After a year and a half, my father FINALLY got in his first solo flight and got checked off for solo flights at my field!!!
I had been buddy boxing with him on an E-Flite Timber, instead of his Apprentice that he'd been working on, and he tells me, "Oh, I like flying this better than the Apprentice! The Apprentice has a longer glide slope, but this thing is...I dunno, I feel like it's more controllable!"
I actually had something of a scare today while we were buddy boxing; the instructor radio, while I was holding the button to give control to the student, came up and said, "SYSTEM INACTIVE!" because I'd been holding the button so long and he'd been flying long enough that there was no action from me! I had to tell him, "Hey, dad, I'm gonna take over the plane - not that you're not doing great, but because I'm worried there's something wrong with my radio!" (Absolutely nothing wrong; soon as I took over, I was flying smoothly, the radio shut up complaining, and I pressed the button and gave him control again for him to make a nice, long, smooth landing.)
THIS. This should explain it all.
I don't know how many people here have buddy boxed with another pilot. If you have, and you're on the main control box on a Spektrum radio, you hold a button, like a dead man's switch. If you release it, it automatically goes back to the the trainer. Hold the button down long enough, and this happens.
I had to show my dad, who goes, "You know, this is a problem. I've got more time flying this plane than you do!"
,
Everyone learning on a buddy box, this is what you want to get to - your trainer starts complaining that their finger is cramping or tired of holding the button.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I had been buddy boxing with him on an E-Flite Timber, instead of his Apprentice that he'd been working on, and he tells me, "Oh, I like flying this better than the Apprentice! The Apprentice has a longer glide slope, but this thing is...I dunno, I feel like it's more controllable!"
I actually had something of a scare today while we were buddy boxing; the instructor radio, while I was holding the button to give control to the student, came up and said, "SYSTEM INACTIVE!" because I'd been holding the button so long and he'd been flying long enough that there was no action from me! I had to tell him, "Hey, dad, I'm gonna take over the plane - not that you're not doing great, but because I'm worried there's something wrong with my radio!" (Absolutely nothing wrong; soon as I took over, I was flying smoothly, the radio shut up complaining, and I pressed the button and gave him control again for him to make a nice, long, smooth landing.)
THIS. This should explain it all.
I don't know how many people here have buddy boxed with another pilot. If you have, and you're on the main control box on a Spektrum radio, you hold a button, like a dead man's switch. If you release it, it automatically goes back to the the trainer. Hold the button down long enough, and this happens.
,
![IMG_1854.jpg IMG_1854.jpg](https://ftforumx2.s3.amazonaws.com/2018/12/208299_9be8cdfafa04c916e0455f77effb91be.jpg)
Everyone learning on a buddy box, this is what you want to get to - your trainer starts complaining that their finger is cramping or tired of holding the button.