Hi All:

I'm Andre Ming of eastern OK.

Used to fly control line combat planes years ago. Got interested in some of the nice and hassle-free looking foam ARF "Park Flyers" recently.

To make a long story short:

Tuesday night I picked up a HobbyZone Super Cub. After watching many "how to" vids on Youtube and almost ALL of them recommending either a sim or an instructor, I stopped by Wednesday night and picked up the flight sim: G4. Got home, installed it, selected a 3 channel electric plane and essentially spent the rest of the night flying it and trying to learn the basics of flying on the sim.

WELL...

Went out tonight to try the Super Cub. Nervously, I revved it up and launched it. I FLEW!! Not once, but TWO short flights, complete with acceptable landings.

I'm off to a start!

I'm hoping to graduate to a ParkZone F4U Corsair by Christmas.

This is fun!

Andre Ming
Eastern OK

Welcome to the addiction. Enjoy your (eternal) stay.

Nice job, Andre!!!!!!!!!

Chuck

LA MING,

Come on in, stay awhile, yer in for a long haul.........THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!!

Great to hear of your successful flights.

Welcome to RC Groups, and congrats on your first two successful flights.

Welcome to the last hobby you will ever do

Welcome to RC Groups, Andre, and to the world of RC flying. Sounds like you took a good path getting to your successful maiden and 2nd flight. The Super Cub is highly recommended by many around here. I have never flown one but I trust those that have and recommend it for a first plane. The sim experience is certainly a good move on your part too and you bought one of the best. I, too, have RealFlight sim and it helped me a lot.

Stick around RC Groups and you will learn a lot. I know you are gonna need it. A successful first flight normally leads to addiction. It certainly did me. And as my addiction grew most of what I learned was learned right here at RC Groups.

Happy flying!!

Freddy

Well thanks for the welcome and words of encouragement!

In my C/L combat days... I never could see any point in sport flying R/C. Had'ta' go blinding fast and KILL SOMETHING!

Boy, has that attitude been adjusted! As I aged, the HF (Hassle Factor) soared completely off the scale for building and flying combat. (My last combat match was in the early 90's. Even building and sport flying vintage combat planes (Voodoo's, Super Satan's, Demon's, Vampire's, etc.) became too much work. I quit messing with flying glow powered models altogether about '98. Ten years: No model planes of any type.

Then I discovered park flying last weekend via the magazine "Backyard Flyer" at the Wal Mart magazine rack.

I see Park Flyers as very relaxing, clean, with a LOW HASSLE FACTOR. (By clean and low hassle factor, I mean no fiddling with glow engines and not having to deal with the gooey residue left behind on the plane, clothes, hands, etc, etc.) I hope I'm right in this assumption.

I know I've got a loooong learning curve to climb... but I also hope the majority of it will be enjoyable. (The other part, crashing, will suck though.)

Welp... all for now... think I'll go buzz around some more in the flight sim... I'm still pretty inaccurate when it comes to making the plane go more closely to where I WANT it to go. (I kind'a "go with the flow" right now. )

Today the Super Cub... tomorrow the world!

Andre Ming
Eastern OK

Originally Posted by LA Ming

Hi All:

<snip>Used to fly control line combat planes years ago. Got interested in some of the nice and hassle-free looking foam ARF "Park Flyers" recently. <snip>

Dear Andre,

Your experience with control line planes is the major reason you were able to pull off the amazing feat of a successful first flight. I also flew control line combat. Upon taking up RC, I found I had no tendency to over-control the plane. Control line flying had taught me to be subtle with the controls. I suspect you also had no tendency to over control your Super Cub. Congratulations!

Your G4 simulator will pay for itself very quickly. Crashing virtual RC planes is a whole lot cheaper than crashing real RC planes. I really wish I had a red reset button on my real transmitter!

Thanks, Bruce

Bruce:

Funny you should say my C/L experience helped. I have a dirt bike friend that also flies (C/L and R/C). When I talked to him about my new interest in park flying last weekend, he said the same thing. I didn't really think it would be so, 'cause there's whole new eye/hand things to learn. Reckon' it did, huh? Me thinks that the G4 system was a great advantage too. Like you say... hitting the reset (and boy have I ever) is a LOT cheaper than painfully facing/learning similar eye/hand situations in the "real" air.

I am wondering though, how that once I'm comfortable flying 3 channel, how difficult it will be to relearn flying 4 channel twin sticks? Moving that rudder from a right stick over to a left stick, and replacing it with airlerons on the right stick seems like it would be very confusing to the already learned thumbs/mind thing. Shame there isn't a standardized stick configuration so that I learn left thumb/right thumb coordination/orientation while learning.

Off to work!

Andre Ming
Eastern OK

Originally Posted by LA Ming

Bruce:

<snip>
I am wondering though, how that once I'm comfortable flying 3 channel, how difficult it will be to relearn flying 4 channel twin sticks? Moving that rudder from a right stick over to a left stick, and replacing it with airlerons on the right stick seems like it would be very confusing to the already learned thumbs/mind thing. Shame there isn't a standardized stick configuration so that I learn left thumb/right thumb coordination/orientation while learning.

Off to work!

Andre Ming
Eastern OK

Dear Andre,

I personally think the transition from 3-channel to 4-channel is pretty natural. My favorite 4-channel trainer is the GWS E-Starter. Your G4 simulator is a real advantage. You van practice 4-channel flight before heading to the field. A 3-channel plane rolls by controlling the right transmitter stick. Similarly, 4-channel plane also rolls by controlling the right transmitter stick. The left stick on a 4-channel controls the yaw axis.

Some new pilots start with a 4-channel plane. The E-Starter is predictable and self-correcting. I have a 3-channel plane called the LoLo, which is a kit sold by Zeke's Park Scale Models. I swear my LoLo grows ailerons in the air. The 3-channel LoLo has a faster roll rate than my 4-channel E-Starter.

Link to LoLo

This is a fun hobby.

Thanks, Bruce

4 chanel is not hard. With higher wing trainers, you still use the right stick for turning, and just throttle up to a throttle seting, and leave it there, unless you have to adjust for something. You only use rudder if you get into more advanced aerobatic maneuvers, and for takeoff/landing.

Try your hand at one of the various 4 channel high wing planes on G4- one of G4s advantages. You can try a similar or exact plane before you buy it.

I bought a super cub recently and love it. It is my first RC plane as well. Unfortunately I didn't go the simualtor route. I ended up crashing the first time. This was due to my inexperiance and the 15 kph wind. I'm getting better though. I should have gone the free simulator route and saved $13 on props. It may have also been better if I would have chose a larger field. I hit a house and nearly a church. Very good choice though. Best plane I could get.

Thanks for all the good input and tips!

I'm hoping to slip out Sunday afternoon for another go at flying the Cub. Too windy today. Supposed to be light winds tomorrow.

Using a 3 channel electric in the flight sim, I can make soft landings... but I am not very accurate at setting it down on the runway. So far, that has been very hard for me to do. When watching flying vids on Youtube/where ever, I marvel at the way you guys set your plane down where ever you want it. No can do at this point. Hopefully with time/practice?

Andre Ming

Originally Posted by LA Ming

Thanks for all the good input and tips!

I'm hoping to slip out Sunday afternoon for another go at flying the Cub. Too windy today. Supposed to be light winds tomorrow.

Using a 3 channel electric in the flight sim, I can make soft landings... but I am not very accurate at setting it down on the runway. So far, that has been very hard for me to do. When watching flying vids on Youtube/where ever, I marvel at the way you guys set your plane down where ever you want it. No can do at this point. Hopefully with time/practice?

Andre Ming

Dear Andrew,

I find the perspective on a flight simulator to be challenging when landing. I am far better at landing a real RC plane in a precise location than I am landing a virtual plane. Remember the simulator is really two dimensional. The real world is three dimensional. I am better at judging the speed, altitude and direction of my real plane in the real world.

Thanks, Bruce

Hmmm. I wondered that, Bruce. A sim can only do so much. (Definitely helps with thumb/plane position orientation.) However, in many aspects, me thinks that there will be no real substitute for actual air time.

Andre