I am prety good at flying in the wind now and i can catch my plane in my hands . am i still a beginer... oh ya i need a new tx witch is better flash 5 or a laser 6 .. i fly only small foam planes and gliders.

I would go with the Laser 6 myself just to have the extra channel if needed.

I feel like I am always beginner, always something new to learn.

Sounds like you are an intermediate or advanced beginner to me. Some will say you need to fly ailerons to be at the next level, any of your plane have ailerons?

I'd go Flash5 or Optic6, the Laser is outdated.

I think many answers can be given to responding about the beginner...I think more or less it would depend on what you have flown...I have only flown 3ch planes but I am very good with my J3Cub(Parkzone)...so I consider myself an intermediate pilot when it comes to flying my 3ch J3 Cub(advanced would be flying inverted IMO)...HOWEVER I am just finishing up on my GWS Estarter..which is a 4ch plane which will be my first 4ch plane so I am back to be a beginner...THis is how I look at it.

I was going to buy the Hitec FLash5 as I thought it was the better deal out there until I found IMO a great deal on my Futaba 6EXA ($140- TX,Xtal, Battery, Charger,4-S3003servos) all brand new.

Go with the flash 5. It is a reasonably priced basic computer transmitter and can store settings for 5 models. It also has many mixing functions and digital trims that the laser 6 does not have. The laser 6 is not a computer transmitter and cannot store settings so that you have to make sure that the trim and servo reversing settings are correct for a particular model......a real pain to do....also a setup for an accident if not done correctly each time you change models.


What's a beginner anyway? If you can fly safely without damaging your plane, can adapt to various flying conditions, make the plane go where you want (and can fly without sweaty armpits) then maybe your not a beginner anymore...




Jerry

When you can come home from flying and not have to repair crash damage three times in a row, you've moved on from beginner.

Have fun,

Moe

I would say that if you fly regularly. and crash rarely, you are advanced.


When you can make you plane do what you want it to ( standart non 3d manuvers ), All the time, Id say advanced.

After that who cares, Your a pilot.

When you can fly the BMFA "A" certificate schedule (or the equivalent in your country) in a plane of your choice, accurately and confidently then you have progressed from beginner.

When you do the same with the "B" or "Display" certificate schedule then you are an advanced flyer.

You don't need to take the test, just fly the schedule to see how good you really are.
The schedule can be found at the BMFA website at www.bmfa.org. I haven't iserted a link to the site for technical reasons. (I don't know how!).
LOL

OOH...Errrr!

It's put the link in for me!

Damn clever these computers!

i like the advanced beginer...sounds better .1 have 1 plane with alerons but it is on the rudder channel (cause ch#1 is broken ,bad gimbal) i think maby flash 5 i have many flying models so it would be nice not to have to adjust every thing every time i fly.. btw i am trying to find the test but i cant seam to locate it..


thanks all!!!!!

I read the BMFA test instructions and I think they have a very good point. They focus on the pilot's confidence and his ability to fly the plane in a precise manner. Loops and aileron rolls are much easier to do than a precise landing pattern if you're not completely in control of the plane. Being a good flier is not about doing some simple pull-the-stick stunts and wondering where the plane is going to go. A good pilot knows how the plane is going to react and when flying he's ahead of the plane, not just a spectator reacting to whatever the plane decides to do.

There's so much to learn in flying model planes that I don't know if someone who hasn't flown an aileron plane would really be a beginner if he's for example a very good glider pilot. What if someone has never flown a jet? A biplane? A 3d plane? A pattern stunt? Any model plane? Although I'm not sure being a beginner should have much to do with the planes one has flown I also tend to think that a non-beginner should be able to safely fly most normal models in any regular hobby shop's category without need for an instructor.

> I don't know if someone who hasn't flown an aileron plane would really be a beginner

I'd say that if you can fly your plane confidently (and competantly) you aren't a beginner, you're intermediate - whatever the plane.

I'd define 'advanced' as 'anyone better than me' ;-)

I feel I've learnt to do something when I stop thinking of it as difficult, therefore everything I can do is 'intermediate' and anything I can't do is 'advanced' - but that's a very subjective scale!

Originally Posted by Rabbit Leader

OOH...Errrr!

It's put the link in for me!

Damn clever these computers!

I don't see ANY clever computers......................

They just go

Originally Posted by Rabbit Leader

The schedule can be found at the BMFA website at www.bmfa.org.

I've always wondered what the BFMA Certs consisted of. Thanks for the link. IMHO until you can fly the "A" Cert, you're still a beginner. The "B" Cert gets you intermediate.

People always *think* they fly a lot better than they actually do. I flew pattern for a number of years. When I decided to get into it, I got the right kind of plane, and learned the Novice Schedule. Then I practiced it a lot. After a while I figured I was hot stuff and would go to the contest and clean their clock ... wrong ... I went to my first contest and finished dead last ... by a wide margin. It was very humbling. After LOTS of practice and work, I finally won my class. And with that you get rewarded with advancing to the next higher class. With a brand new schedule with lots harder maneuvers. And lots better flyers.

My point is that people that fly alone or in small groups have a hard time figuring where they actually are on the "food chain". Not that that's important, because it's not. Having fun and pleasing youself is what matters.

So don't worry about it 'cause you ain't as good as you think you are


Tom

Whoa, I can do everything in the B cert, except I land on an outside basketball court. Well, I never simulated a dead stick from 200 feet, but I never fly at 200 feet. I still know I am not anywhere near the best of pilots, but I think reading that BFMA cert sure makes me think i'm better

I normally fly alone, but do fly with a small group sometimes. Compared to the crazy people who fly their airplanes like helicopters, or the worst of pattern pilots, I am way at the bottom of the food chain. Guess I'm an intermediate pilot.