Author: Mark Fadely
Edition: Model Aviation - 2011/06
Page Numbers: 108,109
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Radio Control Helicopters

Mark Fadely [[email protected]]

Attend the Extreme Flight Championships

Hi, helicopter lovers. I am glad you checked in this month. I have a lot to cover, so I'll get to it.

The month of June is one of the greatest of the year for outdoor RC events. The largest 3-D helicopter event—the Futaba XFC (Extreme Flight Championships)—is happening June 3–5.

This is one demonstration you do not want to miss. The world's best aerobatic pilots will compete at AMA's National Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana. If you can make it for even one day, it will be worth the trip.

I have attended every XFC in Muncie, and it is an RC spectacle you will not see anywhere else. Helicopter and large-scale airplane pilots convene at this invitational competition.

There is an opportunity for any pilot to try out for the contest during a special session on the day before the official start. If you think you have what it takes to compete in the XFC, show up Thursday morning with a 4-minute music program and a choreographed flight routine. If the judges like what you show them, you might be flying in the 2011 event!

Most people enjoy watching the XFC. It is a show that combines an individual pilot's artistry and creativity with power, speed, and technology.

Manufacturers unveil their latest equipment at this first major competition of the season. One thing that you will see more of this year is flybarless head control systems. Kyle Dahl won the 2010 XFC using his flybarless Mikado electric-powered helicopter.

In the last two years flybarless development has reached a level of frenzy. Many people are trying it. The new flybarless head setups have fewer linkages and other head parts, making them mechanically less complicated. There are aerodynamic advantages as well.

A flybar with paddles acts like a damper for the whole head of a helicopter. When that damping effect is removed, the main blades are allowed to travel freely at more extreme pitch ranges. The stability that the flybar provided can be retained electronically within the "brain" of the flybarless systems.

I have had experience with several flybarless systems. I recently reviewed Horizon Hobby's flybarless ultramicro Blade mCP X. What an incredible little aerobat. See the product review on page 44 of this issue.

One great aspect of the mCP X is its crash resistance. A pilot can learn 3-D with no fear of crashing, because no damage can be done to the machine. It is remarkable indeed.

My second, and most recent, flybarless experience was with the new Futaba CGY750 three-axis gyro and governor. This little unit is a must-see. It is super small but huge on features and control.

My friend and local flybarless expert, Matt Brown, helped me by installing and setting up the system with my Futaba 12FGH helicopter radio. There is an online software download for older radios such as mine. The download installs new gyro menus into the transmitter and readies it for CGY750 operation.

Competition pilots Bobby Watts and Kyle Stacy have been testing the prototype CGY750 for more than a year. Bobby had it installed on his Furion 6 helicopter when he won the event at the IRCHA (International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) Jamboree last August.

Futaba has done its homework and, with Bobby and Kyle’s help, the system was perfected before release. Instead of having to make numerous adjustments to the electronics, you simply plug it in with the factory defaults and fly.

I have flown the CGY750 on a Fury 5S, and my first impressions are positive. I have flown both an Align 550E and a T-Rex 700N equipped with flybarless systems. The Fury 5S with the CGY750 felt both solid and super responsive.

That is the beauty of the flybarless setup; it is a no-compromise type of head control. I am excited to get more flights on flybarless helicopters of all kinds this flying season. I will report back after more extensive flight testing.

This year the US will defend its F3C World Championship title in Italy. The contest is held every two years, and the last time was at the AMA’s National Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana.

Nick Maxwell has earned a spot on the US team this year. He will fly in the company of epic contest pilots Curtis Youngblood and Wayne Mann. Tim DiPeri, longtime helicopter pilot, has stepped up this year to be team manager.

Our team needs financial help to make the trip to Italy. It is expensive and all the money comes from donations. We have a great team to support.

The FAI sets the rules and requirements for this type of RC flying. Some helicopter pilots have never seen FAI contest flying performed. In the FAI’s F3C class, which is for RC helicopters, there is a set program of maneuvers that has been laid out and competitors are judged on the precision of an entire flight.

It is one thing to see a 3-D pilot flip a helicopter around with daring, close-to-the-ground moves. F3C pilots paint a different picture with their flights. Every attitude, direction, hover position, and so forth is critically judged to the point where a slight bobble can ruin an entire score.

The best 3-D pilots have F3C elements within their flying styles. Curtis Youngblood has long been respected as one of the top 3-D pilots. It comes as no surprise that years of F3C contest experience has been the foundation of his signature style. Nick Maxwell won the 3-D Masters in Spain last year, and now he is confidently joining the US World Championship Team.

One of the best things you can do to help your flying is to work on hovering maneuvers from the F3C contest definitions. If you look up the specifics you will find language that defines positions and line points on the ground while turning the helicopter in different directions.

Every line that is flown needs to be straight, and circular segments need to be perfect. Precision such as this separates good from great.

It doesn’t matter if you are flying a micro electric in your living room or a fantastic-looking turbine-powered scale machine. If you concentrate on improving the precision with which the flight is performed, you will be accomplishing much.

Check out the F3C team website; the address is in the sources list. Keep Curtis Youngblood, Nick Maxwell, and Wayne Mann in mind this year as they represent the United States by flying in the highest level of RC helicopter competition.

That will do it for this month. I hope you have a good month of flying and I will be back here in July.

MF

Sources:

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.