Hello and Thank You Flite Test!!

Dashthemad

Member
Thank you Mayan! It's about the battle. Sometimes it just helps me to remember 1) I'm human and always prone to 'being human', and 2) just like in boxing, Im not foghting an opponent, just myself. The thing is, I keep forgetting know myself pretty well right? At least id hope so lol. So use that. It gives you tons of advantage during the struggle. Typically its not good to stay up all night, but I'm a night owl and that was prime time for me to smoke and just having a quiet home at niggt triggers me. I couldnt expect my kids to sit up with me, and my fiance needs HER rest in order to help me through the day, but I had you all. I just kept switching from flite test vids to forums to the various rc apps currently out there for Android ( All I have is an xbox one and this LG phoenix so PC apps are out for the moment). But it was progress. And it kept me distracted and level. There is NO set way to do what I'm doing here, though im sure someone out there would disagree. Fact is though thpse people arent me. I draw peace, and patience from my family. My sense of familial duty is STRONG, and im a huge hugger, lime bixler (I was watching his flights with the red bull racer/aerobat, SOO jealous btw, and he mentioned it. I only mention it myself Because to all the helped me stand vigil with me last night, and kept me iff the ledge, I owe you all the most loving hugs I can muster up, so all of you, write out the IOUs, and hold on to them. My family WILL get to flite test, and you can cash them in there. I can't give a date, but its top on my bucket list and im a very stubborn man at times lol
 

bracesport

Legendary member
I have always been a believer that all glory comes from 'daring to begin' and that 'inch by inch it's a cinch' (take it slow) - all the best.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
I find this hobby helps a lot in dealing with other issues in our lives that are holding us back. For one ,concentrating on it helps take your mind off stuff that's bothering you and give your sub concscious time to process all that stuff. RC flying(especially when you add building, and doubly so if you are designing) can be frustrating at times, especially if you start the way I did. I was able to persevere in no small part because of all the help and encouragement I got here, but I had to face and overcome many negative aspects of my personality and find new and better ways of approaching problems.That being said, the reward is high and the sense of satisfaction you get from flying is great,especially when you build the plane. I love the feel of one of my own home designs taking flight and handling reasonably well, with all their little quirks,tiny flaws, and idiosyncrasies, feeling out the handling, and having a blast!
 

Dashthemad

Member
I love the feel of one of my own home designs taking flight and handling reasonably well, with all their little quirks,tiny flaws, and idiosyncrasies, feeling out the handling, and having a blast!

I find this not only motivating but inspirational. See I had an idea stemming from a moment in childhood we all had. We all made paper airplanes as kids and I was no different. When i was twelve i broke my leg badly and was hospitalized for about a month and many other visits afterwards. I was very limited in my options as far as entertainment were concerned, so one of the nurses bought me a paper airplane how to book and it came with the paper to use in making these, all decorated with stickers n such. I spent so much time paging the nurses to help me gather all my planes off my hospital room floor that I think a couple may have quit lol. But fast forward to about a month ago, and I was watching some flite test vids about getting kids into the hobby , and they mentioned this power pack that you can put ON paper airplanes and a I swear I was grinning ear to ear. I must have these. The reason this trip down memory lane was mentioned is, as I said, this was introduced in what would otherwise be a pretty traumatic event for a growing lad. I had kind in my leg for the longest time and the cleanings and swapping of dressings were incredibly painful. It's the first time I ever fainted. But those paper airplanes, and the support my family provided was not only invaluable, but instrumental to my recovery. Maybe if i were to pick a square one, I could start there? Making paper airplanes could be the best way to segue both myself and and the kids into basic design and building, from frame to 'power pack's so to speak. Thank you for being my muse nimana.
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Paper planes are a lot of fun just as they are, I made a bunch of fancy ones out of books with my dad as a kid. I have one of those power up things that make a paper plane fly and I couldn't get it to fly well. I may tinker with it again, but you have to use throttle to control pitch by having an elevator tilted up at all times, and the turning with the phone is a bit awkward. Maybe I didn't give it enough chance but I don't see many honest vids of people flying it well. If your a fan of the classic dart then you'll love slender deltas like me👍
 

Dashthemad

Member
Yeah I did notice the depth of the flight, though I agree, tinkering with them will be necessary. My thinking is small scale with the paper one's, and the we get the foam board and try scaling up a bit. Folding them like origami wont be necessary, obviously, but it could be an interesting experiment to get everyone used to building basics and teach them basic work station care and the safety measures needed to responsibly enjoy this hobby. Then, who knows? Maybe well scratch-build/design an F-14...
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
Yeah I did notice the depth of the flight, though I agree, tinkering with them will be necessary. My thinking is small scale with the paper one's, and the we get the foam board and try scaling up a bit. Folding them like origami wont be necessary, obviously, but it could be an interesting experiment to get everyone used to building basics and teach them basic work station care and the safety measures needed to responsibly enjoy this hobby. Then, who knows? Maybe well scratch-build/design an F-14...
That would be a cool build. I'm not sure anyone here has ever attempted to do one with a working variable wing. 🤔That would be a massive undertaking though!Maybe start with a straight wing one or an unmotorized variable wing that locks into place before each flight at whatever sweep you want.
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
@Dashthemad, kudos to you sir for having the courage to put your distress in writing and posting it here for all to see. That one simple step cements the fact that you are willing to do what is necessary for not only your own personal betterment, but that of your large family as well.

Like others have said before me in this thread, we've all had our low points in life, sometimes really low and we've all had our high points as well. You can get through this. All you've got to do is just keep making the right decisions. That's not as difficult as we make it. Usually we know what the right decision is, long before we actually face it. It's the facing it that's the hard part.

Don't let it be. Face the hard decision. Make the right one. Move on. Do that enough and pretty soon you are at the top, looking down at the hole you dug, instead of at the bottom looking up.

No one is saying it will be easy. You will be a better man for it, in the end though.

I too, have found FliteTest and RC aircraft in general to be a great stress reducer and a wonderful way to occupy one's mind. The simple joy that comes from controlling something that is actually flying is difficult to put into words. So I just laugh a lot when I fly. :LOL:

You and yours are in my prayers as well. Don't give up, Dash. Never give up. Too many people that you love are counting on you. You CAN do this. :)
 
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Dashthemad

Member
I am simply overwhelmed by your support everyone. Sorry i haven't posted much but I tend to ramble, which could easily lead to novel-sized posts. Anyways, a couple updates. Firstly, ive gotten hold of a flight sim app that ive been 'flying' on and lets just say if they were real planes, id already be broke (more than I already am lol). But im flying and thats step one right? Also... And probably the happiest news this week... I GOT A JOB!!!! I went in for an interview Friday and it was more a formality than anything. I start tonight, so fingers crossed... And I'm still committed to quitting my habits. It's got to be done, for multiple reasons. That said, I have questions... Nimber one, I saw a video that mention "expo" and "rates"... Im wondering if someone could elaborate on this and make the info noob friendly? Also, the sim im using is "RC Flight Sim". It doesnt have the bixler on it (Lol) but it does have the blade on there (two different versions I think) and the EZ Trainer. Ive been practicing low-level flight, as the closer you get to the ground without crashing or touching, the faster you earn the coins you use to 'buy' other planes. Has anyone tried this sim? Its not bad, in my opinion. However, if anyone has a mobile rc app they would recommend (apps only as I just have the phone ATM), im all for something that'll help get my mind off cravings. Ive also gone back to basics with the flight test channel. I started all the way from (I think) their start in 2011 and I just now am past 2012. Still a long way to go obviously. Anyways, im still struggling a bit. My addict side is screaming 'you need this,' but my logical side is becoming more n more a dominant force in my mind. I KNOW I dont need weed. In fact I lived a really decent life before i touched it. And my life is decent now. But I imagine what it could be now if, instead of buying weed, I bought something else. I know it does little good to dwell on things like that, but it also helps me stay focused. Ive got to keep the goal in mind. Im not gonna make out this year to flite fest. The money had to be used for survival. But the goal is still there. I have to be there, just once. I need that fellowship. That bonding that comes from everyone of a like mind expelling nothing but good vibes and warm welcomes would do this recovering novice some good, both to spirit and mind. At any rate, fly em like you stole em, family! Hopefully I see you all soon! And once again, thank you flite test!
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
I tend to ramble and post often from a cell phone, but one thing that helped people help me more is breaking up massive walls of text into smaller bits. Little easier to format from a desktop, but anyway, not trying to criticize, just makes things smoother👍. I don't mess with dual rates myself yet but the principle as far as I'm aware is more sensitivity in one direction on one axis than another. If you add it to your elevator, your up elevator for example can be made to have greater more sensitive throws than the down direction. What I use most heavily is expo, which reduces the entire throw rate for an axis/channel in both directions within a small radius around the thumb stick(not quite extending out to full throws, which can potentially make a large difference in sensitivity from a little nudge to full throws).
 

kilroy07

Legendary member
And probably the happiest news this week... I GOT A JOB!!!! I went in for an interview Friday and it was more a formality than anything. I start tonight, so fingers crossed... And I'm still committed to quitting my habits. It's got to be done, for multiple reasons
Congrats! (y)

Expo adds a "soft spot" to your sticks.
A common issue new flyers face (myself included) is over controlling the plane. If trimmed out and balanced the plane should fly just fine without any input from you. When it dips and you over correct, you loop, now it's heading for the ground and you yank back even further and it stalls... then... well you know. By adding expo it makes the center of the pot a bit less sensitive to your inputs and "takes the edge off."

Rates is the amount of throw the servo has to move the control surfaces.
So when the build video(s) talk about the throw gauge PAY ATTENTION and set your plane up as directed! I learned the hard way that more throw DOES NOT equal a better flight experience (very easy to get into high speed stalls with too much control throw).
If your transmitter is able, you can set different "flight modes" for instance slow vs high speed. If you are going slow, you may need more throw for your control surfaces but at high speed this can have you pitching up (or down) violently so you can limit how far the surfaces can physically move and thus make it easier to control.


Cravings yell, while the conscious whispers...
 

Dashthemad

Member
So I just had a moment of inspiration. Im gonna try n scratch build a foam board version of all my favorite paper airplanes. The one in my avatar pic shall be my first, as I already have a working small scale. Well, semi-working.. I adjusted trim by pinching the backs of the wings to form elevators ( is that the right term. Ailerons, elevators, never sure which os the right term.) And angling the right one up to gain lift. Its hard to test c.g. obviously so i had to judge by its glide path , and it's a bit nose-heavy and goes into a rolls after a second, but I'm thinking if I can get a better flying surface I could easily correct these problems. I'm gonna build it in glider form first, and if the glide test works, I will find a way to put a power pack on it. Thoughts?
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
So I just had a moment of inspiration. Im gonna try n scratch build a foam board version of all my favorite paper airplanes. The one in my avatar pic shall be my first, as I already have a working small scale. Well, semi-working.. I adjusted trim by pinching the backs of the wings to form elevators ( is that the right term. Ailerons, elevators, never sure which os the right term.) And angling the right one up to gain lift. Its hard to test c.g. obviously so i had to judge by its glide path , and it's a bit nose-heavy and goes into a rolls after a second, but I'm thinking if I can get a better flying surface I could easily correct these problems. I'm gonna build it in glider form first, and if the glide test works, I will find a way to put a power pack on it. Thoughts?
Your avatar pic, a nice classic dart, has what is called wingtip dihedrals, as my RC plane of the same shape does. These are not a control surface.They prevent tip stall and add roll stability and self-leveling. An elevator controls pitch(up and down) and is located on the tailplane of the craft if tailed or at the very rear if tailless like a standard delta. It is usually one piece on dead basic RC builds, but can be two that move in tandem, as it usually is on full scale planes. Ailerons are twin surfaces that bank and roll(turn) on a regular craft with a tail plane they would be on the main wing. Most tailless craft including most deltas are set up with what are called elevons, twin control surfaces at the rear that perform elevator function by going up and down together and aileron function by going opposite ways. A rudder is a single surface on the vertical stabilizer that controls yaw, which in theory is flat turning, but on most planes is coupled in action with bank/roll, so is not "flat".
 
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Vimana89

Legendary member
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Dashthemad

Member
So the plane I have is not a 'true' dart. Its a variation I learned called a 'hornet'. The tip of the plane has a stub nose and increases the durability and (in theory) keeps it gliding better. The problem I was facing with the nose-heaviness was fixed by putting a lift angle on the right wing and taking out the stabilizers as they were purely for decoration. The result was immediate, as instead of dropping down and going into a roll, it went up, gained a bit of altitude, then banked left into a glide. It was magnificent!
 

Dashthemad

Member
Oh and by the way Humana, thank you so much for the visual aid. I love visuals when applicable. It was tons easier to put a name to a piece.