Warbirds - this is a branch of the RC family tree that is particularly unfriendly to beginners. So how on earth do you fly them? For me, when I started, I wanted nothing but to fly these scale models of historic combat aircraft but warbirds are heavy, they're technical to fly right and they come with a hefty price tag. Even when you get to be a little more experienced, warbirds can be intimidating, so here are some tips to overcome that. First, though, let's talk about what makes these planes so different.
Uniquely a Warbird
Warbirds can be heavy, fast and difficult to handle on the ground as well as the air. Take a Hanger 9 Hellcat for instance - its landing gear is pretty darn narrow. Just like the real thing, this makes landing an art that is difficult to master. It's something to bear in mind: you're going to have to learn to fly these things as if they were the big versions. Keep reading if you like the sound of this!
Thankfully, what with today's RC industry, companies like Horizon Hobby and FMS have pioneered some incredible models that are a dream to fly. SAFE technology, for instance, is a piece of kit that helps you fly E-Flite models like a pro. If you flew one of their SAFE equipped Mustangs, you could have it set bank limits and an altitude hold which makes it extremely difficult to crash. So it's clear that these days you shouldn't be too worried about the quirks of an RC warbird. Having said that, here's some advice to get you to take the controls in confidence.
You don't have to start big!
There are hundreds of different warbirds out there to choose from. Try starting out with something like a ParkZone Trojan. This is a plane that's angled towards beginners. You could go with something that has split flaps, a thousand different functions and LED lights, but these are all things that could distract you from simply flying the airplane. If you still want to go for a brand new shiny P-51 Mustang decked out in silver aluminum, try getting one with the inbuilt stabilization that we were talking about earlier.
It's all in the preparation
Make sure you assign your flaps and gear to easy to reach switches and dials on your transmitter. You might not be used to all of these features, so having them be easily accessible is a must. Go through each one of them on the ground to get familiar. Also, as with all RC planes, get your center of gravity (CG) right. Warbirds are particularly sensitive to this, especially if they're fighter aircraft. Try making it a little nose heavy relative to the recommended position on your first flight - it's always preferable to tail heavy. Taxi around on the ground for a bit too. This should help you get a feel for the aircraft without actually getting airborne.
Fly Fast and High
I see all too many pilots crashing their aircraft from simply flying too slowly. You want to avoid stalling your warbird in almost all situations, so keep the beans on and fly quickly! It may seem more natural to fly slower (then you won't crash as hard right?!) but this is simply a false sense of security. Fly fast and up two or three mistakes high. On your first flight, once you've become accustomed to flying circuits, find out what your stall speed is by throttling back at altitude. This should help you when it's time to land.
Practice Landing
Landing is a tricky business. To get a feel for how your plane is to land, practice your approaches. Firstly start by flying higher than you would over your runway, grass strip or wherever you'll be landing. Don't bother deploying your gear or your wheels at first, just get used to what sort of decent rate you're going to need. Next, add gear and a little of your flaps and bring the plane in. Don't worry if you're too high and you need to go around, you can always try again. Remember to add lots of power whilst you're going around, though, to avoid stalling. After a few landings, you'll become a natural at flairs, judging your distances and working the throttle.
Have you got any tips to add? Write a comment down below to help the community!
Article by James Whomsley
Editor of FliteTest.com
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I went onto the runway, sat down the plane and taxied walking behind it to get a feel for the rudder control and the ground speed. Staying behind the plane I turned it and did this 3 times up and down the runway. the 4th time down the runway I gave it enough throttle to do a very fast take off and watched from behind the plane to correct right or left and roll. My thought was I can see those flight characteristics better from behind. Before turning right I made my way to the pilot safety area to continue flying at 3 mistakes high. After 2 full passes around the field, I did practice landings but at 1 mistake high. Just imagine the runway is that high and see what you do. That was done 4 times and I learned pretty much what that plane need to make a good runway landing. The first full approach I had to do a go around but the final approach was good enough to get compliments from those watching. With full up elevator the plane taxied back to the safety area, shut down and the battery recharged to go again. I did 3 more flights the same way as before and had good success. Now taking off from behind the safety fence and enjoying flying that warbird. The setup was as recommended by the manual and then tweaked to my own personal style of flying. My advice is keep it simple at first and practice landings first 1 mistake high. As said above find out about your plane 3 or 4 mistakes high, especially the stall speed. Hope maybe this helps to getting that warbird in the air and landing safely. Keep the cockpit up and the wheel side down.
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In transitioning from trainer to warbird, remember that the rudder is not used much with a warbird. So get used to flying almost exclusively with ailerons and elevator before moving to a warbird.
Flaps are awesome. I like half flaps for takeoff, full flaps for landing. It allows you to slowly cut throttle and slowly reduce altitude until you touch down, when you can cut throttle and flare back on the elevator.
If you have "safe" mode, don't become too reliant on it. Wean yourself from it. If you can't fly without safe mode, you aren't ready for a warbird.
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