|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Gibbs Guides.com More high
quality information absolutely
free with every
|
Modellers
are a friendly bunch
and will welcome beginners
into their fold. |
Selecting
an instructor
The relationship between
you and your instructor
is crucial for the success
of your training, so try
and choose with care. One
idea is first to visit the
club and just watch what
goes on. Have someone point
out who the club instructors
are, and see who you like
the look of.
Remember that teaching is an art in itself, and is a separate skill additional to merely being able to fly. Good instructors are much rarer than good pilots. A good instructor will of course be a competent pilot, however remember also that good instructors aren’t necessarily the very best pilots.
The instructor you want is someone who is a steady calm flyer, so you might not notice them straight away. The loud, self-professed expert can seem appealing at first but such characters are rarely the best instructors. Having identified a possible instructor, it’s a good idea to get to know them a bit before deciding if you want to ask them to see if they will help you learn to fly. Chances are they’ll be pleased to share their knowledge.
Instructors are in high demand at some clubs, so you may not be able to secure their attention as much as you would like. However, don’t despair – there’s a lot of learning that you can do merely by observing how others fly. Plus, you can always learn from other modelers by asking them how and why they do certain things.
Instructors are invariably unpaid and are give their services for nothing. It’s not uncommon for students to fail to properly acknowledge their valuable assistance, perhaps in time finding that continued help becomes more difficult to obtain. The wise student who does take the trouble to acknowledge their instructor’s contribution will probably find them maintaining an interest in their progress. What goes around comes around….. Enough said!
The
‘Buddy Box’
system
The ‘buddy box’
system is where the instructor’s
and pupil’s transmitters
are linked by a special
cable allowing the instructor
to decide by the position
of a switch on his transmitter
when the student has control
of the model. This eliminates
the need to pass a transmitter
between the two pilots,
making for a less stressful
environment and one which
is safer for the model.
Usually it’s necessary
to have an instructor who
flies the same mode as you
(see below), although a
few transmitters will allow
a ‘buddy box’
link between transmitters
of different modes.
Changing
instructors
In the full size world,
sometime students who become
stuck find that a change
of instructor works wonders
for morale and the rate
or progress. This isn’t
necessarily any kind of
criticism of the previous
instructor, instead it’s
more a question of student/instructor
compatibility.
The same issue can crop up just as easily when learning model flying, and it can show itself early on or after some time. A good clue that this may apply to your situation is if you still like RC models, but no longer look forward to flying lessons, feel stuck, or find that you’ve stopped making progress.
A good instructor will understand this issue, and should be receptive to the idea of a change. A great one will identify this issue before you do and may mention it first. If you think a change may be called for but are uncomfortable about bringing this issue up, that’s quite understandable. However, don’t ignore the issue - it can be quite impossible to make progress if this issue comes up. You could of course just propose a change for just a few lessons. If you find the new instructor/student combination works better for you, it’s then relatively easy to carry on with it.
This isn’t a personal issue, although some might see it as such. As an example, in my own full sized flying career I had a so called professional school actually suggest I give up flying due to my so called ‘lack of aptitude’. I knew differently and requested a change of instructor. The school’s management resisted, but as a paying customer I insisted and got my wish. With just a few further lessons I’d taken and passed a CAA combined instrument flight test – one of the most demanding flight tests in the world. And if that’s not an example of what I’m talking about, I don’t know what is!
Teaching
yourself
Learning to fly RC models
is a worthy challenge, and
definitely one which is
easier with the help of
an experienced expert. That
said there are a significant
proportion of pilots who
prefer to teach themselves
to fly RC models, so let’s
discuss this now.
Learning to fly RC models is probably not something to be undertaken alone unless there is absolutely no convenient alternative. It helps to be very determined and to be willing from the outset to repair models.
It’s perfectly possible to teach yourself, but you’ll need plenty of persistence and a willingness to learn the true lessons from each crash. Making excuses up won’t help you progress very far! You’ll also need to learn a bit about aerodynamics so you understand why aircraft (including models) behave as they do.
If you do want to go this route, perhaps because you don’t want to travel to a far away club, you’ll need to choose your model carefully. Model choice has already been covered and you’ll also have your own preferences to take into account.
<<< Back | Copyright © 2002-2013 Gibbs Guides. All Rights Reserved. | Top |