Aerobatic Tips    Better Aerobatics

------

Aerobatic Tips

[from the May-June 2001 newsletter]

by Dave Hargrove

Practice at a high enough altitude that if you get in trouble you have enough time to think about what to do. Too low equals no time.

You can also pull the throttle down to idle, this slows things down, in doing so this equals More Time.

One tip that was mentioned at the club meeting, while flying inverted try to remember to roll out rather than use an elevator control, rolling out takes less time to correct than looping. Try this for yourself, at altitude roll the airplane to inverted and then roll it upright, keeping a mental note of how long to roll up right. Then try the same only next time loop out again keeping note of how long that takes.

Also one tip mentioned at the meeting, if you get lost in the sun you can input spin control (move throttle to idle, up elevator, left or right rudder and ailerons) rudder and ailerons need to be moved in the same direction. Once you have regained sight of your plane return all to center position, apply some power and gentle up elevator to recover.

Most important tip is to practice safety at all times. Also get a spotter to help keep a look out for the other traffic.

Also it is not good practice to fly alone, things can and have happened. It all usually begins with "That will never happen to me."

Remember the dead line is the south edge of the runway, this line extends to infinity.

Hey have a great summer and safe times at the flying field.

to top

Better Aerobatics

[from the AMA National Newsletter, November 2001]

by Mark Immonen

Do you speak aerobatics? I love to talk aerobatics, but more importantly, I love to fly aerobatics. For me, happiness is a neatly flown knife edge snap with a flat spin to top it off! After flying Radio Control (RC) for 13 years now, I began thinking about what factors I’ve learned and applied along the way that have worked for me in a seemingly endless quest to fly better aerobatics.

Rather than explain how to perform an avalanche or a knife edge circle, I thought it would be useful to share a list of generic information that can help you fly better aerobatics. So let’s take a look at five subjects: engines and propellers, reading material, the three Ps, T.R.A.P.S., and computer radios.

Engines and propellers Having the right engine and prop combination is a great benefit when trying to learn even simple aerobatics. My second airplane was a Great Planes® Super Sportster 40 powered by an O.S. .40FP. I can vividly remember how difficult it was trying to fly a simple round loop. No matter how many times I seemed to try, they always came out egg shaped. Granted, technique is important even for a simple loop, like letting off the elevator a little when the model goes over the top, but what I didn’t realize then was that the plane was underpowered. It was losing too much airspeed (thrust) when called upon to do even a basic loop. If I had only put a .60-sized four-stroke in that model!

You want to have enough engine for great vertical in order to pull through those maneuvers that have the nose pointing skyward. I feel that four-stroke engines are so well-suited for not only aerobatics but sport flying as well because they generally provide for slower straight line speed while producing lots of thrust under load (like a vertical climb). Now certainly, two-stroke glow engines can give you wonderful aerobatic performance as well but one thing’s for certain: shoot for the high end of the suggested engine range for a given model so the performance is there when you need it.

The right prop for aerobatics is one with a diameter on the large end of the suggested range and a pitch that is roughly half of the diameter. For instance, a 16 x 8 prop has a diameter of 16 inches and a pitch of 8 inches. An excellent source for suggested props for a wide range of both two-stroke and four-stroke engines is the two pages detailing this information in each SIG catalog.

Beware of the suggested prop ranges listed in the instructions you get with many engines. In these instructions I’ve seen a number of bizarre recommendations for small-diameter, high-pitch props. As far as brands go, I highly recommend APC props. I’ve tested different brands of props side-by-side and have found that APCs are very efficient (high thrust) as a result of their unique blade shape.

Reading material If you want to fly good aerobatics, you’ve got to read and learn the proper technique. Try photocopying useful articles from RC magazines and storing them in a binder. Another tip is to buy old modeling magazines at swap shops and look them over for more articles. On occasion, I’ve even picked up free RC magazines at swap shops. You’ll be surprised at how many articles you’ll collect once you get started and it’s so convenient to have copies of them all in one place. RC Report magazine now has a great column on aerobatics so check it out if you haven’t already.

Next, look on the Internet. You’ll be amazed at what’s available online. I look for information on full scale aerobatics as well as models. Just keep clicking those Internet links and you’ll find some real interesting sites. Again, print the good stuff and put it in your binder.

Finally, look for books on the subject. One I highly recommend is Dave Patrick’s Radio Controlled Aerobatics for Everyone. Another is Flying Radio Controlled Aerobatics by Charles Allison and Andy Nicholls from the Radio Controlled Handbooks series.

The three Ps The three Ps stand for practice, practice, and more practice. As with most everything else in life, you’ve got to practice to improve. Try to make a point of setting aside some time for practice each trip you make to the field. I suggest you have an idea of what you want to practice before you begin flying for the day. You don’t want to make this work but a little structure to your practice time will speed the learning process. After all, when most of us first learned to fly RC we were on a structured practice schedule although we may not have thought of it that way. When you first try new maneuvers, make sure you’re an extra mistake high. It’s easy to get disoriented when you try something new and the airplane doesn’t come out the way you expect. Next try to string those new maneuvers together in a sequence. You’ll find a new level of difficulty when you try to perform those advanced maneuvers together in a sequence. To be really proficient you’ll want to practice those maneuvers with both stick movements; i.e. left snaps with left rudder and left ailerons as well as right snaps with right rudder and right aileron. Next, you’ll want to practice them with a left to right flight path and then a right to left flight path. And if that’s not enough, repeat all of that on windy days for even more practice.

T.R.A.P.S. T.R.A.P.S. is an acronym I made up that stands for Throttle, Repeatability, Accuracy, Placement, and Symmetry. Each of these are important elements of well-flown aerobatics.

Throttle management means you don’t push the throttle stick to full blast after takeoff and drop it back to idle only when you are ready to land. It means you continually regulate the throttle position to strive for a relatively constant speed through maneuvers like loops and Cuban 8s and that you slow the airplane down when flying straight line in between maneuvers. This again is where four-strokes are at their best by allowing you to roll into the throttle as you enter a climbing maneuver rather than having to use momentum (speed) to get you through as is more true with two-strokes.

Repeatability means you can perform a maneuver each time you try (nearly each time is okay too) whether it’s with left or right stick movement, a left or right approach and on windy or calm days.

Accuracy is performing aerobatics the correct way. A model that veers left or right or doesn’t hesitate at each of the 90 degree points would not be performing an accurate four point roll.

Placement is locating a maneuver just where you want it and where it looks best from a spectator’s standpoint. Once you can fly a new maneuver consistently and safely you’ll want to think about placement. Many maneuvers, like an avalanche (loop with a snap on top), look best when performed front and center. The altitude you fly at will depend upon the maneuver being flown, your skill level, and safety considerations. A knife edge pass looks best when flown the length of the field so you need to roll into knife edge before reaching the field and roll out just past the other end of the field. If you want to perform a snap followed by a tumble then you want to do the snap early and the tumble late so that in combination, they are centered over the field.

Symmetry is when you see a mirror-like image between the first and second half of a maneuver. The looping portions of a Cuban 8 should be of equal diameter and the 45-degree lines connecting each loop should be symmetrical as well. In short, both halves should scribe identical patterns in the sky.

Computer radios Finally, computer radios are a terrific aid to aerobatics but in my opinion, they won’t make it any easier to initially learn to fly complex maneuvers. If you can’t fly knife edge then you wont know what percentage of rudder-to-aileron mix or rudder-to-elevator mix to program in or even know if those mixes are needed. You’ll want to learn to fly knife edge manually and learn how to apply those aileron and elevator corrections yourself. After that, you will realize how you can make this maneuver a little easier to fly accurately by mixing out those unwanted side effects.

This isn’t to say one cannot make immediate use of some of the nice features of computer radios like storing set-ups for multiple models or using the end point adjustment feature but don’t buy one thinking you’ll learn aerobatics quicker. That takes practice.

I hope these ideas help you with your aerobatic endeavors and keep in mind that enjoyment is the primary goal of this great hobby. See you at the field!

to top