How big of field?

[j_eich18]

How large of a field does a beginner need in order to fly a .40 Hobbico Superstar Trainer? Any suggestions would be great! :)

[Mendnwngs]

I would seriously search for a club in your area. Find someone to help teach you to fly these things..

Just going out and trying to learn on a 40 sized glow craft on your own is really difficult, at best, and may be dangerous to you or oters at worst.

-Jason

[fhhuber506771]

i posted the answer somewhere else... (where.. where... heck..)

300X 50 ft clear and smooth minimum runway space.
200 ft off each end of the runway with no obstructions over 3 ft tall. (and nothing at all over 6 inches tall withing 50 ft of the runway ends)

No houses or people or anything you don't want to hit and pay for within 1/2 mi off either end of the runway and also nothing within 1/2 mi any direction you think the airplane might end up going. (and you still aren't safe if you lose sight of it and it flies off...)

If you don't want to have a high chance of that .40 trainer boogying off at 50 mph to 70 mph in some random direction when you let go of the sticks and look down to find the trim lever. and then later read about some model plane going through some woman's windshield on the freeway 6 miles away and causing 20 deaths... get an instructor.

******

Damn... I must REALLY be getting tired of people wanting to try it on thier own...

[Steve Guinn]

Well put fhhuber506771

Not to discourage you, but you have about as much chance of a successful first flight as you do winning the lottery.
It's similar to playing a video game for the first time, but there is no reset button.

It is very expensive to go it alone.

[ivanc]

It is very expensive to go it alone.
Sometimes more expensive than the plane and gear in it. :(

[j_eich18]

I don't know why everyone has assumed that I want to learn on my own. I simply asked how large of a field would be needed. I don't have that kind of money to throw down the drain. The sport is not cheap and I have already had some help flying my plane. The reason I put "beginner" in my question is because a beginner would obviously need more room. Sorry for venting. Nothing personal.

Thanks for the helpful responses

[Steve Guinn]

That was a vent? Come on now, don't hold back. :D

I assumed you were going to fly alone because of the question you asked.
If you have an instructor it seems you would know the answer.

We weren't trying to be nasty, just trying to save you some grief.

Welcome to RCGroups and this wonderful hobby.

[Mendnwngs]

Yeah, sorry if I came off rude as well..

In a perfect world, a newcomer wouldnt need much more than 200 X 50 Ft to take off, and triple that to fly in, as he would be buddy boxed to a well versed flier.

With a vague question such as yours, certain things were assumed, maybe incorectly.

However, in my defense, these planes, and model flying in general can be hazerdous if one doesnt have sufficent control / experience behind the sticks.. Heck, it can even be lethal.

Just like you wouldnt want someone who wasnt trained on a forklift, similarly, its a hazard to have someone who is untrained commanding a 1 HP blender on wings :)

-Jason

[Steve Guinn]

Ha...bringing back memories. You ever try weaving a 12K Lb. forklift through a hangar deck full of F-14's in heavy seas?
Then there was the guy (Dotson, not McHale) who drove one off an elevator in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. :D

[ivanc]

I don't know why everyone has assumed that I want to learn on my own. I simply asked how large of a field would be needed. I don't have that kind of money to throw down the drain. The sport is not cheap and I have already had some help flying my plane. The reason I put "beginner" in my question is because a beginner would obviously need more room. Sorry for venting. Nothing personal.

Thanks for the helpful responses
I'm sorry if I offended you in any way but I'm just trying to be helpful.
The sport is not cheap but I wouldn't consider it expensive either unless you get into large scale and jet planes.
A beginner would not "obviously need more room" compared to experienced RC pilots. The reason is that anyone (beginner or not) would want to keep the plane close enough to see its attitude. Otherwise the pilot will lose orientation and crash the plane - I've seen it happen to very experienced pilots.

[Steve Guinn]

An experienced pilot can land in a much smaller area.

[ivanc]

Well, true but the question is about flying a .40 Hobbico Superstar Trainer. The best is to have a field as big as the area necessary to fly the plane so the plane can be landed anywhere in that area. I've seen such fields but I would considery it a luxury. :D IMO it spoils pilots and develops bad safety habbits (having people take off and landing at different places of the field without announcing their intentions and with no distinctive pattern).

[Blazer]

j- In answer to your question, I own a field right behind my house that's close to ten acres, and two other guys and myself have been flying off it for several years with absolutely no problems. We don't worry about fly-overs as my nearest neighbor is a mile away. It isn't AMA sanctioned, and the only rule we have is there will be no rules. I believe you could get by with five or six acres, as long as there weren't too many trees or other obstructions.- Jim
P.S. We also do U/C there and fly sport F/F in a larger field- Jim

[cornbinder]

are there any big-old dry lake beds within striking distance that your instructor might
be inticed into going,then you (heven forbid) the dreaded dead stick landing would
not be such a large problem. also you would be more relaxed to know that there is plenty of room. mike

[fhhuber506771]

with a decent instructor... he'll take one look at the field and decide if its adequate.

With a decent instructor... he'll keep the student high enough when away from the runway to be able to glide the model to a safe landing on the runway. (I usually have to "fishtail" them to burn off excess speed before touchdown because I like a safety margin)

Yes.. a good pilot can put a Hobbico Superstar down on a footballfield with the two football teams lined up on their respective 20 yard lines and the cheerleaders on the dashed lines (at what? 15 yds in from the sides?)... but I don't know one who'd try it because its just not safe.

[j_eich18]

Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

[Bob E.]

I fly in a field behind my house. It is probably about 20 acres of open hayfield, roughly square in shape, with 3 houses on one edge (mine, my parents', and my uncle's), and a treeline around the remaining 3 sides. Beyond the trees is mostly farmland and a few other houses scattered about, most of which are to the south. I graded, smoothed, and planted a grass runway about 40' wide by 350' long or so. I am not an expert pilot by any means, but I do ok. And I find it rather tight for my 40 size glo planes...especially landing. Takeoffs aren't too bad, but you have to pretty much make a 180 degree right turn immediately after takeoff to avoid the trees. But once in the air, it's not too bad. I try to stay to the north to stay over open fields and to avoid the closest houses. Anyways, I know I wouldn't want to fly in a field any smaller than that. And frankly, if this wasn't so darn convenient, I probably wouldn't fly there because it definitely keeps you on your toes.