^^^ Thought you were going to say he crashed his plane and now wants the simulator.

In my experience, it's nearly as cheap to get you private pilots license as to operate RC in any deeply involved manner. I did both.

Back in the late '80s I built an RC out of a partially finished kit I bought. It was a starter type with limited controls. My dad used to build them when he was a kid so he rebuilt one of his too. Unfortunately about the time we got them flight ready, they changed the rules and our radios were now illegal. There was no way at the time (in college) I could drop that sort of cash so it still sits.

One thing I did learn from a friend of Dad's who build amazing scale flying models of modern jets was a simple truism, and I still remember this....

"Every RC airplane or helicopter, whether you build it or buy it built, as a date written in it. On that date, it will hit a solid object with sufficient speed to wreck it. You'll never find the date so don't bother looking. It could be tomorrow, it could be a year after you die, but its there, and on that date you'll have a pile of parts. It's unavoidable and you just need to know that going in and accept it."

After watching YouTubes and going back and forth between trainer planes and gliders I was still trying to decide when my sister's friend showed me what his little drone could do and the pictures it can take (DJI Spark). For instance he said they can be programed to fly to GPS points to fly completely around the property line. I thought it might even be useful for inspecting roofs and gutters on my commercial buildings.
So I sort of changed my mind and have decided on a Mavic Air 2 which should be here next week. But thanks to all for your advice.

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:
As a beginner, I recommend starting out with a glider. It's cheap and you can transfer your radio to another plane when you're ready.

When my Dad retired he took up RC airplanes. He built everything he flew.

Based on his experience I would take benny's guidance. Dad's first plane was an over wing balsa wood glider with a .049 engine loaded with just enough fuel to get him up to altitude. Engine quits and you glide back. I did this a number of times (flying it back down).

Find a club - members will help and teach you. The first several times you can use a buddy radio; your radio connected to the instructor's radio - the instructor can take over if necessary.

Dad's glider crashed and was repaired many, many times. Dad ALWAYS took that glider out to the flying field (I think in case someone new showed up or he just wanted some glider fun).

Dad was a weight & balance engineer with Douglas/McDonnel-Douglas back in the day. When guys couldn't figure out why they were crashing all the time, they ended up visiting Dad.

I haven't ruled out the possibility of an RC plane in the future. I looked into flight simulators, which were recommended by some here, but they all seem to be Windows based and I don't have a Windows machine.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
I haven't ruled out the possibility of an RC plane in the future. I looked into flight simulators, which were recommended by some here, but they all seem to be Windows based and I don't have a Windows machine.

Even though drones are pretty easy to fly with the all the sensors and gyros that they have it would still help practice with a simulator. I know you said that you do not have a Windows machine however have you ever considered installing or enabling boot camp on your Mac and installing Windows ? You could even download a development copy of Windows 7 which will be good for only 180 days or so just to be used for testing. I used to do this with Windows Server 2008, etc. just to make myself familiar with it, etc. Just a thought. God Bless

I think I'll just start with it in beginner mode and learn out in a field. I flew my sister's friend's a little bit and it seemed easy enough. Famous last words!

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
I think I'll just start with it in beginner mode and learn out in a field. I flew my sister's friend's a little bit and it seemed easy enough. Famous last words!

Make sure you keep practicing with the drone coming towards you and making left and right turns, etc. Also practice when you lose orientation of the drone, etc. Have fun, enjoy and God Bless !!!

I love these YouTube videos! Josh and company have been at it for awhile tryin new things. This has to be my favorite:
https://youtu.be/r43zuFWtdaI

quote:

Originally posted by Phantom229:
I love these YouTube videos! Josh and company have been at it for awhile tryin new things. This has to be my favorite:
https://youtu.be/r43zuFWtdaI

That’s actually pretty cool and much easier to fly than the traditional method. There are a lot of expert drone racers who can’t make a lap flying traditionally. When flying with goggles from the cockpit view left is always left and right is always right.