Today, the Tucano flew! It is fast, fastedy fast-fast fast, and very maneuverable. I'm a beginner. It was a terrifying experience.
Beginner mistakes and lack of patience admission time. The club field was closed due to rain, so I trotted down the street to an empty field within sight of my house and let it rip. However, around this field are tall bushy trees -- fences -- and a sun low in the sky. This plane is small, white, and there are no paint or markings on it, so I had some trouble understanding which way it was oriented, and had to work hard to keep it close enough to see well. A couple times I misjudged and found myself heading for some spot on the ground behind trees, FAST, with only time to make one correct move. I only had it up for two minutes, by the end of it I had to fight panic and trembling hands to come up with and execute a landing plan and bring it down safe.. which I did.. nothing but some green tattoos down the side of the fuse from whipped grass. I felt like Taffy Holden.
The good news is I built it straight - a few clicks of aileron trim against the motor torque and some back-elevator were all it needed, and it did everything I told it to do very crisply. This thing is amazing! It's definitely not a park flyer, at least for me. I should be OK once I get some bright livery on it and fly it at my proper field with nearly unlimited open space.
Now I have to wait out the weather (club field requires 4 consecutive no-rain days to be open) but I'm very excited to get it out again!
Picture is evidence of surviving its maiden in the hands of a foolish beginner.
Beginner mistakes and lack of patience admission time. The club field was closed due to rain, so I trotted down the street to an empty field within sight of my house and let it rip. However, around this field are tall bushy trees -- fences -- and a sun low in the sky. This plane is small, white, and there are no paint or markings on it, so I had some trouble understanding which way it was oriented, and had to work hard to keep it close enough to see well. A couple times I misjudged and found myself heading for some spot on the ground behind trees, FAST, with only time to make one correct move. I only had it up for two minutes, by the end of it I had to fight panic and trembling hands to come up with and execute a landing plan and bring it down safe.. which I did.. nothing but some green tattoos down the side of the fuse from whipped grass. I felt like Taffy Holden.
The good news is I built it straight - a few clicks of aileron trim against the motor torque and some back-elevator were all it needed, and it did everything I told it to do very crisply. This thing is amazing! It's definitely not a park flyer, at least for me. I should be OK once I get some bright livery on it and fly it at my proper field with nearly unlimited open space.
Now I have to wait out the weather (club field requires 4 consecutive no-rain days to be open) but I'm very excited to get it out again!
Picture is evidence of surviving its maiden in the hands of a foolish beginner.
Attachments
Last edited:
