Thank you FT and Community

[Mortis]

I'm pretty new to the hobby but I'm having a blast. Was quite intimidated at first and didn't think I could actually build anything that would fly. I watched the FT crew on YouTube for about a year before I finally decided to give it a try. Am I glad I took the leap into the unknown.

So far, I've had pleasure of scratch building the FT Explorer, FT Sparrow, and the FT Mini Arrow.

Without FliteTest and all of you I wouldn't be here today. A big thank you to both FliteTest and the community!

 

[DamoRC]

Welcome!

You'll be happy to know that with time and practice you will have fewer planes that look like the one in the second picture.

Unfortunately, however, trees will always try to jump in your way

DamoRC

 

[sprzout]

Ahh, you have experienced the dreaded North American plant known as the Plane Eating Tree! It consists on a diet of balsa wood and lithium batteries, but has been known to regurgitate EPP foam planes on occasion, leaving their skeletons on the ground below.

Don't feel bad, my father has had the same thing happen to him - 6 weeks before his Sensei plane was blown into a 70' tall Eucalyptus, the Australian species of the Plane Eating Tree that migrated to Southern California with the import of koalas to the San Diego Zoo...

Keep flying, keep enjoying it! That's the big secret. Yes, you'll probably crash more; in fact, landing is nothing BUT a controlled crash. And those days when you have perfect flights, perfect landings...That's when it all pays off.

 

[cranialrectosis]

May you never lack a nearby plane eating tree or a plane to feed it.

 

[Namactual]

Welcome Mortis.

Don't let Damo fool ya, I have been flying for years and all of my planes look like that eventually.
Or end up tree food.
Or both.

 

[foamtest]

If you have a good arm and patience a baseball is a great option to counteract plane eating trees. I used this to save my discovery and with my mini guinea from the very hungry wild oak tree by my house.

 

[SP0NZ]

Welcome to the family @Mortis.

 

[Mortis]

Thought I'd post a picture of my two new TT. One taped and the other Minwaxed.
Not sure how I'll paint the Minwaxed one. No motor or servos yet, just getting them ready for the fam. Have two more to build.

 

[Merv]

didn't think I could actually build anything that would fly.

Welcome

Plane eating trees are a problem for me as well. They will just jump right out and grab ya. I'm surprised no one has mentioned Gravity Waves, you know when two black holes collide. They are defiantly getting worse, must have something to do with all the climate change going around. Why just the other day I was flying inverted, five feet off the ground and you guessed it. A gravity wave sucked my plane right into the ground.

LIGO first observed gravity waves back on September 14, 2015. But I've know for a long time that something strange was happing when I flew. Until now, I just did not know what to call it. You can't just make this kind of stuff up.

 

[kilroy07]

Yesterday (before the snowfall) I went out to my favorite spot and noticed that most of the leaves had fallen.
And what's that?... Why yes, the wings of my trainer.... still over a hundred feet in the air... But no fuselage... So I went for a short walk in the woods and low and behold.... the trees gave something up for a change...

Electronics still work, but battery was (of course) dead... I think that was the first or second flight for it too...(The battery, not the plane... it didn't look much better before I flew it into the tree.)

 

[PsyBorg]

On the bright side....

At least you can stay in the air long enough to actually hit a tree!!

 

[PoorManRC]

Welcome!!!
You could not have met up with a better Group of Guys!!!
You're one or two steps ahead of me... I'm still waiting to build my first. However, thanks to these guys, that day should be coming quicker!!

It's also great that you've had a couple up in the air. As short as it was, you're gaining something that money can't buy - Experience!!