Control line sickness?

[t_predator90]

Dont you guys ever get dizzy???:confused:

[Kiwi]

Only after too many beers!

[slipstick]

Dont you guys ever get dizzy???:confused:
Yup. I find that falling over and lying down for a while fixes it.

Hi Kiwi, I guess you're catching up. This one's only a couple of years old ;).

Steve

[Kiwi]

Your on to it Steve.

[50+AirYears]

Only when I fly 049s on short lines on hot sunny days.

[DragonWings]

there's a danger of flying the big ones if one is not careful,
last week while I was video taping this fool flying his big plane on his line
well he lost track of and it komsie dive on his head, the spinner plowed right on head
and hair was intwined with prop, of course he was bleeding, and screaming.OOO & OUCH!

[ChRiS OnG]

at first when i started this c/l hobby i felt giddy and wanted to give up but then now i got use to it and it is ok... if u r really flying real fast then try to look at a point then turn ur body.... i'm currently flying a plane with norvel .61 not tat fast ....

[TLyttle]

If you (and the model) are capable of it, just face downwind and do figure 8s until you're okay. Also, some trainers will orbit over your head for a couple of laps if you climb higher and higher until you are holding full up with the handle over your head, then you can regain your balance.

However, you will get used to it...

[pmackenzie]

Your body gets used to the spinning without too much trouble.
Usually the first time someone flys out a tank without crashing they will do the staggering, twisting, leaning over dance, but the next flight will be much better.
When you learn to fly inverted you might experience the dizziness again, since you are spinning in the opposite direction.
Pat MacKenzie

[50+AirYears]

One of the Combat gurus once suggested the technique ballet dancers use. Focus on a spot ahead of the plane, keep your eyes focused on that spot until the plane has passed the spot, then snap your head around and focus on a new spot. That way the body is in constant motion turning with the plane, but the head gets a second or two without motion. How far ahead to focus or how soon to snap to a new spot depends on the individuals peripheral vision.

Never thought of it before, but after reading this, I watched some ballet on PBS, and you can actually see ballerinas snapping their heads aroun three or four times a rotation.

[NCC-1701]

I flew alot of CL as a high school kid in the 70's, couldn't afford radio gear. Back in '88 a friend and I decided to fly a little CL for nostalgia sake. I was surprised to find I can still turn counter-clockwise with no ill effects. However, if I turn clockwise, I'm ready to fall on my face after about 5 spins.


Rob

[CryHavoc]

A guy told me many many years ago two things that worked instantly for me.

1) Concentrate on the largest section of the plane, usually the rudder.

2) DO NOT watch the background. Focus ALL your attention on the plane itself.

Once I did that I never got dizzy again..... well there was that one time I tried to fly an .09 plane on 30ft lines. Almost didn't make it.

Mike

[TLyttle]

09 on 30' lines?? Posthole digger!

We used to do that with the kids who got bored with their "too slow" models; always good practise for flying speed

[downunder]

CryHavoc is right although I tell new flyers to concentrate on the centre of the fuselage. It's the clouds, trees, buildings whizzing past their eyes that causes the giddiness more than anything because their eyes and then their head tends to do a lot of moving. I prefer using a trainer with around a 40 engine so that longer lines can be used to keep the lap times as slow as possible.

[american junior]

after many many yrs flyin U/C I learned to not even watch the model hence "watching the model is watching the background.......thats when ya get dizzy !!!an old friend used to fly one off his head and one in each hand, thats when ya gotta pay attention!!! :eek:

[Discharger]

For those that feel they must indulge in CL flying, I suggest try it briefly as a stepping stone to proper flying and then quickly move on into RC flying and modelling where the real rewards and satisfaction are hopefully before you are noticed and labelled.
CL is what a lot of present day semi fossilised modellers did when they were kids because RC 40/50 years ago was in its infancy, unreliable and too expensive for most teenagers at the time. Thats not the case these days. Why anyone would go to the trouble of building a model, trying to keep their lines untangled, screaming at onlookers to "watch out for the wires" and then flying around and around in circles is beyond me. If today, there was no RC and all we had was control line I would not be in the slightest bit interested in such an utterly boring persuit. Now for you CL diehards that have just emerged happy and smiling from your little circle with staggering gait, giddy and nauseous but incensed by my remarks, stoke the fire.

[pmackenzie]

For those that feel they must indulge in CL flying, I suggest try it briefly as a stepping stone to proper flying and then quickly move on into RC flying and modelling where the real rewards and satisfaction are hopefully before you are noticed and labelled.
CL is what a lot of present day semi fossilised modellers did when they were kids because RC 40/50 years ago was in its infancy, unreliable and too expensive for most teenagers at the time. Thats not the case these days. Why anyone would go to the trouble of building a model, trying to keep their lines untangled, screaming at onlookers to "watch out for the wires" and then flying around and around in circles is beyond me. If today, there was no RC and all we had was control line I would not be in the slightest bit interested in such an utterly boring persuit. Now for you CL diehards that have just emerged happy and smiling from your little circle with staggering gait, giddy and nauseous but incensed by my remarks, stoke the fire.

Total, complete nonsense.
The only true statement is about your lack of interest in C/L.
An opinion you are certainly entitled to, but one that can only come from a lack of knowledge of the subject.

Pat MacKenzie

[50+AirYears]

Discharger:
Might as well ask why anybody would build any kind of model, be it FF, CL, RC, or even plastic display models. Some Blokes like Fosters, others like Guiness. Some even like the American Light beers, believe it or not. Everybody to their own tastes.
Boring is what you yourself make it.
Taking a 70 mph CL sport, PA, or maybe a complex pattern model around in a parking lot doing touch and goes over the 6" high lane curbs isn't boring.
Various types of CL racing events with 4 fast planes flying in the same circle isn't boring.
CL Combat definitely isn't boring, even with only two planes in a circle.
200 mph CL speed isn't boring, even with only one finicky plane in the circle.
In fact, trying to do a pattern in CL with your eyes shut and only a small flat piece of wood under foot to keep you centered in the circle is far from boring.
What I find boring is just flying level laps with a sport or trainer RC job. Just doesn't have the same thrill of feeling what the plane is doing through the lines and handle.
Maybe that's why the fellows at our local field kid me about having something wrong with my RC jobs when they see me flying straight and level ovals around our field.
And spend a couple months building a rubber powered peanut (13" span) scale FF WW1 plane and then at a contest just try to figure if you want to try to get just a couple extra winds in the rubber motor for a couple extra seconds flying time when everything you know about rubber winding says another 5 turns on the prop could turn this detailed model into splinters if the band breaks.

[TLyttle]

Would it be an easy deduction that Discharger hasn't mastered c/l in the first place? I have tried every phase of this hobby, and EVERY phase has its own severe challenges (yeah, try Combat, it will show the pros from the amateurs really quick), and EVERY phase works; good analogy about Fosters and Guiness, btw. I brew my own beer, design my own models, enjoy c/l certainly as much as r/c.

Second observation I have has to do with why did Discharger post his reply in the first place???

[Discharger]

Thank you Pat and 50+ for your replies. Well, I guess at least I've done something for your circulation albeit for a short time!
Actually, as a 15 year old (46 years ago, yes semi fossilised) I remember having great fun building a tiny CL model powered with an English ED Baby diesel engine. I couldn't afford steel lines or a proper handle so these were made with cord and a piece of wood. Fuel was mixed at home and ether was purchased from a local pharmacy (they wouldn't sell it to kids now!) The bell crank was fashioned from a piece of jam tin (conserve can?) and I especially recall covering the tiny wing with tissue paper and being amazed how the wrinkles disappeared after spraying with water and doping.
Much fun was had and the comradery with other like minds was just great. Then of course testosterone kicked in and my thoughts turned to other things (as they do) and CL flying was gone. Many years later I wandered into a hobby shop, and I was again amazed to discover that the new engines had mufflers and a throttle and the fully proportional radio gear was to die for! And so the illness returned but moved on to a higher level! I don't think there is any cure.

[downunder]

I convinced my RC club to let me put in a CL circle. The first time I flew there with my stunter I just did a normal stunt pattern. Nothing special. But when I landed I found that the RC guys were staggered that a model could be made to do so many things and so low to the ground. One or two even wanted to have CL flying banned because there's a main road running past the field and they thought I might distract the drivers and cause an accident. They only glance at the RC models.........

So is CL flying boring? It might seem so to someone who's never tried or seen the real thing but judging by the number of cars that stop to watch, maybe not :D

[TLyttle]

Hmmmm. Discharger, I can understand your problem with c/l, considering your early experiences. However, had you looked at the array of c/l stuff that is now available, you would be equally impressed: steel lines, adjustable handles, engines galore, highly technical models, just like r/c except cheaper.

I have considered moving to Perth (well away from Bushland), and I would be into the hobby at the same level that I am here. We'll see....

[Discharger]

Hmmmm. Discharger, I can understand your problem with c/l, considering your early experiences. However, had you looked at the array of c/l stuff that is now available, you would be equally impressed: steel lines, adjustable handles, engines galore, highly technical models, just like r/c except cheaper.

I have considered moving to Perth (well away from Bushland), and I would be into the hobby at the same level that I am here. We'll see....

Thanks for your reply. I don't have a problem with CL!? As mentioned, my past experiences with CL all those years ago were in fact very enjoyable and I did eventually get steel lines and a fancy handle but then I moved on!
Perth is a great place to live but growing fast. We have many RC MA clubs here and I think there is also a CL group hidden away somewhere! During the winter we can have perfect weather and great for indulging in the hobby.

[northernlightsfl]

I have been flying c/l for over 50 years i dont turn in a circle i walk kinda a square 10 foor on a side eliminates the turning,if you are restricted to space then thats difficult so figure 8s will herlp a lot

[JMP_blackfoot]

And so the illness returned but moved on to a higher level! I don't think there is any cure.
That there is no cure is for sure, but R/C being "higher level", I disagree, unless you make your own R/C equipment.

[TLyttle]

Different level is closer. And yes, I find that walking in a larger diameter circle does a lot to beat the dizziness, particulaly at my age; can't fly 1/2A any more...

This "level" BS is kinda silly. I have had a crack at everything, from solid, non-flying models ("shelf models" from pine) to indoor r/c, to large scale, to c/l, and EVERY facet of this hobby has its challenges, and there is NO "higher" level, just a different one.

[downunder]

If ever there was anything I'd consider to be a "higher" level it'd have to be microfilm models. Ever see a rubber powered soap bubble flying? I won't even kid myself I could do that :D

[TLyttle]

It is an art form alright. Interesting thing is that the technology has changed very little in over 50 years, unless they no longer use plasticised clear dope for covering; somewhere I have pics of the process taken in 1937...

We used to say that ya had to put a piece of glass under the nose of a mike flyer to make sure he was breathing.

[shaneyee]

I flew C/L combat and Team racing and then stopped for 20years and picked up R/C a few years ago. The thing about C/L is that the competitions are so intense. C/L combat gets your heart pumping and your blood pressure up like a knife fight. Similiar to a cage fight, there's no where to run....its kill or be killed. Team racing is just as intense, it can be physical too and R/C doesnt have the closeness and intensity that you get from direct control of your plane and close proximity to your opponent.

Shane

[Bullyhys]

I flew C/L combat and Team racing and then stopped for 20years and picked up R/C a few years ago. The thing about C/L is that the competitions are so intense. C/L combat gets your heart pumping and your blood pressure up like a knife fight. Similiar to a cage fight, there's no where to run....its kill or be killed. Team racing is just as intense, it can be physical too and R/C doesnt have the closeness and intensity that you get from direct control of your plane and close proximity to your opponent.

Shane

I agree, and to add one more to the intensity; try flying formation with a multi eng and a couple of fighters, yes we had 3 scale planes going at the same time in the same circle, not as much a rush as racing but the bomber was huge and weighed in at 14 lbs so team work was very important for saftey. :D

[50+AirYears]

Try doing team aerobatics with a couple Ambroid Ares, one with a Fox 35, and the other with a K&B Greenhead 35.There's a speed difference. Also, I was 5'7", and my partner in this crazy endeavor was 6'3". Did it a few times, re-kitted mine while flying solo.