Hey Guys,
I'm about 10 flights in on my FT Simple Scout. I speed built it in about 3 1/2 hours, maidened it successfully, then crashed it into a tree on my 3rd flight, rebuilt it successfully and have done many other things to it like broke off the landing gear by accidentally landing in grass that was too tall, things like that. I've learned loads of valuable lessons, but I think the two that are most important are use of the Simulator & YouTube.
First Off - The Simulator - if you can't fly in the simulator, you can't fly in real life - simple as that. It's an incredible place to practice - but practice also requires a little bit of structure to take away value.
I REALLY implore you all to get some sort of simulator with a way to hook up your radio to it. And here's the big one - play around, BUT also set aside time to fly it like you would in real life. Turn up the wind to 5mph, then 7mph and more - in the sim, you may feel like the wind is unpredictable, BUT it's like this in real life too! Sure you can't hear or feel the wind like you can in real life. But in real life, if you're flying up wind, you're not going to hear or feel the wind until it's already affected the plane! So learn to let it blow you around and not over correct. Fly patterns. Practice landings (Pro Tip I learned from YouTube - Fly toward yourself and then just correct with the rudder onto the runway when you get close!) Use your power to keep altitude and the angle of your nose (angle of attack) to control speed.
A few Sim tips - set up your radio like you would in real life - play with the dual rates and expos (try 20-50% and see what the differences feel like!)
Also Fly with a 3D plane in the sim! Work on simple moves like slow rolls, knife edges (flying sideways) and inverted flight and also see what things like expo and dual rates do that mute the controls. The sim is a really great tool to practice on a 3D plane and then you'll be able to apply that DIRECTLY to your FT plane, warbird, or whatever trainer you have.
Experiment! Each plane has different characteristics. For example - in RealFlight try the Ultimate Bi-Plane and JUST fly with the rudder! Can you do it? Max it out! Bang the sticks! See what happens! How is it similar to your real plane? Apply it!
As for YouTube - Don't make the mistake I did and just watch the Flite Test channels - The beginner series focuses so narrowly on basics, that I feel like you don't actually learn the full capabilities of flying and it makes you think small. So THINK BIG - Think about your next step. Warbirds, Scale? Gas? 3D?:
Try the Michael Wargo beginner series - he's super awkward, but you can still get a lot out of learning these basic manuevers of 3D flight - and in my opinion, learning what you can do with 3D flight will help you with ALL types of planes:
Voro's Simulator Series: This is a little more advanced tutorial series all filmed in the simulator - but starting to think about advanced moves is great for inspiring you to keep mastering the basics so you can get to these!
Good luck out there fellow beginners! Keep your wing tips up!
I'm about 10 flights in on my FT Simple Scout. I speed built it in about 3 1/2 hours, maidened it successfully, then crashed it into a tree on my 3rd flight, rebuilt it successfully and have done many other things to it like broke off the landing gear by accidentally landing in grass that was too tall, things like that. I've learned loads of valuable lessons, but I think the two that are most important are use of the Simulator & YouTube.
First Off - The Simulator - if you can't fly in the simulator, you can't fly in real life - simple as that. It's an incredible place to practice - but practice also requires a little bit of structure to take away value.
I REALLY implore you all to get some sort of simulator with a way to hook up your radio to it. And here's the big one - play around, BUT also set aside time to fly it like you would in real life. Turn up the wind to 5mph, then 7mph and more - in the sim, you may feel like the wind is unpredictable, BUT it's like this in real life too! Sure you can't hear or feel the wind like you can in real life. But in real life, if you're flying up wind, you're not going to hear or feel the wind until it's already affected the plane! So learn to let it blow you around and not over correct. Fly patterns. Practice landings (Pro Tip I learned from YouTube - Fly toward yourself and then just correct with the rudder onto the runway when you get close!) Use your power to keep altitude and the angle of your nose (angle of attack) to control speed.
A few Sim tips - set up your radio like you would in real life - play with the dual rates and expos (try 20-50% and see what the differences feel like!)
Also Fly with a 3D plane in the sim! Work on simple moves like slow rolls, knife edges (flying sideways) and inverted flight and also see what things like expo and dual rates do that mute the controls. The sim is a really great tool to practice on a 3D plane and then you'll be able to apply that DIRECTLY to your FT plane, warbird, or whatever trainer you have.
Experiment! Each plane has different characteristics. For example - in RealFlight try the Ultimate Bi-Plane and JUST fly with the rudder! Can you do it? Max it out! Bang the sticks! See what happens! How is it similar to your real plane? Apply it!
As for YouTube - Don't make the mistake I did and just watch the Flite Test channels - The beginner series focuses so narrowly on basics, that I feel like you don't actually learn the full capabilities of flying and it makes you think small. So THINK BIG - Think about your next step. Warbirds, Scale? Gas? 3D?:
Try the Michael Wargo beginner series - he's super awkward, but you can still get a lot out of learning these basic manuevers of 3D flight - and in my opinion, learning what you can do with 3D flight will help you with ALL types of planes:
Voro's Simulator Series: This is a little more advanced tutorial series all filmed in the simulator - but starting to think about advanced moves is great for inspiring you to keep mastering the basics so you can get to these!
Good luck out there fellow beginners! Keep your wing tips up!