As anyone who has used PPjoy will testify it is a neat piece of software developed by
Deon van der Westhuysen
PPJoy was designed for joysticks connected to the parallel port but it also supports other devices via the virtual joystick interface.
So why am I telling you this as if you have used or are using PPjoy you will know all about this?
Deon has spent months developing PPjoy and thousand of people around the globe are using it day after day.
But he has now decided to stop supporting it as for all of his hard work he has received a few postcards,a couple of small donations and thank you emails have been very few indeed.
When I first got my first rc helicopter in January 2006 I decided to download and install FMS along with PPjoy to enable my transmitter to work with the FMS flight simulator, but as I have a laptop I didn’t have the necessary port connection so I learnt to fly my rc helicopter without it.
When I heard about Deon decision to stop supporting PPjoy I emailed him and told him that even though I do not use PPjoy I thanked him for creating it, his reply was very sad to read.
So please could you do Deon a favour and at least send him a postcard of your hometown or better still a small donation just to say thank you.
His contact details are:-
Deon van der Westhuysen
6 Keurboom Crescent
Plattekloof
7500
Republic of South Africa
Email:-
ppjoy@inbox.lv
Below is his web site:-
http://www.geocities.com/deonvdw/Docs/PPJoyMain.htm
Thank you very much.
Or you can just email him with a thank you letter, please do not ask him for support as he will not reply and I don’t blame him at all.
If I was a complete and utter beginner without any knowledge at all of RC Helicopters all I would need is a helicopter and the heliguy.com forums as there I would find every answer to any question I would have regarding learning to fly.
Apart from that Heliguy.com sells a hugh selection of RC helicopter plus spares!
The one thing I wouldn’t have is the thing that I would need most of all to fly the helicopter safety and confidently without having to think about what I am doing - this thing is 100% free but seems very elusive and unobtainable to beginners.
Humans, being what they are all have preconceptions about things in life we perceive things differently to other people depending on what angle of perspective we look at anything new, so it is with RC Helicopters we may start by watching a 12 year old in the park flying one or watch a video on the internet showing a Helicopter performing 3D stunts and on both occasions we perceive it to be easy because we are older than that 12 year old and we automatically assume we to can do it, and sitting back in a comfy chair watching a video also gives us the false impression that we too can easily do that.
Why do we think that way - we don’t think we can safety setup and launch a IBM or fly a real helicopter and yet we think we can do the same with a RC helicopter?
The answer can be found in our misperceived notion that RC Helicopters are toys and as toys cannot, by definition be hard to learn - this is the beginning of our downfall and the end of what I allured to earlier on Patience! - yes that is all that I would need apart from the Heliguy forums, its no use posting questions galore if you haven’t the patience to sit down and learn what your transmitter does or without looking in the manual - or simply pull out your Helicopter from its box and connect the battery up while thinking of that 12 years old or that video as believe me it will not ever work simply because whoever has inspired you has had that experience and they are reaping what they have sown - as you have not sown anything you can’t expect to reap anything you need practice and gain experience and you cannot obtain one without the other - so forget about this flying straight out of the box that perception of flying will keep you grounded.
It may sound hard and too much of a learning curve but in reality being human, is what we are and learning is what we do everyday of our lives.
Learn all about your transmitter and your helicopter and then take it step by step and soon you’ll perceive the world and learn what that 12 years old boy knew all along - patience and practice is all you need.
Things have to be practiced to be mastered.
Good luck not needed only practice.
