mayan
Legendary member
+1One thing I can think of right now is calm down for your first flight, slow down - I was flying at full throttle at first and things go wrong very fast.
+1One thing I can think of right now is calm down for your first flight, slow down - I was flying at full throttle at first and things go wrong very fast.
First thanks, it was @Hai-Lee's ideaWhat a great resource this has turned out be @mayan!
I left that one for you. I knew you'd throw it inDon't be afraid to try! That may be the hardest tip of all of them to actually absorb. Remember that it is only foamboard, you can replace anything you are going to break for just a few bucks and the whole point of the endeavor is to have fun!
Absolutely! I forgot about that one. I like to use red and blue, down the length of the wing on the top and front to back on the bottom. Red is right. It works so well, you don't even realize that's how you are keeping orientation. It just works.Most of my ideas and/or suggestions have already been covered, but I will add.
Feel free to add decorations to help you with orientation.
I personally like to use colored packing tape on the leading edge with Green on the right (Starboard) and Red on the left (Port) as international standards suggest.
Sometimes I simply add a stripe (or two) to one wing (always the same to be consistent, Left in my case.)
This especially helps when you are flying at yourself to remember which wing is which.
I have a tip in regards to this. When you get an answer from @Hai-Lee read the answer and then reread it and then do it again. So much valuable information in his answers that sometimes you have to read the answer a few times to grasp all the information he tossed at you.Just 2 tips today!
Firstly when you have trimmed your plane and landed it after the maiden, you need to see what your plane is telling you! If the ailerons are not centred the plane has lift imbalance unless the rudder is trimmed to turn in the opposite direction. I have seen some horrible trim outcomes where the rudder has so much deflection that the ailerons are seriously deflected in opposition just to get it to fly level.
For my maiden I leave the rudder centred and do not trim. I let the ailerons tell me where any issue is and if it wishes to roll or turn. From the result I can inspect and possibly correct any warps or misalignment, if indicated. If it is just a wing profile issue I might introduce a little rudder trim to help bring the aileron trim back a little. What you do is your choice but the info is invaluable.
Similarly it the elevator is not centralised it could be that you are flying too nose or tail heavy BUT it could also be an indicator that the main wing incidence is not accurately set and you need to increase or decrease the incidence to return the plane to proper setup. Remember the main wing needs to support the weight of the plane and it does so by generating lift. A wing can generate more lift when its incidence angle is increased. So needing to trim in up elevator could mean that the main wing isn't generating enough lift for level flight at its current incidence angle. This needs to be considered in relation to how the plane flies flat and level. If it is flying with the tail slightly down or up then it is an incidence issue but if it flies perfectly level with a serious amount of trim offset on the elevator then I would revise the CG point I was using!
Secondly! Most wing stripes and the like appear black when the light is behind the plane or the plane is at distance. Make your tape markings for orientation different in layout on each wing not just simply different colours. Ideally the top of the wing and the bottom of the wing should be different colours also. For beginners I use a single band of black tape on a single wing, (top and bottom), and I paint the wings white on the underside and a high visibility colour on the top, (normally bright yellow). Once the Newbie learns the colour difference and the side where the stripe is located loss of orientation is severely reduced!
Just my thoughts and what I do here!
Have fun!
Most of my ideas and/or suggestions have already been covered, but I will add.
Feel free to add decorations to help you with orientation.
I personally like to use colored packing tape on the leading edge with Green on the right (Starboard) and Red on the left (Port) as international standards suggest.
Sometimes I simply add a stripe (or two) to one wing (always the same to be consistent, Left in my case.)
This especially helps when you are flying at yourself to remember which wing is which.
I’d love to see what you come up with.I am thinking of doing is making a cheat sheet - a check list - for when I change setups and when I check my CRAP. I need to slow down and not be in a hurry to get back up and miss a setting or damage to my plane and then fly uncontrolled like I did a few times in this series of videos:
Flite Test Tiny Trainer 1st Time 4 Channel Flying, this will take you to the first video of 1 of 7.
I offer this tip per @mayan 's encouragement.
Great tips! Glad to hear you will be getting a proper transmitter soon, it will make the planes you already fly run so much smoother and give you more control of how they handle, plus open up a bunch of other types of planes you just couldn't fly before. I may write a guide or article for all the newbie stuff I've learned soon. Here's a couple big ones for me I'll add here: 1.) If you are very new, try a free sim! Crashing costs nothing, try different styles of plane, and get good. It won't be 100% like flying in real life but close enough to get a huge head start.2.) Basic training and trainer planes are best without safe mode.
I run an arm switch on all my models... not instead of no props on the bench but in addition too, a prop cut is an avoidable injury that can be very painful and expensive in more ways than one..Don't check your motors or wiring before you actually fly with your props on. Even the smallest motor can give you a VERY bad day
Always disconnect power in your plane when you're done flying. Falling or tripping can lead to problems mentioned before.