HELLO
EVERYONE! This
is a changing of the
guard. Eric
Henderson has
decided to take a rest
from the ranks as MA
columnist, and we—
Albert and A.C.
Glenn—are your new contributors to this special interest. Our column
will be a father-and-son effort.
Eric didn’t get a chance to write a farewell column, but he did leave
us with a farewell note. He wrote:
“Writing about precision aerobatics for almost ten years has been a
most rewarding experience. A lot has happened in that time. All of our
seven children are now either graduated from college, back in college
again or in the Navy.
“As empty nesters, [my wife] Michelle and I are embarking on a
new life as Hobby Shop proprietors. This will take up a lot of the time
that we used to have to go to competitions
and stay current in the world of pattern
[RC Aerobatics]. Now is a good time to
hand over the reigns to a new set of experts
who are both younger and much more
active in the sport.
“I will miss the 400 plus pattern related emails
a year and the great people that I have
met and worked with. I will not miss, however,
the deadline for getting the column submitted.
“I would like to wish all pattern column
readers the very best of success with their
precision flying adventures. It’s a small world
and many of us will continue to run into each
other. Until then, fly straight and smooth.”
We thank Eric for all he has done as a
writer and for RC precision Aerobatics.
Background: The two new columnists have
almost 50 years of aeromodeling experience
between them. Albert Glenn is an MD-11
captain for FedEx Express in Memphis,
Tennessee, and is a devoted RC pilot who has
been flying model airplanes since he was 11
years old.
He is the 2009 US F3A (FAI RC
Aerobatics) team manager and has been on
hiatus from flying F3A while acting as
mechanic, instructor, and caller for his son,
A.C., for the last six years.
Albert has judged and flown in an
assortment of contests, including those for
Pattern, IMAC (International Miniature
Aerobatic Club), NPAC, Nats, and Masters.
He was also the team manager for the 2007 US
F3A team. Albert is known for being tough in
practice and patient and calm in competition.
A.C. is a sophomore at Arkansas State
University at Jonesboro. He has been flying
RC for almost 14 years, starting when he was
5 years old and went to contests with his father
and flew on a buddy box. A.C. soloed at 8
years old and competed in his first Pattern
contest at 10, flying a Kaos 60 in Sportsman.
He has since progressed through the ranks
in Pattern, winning the 2005 Nats in the
Advanced category and placing fourth in
Masters at the 2006 Nats. Since then, A.C. has
placed in the top 15 in the FAI semifinals.
He flies a lot of both indoor and outdoor
aerobatics, with both electric- and gas-powered
airplanes. A.C. hopes to be able to provide you
with many insights into the Aerobatics world.
Indoor Pattern has become a way to keep your
precision aerobatics skills sharp when it’s
virtually impossible to fly 2-meter Pattern
models outdoors. The sport has come a long
way in the past few years. Now you can buy a
competitive RTF F3P airplane for close to
$300; whereas a few years ago, the motor and
speed controller alone would have cost just that.
Many new F3P contests are popping up
across the US. Events are usually set up so that
you fly the standard F3P-A sequence and an
Unknown, followed by a Freestyle.
The F3P-A sequence goes as follows.
1. Takeoff
2. Reverse Cuban Eight
3. 1/4 Roll—Knife-Edge 180° Circle—1/4 Roll
(backside knife-edge 1/2 circle)
4. Loop With 1/2 Roll at the Top
5. Inverted Stall Turn—1/2 Roll After Exit
6. Triangular Loop With 1/2 Roll at the Top
7. Inverted 180° Circle
8. Rolling Circle With One Roll
9. Top Hat With 1/4 rolls—Exit Normal
10. 2/4 Point Roll
11. Push Pull Humpty Bump (inverted entry,
push up, 1/4 roll, pull level inverted, pull downline,
1/4 roll pull up to level to exit in the
opposite direction of the entry)
12. Torque Roll
13. Landing
Most new F3P models are using specially
designed airbrakes to slow the airplanes in the
small confined areas in which we fly. In the
F3A Pattern world, ounces are a big deal when
it comes to weight. In the indoor world, grams
are a big deal.
Pilots are using the lightest of all
equipment to get their airplanes to weigh the
least. The lighter the aircraft, the more
maneuverable it can be at a lower airspeed.
That quality allows the pilot to do maneuvers
in the confined area of an indoor facility.
The hot aircraft design this year seems to
be a monoplane. In past years, biplanes were
the most popular because of the additional
drag and flexibility of the two-wing platform.
But now, after a lot of testing, there have been
several discoveries in airbrake design that
seem to put monoplanes and biplanes on an
even level—and maybe even give monoplanes
an edge because of weight.
We should see those results come from this
year’s Electric Tournament of Champions (ETOC),
which took place April 3-4. Dad was at
the E-TOC—not as a pilot, but as a writer. He
will provide a full debrief before the indoor
flying season starts this fall.
Finding an indoor facility that is
accommodating has become a hard task for
most pilots. I have been blessed to find a
community center, that is not far away from
my home, to practice in during the early
morning hours.
Most gyms will allow you to fly when they
are not occupied by morning aerobic, sports,
and youth programs. The best time I have
found to practice is early in the morning, to
avoid most conflicts; after the winter, it’s
almost impossible to find time in the gym.
When you are looking for an indoor
facility, you need to seek out a room that is at
least the size of a standard basketball gym.
Anything smaller is much harder to maneuver
a model within, unless it is specially designed
to suit the space.
We have found indoor Pattern to be a lot of
fun and a great way to continue to hone your
skills and remain active during those long
winter months and rainy days. Dad has stated
that my flying has improved to a new level
because of my flying indoors.
As the Pattern sequences I fly become
more difficult, practicing inside will allow me
to learn new skills and break down difficult
and complex maneuvers with a less expensive
aircraft that is easy to repair and replace. The
same goes for 3-D flying.
Competitors come from around the world
to participate in indoor Pattern contests,
making the sport a great way to network and
expand your knowledge base. We encourage
you to give it a try!
The year 2009 will be busy for precision
Aerobatics, with the Nats in July and the F3A
World Championships in Pombal, Portugal, in
August. We hope to give you full detailed
reports on all the new aircraft and interviews
with US team members and a few competitors
from other countries. MA
Sources:
National Society of Radio Controlled
Aerobatics
www.nsrca.us
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/07
Page Numbers: 101,102
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/07
Page Numbers: 101,102
HELLO
EVERYONE! This
is a changing of the
guard. Eric
Henderson has
decided to take a rest
from the ranks as MA
columnist, and we—
Albert and A.C.
Glenn—are your new contributors to this special interest. Our column
will be a father-and-son effort.
Eric didn’t get a chance to write a farewell column, but he did leave
us with a farewell note. He wrote:
“Writing about precision aerobatics for almost ten years has been a
most rewarding experience. A lot has happened in that time. All of our
seven children are now either graduated from college, back in college
again or in the Navy.
“As empty nesters, [my wife] Michelle and I are embarking on a
new life as Hobby Shop proprietors. This will take up a lot of the time
that we used to have to go to competitions
and stay current in the world of pattern
[RC Aerobatics]. Now is a good time to
hand over the reigns to a new set of experts
who are both younger and much more
active in the sport.
“I will miss the 400 plus pattern related emails
a year and the great people that I have
met and worked with. I will not miss, however,
the deadline for getting the column submitted.
“I would like to wish all pattern column
readers the very best of success with their
precision flying adventures. It’s a small world
and many of us will continue to run into each
other. Until then, fly straight and smooth.”
We thank Eric for all he has done as a
writer and for RC precision Aerobatics.
Background: The two new columnists have
almost 50 years of aeromodeling experience
between them. Albert Glenn is an MD-11
captain for FedEx Express in Memphis,
Tennessee, and is a devoted RC pilot who has
been flying model airplanes since he was 11
years old.
He is the 2009 US F3A (FAI RC
Aerobatics) team manager and has been on
hiatus from flying F3A while acting as
mechanic, instructor, and caller for his son,
A.C., for the last six years.
Albert has judged and flown in an
assortment of contests, including those for
Pattern, IMAC (International Miniature
Aerobatic Club), NPAC, Nats, and Masters.
He was also the team manager for the 2007 US
F3A team. Albert is known for being tough in
practice and patient and calm in competition.
A.C. is a sophomore at Arkansas State
University at Jonesboro. He has been flying
RC for almost 14 years, starting when he was
5 years old and went to contests with his father
and flew on a buddy box. A.C. soloed at 8
years old and competed in his first Pattern
contest at 10, flying a Kaos 60 in Sportsman.
He has since progressed through the ranks
in Pattern, winning the 2005 Nats in the
Advanced category and placing fourth in
Masters at the 2006 Nats. Since then, A.C. has
placed in the top 15 in the FAI semifinals.
He flies a lot of both indoor and outdoor
aerobatics, with both electric- and gas-powered
airplanes. A.C. hopes to be able to provide you
with many insights into the Aerobatics world.
Indoor Pattern has become a way to keep your
precision aerobatics skills sharp when it’s
virtually impossible to fly 2-meter Pattern
models outdoors. The sport has come a long
way in the past few years. Now you can buy a
competitive RTF F3P airplane for close to
$300; whereas a few years ago, the motor and
speed controller alone would have cost just that.
Many new F3P contests are popping up
across the US. Events are usually set up so that
you fly the standard F3P-A sequence and an
Unknown, followed by a Freestyle.
The F3P-A sequence goes as follows.
1. Takeoff
2. Reverse Cuban Eight
3. 1/4 Roll—Knife-Edge 180° Circle—1/4 Roll
(backside knife-edge 1/2 circle)
4. Loop With 1/2 Roll at the Top
5. Inverted Stall Turn—1/2 Roll After Exit
6. Triangular Loop With 1/2 Roll at the Top
7. Inverted 180° Circle
8. Rolling Circle With One Roll
9. Top Hat With 1/4 rolls—Exit Normal
10. 2/4 Point Roll
11. Push Pull Humpty Bump (inverted entry,
push up, 1/4 roll, pull level inverted, pull downline,
1/4 roll pull up to level to exit in the
opposite direction of the entry)
12. Torque Roll
13. Landing
Most new F3P models are using specially
designed airbrakes to slow the airplanes in the
small confined areas in which we fly. In the
F3A Pattern world, ounces are a big deal when
it comes to weight. In the indoor world, grams
are a big deal.
Pilots are using the lightest of all
equipment to get their airplanes to weigh the
least. The lighter the aircraft, the more
maneuverable it can be at a lower airspeed.
That quality allows the pilot to do maneuvers
in the confined area of an indoor facility.
The hot aircraft design this year seems to
be a monoplane. In past years, biplanes were
the most popular because of the additional
drag and flexibility of the two-wing platform.
But now, after a lot of testing, there have been
several discoveries in airbrake design that
seem to put monoplanes and biplanes on an
even level—and maybe even give monoplanes
an edge because of weight.
We should see those results come from this
year’s Electric Tournament of Champions (ETOC),
which took place April 3-4. Dad was at
the E-TOC—not as a pilot, but as a writer. He
will provide a full debrief before the indoor
flying season starts this fall.
Finding an indoor facility that is
accommodating has become a hard task for
most pilots. I have been blessed to find a
community center, that is not far away from
my home, to practice in during the early
morning hours.
Most gyms will allow you to fly when they
are not occupied by morning aerobic, sports,
and youth programs. The best time I have
found to practice is early in the morning, to
avoid most conflicts; after the winter, it’s
almost impossible to find time in the gym.
When you are looking for an indoor
facility, you need to seek out a room that is at
least the size of a standard basketball gym.
Anything smaller is much harder to maneuver
a model within, unless it is specially designed
to suit the space.
We have found indoor Pattern to be a lot of
fun and a great way to continue to hone your
skills and remain active during those long
winter months and rainy days. Dad has stated
that my flying has improved to a new level
because of my flying indoors.
As the Pattern sequences I fly become
more difficult, practicing inside will allow me
to learn new skills and break down difficult
and complex maneuvers with a less expensive
aircraft that is easy to repair and replace. The
same goes for 3-D flying.
Competitors come from around the world
to participate in indoor Pattern contests,
making the sport a great way to network and
expand your knowledge base. We encourage
you to give it a try!
The year 2009 will be busy for precision
Aerobatics, with the Nats in July and the F3A
World Championships in Pombal, Portugal, in
August. We hope to give you full detailed
reports on all the new aircraft and interviews
with US team members and a few competitors
from other countries. MA
Sources:
National Society of Radio Controlled
Aerobatics
www.nsrca.us