New twist to the hobby

Don't give up trying.

I have glaucoma (pertially sighted in one eye) and am developing cataracts. I can only manage slow flyers and the smaller the plane the more difficult I find it.

I have smashed countless park flyers now because I have been disorientated and have to fly them not too high so I have little room for error.

All my models so far are electricker and I cheat. They have self levelling, I can flick a switch and they will resume level flight if high enough. My newer ones will return to home.

I have seen a few of these with 049 engines and they are floaters and quite tough. One in particular because I supplied the engine. A Cox Medallion with the Hiscott RC silencer. (one of the few Cox engines that passes the noise test at the field). I believe he used a 6x2 prop on it to keep the speed down.

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=3030

Don't do as I did and start with warbirds - keep it simple but pick a colour scheme that makes the model more visible and shows its orientation.

Remember also that the small slow flyers don't like wind. I usually fly early morning when it is calm but often the wind wakes up and I find that the plane is going further downwind and I can't bring it back. So I have to land it at some distance and that isn't easy to judge.

I can’t really relate, but going slower as mentioned above seems to be the ticket. Go see the doc and you may be surprised.

I have had prescription glasses for several years. I have just been stubbornly avoiding wearing them. I think if I want to get back into 1/2a flying I just need a new prescription and to actually wear the damn things. I will be reliving a big part of my youth by flying Cox engined planes while letting go of a part of my youth by admitting I really do need glasses to fly. I think the fun of flying the small planes will greatly out weigh the bruise to my ego.

Get prescription sunglasses for flying. It's just like being 30 again! Until you have to fill the tank or fiddle with the prop nut. Then you gotta take 'em off and get the other glasses out. The facade is busted.

Hey, Bob,
I agree with Dave on that. If the glasses are really working, you will wear them. That's what they say about kids, and it's just as true for adults too.

I wear transition lenses that darken in the sun as long as you're not behind a UV blocking window like a car windshield... I was disappointed about that. And those don't get dark enough for looking at the sky. Especially your scorching summer Florida sky, the brightest I have ever seen. So I also bought some very dark scrip glasses for driving and outdoor use at the field and beach.

If you ever fly C/L Stunt, remember, when you are forced to fly through the sun, close one eye while you're in the middle of it. That way one eye won't have to readjust before you can see your plane again.

Get glasses. And write flight reports for us. I've fallen down on my job as a Forum storyteller. I do miss that.
Rusty

Yea get ur eyes checked , has time i went in (not long ago) i was having trouble seeing with my contacts , and come to find out my eyes had gotten better , i am nearsighted so need reading glasses . Yeck i got a new life from that visit . On the plane yes slow and med size floater , when i was learning to fly at one time (a long time ago ) i had to recover a planes wing on one side and didn't have the match color so i went with a orange instead of white and i could see alot better weather the plane was coming or going and which side was banking , that seem to bee my main problem that and fling at me LF / RT Duh

Friends! ... I started using glasses after my 40 years, now I wear multifocals for short, medium and long distance, in turn, I can add sunglasses to the same lens and the result is really very good.
I want to give you some advice that, I would like to see you personally, because without wind and windy, this model is great and very safe.
This is the AMA PT (Frank Ehling         ), which I converted into RC, you must take the wing to an incidence of 1.2 degrees positive and zero degree for the stabilizer, place 20 mm of dihedral and place ailerons and I assure you that you will have an incredibly safe model , agile, acrobatic and docile ... create me is an incredible model .... hopefully assemble one, put on your new glasses and you will surely enjoy it like me.
Fact: If you extend the plane to .010 or .020 you should make a wingspan of 630 mm.
If you want to extend the plane to .049 or .051 you should make a wingspan of 780 to 800 mm.

These are my current glasses:




Here the plane:
https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=5720
Here is my construction video: Cox .010 and Cox .020 (r / c)

Flight video: