> It still boggles my cranium why anyone would
launch without their thumb on
> the stinkin' stick! (Bill Swingle)
> the stinkin' stick! (Bill Swingle)
They like that feeling of panic as they fumble for
the radio that's hanging from their neck as the plane carreers off line due
to a wind gust or incorrect hook location.
>Geez, just launch with your
left hand.
Here's one for us lefties! I have fairly big hands
and I'm left handed so I launch the plane with my left hand and hold the
transmitter in my right such that my thumb is on the top of the right stick so I
can control the ship as it launches. It might sound funny to people who have not
tried it but its really easy, a lot easier than holding the transmitter in one
hand and the stick with the other (or having the transmitter dangling around
one's neck like so many people do). This arrangement also works for HLG -- the
transmitter isn't bouncing around all over the place and you're able to fly the
plane all the way through the launch.
Its not really a left-handed thing, though. I don't
think most right-handers realize how much they neglect their spare hand.
We left-handers have to use the 'wrong' hand a lot because a
surprising amount of hand tools, even everyday items like scissors and can
openers, only work when used with the right hand. Its not a special
capability, just the way the world is forces us to train both hands. There's no
inherent reason why the same shouldn't apply to right handers -- those of use
who currently "launch and fumble" have now got a reason to use their wrong'
hand for something. They should try it, they'll be surprised how useful that
spare limb is.
All this business with the 9C and 9CH is a mystery
to me. If I had the flight mode on the left I'd have to use my launch hand to
reach it. I prefer it on the right where I can use a finger to operate it as I
hold the radio and fly with that hand during launch -- its handy if I need to
pull the mode off if something goes wrong during the launch. So 9C or 9CH, its
really a matter of taste.
BTW. I really like my 9C.
Martin Usher
