Butterflies

[johnhay73]

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to fly an RC plane. I recently took the plunge and bought a RTF parkflyer (a T-Hawk). After two days of flying I am still feeling a great deal of nervousness/anxiety when I fly. It is just barely balanced by the excitement/exileration of the flights (which I keep short and simple).

I imagine that this feeling must be shared by all beginers. I would like to ask any individuals how long it took them for the bulk of their anxiety to to go away? Is it just a matter of practice and mastering the skills?

Thanks,

John

[Reformed Nitroaddict]

John - I don't think that feeling ever goes away completely.

To give you an example - I went flying this weekend with my Formosa pattern plane. I feel that I am pretty acomplished with this aircraft and feel very confident. Got it up in the air for the first time with a busy field. I was one of about 8 planes in the air at one time, and was the only electric. Everyone else was 60-90 size gas and glow planes. While dodging and still trying to show off a bit, my knees were literally knocking the entire time. But......It was fantastic.

To answer your question, as your skills build and you feel more 'in your environment' you will see your confidence grow and you will become much more comfortable....but there is always that slight nervousness when flying - ecspecially something new or fast. And that is one of my favorite parts of flying.

[Geoff_Gino]

Hi Johnhay73

I am Geoff and live and fly in South Africa. Started flying in April this year on a 40 trainer with a 50 SK motor. It is everything you say. Personally I think the biggest fear for any new pilot is the fear of flying low rather than landing, let's face it your approach to land takes you low and landing is a matter of coming off the gas at the right time and getting the flare right. I went solo in three weeks and immediately started flying as low and as slow as I could and found my confidence building to the point where I can fly my trainer into the wind (+/- 20 mph) directly in front of me so that it is stationary about 30 feet off the runway. Needless to say my fear flying low has not gone, it keep me awake.

Geoff

[Gullwing]

I have been flying for about 6 months now. Taught myself(don't recommend). I have had hours of sim. time with G2 and G3. I still get nervous everytime I fly. Went out Sunday to fly my Corsair(flow several times) and like Nitro said my legs where shaking the whole time. I think is it just as much the rush as the nervousness. The first time a flew it I was shaking so much I had a hard time controling the plane. Remember this, you will crash at some point in time, everybody does. Don't dwell on it. The thing is it will get easier. Relax and have fun................

[Reformed Nitroaddict]

Gullwing - isn't that shakey felling amazing? Never done anything else that made me feel that way. Nice sig by the way.

[FlynKeoni]

Ive been meaning to fly RC plane for a long time as well, I just barely took that step and bought a trainer a HobbyZone Aerobird , took it out for the 1st time last week and after a couple of gravity induced aerobatics (crash) I got it in the air and flying stable, learned how to fly and turn now if landing was easy. With all the anxiety and knee shaking Im excited to fly again.

[Gullwing]

Nitro,
Yeah the sig just came to me, I fly belly-landers so I tend to come in pretty hot and the landings are not pretty sometimes.:D As far as the feeling, I know it is something I have never experenced it before, I think that is why I am so hooked on the whole RC thing. Man before this it would take a pry-bar to get me out of bed before 10 AM on the weekends, now I'm up before the sun just getting things together and waiting to the h!@# out of the house. I drive my wife and daughter crazy on the weekends. They want to sleep in but by the time I'm ready to go, I have woke them up so they tag along. Well I will be taking my P-51 up for the first time this weekend. Hope you don't see me in the crash forum.:D Happy flying..............Gullwing

[hexonxonx]

i have been flying for 4 years now and the past 2 seasons have been with the same style of plane,no butterflutters .i think im on my 4th or 5th one.but then a friend of mine bought an ? accepter badius? and wanted me to fly it, and then here came the butterflys,well it turns out the battery wasnt charged so we postponed.anyway i guess the b-flys never go away.

[johnhay73]

Thank you everyone for the replies!

It's nice to know that I am not the only one who gets shaky knees. I have become a little bit more at ease the last couple of days. I have been out practicing and pushing myself to do some hard turns, practicing stalls and recovery maneuvers (way up high, for safety). This has been increasing my confidence and reducing my anxiety somewhat. Also, I have had a few hard landings that have slightly damaged my foamy. I have subsequently repaired these to my satisfaction. Knowing that the mandatory crashing during the learning phase is not going to ground the plane for very long has also reduced my fears.

Thanks again. I look forward to more stories of how you deal with nerves. Does anybody do any special pre-flight mental preparation, like a kind of meditation?

John

[Reformed Nitroaddict]

John - as for pre-flight prep, I do more of a physical preperation that equates to being mental. After checking over all of my gear and making sure everything is correct and working properly, it makes me feel mentally more prepared for flight. Does that make any sense?

[johnhay73]

That makes perfect sense.

You know what's funny, I did a little bit of glider training many years ago and I can't remember being as nervous when I was in the cockpit over a thousand feet of the ground. It could just have been that I was younger and braver then.

John

[Geoff_Gino]

Hi Nitro

More than that, when I take off I always inform myself "self you are doing left hand circuits and need to go right to level off" after that the going gets easier.

Geoff

[Reformed Nitroaddict]

Good comments as well Gino

[hexonxonx]

my pre-flight consits of checking hinging and security of all moving parts,but also clearing my mind of daily burdens.then look out seagulls here i come.im lucky though.i live at a sailboat harbor and need to keep the seagulls off the docks.i dont get to close to em though,i dont have to.they scatter lickety split.also this morning a falcon flew over out of no where and followed me for awhile then banked off and disapeared.good times.

[Gullwing]

Pretty much the same as the others. I put my mind on the aircraft during preflight(never skip preflight) and I put my mind on the area I am about to fly in, and the area I am going to land in..................And oh yeah I have a lucky shirt...:D

[Geoff_Gino]

Hey Gullwing

Thought I was the only one - although mine is a baseball cap. Threw out my most comfortable cap when I crashed my 60 trainer (total write off)

Geoff:o

[jetts]

Been flying 16 years and it never goes away....but I don't call it "anxiety" any more, I call it "adrenaline"!

[mikerenz66]

Been flying for 2yrs and theres always butterflies. I got real nervous 4 months ago when I picked up a GP Cub, scrapped the stock power plant, and upgraded it to a brushless/lipo setup- first time doing this. Did my homework on selecting power systems. First maiden flight went without a problem. But man o man those butterflies:)

Yeah thats my avatar

Mike

Reading Pa

[stuff]

Johnhay73 It all starts in your mind.I started in 1963 and still get this feeling on the first flight at a new feild or competition.I always thought people were watching me and became nervous.Still happens but now I am used to it and if you were to turn around before crashing to look at your club members you would see that you are the only one interested in your flying skills.However if you want attention crash your plane and then everyone will be watching you. The older you get the less it bothers you. Stuff

[yufasa]

Those butterflies really come back when you take a plane up for the first time. (Especially something like my GeeBee 120:))
You spent hours making sure everything is perfect, but taking her up for the first time just makes the knees shake uncontrollably.
It is what makes this hobby the greatest!

[incomming]

what ever you do dont fly low and slow if the wind is behind you........ can result in tears..... Anyway, I have been flying of and on for about 16 years, I had soloed quikly and was flying and al of a sudden the plane was gone, i managed to land in a tree.... you know what though, it happens the next time out i had the hebe gebes in the gut, but i got over it, then i took a 6 year break from it and am just now back in it for a year, I never get nervious unles i am trying something new in the world of 3d which i am no good at but my fave thing to do is drag the rudder on the runway in a high alfa ( with my foamy) hi speed low passed with the nitros and or land anything, for some reason i get a rush out of landing no matter how they look.. a little off topic here whooops... anyway enjoy the hobbie and no mater what anyone tells you there is always that one plane or moment when you fly that you will get the butterflys. I am taking the sticks of a turbine aircraft this weekend and i am absolutly dreading it but await the opertunity to see what it feels like to hopefully get the feel off it and put the SM-F-15 on the deck at 190+

[John Seidelman]

I flew mine for the first time last weekend, (FireBird Scout) and there was just the slightest wind blowing. And did it give my knees the shakes. Flew it a couple of times and ran the bat down, and went home. No CRASHES.
I have flown gliders, Cessnas, and in the service I had some stick time on T-33s and A-3-D SkyWarrior twin Jet Bomber (all just play time while the pilot relaxed)
And like every one else, the shakes where there flying the model more than the big stuff.

[Doppelganger]

I've been flying for about 4 months. For some reason every now and then, my left thumb shakes so badly, I cant touch the throttle!:eek: But it only lasts for a few seconds. I think the nervouseness that we experience in the beginning is always there, It's just morphed into excitement and anxiety. For me, there is no better feeling than watching my Mofo (Formosa) ROG for the first flight of the day. When I fly, I am truely happy. :)

[Steve]

I just finished a GRide from Stevens Aero and a couple of weeks ago I took it up for a maiden flight. Went to an abandoned airstrip and was the only one there (I was thankful for that). Got it in the air and trimmed it out with a bit of difficulty because it's the first flat symmetrical winged plane I've ever flown. I also discovered that I had a battery that couldn't deliver enough power to my motor. Unfortunately I found this out while I was inverted about 40' off the ground when the motor cut out completely! It was 90F out and I swear my teeth were chattering. I nosed in and that was the end of that flight.

Picked up my Switchback which I've flown a lot and after that crash, I was freaking out....could hardly fly anything.

I guess that's the problem with balsa planes...you can't help think about the time and energy you've put into building them.

I can say that they have made me a better flyer, because I tend to pay a lot more attention to setting up a proper landing pattern and focusing on that process a lot more than I do with my Slow Stick!

Got a new motor for the Gride and a larger lipo. I hope to maiden tomorrow but I have company visiting and I find it hard to get any time to do anything:rolleyes:

[james aerni]

I've been flying for about 4 months. For some reason every now and then, my left thumb shakes so badly, I cant touch the throttle!:eek: But it only lasts for a few seconds. I think the nervouseness that we experience in the beginning is always there, It's just morphed into excitement and anxiety. For me, there is no better feeling than watching my Mofo (Formosa) ROG for the first flight of the day. When I fly, I am truely happy. :)

You know I'm dying with laughter ! ! ! But let me explain. I'm not laughing AT YOU but me because I haven't even flown my Aero Challenger yet and I'm 63 years old with only RC offroad experience some years back. I can envision being 100 ft. up and developing the onset of "Parkinsons Disease"......You guys are the best!
Jim Aerni

[Doppelganger]

Hey James,
It's actually funny as heck!:D It's like,Oh no! I can't keep my finger on the throttle!:eek: I might as well be picking my nose. Well actually, if my hand is still shaking thats an invitation to a nosebleed!:D

[singingperry]

The anxiety and nervousness gradually goes away by itself as successful experiences with flying occur and one day you'll be flying and realize the fear is gone. As you step up to bigger things the fear comes back until you get good experiences with it, I'm going through it now with 3D helis. I've crashed my heli barely getting off the ground several times. Now that its rebuilt I'm trying to get the courage to try again. With RTF planes and coax helis I have no fear at all.