Next Bombshell

[Radd]

If you have read any of my posts then you will know how strongly I believe in Simulators..I have said and still say that if they are good enough for the US Airforce and NASA and every training program of all the major airlines then why wouldnt they be usefull for RC heli's...well I have changed my mind...somewhat...first..If you have never heard of me let me tell you that I am a simulator freak..I practice almost everyday on my G2.I bought it when it first came out. I have all the upgrades and the new USB controller which allows you to plug in your own radio..So..I feel like I know what I'm talking about a little here..I can flip flop tick tock spin loop stall...bla bla bla..you impressed? No your not..know why?? cause neither am I...the real truth is simulators cant help you break the fear down in the real world..I know what I'm talking about because everytime I drove to the field with my heli's I told myself...I can I can I can..this is the day...I would gas up and hover ( just to get the nerves down )...hover around some more...move alittle side to side...Hover some more..talk with some friends...watch someone crash...hover one more tank, then drive home and feel like crap...CAUSE I COULD DO IT IN THE SIMULATOR...WHY DID I TRY?...well, in someways it's because I did have a simulator. I can do wild things on it but one out of ten times I might crash in there too..Thats a scarey thought..partly because I didnt want to crash in front of friends,partly because rebuilding a nitro was intimidating. and of course money. But mostly because of the fear factor...thats what a simulator can never ever never ever help you with..and thats why I have friends who started flying after I did that dont use a sim and can KICK MY BUTT....Now heres the cool thing..After my little talk with Jason Krause and after building a dump truck (Raptor 30)and kissing it good bye..I took it to the field..sucked it up and took off...wow.. did it take off... and wow did it come back...TOO FAST...and wow did it go straight over my head into the trees and over the cars in the parking lot....I was bending over backward looking over my head (screaming "LOOK OUT")flying this thing out of the trees and away from everyone and definiatly away from me....I got it back out on the field and crashed it about thirty feet in front of me....Everyone came running past me over to my bird..doing it's last gasp and chicken dance in the grass..But...Do you know what I did??? I didn't even walk over to it...I set my radio down in the grass and threw my fists in the air and screamed...."YEA BABY"...."YEA BAAAABBYY."" ...I give you my word...In all the years of fly airplanes and heli's I have never felt so completely happy..so sure of myself..the real thing..Here's why..I FLEW THAT SUCKER..sure I miss judged the whole start of the flight, but I flew it back out of the trees and away from everyone and dumped it..This wasn't a piccolo,this could seriously kill someone..Now back to the simulator..I could not have done that if I hadn't practiced in G2..two days later it was ready to fly..I went out to the field, took it up 60 feet pirouetted and froze it nose in...Landed it and was slightly depressed..It was really easy and not very scarey...I was slightly bummed..I guess I thought fireworks or something would go off..well..my moral of the story is...dont kid your self into thinking simulators can help you break down that fear wall......get a real heli...get a dump truck..

[pgoelz]

Radd,

While I truly appreciate your "just go try it" attitude, I am afraid that I have to say that I would be VERY nervous with you flying anything larger than a Piccolo around me. A 30 size is (as you mention) a potentially lethal machine, and could inflict serious and permanent damage on anyone it hit. If anyone did what you describe at the fields where I fly, I would immediately pack up and leave. And if no one else at the field objected to a flight like that, I would never come back.

PLEASE fly responsibly and keep the "pushing the envelope" stuff FAR away from ANYONE unless you are flying a micro. That is, after all, one of the true advantages of the Piccolos..... they are fairly safe.

[Max]

Hi Radd,

I must agree with Paul, the "No Fear" method of learning to fly sounds lethal!

I also spend a lot of time on my simulator and have learnt to fly all types of maneuvers. I get to put them into practice on the end of a buddy lead with an extremely experienced 3D pilot, he is able to catch my mistakes however bad they might be. When I say put into practice, what I actually mean is “discover how inaccurate the simulators really are”…

It is certainly true that good simulators are very good at teaching you basic instincts for hovering and help you to get a feel for a new maneuver. However it has been my experience that trying to translate complex maneuvers from the simulator to a real model requires a lot of practice! Suddenly the set-up of the machine, the wind conditions etc all become critical. It is true that as you do learn new maneuvers it all starts to get easier, but it takes time…

If you don’t know anyone that can buddy up with you there are probably flying schools. I don’t know much about the US heli scene, but certainly in the UK there are a number of very good schools, run by extremely experienced pilots, that are not that expensive.

Max

I agree with the theme of the post. The incident where he lost control of the raptor is not what he is promoting. It's interesting how that is all people are responding to.

I think the intended moral of the story was that simulators help, but you have to let go and try things. In some cases letting go helps and in others it's just futile, depends on the situation.

I like to say, "fly fast and take chances", and I do that, only when no one is around to watch me make my mistakes. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] When flying with other pilots or spectators, safety, is #1. Not only am I cautious about others and try to be considerate, but I hate crashing with everyone watching, because eventually I will crash and as seen before, it usually isn't pretty! I like flying around people with that type of attitude, you feel much safer and far less stressed which makes the experience much more enjoyable.

Actually, I have more problems flying around the slowfliers as opposed to heli pilots. Many pilots over here don't seem to care about anyone else on the field and that really bugs me. I get jittery when they fly too close and I have to navigate around them. (I only fly in a small area at the dome in the corner and have been hit in mid-air already, that person heard from me!) It's one thing to trash a $.50 piece of mylar with a motor and servos strapped on than running into a heli. I usually just set it down and wait for the idiots to run out of juice.

[ 20 May 2002, 22:26: Message edited by: pwkpete ]

If your not crashing, your not trying hard enough.

I think everyone understands that you must keep public safety as your first priority but you've gotta just go for it every once in a while,keep lots of spares on hand and push your limits to expand them.

gotta break some eggs to make an omelet..I'll fly fly with you Radd!!

I think the best thing to do is get up off your bum, step away from the glow of the computer, gas it up (or charge it up) and go fly. Simulators help basic movements, but thats about it. I like to fly inverted about 3 feet above my head with carbon blades on my largest heli!!!!!! I like to see people running away scared... You have to take chances and get off the simulator.

P.S I really don't fly inverted above my head. I'm crazy, not stupid.

Never had one get away Paul? hum?

Yeah really.

Although I wouldn't want to fly with some idiot that doesn't know how to fly either. If a newbee came out to my field and said that he hadn't flown before I would just go ahead and pack up my stuff and leave. So that way I could bypass any mistakes that he/she made. I don't know why someone that has no experience or very little would want to come out to the field and endanger everyone there. Can someone comment on this. Does it sound familiar? [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]