ABOUT US

About the Flight School

Greetings! Here's some background information about myself and the
2nd R/C Flight School.

It all began with control line model airplanes over 45 years ago. I bought my
first R/C airplane in 1981, while living in Amarillo, Texas. The "learn to fly"
technology was not as advanced as it is today. The instructor passed the
transmitter back and forth, and to make matters worse, it was really windy
in the Texas Panhandle!

Retirement came in 2001, and in January 2003 I decided
it was time to get back into "flying". I joined a local R/C
club in North Little Rock, Arkansas and "learned" all over
again from a former customer, who turned out to be a great
instructor! I soloed very quickly because we trained every week
day for two weeks! Thanks to a mild winter, I was able to fly
almost every day, for the next 18 months. During that time
I trained and soloed several students.

Several club members encouraged me to start an "R/C Flight School" in
November, 2004, and with their help and support it came to be in early 2005.
The first class was held in May 2005.

The most effective training methods and aids, in my opinion, have been
incorporated into the flight school. They are: 1) David Scott's One Week
to Solo manual 2) Clarence Ragland's Technique. 3) FMA's Co-Pilot,
4) Hobbico's NexStar Trainer 5) the JR XP9303 2.4 6) the "buddy box"
and 7) Exclusive private field!

Here's how the flight school uses the some of the training aids:

David Scott's One Week to Solo manuals have tremendous diagrams, so they
are used during class to help to place emphasis on positioning and the student
is given evening reading assignments for preparation for the next days lessons.

Clarence Ragland's Tactile Technique may be used during early training,
so that the student can actually feel how, when, why and how much to move
the control stick. This technique cuts "hours" off a student’s initial learning
curve. I have found this technique to be far superior that the buddy box
trial and error method. The instructor is able to “save” a plane during takeoff
and landing, something also impossible to do with a buddy box. (Note: the
buddy box is used after RT, to improve student confidence.

FMA's Co-Pilot is also used early in the course. The Co-Pilot allows a student
to correct his own mistakes, thus providing a stronger learning experience.
During the early stages of training, the Co-Pilot’s assistance is “high” and as
the student becomes more comfortable the sensitivity is reduced and finally
discontinued. The majority of experienced r/c pilots dislike the FMA Co-Pilot,
because it makes the sticks “feel” strange. Note: the Co-Pilot uses infrared
beams to find the horizon and not ambient light used by Futaba's AFS.

The Hobbico NexStar ARF. Again, the majority of experienced r/c pilots
dislike the NexStar with training flaps and wing droops, because it makes
the plane fly “differently”. However, with training flaps and droops, the
plane trimmed at 1/3 throttle flies very nicely for a student. The “training
equipment” is designed to make the plane fly slow and stable. Instructors
must realize that trainer aircraft are supposed to feel and fly differently for
them, that's why it's called stable. The best example is a bicycle with training
wheels, it's only awkward for the experienced rider!

The JR XP 9303 makes using the buddy box a breeze! The instructor can
transfer all controls to the student, or one surface at a time. For example
the instructor frequently keeps control of the throttle while the student uses
only the ailerons and elevator controls. Once mastered then more control is
transferred to the student, a little at a time.

The bottom line: the combination of all the training techniques removes the
“panic” and frustration associated with mistakes and allows quicker learning
with much less stress for the student!

The 2nd R/C Flight School is about quality flight instruction and not about
how many students we have trained! Thus far our oldest pilot has been 85 and
youngest at 9! We have had students from the East and West coast, as well
as from Canada!