coming at us in the middle of the eight, he would ask me to practice keeping the wings flat and level, then gently bank out each time.   After the flight, he explained that once this routine is practiced and I'm comfortable, then all I have to do for landing is obviously have the plane on the right flight path, but just turn my head 90 to the left or right, and we are doing the same thing.   Another subtle yet cool trick!Next lesson involves taxiing on the runway and taking off, and some more of the controlled gentle figure 8's.   Sooner or later I'll begin to work on landing, then after that I'm solo!   w00t.TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

Well congrats man!YEah most flying clubs keep you a "Safe" distance from the runway, and often behind some sort of fence. . . though when I get into my aerobatics I have a tendency to want to get right out by the runway which pisses off the poweres that be (thats why I fly when noones' there! ;-) but is alot more fun to bring the model low over the runway and then right past my head in climbing knife edge . . needless to say that is reckless behaviour .  .  . and in my more adult years I have weaned away from such antics.It seems this instructor is moving you in kinda quick, which is probably a testament to his perception of your flying comfort/skills. The figure 8 is a good maneuver for getting orientation down to muscle memory, but you need to be really comfortable with it for takeoff. . .as you add in power torque and p-factor will veer the model to the left (though less so in R/C with all the right thrust most people build into the firewall) you need to keep the plane on an even keel down the runway centerline, and if a gust of wind hits ya right as you go wheels up you ned to be able to make the corrective inputs quick, the only other issue with takeoff is simply being smooth witht eh controls, and knowing what speed is flying speed, and what angle is used for climbing. . . get those things in order and you will have no troubles. (another nice thing about R/C is the mondo power to weight ratios, climb speed and angle are less critical than in the real birds)Anyway, its great to hear you are  out there burning some holes in the sky with that little blue devil. . . have fun man!! And good job!S!TX-EcoDragonBlack 1TX Squadron XO

[LW_Tornado]

Congrats  Jakus, and its beautimous wit dem stripes if i do say so myself !!Keep us informed bro . Looking good man !!!!!!!S~T-Dawg