[Angry] Spirit RTF Newbie

[Les Ward]

Got my Spirit RTF yesterday and put it together. This is my second plane after a Combat XR. I can see that this plane is not going to last, compared to the wing, which went down in the jungle, forever lost.
A couple of notes for the forums comments.
Came with a Hobbico in lieu of Hitec.?

Rudder seems extra sensitive, when giving
elevator input you tend to put in some rudder. ?

It took 4 Oz. of lead in the nose to balance out.?

Rx batteries AAA in Lieu of AA ?

Rx switch not mounted?

Considerable amount of wrinkes in covering.?

And lastly, am I being overly Critical ?

Any comments appreciated?
Aloha Les:confused:

[Ollie]

Originally posted by Les Ward
Got my Spirit RTF yesterday and put it together. This is my second plane after a Combat XR. I can see that this plane is not going to last, compared to the wing, which went down in the jungle, forever lost.

The Spirit belongs to that class of models known as crunchies. It was originally designed for thermal soaring, not the rigors of slope combat. It will last indefinitely if flown with skill in the sedate, conservative, boring way it was designed to be used.

A couple of notes for the forums comments.
Came with a Hobbico in lieu of Hitec.?

So?

Rudder seems extra sensitive, when giving
elevator input you tend to put in some rudder. ?

This is purely a matter of honing your flying and adjusting skills.

It took 4 Oz. of lead in the nose to balance out.?

Not a big deal. Did you mount all the radio gear ahead of the wing like you should?

Rx batteries AAA in Lieu of AA ?

AAA batteries have plenty of capacity. They are generally considered a "standard" size.

Rx switch not mounted?

There should be enough room to tape the switch to the side of the receiver or mount it to the side of the fuselage. This is a very minor chore.

Considerable amount of wrinkes in covering.?

Foamies get wrinkles too. Get out your heat gun and remove them. This is routine maintenance.

And lastly, am I being overly Critical ?

Yes.

Any comments appreciated?

You need to fly with a widely experienced group of glider guiders who can help align you expectations with reality. Who have you been flying with? Are there any experienced thermal fliers in the group?

Aloha Les:confused:

[Les Ward]

Thanks Ollie!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep I realized that it is a crunchie.

I have already addressed some of the issues'
moved all the radio gear as far forward as possible, switched out the crystal to the hytec radio ( rudder is not so hypersensitive now).
Mounted switch so its acessible on outside of plane.
All I need now is a good instructor, but alas here on the Island of Kauai there ain't any, ( too easy ) so I am on my own except for what I can learn from groups such as this.
Thanks to all those who have contributed to my progress however slight it may be, knowingly or unknowingly.
Aloha, Les :)

[BMatthews]

No one at all?

At least you have the slope experience. Thermal models don't like to be horsed around. Use gently amounts of control and be patient while waiting for the rudder turns to ease over. Kranking the controls around and horsing the model all over the sky will create a lot of drag and that eats up altitude in a hurry.

The only other advice is that when you do your first high start or winch launch be sure to throw the model like a javelin toss. You want the model to be up to flying speed BEFORE it leaves your hand. Just letting go and expecting the line tension to do the work is asking for a high speed stall, instant reversal and a lot of broken bits. You may get away with it on a light fast accelerating model like the Spirit as many do on stuff like the Gentle Lady back when I was doing more gliding. But if you move up to a larger heavier super ship later this lack of proper launch technique will bite you where you sit real quick. Learn now and you won't have any surprises in the near or long term.

[Les Ward]

So far I have found 1 R/C flier and he flies helicopters. Thanks for the launching advice
I was surely wondering how it was going to respond.
I moved the clevisis outward at the control horn to slow up control inputs.
Waiting for a lull in the weather,winds are about 20 knots.

Aloha and thanks alot, Les

[BMatthews]

Hey Les, I should have asked. How many flights did you get in on the wing before it went MIA? In other words are you comfortable with flying in general and landing roughly where you chose rather than the model's choice?

[Les Ward]

I think the main problems :are trying to fly in unsuitable conditions. gusty winds,
no wind. Wind wrong direction on slope coupled with no experience and no help.

So far its the models- 2 Pilot 0 . Although
today I made 4 Hi starts and was pretty much in control until I got too close to some power
lines and I believe the RF interference overpowered the controls and crashed. I feel like I am slowly
getting the Hang of it. Currently using an AM radio ?? Probably setup to close to power lines initially???
Orderd RF Simulator, must be a cheaper way.
A beginners viewpoint: ZR wing way to twitchy, Great Planes Spirit; this I can learn on.
Next Plane ; DAW Foamie.
Any Comments
Aloha Les & Thanks :p

[NickW]

Hi Les, just a few quick thoughts for you. Yes if you must go it alone (and its certainly not the easy way) then a simulator will greatly help. A foamie will also be a big help, and perhaps a big money saver in terms of durability. If you liked the spirit you might want to consider the 2 Meter foamie Highlander sailplane. Its a two meter spirit made out of EPP essentially.

Do try and fly in safe weather conditions that you are comfortable flying in. Its all too easy to venture out in anything, and come back with nothing.

As to your interference question, I can't comment on your particular instance, but I do know this. When I was learning to fly I would run into an odd occurence and blame it on radio interference. The older guys would just laugh or politely disagree with me. At the time this made no sense to me. Now I know its almost always something else. Often a loose wire, bad connection, or most likely a phenomenon we jokingly call "dumb thumbs" :) or pilot error.

Hang in there though. Its a fantastic hobby, full of fantastic people. Well worth the perseverence. Good Luck!!!

Nick Wisdom
Providence, RI

P.S. try and not to fly anywhere near power lines. Making contact with them can start fires and or fry your onboard components.

[Les Ward]

Hey Nick ,
Thanks for the reply. Well yesterdaY WAS ANOTHER GOOD DAY. Made about 6-8 hi-starts
with only one botched landing, which the plane actually survived. And actually landed in the same field. This plane seems to not like the rudder. Tight turns and it seems to become a little erratic. Is this typ. of a poly ship? (Spirit 2 M )
I had good fun and no damage Yea! :D

Aloha Les

[bjaffee]

Depends...describe erratic. Poly ships can be made to turn tightly, but they always initiate a bank with a bit of a delay, That's because the rudder first has to put the plane into a sideslip, which then causes the polyhedral to take effect and roll the plane into the bank.

With gentle turns, this often isn't noticable, but if you give it full rudder all at once, or if you go rapidly from full left rudder to full right rudder, things may look fairly sloppy..almost like the plane is being jerked around by an invisible rope.

[Ollie]

Here are some tips on improving your piloting skills:

1. File a mental flight plan before every flight and stick to it. The flight plan should include a landing spot. Learning to spot land will improve all other aspects of flying.

2. Use the smallest possible control movements to guide the model.

3. Pay close attention to any deviations of the model from the desired flight path and apply small corrections sooner instead of waiting and having to apply large corrections later.

4. Try to maintain a constant airspeed, not ground speed.

5. Try to maintain a constant angle of bank in turns. Use a faster ground speed going downwind and a slower ground speed into the wind.

6. Avoid extreme maneuvers in the beginning and anticipate the flight path as much as possible. Leave yourself plenty of room to maneuver so that extremes are not required.

7. Concentrate on flying smoothly. If your results aren't smooth, repeat the flight plan until you can do it smoothly.

8. An orderly approach to improving your flying skill will result in much faster progress.

9. Join the LSF and participate in its achievement program.

Regards, Ollie

[Les Ward]

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.
I am thinking about a check list to paste on my tool kit, ( preflight? ) in large print. Also a couple of ribbons to land on ,(runway). And for Ollie, a question , what & where is LSF

Aloha, Les :p

[Ollie]

The LSF home page is at:
http://www.silentflight.org/
The first level of achievement and most of the second level can be acomplished without contests. Maybe by that time you will have introduced a few others to the hobby/sport and can run your first contest.