Ragland
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(Ragland's Technique) by Clarence Ragland ** Please note: To begin, stand off to the right side of your student, so that you can easily reach the elevator / ailerons stick with your right hand. Have your student place his right thumb on the top of the stick, and place your thumb and forefinger underneath his thumb. that way you can give him the feel of precise control movements and instantly feel his incorrect inputs just as quickly; demonstrate correct inputs at the same time. You can practice by teaching yourself, in essence, by 'teaching yourself how to fly again'. Explain (out loud) to yourself what control movements it takes to smoothly fly your own aircraft. For many flights you've flown by reflex and seldom given it much thought. Now, you have to verbally explain every stick movement to yourself and ultimately to your students. Practice holding the transmitter off to your left side, as if your student is holding the box. That way, you the instructor can get used to the off-set angle of the elevator / ailerons lever. Your first goal is to assure my student that the aircraft will fly smoothly on it's own. Then work at projecting confidence and calmness. With you thumb and forefinger always at the ready, to not only save the aircraft, but also give quick demonstrations of the needed corrections, crashing is literally impossible by the student. Slowly let the student take more and more control, in fact I never have to touch the transmitter any longer than 60 seconds (total) through out any students' entire learning career. Commands are repeated and spoken softly and calmly. such as: "left, Left, LEFT, then back to "neutral". (to carve a smooth turn) You may use the three second count technique for banking the wings. Such as:"left and hold for --1 thousand, 2 thousand, 3 thousand" then "neutral". If the stick is over too far, a 3 second count will indicate as much. (that is the plane will roll over in 3 seconds with the stick in an over controlled position). With the 3 second count, every student has a reference point to accurately judge the correct duration of deflection for the aileron control lever. I'm sure that over banking the has been a daunting problem many students often experience. (instructors also) Like everything else, to become a good instructor, it takes practice. When you really start to mass produce new R/C fliers, R/C flight instruction will become more fun than sport flying. From take off to landing, the CRRT method lets the instructor have instant access to the elevator / ailerons lever. (similar to dual control on full size aircraft) For landing approaches, have the student reduce throttle on the down wind leg and give a slight bank in the appropriate direction. Let the aircraft turn into the final approach practically by itself. Line the nose of the plane even with your shoulder at the 10 or 2 o'clock position. Instead of chopping the throttle adjust the sink rate with the throttle. All that's left for the pilot to do is keep the wings level and flair just before touch down. For take off drills, Assist the student on take-off and immediately take the box and land so they get another take-off. Within 5 minutes, he'll get in 10 take-offs. Get them to focus on a "target" at the end of the runway, and "drive" the plane towards that target. Do not focus on the plane! My motto being; "Perfect practice makes perfect!" Give this technique a try. When a beginner earns his wings in a matter of hours, they will be in a better position to become an instructor that much sooner. Obviously producing more pilots, with safe flying habits, the R/C hobby has a much better chance of growing; which will help ensure the survival of the R/C hobby for us all. Clarence C. Ragland SFA 60142 Want more info? Try these link http://www.amadistrictii.org/column/2004/2004-09 Column.pdf or http://www.runryder.com/helicopter/t190828p1/?p=1463695&highlight=pcinc#RR
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