Modeling Spoken Here
Bob Hunt, Aeromodeling Editor
It’s April 13th here in eastern Pennsylvania as I write this column, and the weather has just "broken." Winter has finally thrown in the proverbial towel and we are in line for much more fair weather than foul in the foreseeable future. Spring has sprung.
I can hardly wait to see the line at the frequency board at the local RC aerodrome this weekend. The weather is supposed to be perfect. Wind speeds are forecast to be minimal to nothing at all, and the skies are going to be blue and clear. Like I said, perfect. Or is it?
Is great weather really perfect flying weather? If your criteria is simply to steer your airplane effortlessly around the sky with no bumps or bruises, then, okay — according to your definition, perfect conditions are perfect for flying. However, if you enjoy trying to fly well in spite of crummy conditions, then perfect weather is just not challenging enough for you.
Let’s be honest: we all enjoy flying our models when the transmitter (or handle) inputs we give yield gorgeous results in the sky. It makes us look as though we are really accomplished pilots. If there are no conflicting air currents aloft, our models generally respond as if they are flying on rails. But I wonder if we’d sooner or later get bored if every flying day were blessed with such docile conditions.
As a competition aerobatic pilot I know that practicing only on perfect days will not make me ready for the conditions that are usually present when my name is called to put it on the line in front of the judges. If I haven’t practiced in wind and turbulence, I will not be able to display my best flight on demand in such conditions at a contest.
Most of the really good competition pilots I know arrive at the Nats, or other large contest, days in advance to practice on the site and get to know the varying conditions intimately. Invariably one day during this process tests the courage of even the most gifted pilots — a day when it is probably more prudent to leave the model in the car or van and go to a local eatery for some spirited hangar flying. This is when pilots find out if they are really ready to win. I like to call this day the "crucible."
If pilots can gird themselves to fly in the face of a big wind and force their models to go exactly where they want them to go — and ignore the fear that is trying to take over their consciousness — then when the wind subsides even a little, they will feel almost invincible. Nothing else encountered that week will faze them in the least. The confidence boost gained by going through the crucible unscathed is amazing.
The reason for the confidence boost is more than bravado. It stems from stretching your own abilities and making yourself learn something that is outside your comfort zone. If you fly only in calm, perfect weather, that’s what you have defined yourself as: a fair-weather pilot.
I’m not suggesting that everyone reading this column should go out and fly in a veritable hurricane right now, but rather that you evaluate your flying skills and then push the envelope, carefully, a bit at a time. If you have only flown up to this point in dead-calm conditions, pick a day when the winds are between 5 and 10 mph and learn completely how your model responds before venturing aloft in stouter conditions.
It’s important, too, to learn to fly in crosswind and turbulent conditions. Turbulence is much different from straight wind. It is wind that has been passed through something that deflects it into roils of conflicting currents — and no two currents are ever alike! Flying in turbulence is more a test of your reflexes than your courage.
If, for example, the prevailing winds at your field are straight down the runway and are coming in from across an open meadow, there will not be too much turbulence.
Do you have some turbulence you want to pass my way or something you want to breeze by me? I can be reached at (610) 614-1747 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
