Anyone know of any good field box plans??

On 7/24/2003 9:29 AM Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not so great) words of knowledge:

Check

Let me make you a suggestion. Start with a cardboard box.

When you are at the field you will see that the newbie's tend to try to bring their entire shop with them. The boxes they use can be huge (and heavy). If you look at the experience of the fliers and their boxes, I think you will find, in general, that the more experienced ones bring less, and have smaller boxes.

Most of the more experienced guys tend not to try to make anything more than very simple repairs at the field. You may even find that most do not have any kind of glue. You will also find that many boxes are highly customized. You will find yourself trying to figure out what else you can take out of your box and leave at home, as time goes on.

Take your time, design your own, and make it what you want it to be. There is no "wow factor" for having a big box. No one will look down at you if you start with a cardboard box, either.

JR

Here, Here!!!

P.

customized.

take five boards, assemble into box big enuf for fuel, 2 radios, and the starter of your choice (mine be chickenstick) use space of 2nd radio for expansion. all the experts seem to have this kind of box (if the wood is weathered and gray, a very experienced pilot)

on the othe hand, if you have gobs of money to thro away and want to look liek a real newbie, go to the hobby store and buy your own.

i used a 5 gallon bucket for my first 6 months

That Sounds like good advice. I Think I'll go with the cardboard box for a while. That way, no one will know I'm a newbie. (at least not until my plane leaves the runway:-)

You can always tell the more experienced fliers from the newbies. They're the ones asking the newbies for glue, asking to borrow a portable starter, or asking to try the $100 temperature gun. :)

ROFLMAO

In that case, do not forget to include a plastic trash bag in the box. :)

JR

Its more convenient to put the bag in the fuselage of your plane. Its right there when you need it most. :)

-Fritz

Jon

It helps a great deal, especially in being able to fly at yourself. It will not help much with landings.

The plane flies nice, slow, and gentle, and... to you, it will seem way to fast, overly sensitive and out of control the first couple of flights. :) Then, after a little stick time with an instructor, you will realize you actually have some input into where it is going.

LOL, don't let the adrenalin get too out of control, or let your legs shake too badly. The shaking is the giveaway of a beginner. Something you will never forget. I think most of us have a wonderful memory of our first flights. Oh, and don't get to far from a potty. Hehe.

Be sure to post your impressions after those first flights.

JR

I started flying in early March of 1992, soloed in the middle of April, '92. The reason I soloed so soon was due to the club instructor and because I borrowed a Dave Brown simulator and spent a couple of hours per night on it. I still had to learn how to land, but overall, the simulator greatly speeded up the learning curve for me. The mistake I made was thinking that I had a real handle of the hobby. Having a few planes experience "accelerated depreciation" in high speed contact with the ground cured me REAL QUICK. Once you are off the buddy box, you are officially dangerous! ;>) Good Luck Bill

A ten-dollar plastic cantilevered fishing tackle box works pretty well for spares and tools.

I've got one so old I've had to replace the hinges and latches.

Thing is, with plastic, no one can tell if it's new or old, they just know you're clever enough to borrow from one hobby to feed another.

Cheers, Fred McClellan the dash plumber at mindspring dot com

The simulator is worth at least one crash, maybe two. I have seen students solo their first day after several weeks practice on a simulator.

As to which one - I learned a great deal from a really bad simulator. At that time, I was flying a Blue Foamie electric, and my longest flight was about 20 seconds. After a couple weeks of simulator practice, I never had another problem (until I got a plane with landing gear).

I now practice with RealFlight; it has enough zoom options to make it possible to practice crosswind landings. I have bought two Great Planes kits based on their simulations (in the add-ons).

Why do I ramble on?? I want to say that any simulator is worth a great deal to a beginner. The only caveat; don't practice crashing. Make yourself try your damndest to land in the simulator, even if the cost of a crash is just a press of the space bar.

-- Mike Norton

Yeah, those are the folks who always borrow what they need from me. No glue, no spare wheel collars, no fuel tubing, dead starter, etc. Many don't even bring a meter to check their batteries. Most of the time, I even get back what they borrow :-)

Jim - AMA 501383

JR wrote: > Let me make you a suggestion. Start with a cardboard box. >