Recently Started Flight Training!

[Winglet]

Full Scale Flight Training and modeling

Hello Gentleman,

Stumbled onto your post and am enjoying your take on your flying lessons. Your writings are taking me way back as I follow along with your progress. I too started with model airplanes many years ago. While building and flying all sorts of models I worked hard mowing yards and doing other jobs to save money for full scale flying. I'm a lot older now and I can now look back with some satisfaction and say, "It has been quite an interesting and wonderful journey some 14,000 hours later."

Modeling of all types, but especially RC can be a real boost to your aeronautical knowledge. I'm glad that Flitetest people always refer to airplanes you can ride in as FULL SCALE vs real airplanes. They are correct in doing that. Model airplanes are REAL airplanes in every since of the word. All of the laws of aerodynamics that apply to models apply to full scale. Everything is simply scaled up.

Somewhere along your path you will hear another pilot refer to another pilot as being A GOOD STICK. What that person is saying is....The good stick has an almost natural feel for the aircraft. Doesn't have to think too much about what he or she is doing. I've found that pilots who grew up flying models are generally good sticks. They seem to intuitively know what to do with the airplane. They are the ones that make really good landings in wicked crosswinds with lots of turbulence. So I think RC flying translates to full scale very well. I transition from 12oz foamies to 30,000 lb jets regularly. Basically the same thing when you get right down to it.

When it get right down to it though, if funds are and issue, you can have every bit as much fun, probably more fun with models. This hobby is moving forward so fast with so much exciting technology. It is a great time to be involved in the hobby.

Good luck wherever your path takes you. And keep us posted on your progress.

 

[AkimboGlueGuns]

Oh. Nice Citation, and Tiny Trainer!

 

[brettp2004]

Thank you for the encouragement. It is definitely an exciting journey. I took my quadcopter out yesterday for the first time in a while (really the first time since I started full scale), and you're right, it is just as fun if not more fun than full scale. I'm scheduled to fly tomorrow but it doesn't look like the weather is going to cooperate. Oh well, more ground training!

 

[brettp2004]

Flight #6. We flew the pattern at Little Rock Int. and did about 7 touch and goes. We were practicing crosswind takeoffs and landings. Flying the pattern is extremely hectic by itself, but throw in the crosswind and the fact that the ATC changed the pattern direction and runway with every pattern made for an interesting flight. I'm not very satisfied with how I did but I guess that's how you learn. I don't think I flew the same pattern twice. LIT has 3 runways, 18/36, 4L/22R, and 4R/22L, and I landed on all three. Every time we took off the ATC would change our runway and pattern direction which kept throwing me off, but I suppose it was good practice. The last landing was interesting as my instructor made me land without flaps. Without the added drag we skipped a good ways down the runway. I'm really curious to fly a Cessna for comparison, the katana is so floaty it's hard to keep it from climbing. I'm hoping it'll just "click" soon because I'm still not feeling very confident. I'm sure I'll get there eventually though!

 

[SoCalPilot]

Congrats on your training. You'll solo in no time. I was always a bit floaty cause I was landing on 2000'+ runways. I fixed it by making every landing I did a short field on a shorter runway (KOKB). It instills much more respect for airspeed and altitude on final at a tiny strip than an International strip.

 

[Winglet]

KLIT= Hillbilly Internationl?

 

[brettp2004]

Hillbilly international indeed! I laughed so hard the first time I heard that when they changed it from Little Rock Intl. to "Bill and Hillary Clinton Intl."

 

[brettp2004]

Flight #7 We did the same thing as last time, flew the pattern and did crosswind take offs/landings. It was much better this time. A little more turbulence, but I was much more comfortable. Did about 7 touch and goes. My instructor had me land once without flaps again, and once with just take off flaps. I've also started doing more of the communications which I'm pretty comfortable with. Something I have noticed is I always want to pitch up when I turn, which I think stems from "bank and yank" with RC flight.

 

[brettp2004]

Congrats on your training. You'll solo in no time. I was always a bit floaty cause I was landing on 2000'+ runways. I fixed it by making every landing I did a short field on a shorter runway (KOKB). It instills much more respect for airspeed and altitude on final at a tiny strip than an International strip.

That's one thing my instructor is very strict about, I usually touch down just past the numbers. Even though we have a long runway, we only use about a quarter of it land.

 

[SoCalPilot]

That's one thing my instructor is very strict about, I usually touch down just past the numbers. Even though we have a long runway, we only use about a quarter of it land.

That's great, unless you have time and money to burn a strict CFI is essential. Sounds like you're in good hands.

The solo flights, written, oral and check ride are really easy, in fact they're all the first time you get to display your new skills. Since you're signed off for each, you already demonstrated those skills. All you have to do is stay ahead of the lessons and tests.

Are you using any ground course? King or Sporty's?

 

[brettp2004]

Flight #8 yesterday. It was great. Finally, some decent weather that allowed to actually go somewhere instead of staying in the pattern at KLIT. We flew about 40 miles to a smaller airport (KSGT) and did a few touch and goes. There were a lot of crop dusters at Stuttgart and I found out they do not care at all about traffic patterns, radio communication or right of ways. Granted, they fly in and out of those little airports all day everyday, so I'm sure at some point they stop worrying about newbs like me coming in for training. It was definitely a good training experience because we got cut off several times on final and had to circle around, we also had a duster pull out right behind us on take off and pretty much fly right under us as we were climbing. Also learned how to side slip in for landing. Very useful if you find yourself high on final. Basically, you crab into the wind with your rudder, and dip whichever wing is facing the runway down quite a bit. You loose altitude very quick without gaining much, if any, airspeed. After a few touch and goes we headed back. The clouds were about 2800ft above ground so we flew just under them. They were breaking up as we headed back but it was very good flight. I've also started handling most of the radio communication, which is a task by itself.

 

[brettp2004]

That's great, unless you have time and money to burn a strict CFI is essential. Sounds like you're in good hands.

The solo flights, written, oral and check ride are really easy, in fact they're all the first time you get to display your new skills. Since you're signed off for each, you already demonstrated those skills. All you have to do is stay ahead of the lessons and tests.

Are you using any ground course? King or Sporty's?

Not using either of those. Our books and everything are from Jeppesen.

 

[TheEntraP3]

I'm new to the realm of R/C modeling and flight, and seeing what the hobby can actually provide me with in the long run is exhilarating and exciting. And it is nice to know that what I'm getting into is not that different from the full scale version, just less of a problem when you are threatened by the possibility of crashing. It's truly inspiring me to see experienced R/C pilots stepping into full scale versions and learning what it is actually like to fly.
Thank you for inspiring me to push myself.

 

[SoCalPilot]

The sky is no longer the limit and the planet is about to get smaller. Good luck. I did my PPL two years ago so I'm still pretty fresh hit me up if you need any advice. I've trained 141 and 61 bounced around flight schools and have some experience with large flight clubs. There's nothing like having the key to an airplane on your key ring and being able to rent aircraft on your phone. Carry a spare headset in your trunk

 

[brettp2004]

Flight #9. Very nice flight today and also the first flight with my new instructor (switched instructors due to scheduling conflicts). We flew a few miles away to Carlisle municipal airport and did a couple touch and goes. Practiced steep turns on the way there which are just getting to be fun! Definitely getting more comfortable maneuvering the plane around. We also practiced soft field take offs and landings. Which is basically just a softer landing. You carry a little more throttle in so you don't come down at as steep of an angle as normal, you also try to keep the nose wheel off as long as possible. Soft field take offs are fun, once you get to rotate speed you get off the runway and fly level in ground effect until you reach your climb speed, then you pull up a little more aggressively than normal. On a normal take off, once you hit rotate you just start climbing out. After a few touch and goes we did a full stop and went into the "pilot lounge" which is just a trailer, but it was nice to relax for a minute. In there we talked about weight and balance on the airplane, yay physics. We did have two crops dusters cut us off in the pattern, okay, maybe once we cut them off but they don't really fly a pattern. We also had a few birds get fairly close. Which I learned you should pull up to avoid birds since their first instinct is to dive. I'm really starting to get more relaxed and just enjoy flying.

 

[brettp2004]

Flight #10. Probably the most enjoyable flight yet. We left out of KLIT as usual and did a little navigation work with the VORs and all that good stuff, which is very interesting. We headed to Stuggart and did a touch and go and then headed over to Carlisle. On the way over there we did a low approach to a really small airstrip, Hazen. That was fun, we zipped right over the runway at about 160knts. Once we got to Carlisle we landed and relaxed for a few minutes in the pilots lounge. Apparently, they even have a "crew car" you can use to go get food or whatever. Pretty neat. After that we started back towards Little Rock. On the way I practiced some power on and power off stalls and slow flight. My instructor also demonstrated a spin, which was great. He was demonstrating the importance of staying coordinated during stalls and slow flight. Especially with power on stalls, if you don't add in a good deal of right rudder, the slow speed and the high throttle setting will cause the left turning tendencies to roll the plane to the left into a spin. The spin itself wasn't to intense, but the first time was a little unnerving. All of sudden, the plane rolls over and you're pointed right at the ground in a bit of a spiral. Just a little bit of rudder in the opposite direction of the spin stops it pretty quick and then you gently pull up. Even gently pulling up, you still feel a little G force which is always fun. After that we headed back as there were thunderstorms moving in.

 

[brettp2004]

Flight #11 & #12.
#11 was on 6/1 and was probably the most fun flight yet. We flew from LIT to Petit Jean state park which is about 40 miles west of Little Rock. Field elevation there is about 930ft which is pretty high for this region of the country. We followed the Arkansas river out to it, which is completely flooded right now from all of the rain. At the end of the runway is a small lake which was fun to fly over the people canoeing below. We did a few touch and goes and then my CFI took the controls and we had some fun. We flew down the contour of the mountain and then down low over the river. Then we flew back up and circled the main attraction at Petit Jean, Cedar Falls. Cedar falls is a 90ft waterfall in the middle of a valley that was flowing really well from all of the rain we've had. Once we were done playing around I started back towards LIT but we made a stop at BDQ and then we did a simulated engine failure into CXW. A few birds came inches from hitting the prop while were taxiing back to the runway after we landed. After that we flew back to LIT.
#12 was on 6/2 and was supposed to be my first solo! Unfortunately, the noob here forgot to bring his logbook in the plane, and without it you can't solo. So instead we did several touch and goes at 4m3 (Carlisle) which were very smooth and then did some ground reference maneuvers like "S" Turns & Turns around a point. We also did steep turns, slow flight, and stalls. Then we headed back. Scheduled to fly again today so maybe I'll get to solo? I've got a little bit of video that hopefully I'll find time to compile and post soon.

 

[ExperimentalRC]

My first flight is tonight. I can barely contain my excitement!

 

[brettp2004]

My first flight is tonight. I can barely contain my excitement!

Awesome! Let us know how it goes!

 

[SoCalPilot]

Good luck, nothing in the world can compare to it! You're knocking these lessons out fast!