Advice on Teaching Young Kids to Fly

[Stu_D]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Doc
	my 7yo son wants to learn to fly. he's watched me for a few years, and now said he wants to have a go (i just been waiting for this!) my question is this: as he is LEFT handed and I am Right handed, do i teach him like a right handed pilot (I am mode I) or is there a better way? (...and dont say mode 2!!!)

Hey doc we both have the same problem . I have told Jake he is going to have to wait until next year though , he's still a bit to young (6 YO) .

Being left or right handed does NOT have any effect on mode choice . Being able to share/hand down your gear is a big bonus . Having said that mode 1 on a master and mode 2 on the bubby is no problem at all .

I will teach Jake mode 1 for the simple reason that it is the most popular (IN Australia) and if I ever need to get you to show him something it will be nice and easy .

Stu .

[red_z06]

Do you guys really think 6 or 7 is too young to start? I believe it has more to do with his/her understanding and capability than age. It is your call to determine if he is making an effort to be safe and understands what that means.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=419039

Above is a safety and other concerned discussion on my son Justin when he just turned 3 and flying airplanes solo.

http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/t284363p1/

Above is a safety and other concerned discussion on him flying helis solo when he just turned 4.


I don't think it makes any bit of difference wether he trains on mode 1 or 2 or left or right and all controls are akward in the beginning until one gets used to them. Start them on sim and as soon as they can make turns, you should stress the importance of flying inside the safety zone more so than crash itself.

I constantly get yelled at by my son for breaching the safety zone when flying the sim.

[Temptation]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Doc
	my 7yo son wants to learn to fly. he's watched me for a few years, and now said he wants to have a go (i just been waiting for this!) my question is this: as he is LEFT handed and I am Right handed, do i teach him like a right handed pilot (I am mode I) or is there a better way? (...and dont say mode 2!!!) Left handed pilots/instructors may be able to shed light on this from their own situation.

I am left handed, and I didn't know that there would be a difference.

Mike Darr

[Dangerous Dan]

Two of my kids are left handed and one is right handed. I am right handed.

Personally I think the left handed ones will have an advantage.

What is the number one thing you can do to improve 3D or IMAC sequence besides practice?

Answer: Master the left stick!

Theory: If a lefty teaches his dumb hand(right) to fly the aileron and elevator out of necessaty. Then the smart hand(left) will master the rudder and throttle at a faster rate than a right handed person.

[hammory]

[quote=RCBOZO]dntmn,

I have a son that is 8 and my daughter is 6. My son has really shown an interest in flying this summer. I think most of his interest was brought on by another boy in the club his same age that soloed this summer.



My son is 11, and recently soloed at the same field as RCBOZO. We are fortunate to have several young 'uns starting out at about the same time. The kids' age range from 6 to 13 (I think). I know with Michael (my son) having other kids about the same age learning to fly, as well as, just simply to play with while mom and/or dad his taking their turn flying, helps keep his interest.

I agree with the others, don't push. Let the desire come naturally.

Good luck!!

[Doc]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Stu_D
	Hey doc we both have the same problem . I have told Jake he is going to have to wait until next year though , he's still a bit to young (6 YO) . Being left or right handed does NOT have any effect on mode choice . Being able to share/hand down your gear is a big bonus . Having said that mode 1 on a master and mode 2 on the bubby is no problem at all . I will teach Jake mode 1 for the simple reason that it is the most popular (IN Australia) and if I ever need to get you to show him something it will be nice and easy . Stu .

...and i can land his planes for him!

thanks for all you opinions guys, sounds like no reason why lefties cant use same controls as righties.
i dont think any AGE is too young, just different kids are ready at different ages. my 7yo is ready now, but he wasnt a year ago, so we dont push. Red z06 your kid has awesome ability! (Mozart was composing symphonies age 3, perhaps he would have been doing rolling harriers if he had a sim bak then!) he seems to enjoy it, too. and thats the reason to fly.

has anyone left handed out there tried reversing the controls ie R Hand rudder/throttle; left hand aileron/elevator (for mode2)?

[RCBOZO]

Welcome to the Giants Hammory!

Don't try to complicate things by handicapping them. They need learn how to fly with the equipment that you have, the same way you were taught.

I am a so called instructor at my club and I really have no clue how to teach people. I have just enough patience to take off and land the plane when they are ready to land. At an altitude of over 400 feet there is not much that a young kid or old can do with a plane except have fun.

Don't push them!

[Super D]

I have my 4 year old flying. I built a scratch built Powered Parachute, its basically a scale version of the full scales, All aluminum, cut down 3meter wing, and OS 52 fs. I take it off and just hand it to him, its simple to fly and if he death spirals it to the ground its no big deal, just bend some aluminum. He enjoys it and thats what matters. He's just not ready to solo a fixed wing,at 4 years old he wants to crash in the cows. I figure in a year or 2 he may treat it more seriously.

[LawnJockey]

I have a 9yr old son(Neale). At age 7 he started flying on my G2, all he wanted to do was crash the planes and helis. I told him that if he wanted to fly one of Dads planes he needed to start flying around in a pattern(left to right on odd days, right to left on even days) landing in the same direction as the pattern is being flown. This summer he has been flying a Pico Electric Cub. He is not real comfortable taking off and landing, but he does fly the pattern at the flying field. This has earned both him and me a little respect from the old timers.
Yes he does get bored sometimes and only flies once. But we hang out and to me that is more important then anything. He also understands that school and chores come first( we usually fly on Sundays so he has time to get it all done). RC cars are also important. They keep the interest when you can't fly and give them something to crash that is cheap to fix. They also give them something to work on when they break it.

Bruce

[Diablo2006]

I started when i was 12, i found that alot of encouragement helps. Also, dont so much pressure your kid into flying all the time (i.e. fly, refuel, fly etc.) let them "chill" . Most importantly make the kid feel very adult and mature, it helps if they get to know the fellow clubmates really well and just joke around with them.

[red_z06]

I find it harder to make him fly if the request comes from me. Even if you take him to the field, make him ask to fly rather than you asking him if he wants to fly.

[meflyrc]

My oldest daughter is two (2) and I have had her on the sim a few times but she gets frustrated and bored. She really likes it when I turn the plane and radio on while sitting in the shop and I let her wiggle the sticks. She looks so amazed at the control surfaces. I think she definately has the bug. When I work night shift and come home in the morning she wants to see airplanes so I put in Jason Shulmans video Defying the limits and she just sits there in amazment. When I am home at night she has to kiss daddy's R-plane good night. While I would love to see her one day fly better than her old man. I am content right now with just seeing and indulging her interest.

[Dangerous Dan]

Well the kids 7 5 and 5 are practicing on the sim. I have signed them up for AMA and just bought a SIG LT 40 kit. I want them to help me every step build the kit so they respect it and learn

[Dangerous Dan]

Well the kit is started. It is going to take a lot of patience on my part to build this plane. They are all really eager to help, and argue over who gets to hand me the Tee pins and who gets to glue next. My 7yo Ciara suggested we start with the left wing pannel since she was left handed. I was a mischivous child and with my sun I am paying for it. He handed me a Tee pin with the point first outch! with a smirk on his face. Here is a pic of the start of the build and of the kids after a hard hours work on the plane. This is going to take a while but I will cherish every minute of it. Did i mention Riley(5yo) Boy is mischivious?

[BigBird]

Most aggravating thing I have seen teaching anybody. Let them learn by doing! Don't let off that switch until you are absolutely sure that they are over there head. You learn by making mistakes. Kids happen to learn what not to do faster. Glad to see you went with the building approach. That will make it that much better when they are out flying all of us! And when they crack it up fixing is not a problem. That is a major issue with guys that learned on ARF's. They knock the gear out and think the plane is trash.
Jason