Fiancee Surprised Me!!

[spdosnd]

I have been interested in RC planes for over a decade but never took the leap until my fiancee saw a Cub flying around a local park in Salt Lake City and decided I had to have one. She bought me one this week for our anniversary.

I have been doing a lot of reading but I wasn't ready for what the maiden flight had in store for me. Got it in the air the first time and it kept climbing so I killed the motor and had a soft crash landing (no carnage) Second time couldn't get the cub to bank right and again soft landing into the branches of a Douglas Fur (no carnage). The third and fatal flight I got the Cub into the air (fiancee hand launching) and took it for a wild ride and ended up stalling crashing and snapping the tail clean off.

I am good with my hands so the fix should be easy. What I am afraid of is getting it back into the air with that feeling like I can't control the plane. Is there a way to check tail/rudder alignement without getting it in the air. My "eyeballing" it didn't prove effective in practice.

Still super excited and thank you all for contributing to such a great forum.

[pauliepilot]

Hey and wellcome :-)
Eyeballing is a start try and line it as much as u can...then from there it shouldnt be far off the correct trim
. once airborn you can click the trim down/up left/right till you feel it flys where you want it n not where you dont ;-)
Remember little stick movements when turning use a little up aswell as right/left....."little up means down on stick"
It will come...after flying mine three months i was flying edf jets..
Hope this helps ;-)

[spdosnd]

Thanks pauliepilot for the advise.. My biggest mistake on my first flights was trying to keep the plane close to me. After reading more it seems the montra is smooth gradual turns and not power sliding like I do with my RC cars. Rookie mistakes, learned my lesson.

The worst part of the whole thing was seeing my fiancee's face when she saw the tail completely severed from the plane.. She was devastated as if it had to be thrown out..


Keep the suggestions coming!! I am an eager learner

[toff]

Welcome, and well done! 2 flights and no damage, you did well!
As paulie has said, eyeballing is fine, you can fine trim further on the next flight.
When you come to repair the tail, may I recommend cutting a bamboo skewer in half, and, when glueing, pushing both halves into the fuselage and tail sections as support.
Glue on it's own may provide a weak join.
Fly as high as you comfortably can ( The aircraft, not yourself , that way, if mistakes happen you have the time to make corrections.

[blue320]

You are one lucky dog with that fiancee! She's a keeper.
Don't sweat the break. I've cracked mine in half and got it up flying after a few minutes. If you have a clean break, all you need is CA glue and an activator. Just line it up. I wouldn't bother with skewers and sticks unless you are barbecuing. hehhehe I found that a nice clear packing tape does the job of strengthening.

There's no secret sauce here. Eyeball it, toss it and fly it high. Double check your push rod connection are secure. My best advice is setting your dual rate to "Low" and disconnect the ACT. Setting your rate to low lessens the chance of you making drastic dips and turns.

This forum has a lot of good people with good advice. Welcome to the SC club!