Conference vmszoo::rc

    Re: .0, Brian,
    
    Box up the entire radio (in the original carton; hopefully you saved
    it) and send it back to Futaba with a note explaining the symptons
    and how the damage was incurred.  I've had no recent experience
    with them but they (Futaba) have a good rep for quick turn-around
    and reasonable rates.  If in doubt, call them first and request
    a rundown on the particulars in question.  They may give you an
    estimate and require your approval before proceeding with repairs
    if you request this.
    
    Please _do_ get an instructor.  From your comments in .0, it sounds
    more like you're teaching yourself to crash, not fly; no offense
    intended.  Honestly, even when successful, the self taught pilot
    goes through _considerably_ more equipment, time, $$$ and trauma
    that his "instructed" counterpart.  In addition, without proper
    instruction, the self-taught pilot usually picks up lots of bad
    habits that seem much more difficult to shake if, indeed, he ever
    does shake them.  If nothing else, the self-teaching process generally
    takes _much_ longer than the instructor-route.  Please do yourself
    a favor and get an instructor...I think you'll enjoy the hobby/sport
    _much_ more (and save lots of $$$ and anxiety) in the process.    

      |
      | |      00	 Adios,      Al
    |_|_|      ( >o
      |    Z__(O_\_	(The Desert Rat)

    if you are technically able, and motivated to try, about the only
    thing in a receiver suseptable to mechanical damage (without the
    accompanied destruction of the circuit board) is the crystal.  Try
    replacing this first.  I had a Cox-Sanwa radio that was involved
    in a severe crash, and although I could see no mechanical damage
    to the reciever, the radio would not function beyond much more than
    50 feet.  A replacement crystal fixed the problem.  You must be
    sure, however, to rigorously examine the reciever for damage (I
    used an eye-loupe) and to ground range check the radio (maybe even
    with the motor running in your plane) before you fly.  I was concerned
    that my "fixed" radio might not have proper range after my repairs,
    and so ended up taking a 1/2 mile walk with the transmitter while
    my friend stayed with and watched the plane.  Only after it had
    successfully passed this check was I willing to fly it.  If you
    have any doubts, the best thing to do is as -.1 suggested, send
    it back to Futaba.

    RE .0

>	1)	It is possible to teach youself to fly.  I have now had
>		at least 6 great flights....a couple shaky ones.

    Brian, based on 2) and 3) I don't think you should consider yourself
    "taught" yet :-).  

>	2)	The Dura-plane is virtually indestructable!  I have had
>		a couple VERY hard landings and even a crash or two.  It
>		rebuilds quickly and easily!  The only modification is I 
>		have devised an effective way to mount the landing gear
>		with rubber bands.

    I think the manufacturer of Dura-plane and Tower Hobbies should
    be SHOT for the way they almost encourage people not to seek an
    instructor; "...can withstand the most severe abuse, including wingtip
    to wingtip cartwheels, vertical dives right into the ground, with
    little or no damage to the model...".  They don't mention that there
    is also very little damage (to the plane) when it buries its spinner in
    someone's (maybe your) skull!


>	3)	The radio equipment in the plane is NOT indestructable.
>		My last flight found my plane 8 inches, nose first, 
>		into a field of dirt.  This leads to my question.....
>
>The plane itself was not too bad off....But, the radio equipment was all 
>thrown forward.  I noticed a small crack in the reciever.  I opened it up 
>and could see no visible damage to the components in the case.  
>Nevertheless, it appears to be not functioning correctly.  When I turn the 
>reciever on, the servos "move" like they always have.  But, when I turn the 
>transmitter on, nothing happens (except the meter moves!)...no control!

    You might also check the antenna wire.  Maybe it broke off at the
    receiver.  

>I'm so depressed :^(

    As a few people have said, there _is_ a better way.  Waiting for
    an instructor is better than what you have now - a broken airplane
    and beautiful flying weather.  Of course it's still your decision
    (might not be an instructor nearby?) but most of the people I've
    taught never had a serious crash before they were soloing.
    
    Good luck, from one who taught himself before he knew any better!
    
    Bill

Right now my equipment is in northern michigan where no one knows about RC. 
The nearest hobby store is 90 miles away!  I have tried to find an 
instructor...to no avail...

In defense....I have had some good flights.   I even executed what I 
thought was a decent loop with the plane although it got going pretty fast 
at the bottom of the loop!  That flight even had a good landing.

The crash occured with these circumstances:

I had had four good flights and was attempting to land closer to myself 
each time.  I am flying on a friends 40+ acre farmland (no livestock!).
The field is about a mile in from lake michigan and the winds can be funny 
sometimes.  When I started there was no wind but....

I had made a couple of good circles when I turned the plane to 
come back at me (into the wind that had just started).  This is where it 
did a funny thing....the plane, seemingly on its own accord,
did kind of a wing-over(?) and headed the other way (away).  I though at 
first something happened to the control surfaces etc...   But, I turned it 
into the wind, started back, and...it did it again.  This happened three or 
four times.  At this point the plane was so far away I lost my orientation. 
I tried a couple of times to stabilize and regain orientation but the 
distance made it hard to determine if it was coming or going.

Not wanting to "let it go", I then cut power and headed down....obviously 
too hard....i.e. the crash.

I have tried and would GLADLY take anyone up on offers for an instructor.
The reason I am flying the Dura-plane is because I could not find 
insructors....I did spend the winter building a SIG Kavalier and didn't 
want to fly it without instruction, but really wanted to get in the air!

Anyway, I just thought this notes file would be a good place to ask a 
couple of questions!

Cheers\
Brian

    re .5: This is the beauty of this file: There is no sense of distance
    between the members.. What we need is a device to be able to ravel
    as bits on the wire from one location to an other to help fellow
    modelers in distress!!!  
    
    IN the meantime, keep up the good work.. I sympathize with you.

    md

OK Guys, fly-in at Brian's house!

Sounds like you have a very nice place to learn.  Hearing of your
adventures with the Dura-plane reminded me of a cowboy with an
Eagle I met a few months back.  He said that he had only one day
off a week and had taught himself to fly.  The plane was not
pretty; put together with titebond and covered in very poor
fashion; but it flew.  When I met him he was in Phlyin Phil's
shop getting it repaired; seems he lost sight of it when it
dipped behind the barn...

Anyway, the gist of it is that if you have to learn without an
instructor, you can.  But as the others have said, the best way
is with help.  Though I can add a word or two about instructors
too!

Hang in there. Though I'm not completely out of the instruction
phase, I can say that its all worth it.

Oh, I was going to mention something about the receiver.  By all
means get it checked!  A month or so ago, I dumped my Eaglet in
on final.  When I recovered the plane I found that the plane did
not respond to control inputs.  I have the equipment to check out
the receiver, and found that there was a cold solder joint in the
IF strip (it's a Silver Seven, built from a kit).  Honestly, I
was glad it went out there, since it could've happened anytime
with far worse results.  A glitchy receiver is no fun.

From your description of the last flight, it sounds like either
there was a transmitter nearby that was interfering with you, or
more likely, your batteries went south.  The servos sometimes run
over to hard lock when the batteries get weak.  Be sure to check
them, and cycle the pack down several times before you fly it
again. 

    Re: .4, Brian,
    
    I have to echo Bill, Marc and whoever else wished you best of luck
    in your self-teaching program.  I know how tough it is to learn
    when you can't locate an instructor conveniently close to be of
    value.  Until [or even if] you can find one, hang in there...
    sounds like you're doing about all you can to teach yourself in
    as painless a manner as possible.
    
    As you've already discovered, orientation is your greatest nemesis.
    Here's a crutch you can use (if you don't already know it) to help
    prevent you from becoming confused and giving the wrong control
    due to disorientation:  ALWAYS keep your back or a shoulder turned
    to the airplane such that the transmitter antenna _always_ points
    more-or-less in the direction of flight...this way left is always
    left, right is always right, etc.  After you've gotten over the
    hump, you can wean yourself of this crutch a little at a time 'til
    you're able to stand flat-footed and fly without getting disoriented.
    
    Hope this helps you a little.  Be sure to keep us informed/updated
    as to your progress and, by all means, _ASK_ anytime you have a
    question/problem we might be able to help you with.  Now that we
    know your situation, I promise we'll refrain from preaching anymore
    on the merit of using an instructor.  :B^)    

      |
      | |      00	 Adios,      Al
    |_|_|      ( >o
      |    Z__(O_\_	(The Desert Rat)

      Take heart,Brian!!I was in the same boat as you,and
    now I fly regularly without mishap.When I started I figured
    that hand launching the plane would help,since I am
    6'7" tall,that would give me that much more altitude to
    correct any mishaps;*)The first couple of flights
    were very nerve wracking.The disorientation that Al
    was talking about was not a problem because I have a few
    years or car racing under my belt.I personally imagine
    myself as if I was flying in the cockpit,which works
    for me but might not for someone else.I had just one bad
    crash into a tree because I screw up on the depth perception
    but my aircraft(Flitecraft SoloI,Duraplane was my 2nd choice)
    was hardly damaged.All I needed was a new prop and Horz. Stab.
      I too had a very large hay field with no distractions to fly
    in.There was an instructor who lived about 10 miles away but
    I heard that he crashed more times than the students,plus he
    charged you unless you bought your supplies at his shop!!
      Good luck to you Brian!If a Klutz like myself can now deadstick
    it in with no worries than you should soon be up there all
    day in no time!!Keep us posted on your progress and let me
    know if I can be of any help.
    
    						Kevin

    One other method for flying, that I used when I was learning, in
    order to avoid disorientation when the airplane was flying towards
    me, was the "low wing" method.  Essentially, when the plane is
    approaching you, your main goal should be to hold the plane straight
    and level until you feel comfortable turning the aircraft so that
    it is heading away from you again.  An easy way to accomplish this
    is to remember that when the plane is pointed at you, you move the
    control stick to the side of the radio that corresponds to the side
    of the plane with the lower wingtip (if the plane is banked).  This
    is of course, opposite of what you do if the plane is flying away.
    I found that it was easier to remember the "stick towards the low
    side" rule than it was to consiously think about orientating myself
    to the airplanes line of flight. 
    
    Since that explanation might not be too clear, by way of example
    I mean that  if, when the plane is headed towards you, and from
    your standpoint on the ground it is moving to your left (the plane
    actually is in a right hand turn)  the wingtip on the left of the
    plane is lower than that on the right due to the bank, you should
    move the radios' stick to the left to level the turn.
    
    This may sound silly, but try it, it actually works quite well,
    and is much easier to remember than facing away from the plane and
    looking over your shoulder is to accomplish.  I used this method
    to teach a friend, and my father to fly, and it remedied their problems
    with disorientation very quickly (after 2 or three flights, in fact).
    
    as for landing, the only way to learn is practice. 

This may be surprising (?), but landing does not seem to be a problem to
me as long as I have set up the approach fairly well.  My mistakes have been
not having the ability to recover from a mistake once it is made! (does
that make any sense?)

Anyway, I seem to have pulled of a couple pretty decent landings!  And they
do look pretty when you do it right!

I was thinking about the orientation problem while driving home the other day
and decided to try exactly what was mentioned in .-1!!!  Its good to know
someone else has thought of this before.  I hope it works as well for me!
I also like the idea of imagining yourself in the cockpit, but initially
my concentration would be totally on flying, so maybe the "low wing" method
would work better.

The hand launching idea I have used also.  It gets the plane up quick for
air time, but I have been trying to work on taking off also.  My ground
steering doesn't seem to be too good though.  Is this usual for a plane
with no nose wheel?

One side note....I have purchased a set of floats, :^)  I have mounted them
on the Dura-plane!!! They look great!   I haven't used them though.  I decided
to stick with wheels until I had gotten more time in the air.  I built the
mount so they attach with rubberbands and one rear mount 8x20 bolt.  Anyone
think of any reason why this won't work?  As I mentioned earlier I'm flying
at a place I have at Lake Michigan.  Are they hard to use?  BTW, they are
GEE BEE 33" floats.

The encouragment (and information) in this conference is great!

Cheers\
Brian

    Don't give up Brian.  I too taught myself, only it sounds like you
    had better luck.  Hopefully I don't have any bad habits, but I can
    fly pretty good....
    
    I too have GEE BEE floats (28") on my Eaglet.  They are definetly
    different to fly from.  I tried water last fall and had a heck of
    a time (no water rudder).  Never did get airborne.  But this past
    winter I flew off the snow and was it GREAT!  Nothing like it!  I
    plan on water flying this weekend down on good ol' Lake Champlain.
    
    As far as your rubber band hook-up.....I don't know if that will
    pose a problem or not.  How are they mounted in regards to that
    one bolt you are using?
    
    Ken
    
    PS.  Hey Kevin Colburn....we ought to get together and do some flyin!
    	 I didn't realize someone else in BTO was currently flying except
    	 me.  I usually fly down at the old Colchester airport.  I've
         been teaching my younger brother there.  He is now soloing his
    	 Flitecraft Cardinal.
    
    	 That instructor wouldn't be Dick at Yandow's would it?

                Before a  national  guardsman  stomped  on the wing of my
        Duraplane and put  it  out  of  commission,  I  noticed  that the
        aluminum rail tends to  blanked  radio  reception if the plane is
        flying towards the pilot.   I  suspect  it's  because  the  radio
        antenna typically is very close to  the rail.  What I suggest you
        do if there's a chance this is  the problem is to run the antenna
        out of the hole in the top of  the downspout and attach it to the
        top of the vertical stab.  You may even experiment with attaching
        it to a wing tip.
        
        Anker

Wow......I think that may have been my problem.  I certainly woudn't have 
thought of it though!   I had just prepared the plane to fly and decided 
the antenna "looked" better attached to the horizontal stab.  This would 
put it right behind the aluminum channel from my piloting perspective at 
the time!

I had previously been attaching it to the top of the vertical stab.....
guess where it's going back to.....

re.-2

The float is attached by two aluminum strips, one forward, one aft.  I have 
used rubber bands to attach the forward one to the wing bolts.  The aft 
strip has a hole drilled through it and the aluminum channel.  I have 
installed a 8x20 nut and bolt in this location.

My Dura-plane has a OS FP 40.  I hope this gets it off the water!

Cheers\
Brian

    This set up would seem to make the floats "float"!  Make certain
    the floats don't shift from side to side or can be seperated from
    the fuse (the front support).  The water puts alot of  force on
    the floats, so you want them secure!
    
    Read the previous notes on water flying for more info on what to
    do on take offs and landings.
    
    Ken