First Week in Flight

 

Well guys, I'm glad to say it! My first week being back in the hobby has been super exciting. I completed my FliteTest (FT) Flyer about 2 weeks ago and was able to maiden it last Monday and this week finished building and Maidening the brand new FT Mini Speedster. Both planes flew great, and considering I have about an hours flight time on both loved being behind the controls once again. There was however some very important lessons learned during this week that I think are important for all beginners to know before the throw their first plane up.

Firstly, and yes I am trying to emphasizes how important this step really is: CENTER OF GRAVITY or CG for short. The CG of an airframe should be followed by law for every single flight, whether its the maiden flight or whether you've put it up 100 times. This simple step if left uncheck can make for horrible flying but truly spectacular Crashes. I learned that with my speedster, especially smaller planes! Small planes = low tolerance for CG, which means you MUST be extra careful about balancing otherwise your will bang up your pretty new airframe pretty fast.

Tape is going to be your best friend! Illustrated by my Flyer, your nose is going to take one heck of a beating. Therefore, reinforcing certain places on the wing and nose will allow you to crash hard and easily put the plane back in the air with little ill effect. On that note, cary tape with you on your first flights because you WILL crash.

Putting together a "Crash Kit" is essential when going out to fly. In my kit, I have a roll of packing tape, scotch tape, extra BBQ skewers and rubber bands. I also have a landscaping flag that come in handy to tell which direction the wind is blowing. Pack plenty of extra props, you will go through them a lot!

First flights can be a little nerve racking, best thing to do is to take a deep breath before you throw the plane up. I also always go in with the expectation that I am going to crash. If you go in with that expectation, you will only laugh at how spectacular your plane looks barreling into the ground. All in all, It was a ton of fun. Next blog I will talk about the specific techniques I used to repair the nose of the Flyer.