Thinking of Quitting RC

[jack10525]

I've been flying semi successfully since 2016. But for the past couple of years I'm not getting any better at flying and seem to make excuses not to fly. I have 2 brand new planes that have never been flown mostly because I am afraid to crash them. These are pnf planes. 1 cost $150 and the other cost $300. I've built literally 60-80 flite test scratch builds and speed builds. I don't have a great area to fly in and it is always either too windy, too hot or too wet in South Florida. My gear has always been on the lower cost side but I've still spent a small fortune on this hobby and I am maybe just an intermediate flyer. I just spent another $300 on an fpv drone that I can't fly either. I think it is time to give up and find a cheaper hobby.

 

[Michael9865]

Have you ever tried a simulator to get your skills honed in more?

 

[Mr NCT]

Just a couple of things to think about-
Do you enjoy building? I do so crashes aren't great but they are an excuse to build more.
Have you tried a stabilizer like the Aura5 to use while your flying skills catch up?
How about a club for a short stint to get some instruction?

Or, maybe, it's like me and playing a guitar - It just isn't your thing. But something has kept you at it this long. Find that thing and focus on it.

 

[JDSnavely]

In spite of what some may say, I like SAFE. It allows me to fly stress free on windy days with most any plane I own. I will fly full control on even my expensive planes if the conditions are nice and I'm enjoying the thrill. I bought the NX8 so I could have forward programing. My 2 sons and I also like to try the Flite Test planes on full control right from the start with an inexpensive receiver.

I don't know how many planes we have but all of them have a lot of great memories. The NX8 has been a great investment for my boys and me. My 14 year old just scratch built the FT Cub, set it up and programed it all himself. Flew it and took off Safe before the end of the flight. It was pretty windy so he clicked on Safe and brought it in for a great landing. This son likes to fly fast and low. Fortunately he also likes scratch building and can also repair his planes!

Hang in there! Consider a 3-way axis gyro like SAFE. I have an Aura 5 but have not tried it yet.

 

[Tench745]

I've been flying semi successfully since 2016. But for the past couple of years I'm not getting any better at flying and seem to make excuses not to fly. I have 2 brand new planes that have never been flown mostly because I am afraid to crash them. These are pnf planes. 1 cost $150 and the other cost $300. I've built literally 60-80 flite test scratch builds and speed builds. I don't have a great area to fly in and it is always either too windy, too hot or too wet in South Florida. My gear has always been on the lower cost side but I've still spent a small fortune on this hobby and I am maybe just an intermediate flyer. I just spent another $300 on an fpv drone that I can't fly either. I think it is time to give up and find a cheaper hobby.

It sounds like you are disappointed, not necessarily with the hobby per-se, but, rather, that you are disappointed in a lack of progression/improvement in you flying abilities. Is that a fair assessment?

 

[Foamforce]

I understand the stress of not wanting to wreck a nice plane. I could never get into RC airplanes until I learned about FT planes because I couldn’t stand the thought of wrecking an expensive plane. Then, after I got into FT planes, one of my perennial favorites to fly was a beat up of Storch, because I had patched it up so many times and it looked like a complete wreck, so there was no stress in flying it. Maybe you need to thin out your Fleet and just keep a couple planes that you enjoy flying. And also, take a break from it. I know that if I get too intensely into a hobby, I burn myself out. Put it aside for a week and clean your work surface. You’ll probably be inspired to get back at it in a couple weeks. Good luck whatever you do!

 

[Goose 51]

I understand the stress of not wanting to wreck a nice plane. I could never get into RC airplanes until I learned about FT planes because I couldn’t stand the thought of wrecking an expensive plane. Then, after I got into FT planes, one of my perennial favorites to fly was a beat up of Storch, because I had patched it up so many times and it looked like a complete wreck, so there was no stress in flying it. Maybe you need to thin out your Fleet and just keep a couple planes that you enjoy flying. And also, take a break from it. I know that if I get too intensely into a hobby, I burn myself out. Put it aside for a week and clean your work surface. You’ll probably be inspired to get back at it in a couple weeks. Good luck whatever you do!

I agree. You should Pick a very inexpensive and easy to build plane, like the FT Flyer, and fly to wreck it! I mean try to push your limits with a plane that is easy to build, easy to fly, and try to fly outside your comfort zone. This is what helped me when I started flying. I was so nervous I didn't even want to fly because I knew I would just wreck my $160 plane!😬 But then I tried the FT Flyer, pushed my limits, crashed, repaired (a lot) and now I am not nervous at all to fly. But my favorite thing that Josh Bixler says, is "Don't fall in love with the plane, fall in love with flight." so maybe cut back on all those planes and try just flying a few that you don't care about as much. Hope this helps. But in the end it's your desicion.

 

[quorneng]

I have been build planes for a great many years.
Of course it is disappointing when you damage any plane but if you built it and even more so if you designed it then it can usually be repaired. Satisfactorily repairing planes is a valuable skill in our RC hobby.

Planes nearly always break from hitting the ground not from aerodynamic forces. Get used to flying high, like "3 mistakes" high but don't let the plane get too far away. Your neck getting stiff from looking above you should be a limiting factor rather than your eyesight.

 

[cdfigueredo]

I've been flying semi successfully since 2016. But for the past couple of years I'm not getting any better at flying and seem to make excuses not to fly. I have 2 brand new planes that have never been flown mostly because I am afraid to crash them. These are pnf planes. 1 cost $150 and the other cost $300. I've built literally 60-80 flite test scratch builds and speed builds. I don't have a great area to fly in and it is always either too windy, too hot or too wet in South Florida. My gear has always been on the lower cost side but I've still spent a small fortune on this hobby and I am maybe just an intermediate flyer. I just spent another $300 on an fpv drone that I can't fly either. I think it is time to give up and find a cheaper hobby.

I also live in South Florida and it would be great if we could get together and do some flights together, it's always more fun to fly in a group. You may find that you are just missing a flying partner. Regards.

 

[jack10525]

@Michael - Yes. I have realflight 7.5. Not even close to the real world.

@Mr NCT - I really do enjoy building/tinkering. I fix and repair everything, house repairs/upgrading, auto repair/upgrading and modeling for over 40 years.
One for new planes (never flown yet) has a flight stabilizer. PA-18 Super Cub 1700mm PNP with Floats and Reflex

@JDSnavely - got a plane with reflex. Not sure if that is the same as safe.

@Trench - Yes

@Foamforce - I too finally learned on FT scratch builds. Built the tiny trainer, Storch and Stick many times. Plus many, many others. It seems with FT planes I fly better because I am not afraid of crashing as much.

@Goose51 - been there, done that at least 80 times. I have spend hours and $$$ building FT planes.

 

[FlyerInStyle]

@Michael - Yes. I have realflight 7.5. Not even close to the real world.

@Mr NCT - I really do enjoy building/tinkering. I fix and repair everything, house repairs/upgrading, auto repair/upgrading and modeling for over 40 years.
One for new planes (never flown yet) has a flight stabilizer. PA-18 Super Cub 1700mm PNP with Floats and Reflex

@JDSnavely - got a plane with reflex. Not sure if that is the same as safe.

@Trench - Yes

@Foamforce - I too finally learned on FT scratch builds. Built the tiny trainer, Storch and Stick many times. Plus many, many others. It seems with FT planes I fly better because I am not afraid of crashing as much.

@Goose51 - been there, done that at least 80 times. I have spend hours and $$$ building FT planes.

I dont know if you want to, but if you can I reccommend getting the apprentice s2 and even if not, realflight 9.5 it is really realistic to the real world, and the paprentice flies like a dream in the windiest of conditions.

 

[Tench745]

My advice for people who feel like they've stopped progressing is basically two steps.

1) Find a way to get a little of that original excitement for the hobby back. Maybe that means taking a break for a while. Maybe it's finding a cheap or fun flyer you can just grab and go when the mood to fly strikes. Maybe it's finding a new plane to get excited about. Finding what will bring that spark back is different for everyone.

2) Don't just go fly; spend some time focusing on one specific skill every time you go to the field. A sailing friend of mine has a saying "Do you have x-number of days on the water, or do you have the same day X times?" If you always sail the same boat in the same place in the same conditions and go back to the same dock, you only get good at those things in those conditions.
The same can be said about flying RC (or anything really). It's pretty easy to go out, toss a plane in the air, buzz around for a while and go home without ever learning anything. My advice is to take some time whenever you go fly and focus on improving some skill.
Spend a battery pack practicing slow flight, pay attention to what it looks like and feels like as you near a stall. Go slower. See what angle the fuselage sits at when it stalls. Pay even more attention to how much back-pressure you have on the elevator and remember that.
Next time you go out, spend another battery practicing landings. Draw an imaginary runway in the sky a couple mistakes high and try and land on it. Practice holding a pitch attitude and controlling your rate of decent with throttle. As you get comfortable, fly lower until you're doing touch-and-goes. (This may take several batteries.)
Another time, play with your rudder. Fly at something safely above stall speed and see how rudder can pick up a wingtip (great for slow speed corrections when landing). Try forward slips and side slips. Go up high and hold some rudder as the plane stalls to see what a spin looks like. (Be ready to give opposite rudder to stop the spin and then recover from the stall as normal.)
Etc Etc Etc. Do these things again on different planes and learn what is the same and what is different on each one.

I remember one time I was feeling pretty down about flying, so I took a cheap, light, blue foam parkflyer out and spent an hour or so shooting gaps in bushes while doing touch-an-goes off the parking lot. I got pretty comfortable with it by the end and I had a blast doing it.

Focusing on one task at a time like this is a great way to really learn what your planes will do and advance your skills. It doesn't have to be a slog though. Just throw in a little concentrated practice every time you fly. I like to bring along another plane that is fun to fly and hard to destroy so I can unwind after some practice. Flying wings can be good for this.

And remember, there's no shame if the hobby isn't a good fit for you anymore. Our priorities change, and we all grow out of things. You tried it, you had some fun, and if you want to move on, go with our support!

 

[jack10525]

Thank you Flyerinstyle and Tench745. Great suggestions.

 

[Piotrsko]

Every so often the local wallyworld has white foam gliders over in the toy department. I have a handful. Takes about 1/2 hour to convert to a RC plane, cost about $10 sometimes just $3-4, and I get to do stupid things which can be fun. Dont care if it turns into styro snow, cheaper than cigarettes or beer, protects the expensive radio stuff. I can even do the infamous " watch this" and fail. Great plane, no. Fast? Yup, just before it impacts the parking lot in a foam snowfall. Good looking? No. tape, radio equip and glue all over, yup. Flies well? Eh, maybe.

Does it scratch the need to fly itch, You betcha. Taught myself to fly, by myself, the hard way. Still have 50-60 year old working radio gear I use regularly. @quorneng builds the most exquisite stuff you ever saw, but also shows pictures of rapid disassembly after contact with immovable objects.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

Every so often the local wallyworld has white foam gliders over in the toy department. I have a handful. Takes about 1/2 hour to convert to a RC plane, cost about $10 sometimes just $3-4, and I get to do stupid things which can be fun. Dont care if it turns into styro snow, cheaper than cigarettes or beer, protects the expensive radio stuff. I can even do the infamous " watch this" and fail. Great plane, no. Fast? Yup, just before it impacts the parking lot in a foam snowfall. Good looking? No. tape, radio equip and glue all over, yup. Flies well? Eh, maybe.

Does it scratch the need to fly itch, You betcha. Taught myself to fly, by myself, the hard way. Still have 50-60 year old working radio gear I use regularly. @quorneng builds the most exquisite stuff you ever saw, but also shows pictures of rapid disassembly after contact with immovable objects.

I’ve always wanted to do at least one conversion but I never see these anymore, used to see them everywhere.

 

[tomlogan1]

Maybe get an RC car or if in a cold climate, build an RC sled. It will help you with controlling throttle, turning etc. and just get that muscle memory as second nature. Once you have that down, maybe a cheapie like Piotrsko suggested or another Tiny Trainer. Build it as a three channel with the rudder controlled by the right stick. It's amazing how once you feel comfortable everything else falls into place.

 

[Piotrsko]

I second the ground based rudder training. Wont stop the spiral of death holding rudder crash, but......

Another trick I just discovered: when the plane is facing you, push the stick the way the plane is going. If it turns to your right, push the stick right, if it's going down push the stick down. If it's going up, push the stick up. Try it for a second or so then let go of the stick.

@Flying Monkey fab: Easter and Christmas generally guaranteed, sometimes just before school starts, and kite season. if you have a LIDL, all the time (and those are really cool smooshy packing foam) generally on the back wall. I have a monthly habit.