high wing flyer needs advice

[pixeldixel]

this question has been buggin me for quite some time now... when does one know he's ready to move on to low-wing trainers? thanks

[TomcatFLYER]

when you start to do stunts with you high wing and still feel bored and limited by it... hehhehee

[joe yap]

when you start to do stunts with you high wing and still feel bored and limited by it... hehhehee

Not quite true.

When you can take it off, fly it and land it perfectly solo in one piece consistently, that is about the right time to move on. If you crashed it or damaged it during bad landings, no count. Repair or get another high wing plane and do it until you can perfect it.

If you can't even take off and land a high wing perfectly, do you think you can do better with a low winger? Wonderful stunts have very little value in this sense. What goes up still needs to come down eventually and you really want it to be in one piece.

[simonwoo]

I remember with my EStarter, at some point I was doing take offs and landings over and over again. Basically take off fly two rounds, maybe even just one, and then come in for a landing already.

It was really fun.. You start to play around with some variables like approach height and approach speed, and see how it behaves with each combination.

But when you do a half roll and you realise that even after that you can take off your hands and it will still level and glide, then you realise hmm.. it's time to get a warbird

[ghostrider]

most important is when it is time you finally understand the basic principle of the plane and able to grasp hold of the orientation of the aircraft at all different angle. For my one and only advice to most beginner pilot......the best time to change to a low wing plane is when you have controlled the plane and not the plane control you, the pilot.....this way you are more ready for a faster response, powerful and more aerobatic plane.... ^_^

[nic]

if you aren't too confident yet, and is bored of high wing, get a mid-wing version, like GWS formosa... (if you can fly solo, and land/take off in a piece)

Some low wings are easier to fly then others... choose your planes wisely. Don't just base it on its look.

[Sunstorm]

Hmmm....for this; it's like driving test.

Checklist;

Able to set up plane, ensure proper safety checks, set up centre of gravity

Able to taxi the plane

Able to hand launch successfully

Able to take off properly from runway

Able to land properly on runway or smooth ground

Able to sustain control of plane in air, do circuits, figure of eights, etc without freaking out or balls dropping or losing orientation

The landing training is quite fun when you are 'getting it'. People would applaud at a picture perfect landing, even the most seasoned rc pilots.

Anyway the hobby is quite merciless, gravity doesn't care if you have bought an EXPENSIVE plane or EXPENSIVE TX...if you can't handle it, gravity (or trees) will help themselves to your plane!

And also.... just cos it's a trainer doesn't mean that it can't do stuff that makes you gape....some of the best pilots I've seen maxxed out the capabilities of their e-starters.

[simonwoo]

Good point Nic. As usual, I would recommend the Corsair (But not sure if Moh still carries it.) It doesn't feel like a low wing at all and it sure is a beauty

Oh ignore that recommendation if you are looking for a low wing trainer. The Corsair is just my personal bias The Zero that I got from bro calvin also flies very nicely... At quarter roll the plane doesn't dip like some other planes will. I think this is what nic is cautioning you... They do fly quite differently. And I think part of gaining the experience is to have the skill to 'know' a plane once you take it in the air and understand its character

And no more 'auto-pilot landings' once you move to low wing, especially if you are belly landing like some of us are. On approach if the plane rolls slightly either way due to wind or other factors, you need to know to roll left or right to compensate. No time for gabra or hesitation!

[Jack_Chen]

wow, Simon, your words reminded me of how I crashed my Tiger Moth.

Biplanes are both high wing and low wing!
My bipe low wing kissed ground only, it cartwheel into the ground.

[simonwoo]

Haha so you know what I mean. Yep, I've done the cartwheel stunt myself too And I'm sure you would agree, it wasn't even that badly out of line right? Well, we can chalk them up to gaining more experience loh. Which is true cos nowadays that hardly ever happens anymore.

And then there's the plane skidding sideways like it's doing an Initial D drifting. But that's quite cool and causes minimal damage to the plane so it's ok

[TomcatFLYER]

Not quite true.

When you can take it off, fly it and land it perfectly solo in one piece consistently, that is about the right time to move on. If you crashed it or damaged it during bad landings, no count. Repair or get another high wing plane and do it until you can perfect it.

If you can't even take off and land a high wing perfectly, do you think you can do better with a low winger? Wonderful stunts have very little value in this sense. What goes up still needs to come down eventually and you really want it to be in one piece.

i guess it;s back to a high wing for me... hahahhaa....

[joe yap]

I wouldn't recommend a warbrid as a second model, although some particular make can happened to be very forgiving. Generally, except for the few makes, a warbird can be quite tricky to setup and fly,a general statement like "I recommend a Corsair" is very misleading as there is no mention of which particular kit and setup. There are numerous F4U Corsair kits in the market and although I assumed that this particular post means the GWS make, no one can be 100% sure. All you know that a novice without the best knowledge can take this raw advice and bought himself another kit which is meant for advance modellers, crash it and put all the blame to that unsound advice.

[simonwoo]

Joe, it appears to me that you only read the first line of my post.

[joe yap]

Not really. I know what you mean. I'm not flaming you here, just to point out that we have to be rather careful in our words. I got hit before by generalising statements.

[simonwoo]

I would be very surprised if the bro actually went out to get a Corsair if he has read everything I've written carefully. And even if he did, I would attribute it to his adventurous and risk taking nature (and maybe even over self-confidence heh) rather than careless advice on my part. Cos I am pretty sure I made myself pretty clear on where I stand. I mentioned Moh's name so we know which Corsair I'm referring to, and I always encourage newcomers to read through the past threads. If they are interested to explore this option nevertheless, I would expect them to find out more first.

I am giving them options with full knowledge of the possible outcomes of their own choices. I throw in some personal experiences but always disclaiming that it's personal bias. I don't want to hand hold and say look your 2nd plane MUST be this and that..

Your advice is noted with all due respect nevertheless Joe. Let'e keep this forum open and encourage the sharing of ideas and thoughts. The last thing I'd want to see is censorship of personal opinions. Granted, next time I will extra highlight my disclaimers