Newcomers
Box 40, St. Peters MO 63376
Timing is everything!
The pass and the receiver, the bat and the ball, the club and the golf ball, and the iron shot and the release—all have to be in sync to achieve success in sports. It's much the same way in aeromodeling.
That can't come as a surprise to you, even if you haven't flown your first model yet. Once you have, the importance becomes crystal clear.
The problem for many newcomers is that a day of observing at the flying site makes the process seem deceptively simple. It's not!
The analogy I've often used is that aeromodeling is like roller-skating on ball bearings. The model has several dimensions it can move in, and wants to move in all at once. Coupled with that problem, because of a lack of experience, your brain may not perceive the fact that you are in trouble.
If the brain does perceive trouble, it often responds by sending conflicting, ill-conceived, late responses. These responses more often than not become increasingly wilder as the problem becomes more acute.
There's a strange dichotomy that exists with the newcomer's age. Young fliers often have an edge as learners. Better eyesight may be a factor, but more often it's superior reflexes that allow young fliers to respond more effectively.
Oddly enough, one aspect of society sometimes removes that edge. Skills with video games and experience with joysticks often lead young modelers to become "stick floppers" in Radio Control (RC) or Control Line (CL). It's often so much easier to lead the adult (particularly the older adult) to exercise smaller, more-gentle movement.
Whether you are using a simulator or flying "real time" it's not hard to show the newcomer that as his or her control movements become more wild and more extreme, the model will become less responsive and less predictable. With an RC unit, the radio link and servo movements just can't keep up at some point.
Small movements that are applied smoothly and evenly are an important key to the game.
Instructor and rapport
The voice and demeanor of the instructor are very important ingredients in the equation. It's much like an air-traffic controller—panics breed panics! A quiet, well-modulated tone is important, as are smooth, gentle movements when helping the student.
The instructor really has to study the student. In the early stages, rapport must be developed between the instructor and the student; the instructor must initiate that bond.
A number of issues factor in: Is it possible to joke with the student, or is there a tenseness or serious demeanor that must be handled differently? Does too much talk rattle the learner? It may be necessary to adjust the instructor's vocabulary. This is particularly true with the jargon associated with the hobby.
A degree of timing is helpful as to when the instruction takes place. Morning is often a better time; the instructor and student are fresh, and they aren't carrying the burdens of the "business wars." However, this is often not an option for a variety of reasons.
The wind factor is better in the morning in most locales. Calm or light breezes give way to stronger winds later in the day.
During the summer months, the heat generated after midday can become a wearing factor for the model and the modeler.
It's possible that evening may be a good time as well, but watch for the "failing light" syndrome! It's easy to stretch the session to the point where it is difficult to retain orientation with the model—especially as the model drops below the horizon or the treeline on landing approach.
Flight length and number
Another timing question concerns how long you should keep flying, in individual flight length and in the number of flights. There must be attention paid not only to physical and emotional stamina, but to the aspect of how much the person can absorb.
If the individual flight extends beyond eight to ten minutes in RC, the student often finds that he or she is exhausted after very few flights, and is repeating the same mistakes. Shorter flights with a rest and instructor critique can be more productive.
In CL, the flight is generally governed by the fuel capacity. Three or four minutes per flight is a good limit, particularly early in the training. This is because of the physical factor of learning how to cope with the dizziness often created with the aircraft and background movement, and the fact that there is an inability to fly "several mistakes" high (as in RC).
How many flights in a day? I foolishly taught myself to fly, so that wasn't a factory early on! How long you fly boils down to how long the model is still flyable. I feel that you should limit your flight time to 30–45 minutes of airtime in any one session. This is clearly an individual concern.
In regard to church sermons, my dad used to say, "The brain can only comprehend what the seat can endure!" There's a parallel thought here, though it isn't the "seat" that gets tired.
In RC, you have to consider the amount of time available with your battery pack. Watching the transmitter needle snuggle near the discharge end, or having doubts about how much is left in the flight pack is not conducive to good levels of concentration.
You never want to make that statement, "one last flight" become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Coordination and radio history
There are elements of timing to consider within the flight itself. In some ways, you might refer to certain aspects as "coordination."
When I was learning to fly RC in the 1960s, the majority of the radio equipment used reed banks. The function was controlled by a bank of metal strips (reeds) that formed a make-or-break contact. This contact caused the servo to move continuously to either end of its travel.
The only thing that would prevent the servo from moving to the extreme and staying there was to break the servo contact.
To provide a small movement, you had to toggle the stick (switch)—sort of flopping it quickly with your thumb. This required developing a rhythm that varied as you attempted to slowly down or speed up the model's response. The movement of the surface or function was not proportional to the stick movement.
The functions could not be performed simultaneously. If you needed to provide elevator and ailerons (or rudder) control to coordinate a turn or bank, it was necessary to alternate the functions.
What happened if your timing was faulty, and you tried to introduce two functions at the same time? Nothing! The receiver read this as no signal, and the function remained neutral.
Today, the radios fortunately provide proportional and simultaneous control—making the flight smoother and easier to control.
Timing in individual maneuvers
Is timing a matter in individual maneuvers as well? It certainly is!
During the takeoff, it is most important that the model is actually "flying" before you attempt to make it fly. What is being suggested is that the speed of the model be great enough that there is enough lift generated to allow the model to fly.
You may hear the phrase, "don't horse it off too soon!" This means do not push the model into attempting flight before it is ready to do so. You may be able to get it to stagger into the air, but the flight may be very brief as it stalls (and falls) to the ground. This is true for RC or CL.
There is an added factor with CL, since every circuit or lap consists of an upwind, downwind, and two crosswind segments. On the takeoff, you are obviously attempting to time the takeoff portion into the wind.
Once the CL model is in the air, you must develop a certain rhythm on each lap. The model will gain altitude on the upwind side, and lose altitude on the downwind side. This can be counteracted by using the elevator. But you must learn to lead or anticipate this response.
The RC model will have the same response, but the "lap" is generally much larger and the model is higher, so the control is not as critical.
More often than not with an RC model you will find it necessary to coordinate your turns (banks) by using a bit of up-elevator as the model is banked. There is a definite need to provide proper timing in that situation. The more extreme the bank, the more critical the timing.
If you allow the model to go into a very steep bank, the sudden application of up-elevator can have an adverse effect on the model. This is especially true if the elevator control is late. Therefore, it is often helpful to provide a small touch of up-elevator as you enter the bank rather than as an afterthought.
Landing timing
Another critical timing period occurs during landing. A smooth, controlled descent is preferable. In CL, you probably won't be controlling the engine speed or when the model stops, so your direction (upwind or downwind) is not easily controlled. Under adverse circumstances, to a degree, control is by "whipping" the model—lead the model by pulling it around the circle using the lines.
This is not control easily mastered early on; neither is backing up to maintain line tension when the model is upwind of you and passing the crosswind segment.
More likely than not, your instructor in RC will have you setting up to land while the engine is still running. Therefore, you have the ability to use not only the elevator to control the model, but the engine.
All too often you will see a modeler make the landing approach with the engine at idle and never touch the throttle, even though the model is struggling to maintain altitude in order to reach the runway. It's at that time that really bad things tend to happen!
The newcomer sees the model descending too quickly and the brain says, "Give it more up-elevator" in an effort to stretch the glide pattern. At some point the model stops flying, stalls, and hits hard.
If you're lucky, that moment occurs at the same instant the model touches down! Rarely are you that lucky!
In a normal approach, the last element of timing occurs with the "flare" that happens at touchdown. This is that little flick of up-elevator, allowing the model to touch down smoothly in a level or slightly nose-high state.
The timing of that maneuver is very critical, and depends on a variety of factors. These include the model design, wind speed, model speed, etc. Flare too soon, and your "landing" occurs in the air! Flare too late, and you replace the prop and bend the nose gear back to the original position.
Advanced timing considerations
There are many more elements of timing that you will need to consider as you pass from the absolute newcomer stage to more-advanced flight. These include:
- Keeping your first aileron roll from resulting in altitude loss by applying a "bump" of down-elevator.
- Determining the right time to apply rudder for the first stall turn.
Just remember to take it easy, listen to your instructor, and keep it high. Altitude is our friend!
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
