.
As we wrapped up our day at the field, a father/son showed up with a toy looking P51. They tried a couple of take offs but the plane just kept turning and crashing inches from where they started. I offered some tips on adjusting the rudder and flying into the wind. Then I saw the kid give full down elevator on take off and asked if they had flown rc before and if they would like some help. I walked over and showed them what to expect with a Warbird. Explained why it was not a good one to learn on and planned to fly and trim it for them. Then let them put it on the shelf til they were ready.
I then proceeded to destroy their Christmas gift with 7 crashes with glueing and part replacement in between. I've flown many of the toy stuff and while it's not ideal it can certainly fly. The last flight got going pretty good but controls just seemed too sensitive every flight. I managed to crash this thing everyway possible. Two other pilots were helping out but nobody else was wanted to fly it after seeing the problems.
I offered to build them a plane with the parts since the parts looked functional. This was going to be my first build ever. I've always wanted to build a FT plane but buying BNF or used planes is too easy. It took me about 5 hours to build and modify a FT Flyer, I also rebuilt their old plane to be used as a static model, too. Stayed up til 2 am and couldnt sleep since I was so psyched to fly my own creation. I decided to use my own Spektrum gear with dual rates for the maiden flight and was all smiles when this FT flyer flew great. Buddies at the field got a kick out of it.
Then the kid who this was built for showed up and we had him on a buddy box system. He flew great with only a couple of saves. He really liked the new plane and that was great to build it for him. Before he left, we switched back to their original radio gear from the previous plane. I offered to trim it for them to avoid any surprises. That's when things go ugly. No input and the plane flew great but as soon as you touched the stick the sensitivity was too high and made the flying very tough. Crashed in tall grass twice as I showed them the problem with the radio gear which is the reason the first plane was so tough to fly. Mechanically, all trims were good and throws down to a minimum but that still wasnt enough. Plane is still in good condition so we will get a better radio that can be adjusted.
2 years of flying and now I finally understand what this building stuff is all about. It was great to build and share. Next time I crash someone's plane, I'll be building them another FT model. That was a lot of fun! I am now looking forward to my next crash so I can build an FT model for me!
As we wrapped up our day at the field, a father/son showed up with a toy looking P51. They tried a couple of take offs but the plane just kept turning and crashing inches from where they started. I offered some tips on adjusting the rudder and flying into the wind. Then I saw the kid give full down elevator on take off and asked if they had flown rc before and if they would like some help. I walked over and showed them what to expect with a Warbird. Explained why it was not a good one to learn on and planned to fly and trim it for them. Then let them put it on the shelf til they were ready.
I then proceeded to destroy their Christmas gift with 7 crashes with glueing and part replacement in between. I've flown many of the toy stuff and while it's not ideal it can certainly fly. The last flight got going pretty good but controls just seemed too sensitive every flight. I managed to crash this thing everyway possible. Two other pilots were helping out but nobody else was wanted to fly it after seeing the problems.
I offered to build them a plane with the parts since the parts looked functional. This was going to be my first build ever. I've always wanted to build a FT plane but buying BNF or used planes is too easy. It took me about 5 hours to build and modify a FT Flyer, I also rebuilt their old plane to be used as a static model, too. Stayed up til 2 am and couldnt sleep since I was so psyched to fly my own creation. I decided to use my own Spektrum gear with dual rates for the maiden flight and was all smiles when this FT flyer flew great. Buddies at the field got a kick out of it.
Then the kid who this was built for showed up and we had him on a buddy box system. He flew great with only a couple of saves. He really liked the new plane and that was great to build it for him. Before he left, we switched back to their original radio gear from the previous plane. I offered to trim it for them to avoid any surprises. That's when things go ugly. No input and the plane flew great but as soon as you touched the stick the sensitivity was too high and made the flying very tough. Crashed in tall grass twice as I showed them the problem with the radio gear which is the reason the first plane was so tough to fly. Mechanically, all trims were good and throws down to a minimum but that still wasnt enough. Plane is still in good condition so we will get a better radio that can be adjusted.
2 years of flying and now I finally understand what this building stuff is all about. It was great to build and share. Next time I crash someone's plane, I'll be building them another FT model. That was a lot of fun! I am now looking forward to my next crash so I can build an FT model for me!
