A new engine-mount series from Merle Hyde
[eric.henderson@comcast.net]
Radio Control Aerobatics Eric Henderson
May 2006 99
Affordable new Hyde mounts. Type C (R) doesn’t require nose
ring; type CR does. Both are drilled for YS and O.S. engines.
O.S. 1.60 FX on customized beams C to bring engine 3/4 inch
farther back for a special installation.
Designed to be light, the mounting beams show strategically
positioned lightening holes.
FROM THE
creative and fertile
mind of Merle Hyde
is a series of new
Firm Idle mounts.
These include the
Hyde safety feature
that prevents them from pulling apart—a problem that is sometimes
encountered with soft mounts.
The “Firm Idle” feature addresses the need for engines to move
around less at low idle. It helps considerably where long header pipes
are being connected to tuned pipes and tube-type mufflers.
In the case of the O.S. fuel-injector engine, the manufacturer states
that a soft mount must not be used. (My O.S. 1.60 FIs have had no
fuel-injector failures since I converted to the firmer-style mount.)
The mount comes in two types: C and CR. The “R” indicates that
the mount should be used with a nose ring. The mounting beams are
made from aluminum and come in several standard configurations for
the C or the CR type of mount.
These mounts can be purchased as “standard,” already drilled and
tapped for the YS 1.20-1.70 and O.S. 1.40 engines. The beams may be
replaced for use with an O.S. 1.60 and many other engines that fall
within the 1.20-1.70 size range.
The new mounts are designed to give firm idle while significantly
reducing the vibration that is transferred to your airplane’s vital
control components such as the receiver and the servos. It also
helps to prevent the difficult-to-cure fuel-tank frothing action.
The standard configurations place the drive washer 63/8 inches
from the firewall. The mount was designed this way so modelers
could interchange all, or nearly all, of the 1.20-1.70 engines without
having to use spacers or reposition the firewall.
These mounts are available from Central Hobbies (www.central
hobbies.com) for $55-$65, depending on the type of mount you
choose. They should also appeal to those of us who fly 3-D and 25-
30% Scale Aerobatics models. The C mount is good for the
configurations where there is only a fiberglass cowl covering the
front of the fuselage and no easy way to install a fuselagesupported
nose-ring.
Items such as the soft mounts I have discussed are commonly used
on precision Aerobatics airplanes. To understand the appeal let’s
take a trip inside the mind of an RC Aerobatics pilot, often referred
to as a Pattern pilot.
There are three major categories of RC Aerobatics competition
pilots: precision Aerobatics, Senior Pattern Aerobatics, and Scale
Aerobatics. All do similar things in the air with radio-controlled
models, but their differences are defined by what set of rules they
are working with.
Scale Aerobatics pilots are primarily challenged with building
and flying airplanes that closely resemble their full-scale
equivalents. They are constrained by the shape of these aircraft but
are not really limited by size or weight, other than AMA
maximums.
For the most part Scale Aerobatics pilots are required to fly
accurate aerobatic maneuvers. One big challenge for this class is to
get scale-looking models to perform everything that is asked of
them without deviating too far from the abilities of their full-scale
counterparts.
Senior Pattern pilots have to work with rules associated with
airplane designs from a certain period in the past. They use designs
from a specific era and a list of allowed power systems.
Senior Pattern fliers also perform accurate and precise aerobatic
maneuvers. It could be said that their challenge is to get older RC
Also included in this column:
• Inside the mind of a Pattern pilot
100 MODEL AVIATION
aerobatic designs to fly as well as possible.
(See the article in this issue by Duane Wilson
about Vintage Radio Control Society and
Senior Pattern Association aerobatic events.)
Precision Aerobatics (F3A) pilots have no
real model-design restrictions but are
governed by a weight and size requirement.
The models must fit inside a virtual cube of 2
meters (785/8 inches), weigh less than 5
kilograms (11 pounds), and meet sound
restrictions, depending on what type of
competition is being flown.
By definition, precision pilots must also
fly accurate and precise aerobatic maneuvers
with their models. Their challenge is twofold.
They can respond to the “invitation” to design
an airplane that flies as perfectly as possible
and develop the skills to fly their models as
precisely as possible.
The preceding definitions are aimed at
illustrating the primary differences between
the classes. They are by no means meant to be
exhaustive or discriminatory. There is no
intent to value one class more than the other.
Now a bit about the phrase “There are no
real restrictions.” There are some overarching
AMA restrictions for all these types of
aerobatic airplanes. An example would be no
rocket or turbine power allowed. It is
common to find the same pilot competing in
two or even all three of the preceding
categories.
When a pilot is active in an RC Aerobatics
category, it can often approach “having
religion.” It is not that the pilots are against
the other forms of Aerobatics flying, RC or
otherwise; it is just that they like a certain
style of maneuvers and airplanes much more
than the others.
That puts us back on the path to the
journey inside the mind of a Pattern pilot.
Why does he or she like Pattern so much?
It is dangerous to generalize about
specifics, but two major aspects of the sport
draw in the typical mainstream Pattern
pilot: the challenge of meeting the rules of
design/technology and the task of proving
that the pilot and these designs fly well and
deliver in the F3A arena of competitive
flying.
The opportunity to design the perfect
model inside the cube of a 2-meter box is
hard to resist. Then to go out and prove to
judges and your peers that your design is
the best can almost become a narcotic to
the creative mind.
Pattern pilots tend to look at an airplane
from different viewpoints. The size is
considered. If it will fit inside the 2-meter
box, it could become a Pattern airplane!
They look at the fuselage area relative
to the CG and the relationship of the size of
the stabilizer to the wing. They are also
checking out the positions relative to the
thrustline of the engine. They are often
looking at any design issue that could
contribute to the goal of a perfect Pattern
design.
I have written many times that the big
“secret” of Pattern flying is that airplanes
are so much easier to fly. This is because
the get-it-to-fly-better designing has never
stopped. There is no requirement for a
Pattern model to look like a full-scale
airplane. Designs definitely go through
phases of fashion.
Things that have been “big” in the past
may not last. Things that change all the
time are speed requirements, vertical
performance, and wing size/chord/
planform. They have looked like fish,
whales, full-scale aircraft, etc. They have
had wide bodies, big/small/thin/fat wings,
long fuselages, anhedral tails, retracts, and
lately returned to fixed landing gear.
Power-plant rules have changed
considerably throughout the years.
Currently there is no size limit, but the
overall weight requirement corners pilots
into using 1.20-1.70 two- and four-stroke
glow engines. Electric-powered Pattern
models are winning and pushing the
boundaries of weight vs. performance
Composite-ARF’s Impact looks regular on the outside but is a radical design, with a
molded fiberglass skin lined with approximately 1/16 inch of foam.
The Oxai Pinnacle may be the pinnacle of 2-meter design. It’s
engineered inside and outside to fly true and accurate aerobatics.
This Quique Somenzini Yak-54 is brilliant at 3-D flying but
would need some design changes to win in Pattern competition.
The Pattern pilot will always be
looking for better, more powerful, lighter,
and even sometimes less expensive
equipment. Quite a few pilots are trying
the newer gas/ignition engines that have
recently arrived on the modeling scene.
They like the fact that the technology is
always changing, making them learn new
“stuff” and embrace new directions.
Pattern models can be expensive. It is
often thought that a Pattern pilot will
spend more on an airplane than the
average club member will. Maybe that is
not as true as it used to be.
There was once a large gap between
what you could build or buy as a Pattern
model. Perhaps there are differences in
technical excellence, but a long list of
ARF models has changed and reduced the
gap.
Pattern pilots know that high-end
radios are not really necessary and that a
four-channel radio and five servos would
fly most fixed-gear Pattern airplanes.
However, they are drawn to computer
radios by the extra tuning/trimming
capabilities, such as exponential on your
main controls and the ability to mix trim
for such niceties as rudder-to-aileron mix
for a more pure knife edge. Once you get
into computer radios, it is like Hi-Fi; you
have to have the best.
Let’s look inside your mind for a
moment and explore Pattern from a
different angle. Consider what the design
and flying challenges do for you or what
Pattern flying can do for you or even those
around you.
What does flying a maneuver teach
you? At first it will probably show you
how hard it is to do it or perhaps how bad
you are. Don’t be offended or give up
when that happens. Pattern pilots who
have practiced for years still can’t get
some maneuvers right, but they never stop
trying. It becomes a search of
excellence—similar to improving your
golf game.
Drawing a shape in the sky with an RCguided
airplane can be compared to trying
to draw a circle on the side of a building
with a giant Etch A Sketch. It takes a great
deal of coordination and mastery of wind,
gravity, power management, special
awareness, and any quirks your airplane
may possess.
There is always one maneuver that will
be your nemesis until the day you become
its master. At one time I stood in awe of a
certain maneuver. I began to practice and
practice it, almost to the detriment of
others. I am still not great at it, but it gives
me more satisfaction to complete a single
Rolling Loop than to win a contest or a
district championship.
The skill challenge often extends
beyond flying. You become great at
putting a model together. Then you
become skilled at trimming your airplane
for the best flight performance. Then you
get really good at keeping your engines
running well. You can’t do good
aerobatics with an out-of-tune power
plant.
Although there is no competition
reward for meeting the size and weight
limits, it gives you a wonderful outlet for
your inventiveness and irrepressible
human creativity. You develop a lot of
product knowledge and become highly
selective in your equipment choices.
Perhaps flying precisely will become a
stepping-stone to other disciplines. I took
up Pattern to learn to fly smoothly, master
the rudder, and land with more precision
for a possible journey into Scale
competitions.
Competing is not for everyone. I know
of a contingent of pilots who buy buildand-
fly Pattern airplanes strictly for the
fun of it. They like the way the models fly
and they like building them, but they
prefer not to compete with them.
However, most of us who are the
creature known as man tend to be
competitive by nature. What does
competing do for you? Ever since there
were two cars, they were raced. Come to
think of it, when there were two airplanes
they raced them as well.
Soon after the airplanes gained
aerobatic capabilities, people tried to see
who could do the best loop; judged
aerobatics was born. One day it was
handed down to RC model flying, and here
we are!
Competing in RC Aerobatics engages a
whole set of character-building lessons.
They can be likened to those you get from
any sport. In our sport there is a huge and
wonderful age range, diversity of
backgrounds, and no need to be a
marathon runner.
Striving for excellence, taking a
beating and bouncing back, working hard,
and improving help you grow as a person.
The competition circuit develops great
camaraderie. It gets you out of your
comfort zone and takes you sightseeing
around your district, the nation, or even
the world.
Finally you finish up as one heck of a
good pilot. You could find yourself in
demand at your local club for such things
as engine support, flying advice, and testflying
airplanes. A side effect, more often
than not, is that you end up being elected
to club office, so watch out before you try
precision Aerobatics; you may end up
being the president of AMA. Ask
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/05
Page Numbers: 99,100,101
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/05
Page Numbers: 99,100,101
A new engine-mount series from Merle Hyde
[eric.henderson@comcast.net]
Radio Control Aerobatics Eric Henderson
May 2006 99
Affordable new Hyde mounts. Type C (R) doesn’t require nose
ring; type CR does. Both are drilled for YS and O.S. engines.
O.S. 1.60 FX on customized beams C to bring engine 3/4 inch
farther back for a special installation.
Designed to be light, the mounting beams show strategically
positioned lightening holes.
FROM THE
creative and fertile
mind of Merle Hyde
is a series of new
Firm Idle mounts.
These include the
Hyde safety feature
that prevents them from pulling apart—a problem that is sometimes
encountered with soft mounts.
The “Firm Idle” feature addresses the need for engines to move
around less at low idle. It helps considerably where long header pipes
are being connected to tuned pipes and tube-type mufflers.
In the case of the O.S. fuel-injector engine, the manufacturer states
that a soft mount must not be used. (My O.S. 1.60 FIs have had no
fuel-injector failures since I converted to the firmer-style mount.)
The mount comes in two types: C and CR. The “R” indicates that
the mount should be used with a nose ring. The mounting beams are
made from aluminum and come in several standard configurations for
the C or the CR type of mount.
These mounts can be purchased as “standard,” already drilled and
tapped for the YS 1.20-1.70 and O.S. 1.40 engines. The beams may be
replaced for use with an O.S. 1.60 and many other engines that fall
within the 1.20-1.70 size range.
The new mounts are designed to give firm idle while significantly
reducing the vibration that is transferred to your airplane’s vital
control components such as the receiver and the servos. It also
helps to prevent the difficult-to-cure fuel-tank frothing action.
The standard configurations place the drive washer 63/8 inches
from the firewall. The mount was designed this way so modelers
could interchange all, or nearly all, of the 1.20-1.70 engines without
having to use spacers or reposition the firewall.
These mounts are available from Central Hobbies (www.central
hobbies.com) for $55-$65, depending on the type of mount you
choose. They should also appeal to those of us who fly 3-D and 25-
30% Scale Aerobatics models. The C mount is good for the
configurations where there is only a fiberglass cowl covering the
front of the fuselage and no easy way to install a fuselagesupported
nose-ring.
Items such as the soft mounts I have discussed are commonly used
on precision Aerobatics airplanes. To understand the appeal let’s
take a trip inside the mind of an RC Aerobatics pilot, often referred
to as a Pattern pilot.
There are three major categories of RC Aerobatics competition
pilots: precision Aerobatics, Senior Pattern Aerobatics, and Scale
Aerobatics. All do similar things in the air with radio-controlled
models, but their differences are defined by what set of rules they
are working with.
Scale Aerobatics pilots are primarily challenged with building
and flying airplanes that closely resemble their full-scale
equivalents. They are constrained by the shape of these aircraft but
are not really limited by size or weight, other than AMA
maximums.
For the most part Scale Aerobatics pilots are required to fly
accurate aerobatic maneuvers. One big challenge for this class is to
get scale-looking models to perform everything that is asked of
them without deviating too far from the abilities of their full-scale
counterparts.
Senior Pattern pilots have to work with rules associated with
airplane designs from a certain period in the past. They use designs
from a specific era and a list of allowed power systems.
Senior Pattern fliers also perform accurate and precise aerobatic
maneuvers. It could be said that their challenge is to get older RC
Also included in this column:
• Inside the mind of a Pattern pilot
100 MODEL AVIATION
aerobatic designs to fly as well as possible.
(See the article in this issue by Duane Wilson
about Vintage Radio Control Society and
Senior Pattern Association aerobatic events.)
Precision Aerobatics (F3A) pilots have no
real model-design restrictions but are
governed by a weight and size requirement.
The models must fit inside a virtual cube of 2
meters (785/8 inches), weigh less than 5
kilograms (11 pounds), and meet sound
restrictions, depending on what type of
competition is being flown.
By definition, precision pilots must also
fly accurate and precise aerobatic maneuvers
with their models. Their challenge is twofold.
They can respond to the “invitation” to design
an airplane that flies as perfectly as possible
and develop the skills to fly their models as
precisely as possible.
The preceding definitions are aimed at
illustrating the primary differences between
the classes. They are by no means meant to be
exhaustive or discriminatory. There is no
intent to value one class more than the other.
Now a bit about the phrase “There are no
real restrictions.” There are some overarching
AMA restrictions for all these types of
aerobatic airplanes. An example would be no
rocket or turbine power allowed. It is
common to find the same pilot competing in
two or even all three of the preceding
categories.
When a pilot is active in an RC Aerobatics
category, it can often approach “having
religion.” It is not that the pilots are against
the other forms of Aerobatics flying, RC or
otherwise; it is just that they like a certain
style of maneuvers and airplanes much more
than the others.
That puts us back on the path to the
journey inside the mind of a Pattern pilot.
Why does he or she like Pattern so much?
It is dangerous to generalize about
specifics, but two major aspects of the sport
draw in the typical mainstream Pattern
pilot: the challenge of meeting the rules of
design/technology and the task of proving
that the pilot and these designs fly well and
deliver in the F3A arena of competitive
flying.
The opportunity to design the perfect
model inside the cube of a 2-meter box is
hard to resist. Then to go out and prove to
judges and your peers that your design is
the best can almost become a narcotic to
the creative mind.
Pattern pilots tend to look at an airplane
from different viewpoints. The size is
considered. If it will fit inside the 2-meter
box, it could become a Pattern airplane!
They look at the fuselage area relative
to the CG and the relationship of the size of
the stabilizer to the wing. They are also
checking out the positions relative to the
thrustline of the engine. They are often
looking at any design issue that could
contribute to the goal of a perfect Pattern
design.
I have written many times that the big
“secret” of Pattern flying is that airplanes
are so much easier to fly. This is because
the get-it-to-fly-better designing has never
stopped. There is no requirement for a
Pattern model to look like a full-scale
airplane. Designs definitely go through
phases of fashion.
Things that have been “big” in the past
may not last. Things that change all the
time are speed requirements, vertical
performance, and wing size/chord/
planform. They have looked like fish,
whales, full-scale aircraft, etc. They have
had wide bodies, big/small/thin/fat wings,
long fuselages, anhedral tails, retracts, and
lately returned to fixed landing gear.
Power-plant rules have changed
considerably throughout the years.
Currently there is no size limit, but the
overall weight requirement corners pilots
into using 1.20-1.70 two- and four-stroke
glow engines. Electric-powered Pattern
models are winning and pushing the
boundaries of weight vs. performance
Composite-ARF’s Impact looks regular on the outside but is a radical design, with a
molded fiberglass skin lined with approximately 1/16 inch of foam.
The Oxai Pinnacle may be the pinnacle of 2-meter design. It’s
engineered inside and outside to fly true and accurate aerobatics.
This Quique Somenzini Yak-54 is brilliant at 3-D flying but
would need some design changes to win in Pattern competition.
The Pattern pilot will always be
looking for better, more powerful, lighter,
and even sometimes less expensive
equipment. Quite a few pilots are trying
the newer gas/ignition engines that have
recently arrived on the modeling scene.
They like the fact that the technology is
always changing, making them learn new
“stuff” and embrace new directions.
Pattern models can be expensive. It is
often thought that a Pattern pilot will
spend more on an airplane than the
average club member will. Maybe that is
not as true as it used to be.
There was once a large gap between
what you could build or buy as a Pattern
model. Perhaps there are differences in
technical excellence, but a long list of
ARF models has changed and reduced the
gap.
Pattern pilots know that high-end
radios are not really necessary and that a
four-channel radio and five servos would
fly most fixed-gear Pattern airplanes.
However, they are drawn to computer
radios by the extra tuning/trimming
capabilities, such as exponential on your
main controls and the ability to mix trim
for such niceties as rudder-to-aileron mix
for a more pure knife edge. Once you get
into computer radios, it is like Hi-Fi; you
have to have the best.
Let’s look inside your mind for a
moment and explore Pattern from a
different angle. Consider what the design
and flying challenges do for you or what
Pattern flying can do for you or even those
around you.
What does flying a maneuver teach
you? At first it will probably show you
how hard it is to do it or perhaps how bad
you are. Don’t be offended or give up
when that happens. Pattern pilots who
have practiced for years still can’t get
some maneuvers right, but they never stop
trying. It becomes a search of
excellence—similar to improving your
golf game.
Drawing a shape in the sky with an RCguided
airplane can be compared to trying
to draw a circle on the side of a building
with a giant Etch A Sketch. It takes a great
deal of coordination and mastery of wind,
gravity, power management, special
awareness, and any quirks your airplane
may possess.
There is always one maneuver that will
be your nemesis until the day you become
its master. At one time I stood in awe of a
certain maneuver. I began to practice and
practice it, almost to the detriment of
others. I am still not great at it, but it gives
me more satisfaction to complete a single
Rolling Loop than to win a contest or a
district championship.
The skill challenge often extends
beyond flying. You become great at
putting a model together. Then you
become skilled at trimming your airplane
for the best flight performance. Then you
get really good at keeping your engines
running well. You can’t do good
aerobatics with an out-of-tune power
plant.
Although there is no competition
reward for meeting the size and weight
limits, it gives you a wonderful outlet for
your inventiveness and irrepressible
human creativity. You develop a lot of
product knowledge and become highly
selective in your equipment choices.
Perhaps flying precisely will become a
stepping-stone to other disciplines. I took
up Pattern to learn to fly smoothly, master
the rudder, and land with more precision
for a possible journey into Scale
competitions.
Competing is not for everyone. I know
of a contingent of pilots who buy buildand-
fly Pattern airplanes strictly for the
fun of it. They like the way the models fly
and they like building them, but they
prefer not to compete with them.
However, most of us who are the
creature known as man tend to be
competitive by nature. What does
competing do for you? Ever since there
were two cars, they were raced. Come to
think of it, when there were two airplanes
they raced them as well.
Soon after the airplanes gained
aerobatic capabilities, people tried to see
who could do the best loop; judged
aerobatics was born. One day it was
handed down to RC model flying, and here
we are!
Competing in RC Aerobatics engages a
whole set of character-building lessons.
They can be likened to those you get from
any sport. In our sport there is a huge and
wonderful age range, diversity of
backgrounds, and no need to be a
marathon runner.
Striving for excellence, taking a
beating and bouncing back, working hard,
and improving help you grow as a person.
The competition circuit develops great
camaraderie. It gets you out of your
comfort zone and takes you sightseeing
around your district, the nation, or even
the world.
Finally you finish up as one heck of a
good pilot. You could find yourself in
demand at your local club for such things
as engine support, flying advice, and testflying
airplanes. A side effect, more often
than not, is that you end up being elected
to club office, so watch out before you try
precision Aerobatics; you may end up
being the president of AMA. Ask
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/05
Page Numbers: 99,100,101
A new engine-mount series from Merle Hyde
[eric.henderson@comcast.net]
Radio Control Aerobatics Eric Henderson
May 2006 99
Affordable new Hyde mounts. Type C (R) doesn’t require nose
ring; type CR does. Both are drilled for YS and O.S. engines.
O.S. 1.60 FX on customized beams C to bring engine 3/4 inch
farther back for a special installation.
Designed to be light, the mounting beams show strategically
positioned lightening holes.
FROM THE
creative and fertile
mind of Merle Hyde
is a series of new
Firm Idle mounts.
These include the
Hyde safety feature
that prevents them from pulling apart—a problem that is sometimes
encountered with soft mounts.
The “Firm Idle” feature addresses the need for engines to move
around less at low idle. It helps considerably where long header pipes
are being connected to tuned pipes and tube-type mufflers.
In the case of the O.S. fuel-injector engine, the manufacturer states
that a soft mount must not be used. (My O.S. 1.60 FIs have had no
fuel-injector failures since I converted to the firmer-style mount.)
The mount comes in two types: C and CR. The “R” indicates that
the mount should be used with a nose ring. The mounting beams are
made from aluminum and come in several standard configurations for
the C or the CR type of mount.
These mounts can be purchased as “standard,” already drilled and
tapped for the YS 1.20-1.70 and O.S. 1.40 engines. The beams may be
replaced for use with an O.S. 1.60 and many other engines that fall
within the 1.20-1.70 size range.
The new mounts are designed to give firm idle while significantly
reducing the vibration that is transferred to your airplane’s vital
control components such as the receiver and the servos. It also
helps to prevent the difficult-to-cure fuel-tank frothing action.
The standard configurations place the drive washer 63/8 inches
from the firewall. The mount was designed this way so modelers
could interchange all, or nearly all, of the 1.20-1.70 engines without
having to use spacers or reposition the firewall.
These mounts are available from Central Hobbies (www.central
hobbies.com) for $55-$65, depending on the type of mount you
choose. They should also appeal to those of us who fly 3-D and 25-
30% Scale Aerobatics models. The C mount is good for the
configurations where there is only a fiberglass cowl covering the
front of the fuselage and no easy way to install a fuselagesupported
nose-ring.
Items such as the soft mounts I have discussed are commonly used
on precision Aerobatics airplanes. To understand the appeal let’s
take a trip inside the mind of an RC Aerobatics pilot, often referred
to as a Pattern pilot.
There are three major categories of RC Aerobatics competition
pilots: precision Aerobatics, Senior Pattern Aerobatics, and Scale
Aerobatics. All do similar things in the air with radio-controlled
models, but their differences are defined by what set of rules they
are working with.
Scale Aerobatics pilots are primarily challenged with building
and flying airplanes that closely resemble their full-scale
equivalents. They are constrained by the shape of these aircraft but
are not really limited by size or weight, other than AMA
maximums.
For the most part Scale Aerobatics pilots are required to fly
accurate aerobatic maneuvers. One big challenge for this class is to
get scale-looking models to perform everything that is asked of
them without deviating too far from the abilities of their full-scale
counterparts.
Senior Pattern pilots have to work with rules associated with
airplane designs from a certain period in the past. They use designs
from a specific era and a list of allowed power systems.
Senior Pattern fliers also perform accurate and precise aerobatic
maneuvers. It could be said that their challenge is to get older RC
Also included in this column:
• Inside the mind of a Pattern pilot
100 MODEL AVIATION
aerobatic designs to fly as well as possible.
(See the article in this issue by Duane Wilson
about Vintage Radio Control Society and
Senior Pattern Association aerobatic events.)
Precision Aerobatics (F3A) pilots have no
real model-design restrictions but are
governed by a weight and size requirement.
The models must fit inside a virtual cube of 2
meters (785/8 inches), weigh less than 5
kilograms (11 pounds), and meet sound
restrictions, depending on what type of
competition is being flown.
By definition, precision pilots must also
fly accurate and precise aerobatic maneuvers
with their models. Their challenge is twofold.
They can respond to the “invitation” to design
an airplane that flies as perfectly as possible
and develop the skills to fly their models as
precisely as possible.
The preceding definitions are aimed at
illustrating the primary differences between
the classes. They are by no means meant to be
exhaustive or discriminatory. There is no
intent to value one class more than the other.
Now a bit about the phrase “There are no
real restrictions.” There are some overarching
AMA restrictions for all these types of
aerobatic airplanes. An example would be no
rocket or turbine power allowed. It is
common to find the same pilot competing in
two or even all three of the preceding
categories.
When a pilot is active in an RC Aerobatics
category, it can often approach “having
religion.” It is not that the pilots are against
the other forms of Aerobatics flying, RC or
otherwise; it is just that they like a certain
style of maneuvers and airplanes much more
than the others.
That puts us back on the path to the
journey inside the mind of a Pattern pilot.
Why does he or she like Pattern so much?
It is dangerous to generalize about
specifics, but two major aspects of the sport
draw in the typical mainstream Pattern
pilot: the challenge of meeting the rules of
design/technology and the task of proving
that the pilot and these designs fly well and
deliver in the F3A arena of competitive
flying.
The opportunity to design the perfect
model inside the cube of a 2-meter box is
hard to resist. Then to go out and prove to
judges and your peers that your design is
the best can almost become a narcotic to
the creative mind.
Pattern pilots tend to look at an airplane
from different viewpoints. The size is
considered. If it will fit inside the 2-meter
box, it could become a Pattern airplane!
They look at the fuselage area relative
to the CG and the relationship of the size of
the stabilizer to the wing. They are also
checking out the positions relative to the
thrustline of the engine. They are often
looking at any design issue that could
contribute to the goal of a perfect Pattern
design.
I have written many times that the big
“secret” of Pattern flying is that airplanes
are so much easier to fly. This is because
the get-it-to-fly-better designing has never
stopped. There is no requirement for a
Pattern model to look like a full-scale
airplane. Designs definitely go through
phases of fashion.
Things that have been “big” in the past
may not last. Things that change all the
time are speed requirements, vertical
performance, and wing size/chord/
planform. They have looked like fish,
whales, full-scale aircraft, etc. They have
had wide bodies, big/small/thin/fat wings,
long fuselages, anhedral tails, retracts, and
lately returned to fixed landing gear.
Power-plant rules have changed
considerably throughout the years.
Currently there is no size limit, but the
overall weight requirement corners pilots
into using 1.20-1.70 two- and four-stroke
glow engines. Electric-powered Pattern
models are winning and pushing the
boundaries of weight vs. performance
Composite-ARF’s Impact looks regular on the outside but is a radical design, with a
molded fiberglass skin lined with approximately 1/16 inch of foam.
The Oxai Pinnacle may be the pinnacle of 2-meter design. It’s
engineered inside and outside to fly true and accurate aerobatics.
This Quique Somenzini Yak-54 is brilliant at 3-D flying but
would need some design changes to win in Pattern competition.
The Pattern pilot will always be
looking for better, more powerful, lighter,
and even sometimes less expensive
equipment. Quite a few pilots are trying
the newer gas/ignition engines that have
recently arrived on the modeling scene.
They like the fact that the technology is
always changing, making them learn new
“stuff” and embrace new directions.
Pattern models can be expensive. It is
often thought that a Pattern pilot will
spend more on an airplane than the
average club member will. Maybe that is
not as true as it used to be.
There was once a large gap between
what you could build or buy as a Pattern
model. Perhaps there are differences in
technical excellence, but a long list of
ARF models has changed and reduced the
gap.
Pattern pilots know that high-end
radios are not really necessary and that a
four-channel radio and five servos would
fly most fixed-gear Pattern airplanes.
However, they are drawn to computer
radios by the extra tuning/trimming
capabilities, such as exponential on your
main controls and the ability to mix trim
for such niceties as rudder-to-aileron mix
for a more pure knife edge. Once you get
into computer radios, it is like Hi-Fi; you
have to have the best.
Let’s look inside your mind for a
moment and explore Pattern from a
different angle. Consider what the design
and flying challenges do for you or what
Pattern flying can do for you or even those
around you.
What does flying a maneuver teach
you? At first it will probably show you
how hard it is to do it or perhaps how bad
you are. Don’t be offended or give up
when that happens. Pattern pilots who
have practiced for years still can’t get
some maneuvers right, but they never stop
trying. It becomes a search of
excellence—similar to improving your
golf game.
Drawing a shape in the sky with an RCguided
airplane can be compared to trying
to draw a circle on the side of a building
with a giant Etch A Sketch. It takes a great
deal of coordination and mastery of wind,
gravity, power management, special
awareness, and any quirks your airplane
may possess.
There is always one maneuver that will
be your nemesis until the day you become
its master. At one time I stood in awe of a
certain maneuver. I began to practice and
practice it, almost to the detriment of
others. I am still not great at it, but it gives
me more satisfaction to complete a single
Rolling Loop than to win a contest or a
district championship.
The skill challenge often extends
beyond flying. You become great at
putting a model together. Then you
become skilled at trimming your airplane
for the best flight performance. Then you
get really good at keeping your engines
running well. You can’t do good
aerobatics with an out-of-tune power
plant.
Although there is no competition
reward for meeting the size and weight
limits, it gives you a wonderful outlet for
your inventiveness and irrepressible
human creativity. You develop a lot of
product knowledge and become highly
selective in your equipment choices.
Perhaps flying precisely will become a
stepping-stone to other disciplines. I took
up Pattern to learn to fly smoothly, master
the rudder, and land with more precision
for a possible journey into Scale
competitions.
Competing is not for everyone. I know
of a contingent of pilots who buy buildand-
fly Pattern airplanes strictly for the
fun of it. They like the way the models fly
and they like building them, but they
prefer not to compete with them.
However, most of us who are the
creature known as man tend to be
competitive by nature. What does
competing do for you? Ever since there
were two cars, they were raced. Come to
think of it, when there were two airplanes
they raced them as well.
Soon after the airplanes gained
aerobatic capabilities, people tried to see
who could do the best loop; judged
aerobatics was born. One day it was
handed down to RC model flying, and here
we are!
Competing in RC Aerobatics engages a
whole set of character-building lessons.
They can be likened to those you get from
any sport. In our sport there is a huge and
wonderful age range, diversity of
backgrounds, and no need to be a
marathon runner.
Striving for excellence, taking a
beating and bouncing back, working hard,
and improving help you grow as a person.
The competition circuit develops great
camaraderie. It gets you out of your
comfort zone and takes you sightseeing
around your district, the nation, or even
the world.
Finally you finish up as one heck of a
good pilot. You could find yourself in
demand at your local club for such things
as engine support, flying advice, and testflying
airplanes. A side effect, more often
than not, is that you end up being elected
to club office, so watch out before you try
precision Aerobatics; you may end up
being the president of AMA. Ask