When are you ready?

[karlwatt]

Interesting discussion on another thread of a guy who wanted to progress from a trainer to a 35% aerobat brings up a good question for learning and discussion. How should one progress to bigger and more challenging planes?

I started with a trainer last year and flew it for about two months before getting bored and building and flying a Sig Four Star. Got bored with that pretty fast and got a Katana .40 profile. This has been a great plane - amazingly easy to fly on low rates and great for 3D on high rates. This year I have been flying a 73" Aeroworks Edge 540 (until it piled into the ground due to what we believe was battery failure, I put the engine from the Edge into a Sukhoi), an awesome flying 80" CH Tunnel Vision, the Katana and a Yak profile. Oh, I did fly on the sim all winter.

Some would say I have moved along pretty fast and some not. Yes, it all depends on the individual. However, from some of the comments from people on the other thread (who have much more experience than I), it sounds like they would advise me to wait and gain more experience with the planes I have before moving up to a 30 - 40% plane.

Soooooo, when are you ready?

[Mithrandir]

Big planes FLY easier....
So that is a no brainer....

But.. the big planes are more like a full size plane...

Assembly can be less forgiving, certainly more financial risk due to an assembly error...
Also.. maintainence... more like a real plane...
There is an amount of experiance that must be gained so that you know
what to look for and what to inspect...

The plane itself is just inherently more complex...

But compared to the .40 sized stuff... they fly like slow motion!!!
Actually the TV you have flies a lot like a big plane...

So basically... progress as fast as your wallet will let you!!!

[E-MO]

With a limited amount of hobby money's, I am financially unable to afford one of the big gasser's,as for when I was ready? as soon as i soloed after 3 weekends.

One day i will get me a gasser though...

[b0Bro']

I Solo'd 1 year ago and have been flying none stop. Love this sport! Just got my first 35%er and just finishing putting it together now. Before this the biggest plane i own was a 60 pattern ship.

Will i be crapping in my pants on maiden day...... well yes I think so! Lucky the guys are gonna help ease me into it.....

I would like to also add, that i think a yong kid could progress alot quicker, they just seem to pick it up like a video game. Mind like a spunge you see. Where as the older generation seem to progress at a slower rate.

[SleepyC]

In my opinion its not the size of the plane (Big planes do fly smoother though) its really the proper set up of the plane that really matters.

I suffered through a "BAD" plane at the beginning of this summer. The plane was a KMP 30% YAK, and was basically a bloated pig, and I'm 99% sure it had quite a few incidence issues as well. For 40+ flights I suffered with this plane. My confidance was shaken and I thought.. MAN I SUCK and have no right flying this size of a plane. I killed it at huckfest due to a dead stick... the plane dropped like a rock, and would not come around to the landing strip, I could have landed the plane off runway.. but there was a truck parked in the area and I chose to give the plane a dirt nap as to not risk damage to people or the car.

After this I was shaken... dead sticks were not a problem for me in the past... why was I flying so badly?!?!

Well i took some time and assembled a 30% edge I had laying around. Made sure everything was perfect...(incidances, balance, CG, lateral CG, locktite on all bolts...etc) used the same gear in the plane and it was almost 4lbs lighter!

Took it up on its madian and it took 1 click or right aileron, and it was flying hands off...
BAM.. I felt 100% comfortable... in the first 2 minutes of the flight... and I was flying to the best of my skill by minute 5 on its madian flight. In all 40+ flights on the YAK I NEVER felt comfortable, and it seemed like the plane was flying me.. like it was a struggle to "make it fly" at all.

Then the next 10 flights or so on the EDGE were spent "flight trimming" the plane.

as a run down....(Before you fly) Make sure the incidance's are right (even on an arf) make sure you CG the plane properly, laerally balance it, and then after all that THEN you flight balance it... do the upline test and see where the nose goes, do the downlines and pull elevator hard, does it drop a wing? Roll to KE, does it pull towards the canopy or the wheels, (a little bit of rud to ele and even roll coupling mix may be needed) Once you have the plane flying right... its amazing how little work is required to have a nice flying plane. If you need to ask a pro for set up help... Greg Popple and Chris Fry came out and helped me dial in my WH 33% extra 260... I had the trim and set up close, but they helped really dial it in... the plane is INSANE now... and I feel like each flight I'm progressing in skill instead of just being satisfied that I got the plane down in one piece.

So I would say don't think about the size of the plane too much... get a plane that the money invested can be written off... and that you can afford to fix if it should have a mis hap... then take the time to properly set it up.

So.. get a size you can afford, don't worry what other people say... and set that Biatch up correctly.... you will LOVE IT!!

My 2.5 cents!

[gforce]

Well said Sleepy,could'nt of said it better.Patience is everything in the begining stages.Flight progress and better skills will come automatically if you heart is really into it.Take a never say die attitude and never guit.That's just the way I aproach this stuff.

Dave

[ROBC]

I was the one who started the "going from a trainer to a 35% giles" thread. It was a huge mistake thinking I could.Back in June or so I went to a fly-in in gilbertsville, NY and Elie just happened to be there along with Steve Swahn and a couple others. keep in mind I have never seen not even a video or anything about giant scale 3D,I just thought they were big airplanes that looked cool and flew like the others. When these guys took to the field I almost crapped my pants when Elie did a snap roll to a hover 5 feet off the ground. I decided I had to have one that day so after spending alot of time on the computer learning about these planes, I bought the giles about 2 weeks Later

The Giles is STILL sitting in the spare bedroom untill I feel I am ready to fly it. I have almost 2 grand wrapped up so far but since money cannot buy talent it will stay in my spare bedroom at home while I learn the 3D stuff on smaller,cheaper planes. These things are not toys and the last thing I want to do is hurt someone.

Also, there is so much technical jargon that goes along with these planes that I am lost as to what I need to fly the thing. When it comes to regulators,batteries,smart-fly,switches,ignition I dont have a clue what the plane are supposed to consist of. its a little more technical than 4 servos and a 4 channel reciever. All we have is the rest of our lives to figure it out, So we dont have to be in such a hurry any more.Rob

[gforce]

Rob,You are allready there my brotha,this place,the FLYING GIANTS is the best source of info in the world.just post a question and wait for an answer.One of these guy's including Me will try to lead you in the right direction every time.

[SleepyC]

	Quote:
	When it comes to regulators,batteries,smart-fly,switches,ignition I dont have a clue what the plane are supposed to consist of.

Regulators are used to regulate Lithium Ion batteries from 8.4 volts to 6V (or other voltage if adjustable). You only need regulators if your using lith ion, or Lipo batteries.

Smart fly kill switchs are just that a fiber optic kill switch...it runs between your ignition battery and your ignition box, and has a module that connects to your reciever that lets you control the "kill switch" from your transmiter... this is purly a personal choice if you want to run one of these.

A smartfly power expander is a device used to help servos all get proper voltage, have 1 channel have multiple inputs (like 2 ail servos on 1 channel) and condition the power so that the servos are not directly connected to the receiver (power wise)

Ignition is just that.. its the ignition box that provides a spark to run the motor. it requiers a seperate battery to power it... but its just as simple as a battery, a switch and plug that into the ign module.

The big planes seem daunting.. but if you break each part down its simple...
Take your time ask a million questions.. we are all here to help the best we can!

[SargeNZ]

	Quote: Originally Posted by b0bro
	I Solo'd 1 year ago and have been flying none stop. Love this sport! Just got my first 35%er and just finishing putting it together now. Before this the biggest plane i own was a 60 pattern ship.

Holy smokes dude... I solo'd coming up on 7 years ago. To date the most powerful aircraft I have is a 1.1kW Edge 540. (my avatar)

Im freaking Jealous!

[rede2fly]

hey ive been flying for over 20 years and i still dont have a what i call a big plane. my biggest plane is a 27%, and too tell ya the truth i really dont want any bigger. because i cant afford a bigger truck or trailer to carry the plane. i first flew a 35% that belonged to a buddy of mine that he owned. he was flying it and hollered to me to come out and fly her. i was shaking soo bad that thought i would never be the same. it was like flying a trainer it was so easy on the sticks. and easy to see i was hooked. at that time my biggest plane was a funtana 40. i really wanted one until i priced everything out. and everytime he showed up to the field his plane was strapped too the roof of his car, it was a sight to see. all i can say is move up as you can and feel good with. dont push it, cause it will push back. also i like taking more than 1 plane to the field, and i dont know what your driving, but you wont belive how much room the bigger planes take up. i also dont like every time i fly wondering when is it my turn, and did i check everything? its different loosing a 200.00 plane verses a 4000.00 plane. i really dont know how i would act if i lost a 4000.00 plane. or destroyed a 2000.00 motor. i would freaking loose it. but too each his own. good luck

[Shakes]

I soloed about a year and a half ago. I flew TONS last year and at the end of the year, I bought a 50cc QQ Yak,started flying it April of this year. I took a lot of time in setting it up right.

Moved up to the 102" 100cc QQ Yak about a month ago. I flew different types of glow planes before decided on the direction in this hobby I wanted to go. H9 warbird, sport plane, trainer, then an Edge 540. First day with the Edge, I had dismissed all visions of flying high wing loaded warbirds and made up my mind that my first giant scale would be an aerobatic plane. (I had up to that point had my eye on the H9 GS P-47).

It's all about stick time, how much you really fly. In addition to flying alot, I put in at least 10 hours a week on the simulator. When I was learning rolling harriers I put in about 3 hours per night for 4 months (rough estimate)