digitaldave
Junior Member
Hi all!
First, a quick introduction. I am new to the hobby, and found the site whilst looking for reviews of the Parrot AR Drone, but got distracted by all the other episodes, and decided that I'd quite like to have a go with a regular RC plane. After much thinking and going back and forth between the Hobby Zone Champ, Super Cub and Glasair Sportsman, I finally decided on the Champ, and picked one up yesterday.
All charged up and checked this morning, so I set out for my maiden flight. I went to a suitable location with lots of space, checked the wind, and launched for my first flight! Things got off to a good start, as I managed to do a couple of circuits, and even managed to bring it down for a 'landing' of sorts - it wasn't pretty, the Champ nosed over, but it was on the ground and nothing was broken. As Josh Scott would say, "Any landing...".
Flushed with my success, I set off on another flight... Flew a couple of small circuits, then things started to go wrong... The wind picked up a bit, so I thought I better bring the Champ down. However, as is often the case, ambition exceeded skill levels, and I ended up getting a bit close to a tree. So close, that the Champ hit some branches, and was stuck! Minus the right wing, which fluttered down to the ground. Oh dear. Things were made worse by the fact that the branch it was in was about 25 feet from the ground, and there were no low branches, so no possibility of climbing up to get it. Fortunately, I managed to get someone to bring some bamboo gardening poles and some tape, strapped five or six poles together, and poked the Champ out of its perch. Sadly, it fell nose first and broke the prop. At least they are cheap to replace, I might get a few to cover future mishaps.
Despite the disastrous end to my (and the Champ's) maiden flight, I'm not put off flying again. When things were working, they seemed to be going ok. However, I've learned a couple of important lessons:
1) When learning, if possible, use the low rates. I'd read about this in the manual, but forgot to switch from high to low before flying.
2) Trees are the enemy!
Fortunately, the Champ appears to be easy to repair, so once I've got some suitable glue (is epoxy glue ok? It's easily available), I'll get the wing back on, set low rates and have another go. Well away from any trees!
First, a quick introduction. I am new to the hobby, and found the site whilst looking for reviews of the Parrot AR Drone, but got distracted by all the other episodes, and decided that I'd quite like to have a go with a regular RC plane. After much thinking and going back and forth between the Hobby Zone Champ, Super Cub and Glasair Sportsman, I finally decided on the Champ, and picked one up yesterday.
All charged up and checked this morning, so I set out for my maiden flight. I went to a suitable location with lots of space, checked the wind, and launched for my first flight! Things got off to a good start, as I managed to do a couple of circuits, and even managed to bring it down for a 'landing' of sorts - it wasn't pretty, the Champ nosed over, but it was on the ground and nothing was broken. As Josh Scott would say, "Any landing...".
Flushed with my success, I set off on another flight... Flew a couple of small circuits, then things started to go wrong... The wind picked up a bit, so I thought I better bring the Champ down. However, as is often the case, ambition exceeded skill levels, and I ended up getting a bit close to a tree. So close, that the Champ hit some branches, and was stuck! Minus the right wing, which fluttered down to the ground. Oh dear. Things were made worse by the fact that the branch it was in was about 25 feet from the ground, and there were no low branches, so no possibility of climbing up to get it. Fortunately, I managed to get someone to bring some bamboo gardening poles and some tape, strapped five or six poles together, and poked the Champ out of its perch. Sadly, it fell nose first and broke the prop. At least they are cheap to replace, I might get a few to cover future mishaps.
Despite the disastrous end to my (and the Champ's) maiden flight, I'm not put off flying again. When things were working, they seemed to be going ok. However, I've learned a couple of important lessons:
1) When learning, if possible, use the low rates. I'd read about this in the manual, but forgot to switch from high to low before flying.
2) Trees are the enemy!
Fortunately, the Champ appears to be easy to repair, so once I've got some suitable glue (is epoxy glue ok? It's easily available), I'll get the wing back on, set low rates and have another go. Well away from any trees!
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