[RCSE] Starting to get it, and a few questions...

[Jay Hunter]

Gang,

For the first time in a long time I was upset that I couldn't fly. I had planned on sneaking an hour in to fly after work, and my wife called me with a minor issue. As we all know, you have to take care of work and family and then we can fly. And for whatever reason something clicked during my last flying session with my photon DLG. that session and the time after it brought to light a few things.

1. Setting up the plane correctly is EVERYTHING. I was getting 20-30 second flights in 5-8 mph winds. I added 3 quarters and moved the CG forward a bit, not only was the plane more controllable and handled wind better, it increased my flight times up to 1 minute on average, and I could fly further away with this setup. Beautiful.

2. As one gets more serious about flying it becomes less social. What I mean is that I am less apt to fly with someone for a good time than I am to fly a plane to improve a skill. Sure I look forward to the upcoming contest season, but I would feel like I was wasting time, if I was flying just to be social.

3. Its going to take a LOT of tosses to improve even ONE aspect of my flying. My last session ended with a hand catch, and while I had a few during that session I was more likely to have it land first 20 yards away, then 10 yards away, and finally 5 feet away, consistantly.

4. R/E can give you an amazing amount of control. Whereas I am used to aileron ships, I am starting to get the hang of flying RE and I am surprised at the control.

Ok, now the questions...

1. To the competitive pilots, how often do you practice a week? 1 day a week for an hour? several times a week? How long are your sessions?

2. How often does the wind change during a flying session? It seems the wind changes by 45 degrees every 10-15 minutes. Most of my flying sites are surrounded by trees.

3. In a 2 servo plane how low do you allow the voltage go in a 4 cell pack?

I had more questions but its getting late. Thanks for the answers..

Jay