Welcome To RC Flying!

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Updated on 6/26/99

Welcome to a new hobby of mine. As I progress with this venture, I will add to this page. I have just recently aquired my first ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) Plane. Constuction is almost complete. When the model is finished I will present my thoughts on getting into the hobby, and anything that I think will be of assistance to the beginner that is trying to get into this hobby. This page will be dedicated to only RC Flying. I have only started this page today, 11-8-97 so please bare with me while I get things up and running.

11-8-97: Today was the day for the initial breakin run on my new Supre Tigre 40. The new engine was hard to get started at first, but once it fired up, it sounded like a real powerhouse. Setting everything was really easy, as I had an Instructor on hand to help me out. I know that once you get your plane built that it is very tempting to take it out and try it. DON'T, unless you have an instructor present. During my first run of the engine, we noticed that my aeilrons worked loose at the hinges. (Not enought glue.) Better on the ground than in the air, causing one big diesaster.

11-12-97: Today I tackled the Hobbico Ultra-Tote flight box. All the parts were pre-cut, and ready to be put together. With a little lite sanding everything fit perfectly. This is a very easy to put together box. The only thing that slowed the rate of building was waiting for the glue to dry. Make sure that you have some C/A Accelerator Spray onhand to speed things up. The only other thing that you will need is some fuel proof paint to coat the box with. This kit get's an A+ in my books.

11-16-97: Today was the first flight of the Easy-Fly 40. It was a calm day, almost no wind and about 50 degrees. The plane took on 4 flights and did great! I had an instructor helping on takeoff and landings, but while it was in the air I had control. The plane flew great! It was very easy to manuver. I would recommend this plane to any beginner!

11-23-97: Well I did get to take the plane out to the flying field. There were about 10 people with about 15 planes and helicopters. After setting up, me and a flight line buddy noticed that my plane had 2 broke elevator hinges. Again, this was noticed on the ground. I have come to realize that a proper pre-flight check list should be followed each and every time before flying. If we had not seen this, (crash)! To all of you beginners, please use a flight line buddy, or have your instructor look the plane over before flying. This will save you some grief and some money in the long run. Well until the next flight, Happy Thanksgiving!!

11-30-97: Today the sky was cloudy, the wind around 15mph, and it looked like rain at any time. I got everything ready, fired up the Supre Tigre .40 and taxied out to the runway. My instructor made several passes explaining the art of landing, and I do mean ART! He made several landings, man it looked easy! Ok, My Turn! I did a few fly byes and figured out real quick that this was alot harder than it looked. After 3 tries I finally got it down, and intact! Everyone was packing up, as it was getting to dark to see. I decided to give it one more try. (On my own) BIG MISTAKE! I brought the plane around for the final, all was going well, I was about 2 feet from touchdown when the nose dropped and you guessed it! (CRASH #1) The nose wheel was busted out along with about 3 inches of the bottom of the fuselage. The guys on line said that the plane should have stood up to what happened, but, it didn't. Remember, don't take a chance on doing something that you are not ready for! Well it's back to the work bench for now, hopefully by next weekend I'll have a HAPPY LANDING STORY!! After the nose of the plane is beefed up more than the factory job. Until then...

12-7-97: Well I've done it agian! (STUPID) Today was a nasty day, lite rain, but not alot of wind. I went to the field and found that I was the only soul out there in the 30 degree weather. That should have been my first indication to turn around and go home. But, No, I had to go ahead and give it a try. Wrong answer! I got the plane ready and headed it out to the runway, lined up and gave it the throttle. As soon as I had liftoff someone from above opened up the sky and man did it rain the plane just suddenly cartwheeled, a combination of rain in my face, and pure stupidity lead to (CRASH #2). Please, all of you that are beginning this hobby, don't fly alone and don't take any chances that aren't necessary. You will spend more time repairing than you will flying. The next flight, (after my repairs are made) will be with my instructor on hand no matter how bad I want to fly. Until then...Merry Christmas!!!

12-14-97: Oh happy day! Today was a great day for flying. I sit around for about an hour watching everyone else fly, I was a little scared to fly after my last two adventures. There was this new guy there who came over and looked at my plane and ask why I was not flying. I explained the story to him and he said come on I'll help you. This man turned out to be the best instructor I've had yet! All that he would let me do is take-off and land, again and again. After about 10 of these he turned me loose and said that I was ready. Guess what he was right, I can now take off and land on my own, 12 times I did this with NO CRASH!!! I owe alot of thanks to this man and hope to see him on the field again so that I may thank him. Guess what readers, I'm solo!!! I will still ask the assistance of an instructor at least one more time before trusting myself. Until next time......Happy take-off and landings.

12-27-97: Well today was a good day. I only got to take the plane up twice but everything went well. Landings were done on my own believe it or not. I'd like to add some things on the EZ-Fly 40. #1: The fire wall should be beefed up a little if you are a beginner. It is just not strong enough for us beginners and our hard landings. #2: The nose wheel wire is a little to soft. I am now in the process of adding a dual strut nose wheel to my plane. #3: The wire landing gear is also a little soft but it will work Ok. I will also be adding some aluminum landing gear to my plane. The wire will work fine until you have figured out how to land a little softer! It absorbs alot of the shock. If it does bend, just bend it back! Well until next time.......Happy Flying!

1-1-98: Well I've made my choice! I have decided to go with a Goldberg Tiger 2. I have the plane and now that I recieved a scanner for Christmas I will soon have some pic's up on the page. Follow along with me as I build the Tiger 2!!! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know as this is my first kit plane. Until the building begins.....Happy New Year!!!

1-2-98: The building has begun! The first step was to build the horizontal stabilizer. This went along rather well with no problems. Here is something that I found to be usefull. Instead of buying a building board I went to the office and found 2 sheets of ceiling tiles. It works very well for pinning your project down. Anyway, the horizontal stab went together with ease. Then on to the vertical fin and rudder construction. This to went together rather easy. Just follow along with the directions and you should have no problems. Then I move onto the next step. The Wings! OH GOD! After laying out all the wing materials I found that 1 of the ailerons were split right down the middle. Some of the wing ribs had severe twist. After I had gotten myself calmed down a little from finding this (Cold Beer worked wonders!)I proceeded with the building. Be sure and tape over the breakoff tabs as suggested in the manual. The center and tip supports that need to be built are made of lite ply. I don't know if you have ever tried to push a T-pin through ply- wood but needless to say, I had sore thumbs before I got those things pinned down. I am new to modeling but I think that the center sheeting should have made of one piece instead of three. Pay close attention when applying this and get yourself a good even fit, as a bad one will show up after the two wing halfs are joined. As I stated earlier on the center and wing-tip supports try and come up with something different, it is very hard to keep the wing stable on the ones provided. Now we are at the doubler and torque supports. Pay very close attention as to how you put them together. I ended up glueing mine with the slot on the torque supports pointed in the wrong direction. I had to cut two more out of scrape ply and try again. And as I am limited in my tool choices, a hobby knife will again give you sore fingers. As of now I am at the tri-stock for the wing tips. It has to be split down the middle so I am stuck until I can get to the hobby shop and have them cut it for me. Be back soon!! Happy Building!!

2-7-98: Sorry it has taken so long to make an update. I've been busy with work and the flu and all that junk. Now on to the good stuff, AIRPLANES! The Tiger2 is now built and has been covered in dark purple Monokote. The plane didn't really pose any real problems for me being a first time builder. Now the Monokote did. The more that I worked with it the easier it got. I would advise anyone trying to cover their first time to seek the help of an experienced builder. That way you will gain some valuable knoweledge and your pains of building will come out looking great. My local hobby shop expert said that I did a pretty good job on mine since it was my first one. I will soon get some pics of it up just as soon as I get the Super Tiger .51 bolted on. This engine should supply this plane with all it needs, plus some. Well today is a flying day so I must get everything charged up and ready to go. See ya soon! Happy landings!!

4-4-98: Today was the first flight of the Tiger 2. After several attempts to get the Supre Tiger 51 running, we got it in the air. We noticed on the ground that we had alot of air bubbles running through the fuel lines. The fuel tank was packed in foam before the initial flight, but I assume that it wasn't enough. Before the second attempt, I added some extra packing around the fuel tank. It still has alot of air running through it. I think that it should have more packed on the underneath side of the tank. The Supre Tigre 51 went, it was very hard to get the idle set right. I think it will still take some further adjustment. The flight was great. The plane was in perfect balance and required nothing further. Landing was a little hotter the was expected, but I am still used to my EZ-Fly which just floats in. The plane handled great! After 3 flights I reverted back to my trainer for a little less action. The Tiger actually made me break out into a sweat. But all in all it was great! Anyone wishing to start their first kit couldn't go wrong with this one. Now on the bench are a Kouger and a P-51 Mustang kit by Great Planes. I will keep you updated on the progress of these planes as they move along. Until then, have a great flying experience.

5/23/98: The Easy Fly 40 is no more! On the last attempt of flight, the plane was taken to the field and all the ground work and range checks completed. I taxied out onto the runway and gave it full throttle. The plane tracked down the runway as always, but what happens next is beyond me. The plane lifted off, I started my climb-out. After gaining some altitude I started a right bank. I then tried pulling the plane back onto a level flight path, but NO, it would not come out of the turn and nosed over and headed for the ground at full speed. Upon impact all you could see was dust. The plane didn't make it this time. After picking up the pieces and bringing the plane home for inspection I found that one of the servo arms was stripped out. Could this have been done during impact, or did it happen when I started the right bank. The world may never know!! That is all that I could find that may have caused this crash, if you have any thoughts as to why this happened please contact me. But the good news ladies and gentlemen is that the Tiger 2 is still ripping through the air with the greatest of ease. The Super Tiger 51 is one great motor on this plane. I now have a Great Planes P-51 Mustang on the bench and with some luck will be in the air before summer is over. Until next time Happy Memorial Day!! Remember Our Veterans!!

Well I have graduated from Geo Cities Community Leader training program and am now the Community Leader for Yosemite/Trails Blocks 5500 to 5999. If I may be of assistance to anyone please feel free to contact me. The P-51 was put on hold for awhile because of us buying a house and moving. But the good news is that the house came with an already built work shop. Ideal for finishing up that P-51, so stay tuned the bench has been put in the shop and it won't be long before the building starts up again. Happy Flying!!

8/23/98: Sorry I haven't had a chance to update this page as I should. We have finally got moved in and settled down a bit. And the Great News is that I have my shop set up now! I have now aquired a Sig Mach II. I have just started building on this plane and will be waiting awhile to finish up the P-51. I still do not feel that I am ready to fly the Mustang. So I will build another trainer in the meantime. I have both sides of the Mach II put together. So far the only thing that I do not like about this plane are the plans and the provided instruction manual. The book calls to build the wing halfs first. The first problem that I ran into was that the book called for a 32 inch piece of wing sheeting. Problem, there is not one piece of wood in the box that measures 32 inches. The sheeting that was called for is only 30 inches. Anyway I moved on from that point and went on with the wing building. The instruction manual is not real easy to understand when it comes to building the wing, if you have not but wings before, get some help. I also do not like the sequence of building the wing. The spars that came with the kit are of bad quality. You need to do alot of sanding and fitting to get them right. I haven't made much progress with this plan yet, as every time I start building on it I run into a problem with the instruction book or the plans. Well I had better get to the shop or I'll never get it done. Until then, Happy Building! If anyone has built this plane, and has any pointers please contact me. See Ya Soon!

10/10/98: I have now taken on another project, it is the Sig Kouger. The wings are almost complete and hopefully the rest of the plane will be finished this weekend. Here is what the plane will look like when it is finished.Sig Kougar

12/6/98: I have recently aquired a new trainer, the Trainer 2000. So far the plane has been real easy to put together. It comes with engine mounts which with the Super Tiger 40 that I plan on putting on it will require that some of the nose of the plane be cut away. All the control surfaces are already hinged and in place. Be sure to check the integrity of these. I found that the rudder was a little loose. As soon as I get further along with building I'll have more updates.T2000 Trainer

12/16/99: I apologize for the length of my absence. I lost a friend in an ultra light accident. I lost interest in flying for awhile. I know that it had nothing to do with RC, but we had been friends a long time. We spent 5 years scraping up enough money to build the P-38 Ultra Light. He had went from a two blade prop to a three blade, after he had taken off, he flew to about 500 ft, when he tried to land the prop had never been balanced and he was forced into the ground. At least that is what the investigators said. Anyway I dedicate this page in his memory as he also loved RC. I am slowing getting back into the swing of things so keep in touch!!