LEARNING TO FLY YOUR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINED TRAINER
Sorry - this page is just a lot of info I've just parked here for the moment.
I'll get it fixed just as soon as I can!
So let's assume you've got your plane ......
Let's go through the preparation required for your first flight - and then go up together.
Ready for first flight - but only if the weather is right.
A calm still day or, better still, with a gentle breeze. (Even better with puffy white clouds on a blue sky, like the opening credits of "The Simpsons" A likelihood of good lift there.)
At The Field - Pre Flight (Pre flight checks must be done EVERY time you go flying).
Firstly, check the frequency board for clearance to use your transmitter's frequency. If required, negotiate a time for your turn. NOW BRING IN THE EXPERTS - because the what follows should only be done with the assistance of an experienced pilot, unless you are very brave, very silly or very rich.
Be aware of the areas that you may launch from, may and may not fly over and where you are to land. Set out your bungee so as to launch you into the wind and not so as to drop across the lines of others.
Put your plane together and re-check that everything is secure, the Centre of Gravity is correct, the controls securely attached to servos and the control horns down the back of the plane.
If your frequency is clear, place your key in the board. Double check the frequency you are on and that it is in the correct slot. NEVER let anyone else place your key in for you or remove anyone else's.
With your transmitter aerial DOWN and transmitter then receiver both turned on, walk away from the plane flicking levers and checking everything is okay. You should be able to make at least 20 metres before losing contact. This is called a range check.
Go back to the plane, put the aerial up and again check that Left really is Left, Right is Right, Up is Up and Down is Down. Get your expert to check everything with you.
Next comes the test throw, launched by the expert into the breeze and with the transmitter under his/her control. A couple more test throws should enable the trims (the minor control adjustments) to be set for level flight. Next up, the big launch.
The tow hook should be set 25-30 degrees in front of the Centre of Gravity (as measured at the wing). The tow ring on the bungee line is placed on the hook and the plane pulled back to stretch the bungee. Just before launch, check left/right-up/down again and that the aerial is up. The plane is then launched forwards (usually about 30 degrees up from the horizon). The plane will generally shoot up at about 60 degrees with the pilot only having to put in a little left and/or right to keep the aircraft going up straight. Up and down elevator may not be required at all on a well balanced plane.
As the plane continues forward, it will go over the top of the peg holding the bungee rubber and the line will fall off the hook and fall to the ground. (If this is not happening, or the line is starting to pull the plane down, a little down then up elevator may be required to drop the line off the hook.)
Now the plane is up
After a few turns and dips, your expert may wish to seek some lift. If the plane was going straight but was turned to one side (say to the left) by a movement in the air, it was probably caused by an updraught of air pushing a wing up out of the way. By turning right, the plane is moving back into the rising air mass - and may go up with it! This is what thermalling is all about!! (See article Thermals - and How to Catch Them on this site.)
Soon enough, your plane will start coming down and your pilot will get it into a position for a safe approach and landing. This will be somewhere with plenty of space (no people, cars, buildings, trees etc), in front and heading into the breeze. S/he will keep the plane coming in straight and flat and bring it into a gentle smooth landing on the grass. Remember, switch off the receiver first and then the transmitter.
Under the guidance of your trainer, you will be able to take over more of the flying. First the bit at the top (17 mistakes high!) and get used to the feeling of the controls, what is up (the stick being pulled towards you), down (the stick going away from you), left and right.
With your rudder, put your plane into a bank, then ease off the rudder and the plane should be going in a gentle circuit. A little opposite rudder will flatten out the plane and send it straight again. Do figure eights, turning into the wind.
Be aware that when the plane turns towards you, left is right and right is left! This may take some time to get use do! It is also easy to lose orientation and not know whether the plane is heading towards you or away from you. For this reason, don't fly too far away until you really know what you are doing. The underside of one wing being of a contrasting colour or having a large stripe across it can be of assistance with orientation.
In the very beginning, keep your plane upwind and always turn into the wind. Fly in a safety zone ahead of you (not directly above) and fly and land where YOU dictate - where there is plenty of room and margin for error.
Landing
Before taking your plane up, your trainer would have determined where it is to be landed.
As it lost height the plane will have been allowed to come downwind of your trainer and then turned back into the wind for its final approach. If there are other fliers about, your trainer will have called "Landing!".
A well trimmed plane will be stable and come down gently and slowly and will require only a little rudder to keep it its nose into the wind. Your trainer will show you if any elevator is required to bring the plane down - to stop it hitting the ground too fast or too hard. (See Training article on this site for more assistance.)
Always take off and land into the wind. A downwind landing can be fast and may damage your plane. If you are several mistakes high and the plane is all over the place, let go of the controls. A well balanced polyhedral winged glider will settle itself down.
And if your plane is coming towards you and you still can't get your mind around the left/right bit, put a control stick under the lowest wing.
Keep building on your pyramid of success until things become quite natural. Soon enough you too will be launching, thermalling, "aerobaticing" and landing yourself. Be prepared for the occasional setback but reduce the probabilities of this by taking note of your instructor, flying in calm weather, maximising your safety parameters and practicing at home in the lounge getting a feel of the controls.
Congratulations - in anticipation of you being able to safely launch, fly and land your own plane.
Keep your plane out of trouble and undamaged by knowing when the wind is too strong to fly. Polyhedral gliders are easily carried downwind and outside what is sometimes called your cone of safety. For more details of this, check out the training article referred to below.
After mastering flying from the field, you will want to add slope soaring to your abilities, initially using your existing plane. This requires greater skills in landing but will give you much more air time.
Print the two sections of this article and re-read it a few times.
Increased knowledge reduces your risk of expensive purchasing, building and on-field mistakes.
Further reading: other articles on this site, in particular
Three hints for newbies to help with the left/right bit when the plane is coming towards you.
1 - Fly Microsoft's Flight simulator (VERY cheap over here for the older version now) using the TOWER view, and the soom in setting (so it doesn't go too far away too quickly). Even if you don't have a joystick, just use the keypad and you will get used to the left/right orientation as it is coming toward you.
2 - Spend a lot of time at home with your transmitter (turned off), and just use the sticks prending you are doing sweeping circles to the left and the right. This will help the concept sink into your unconsious brain
3 - I used this trick for several years into my flying, and I now teach it to trainees.
If the plane is COMING TOWARDS YOU, it drops a wing and your brain starts to curdle, "put a stick under the lower wing".
I will try to illustrate this. Below is a plane coming towards me.
x
x
x
O x x x
The wing that is lower is the wing on the right side of the page.
So on my transmitter, I will push a stick UNDER that wing to lift it up.
_____/____
Works every time and has saved many a plane!!
To determine your Cone of Safety, look straight at where the wind is coming from and then imagine a line 45 degrees to the left and 45 degrees to the right. So you now have a 90 degree quadrant in front of you which is the safest place to fly. Outsid of this quadrent you are at a very high risk of crashing.
ACCELERATE YOUR TRAINING
Computer games can help with your orientation and reflexes. A copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator (the old edition is now really cheap), open the "Tower" view, adjust the settings to zoom closer to the plane, and fly away from you and towards you to help with your orientation.
Also, practice at home with your transmitter turned off, left, right, up, down, initiating the turn, then bringing in up elevator to bring it round, and finally steer the other way to flatten the craft.
Purpose built "Radio Control" flight simulators are also helpful but can be expensive. Some are available to download free from the net, but not being much of a computor person (apart from surprising myself when I built this site!) I leave that to others.
ACCELERATE THE IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR FLYING SKILLS
Most of us want to improve our flying skills, to increase our sense of control over our plane, fly in a wider range of conditions and spend less time doing rebuilds. Here is tried and true method of accelerating your learning.
When you drive a car, you don’t think of putting it into gear, putting on the indicators, checking the mirrors etc. etc., it just "happens". But this only occurs because it has become habit through practice. Practicing flying allows our unconscious mind to take over some of the more mundane aspects of flying, allowing us to concentrate on the next trick or manoeuvre we are attempting to master. For example, we no longer think about dropping the nose to increase speed in order to regain control in the event of a stall, it just comes "naturally" because it is imbedded in our brain.
Practice is more than just flying around the sky, it is mixing in focus on the particular manoeuvre we are currently working on and repeating it many times. This discipline will be rewarded by an improvement in our skills and greater enjoyment of flying.
Although our time on the field is usually limited by work, weather, darkness and family commitments, there is nothing to stop us practicing at home.
I asked a swimmer at the Australian Institute of Sport about the importance of the psychological aspects of swimming and he said that it was about 50% of a sportsman’s success. Most of us will have read or heard of this concept of "practicing in your mind’s eye", ie visualisation. It’s very simple and very effective, is used by world class sports people right through to the slow learners, like me. My initially difficulty was that I would lose orientation and my brain lost the bit about which was up, which was down and, when the plane was headed towards me, which left was left and which left was right(!). After getting bored with rebuilding and the long delays between the weekends and suitable flying weather, I began practicing on public transport on the way to work and managed to get about 40 minutes of "flying" in each day.
At home, pick up your transmitter and play with the control. Visualise what your plane is doing. You’ve done it on the field, now let’s do it in your mind. Picture the scene, the wind direction (preferably from the south so you don’t have to fly into the sun!), wind strength and other flyers around you. Go through the safety routine, frequency clearance, range checks, take-off clearance and a double check of the area for clear space in front and above you. Now take off, straighten up from any deviation and, at flying height, begin practicing your chosen manoeuvres. Make them clean, safe and finished correctly. Try to concentrate on no more than three things at a time (another trick of successful sportspeople). At the end of your allotted time (fuel time / gliding time), check for landing clearance, descend to your approach height, complete your landing circuit and gently (but not too slowly) come in for a safe landing in full control. If you have a powered plane, do a couple of touch and go routines so that you are also practiced at getting out of difficulty. When landed, switch off receiver and then transmitter.
You may wish to have your plane in front of you when first doing this at home, with the receiver switched on, so that, looking from the tail, you can see the control surfaces move and get more attuned to the plane and making sure all controls are in the correct places (dual rates, trims etc).
Of course you can’t take your plane on the train, bus or tram and it is not really practical to take your transmitter. But you will be surprised how successful this visualisation technique is at accelerating your learning, and the more "realistic" you make it in your mind the more successful it is. I was pleasantly surprised and saved a lot of glue as a result.
A BRIEF WORD ABOUT HELICOPTERS
Some helicopter pilots are very enthusiastic about this sort of flying, but remarkable number of others spend a large amount of money and then lose interest. I recommend you start at the cheaper end of the hobby and learn some basic flying skills before moving on!
Also, consider purchasing a helicopter simulator to help you up the long learning curve as it costs nothing if you crash in a simulator(!)
If you have a powered plane, do a couple of touch and go routines so that you are also practiced at getting out of difficulty. When landed, stop your engine(!!!) then switch off receiver and then transmitter.
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