Author: Mark Fadely
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/01
Page Numbers: 119,120
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Radio Control Helicopters

Mark Fadely [[email protected]]

2009 was a great helicopter year

Greetings, and welcome to the RC helicopter corner of MA. Anyone with rotary interests had to love our last issue. It was chock-full of text and pictures of the machines that we desire. Thanks, MA, for highlighting the fastest-growing genre of RC. That was a great way to end the fabulous season.

Certain years in our hobby are fondly remembered, just as great wines have distinct vintages that connoisseurs relish. One of those years for me was 2009. The International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association (IRCHA) Jamboree fun-fly broke all attendance records for any event, and MA had more helicopter coverage than ever before.

As we move into the next decade, have you thought about the ways you will be involved in the hobby? Generally, helicopter pilots become more obsessed with their aircraft than most. Will you attend events in 2010? Do you want to try a competition?

Personal progress brings much fulfillment to whatever you do. This hobby can be rewarding, whether it involves mastering that next maneuver or building an even better scale model. It can help to write down what your goals are for 2010. Then, at the end of the year, look to see if you have accomplished them. Most things do not happen by themselves. If you have a well-laid-out plan and stick to it, you might surprise yourself with what you can achieve.

One of the best parts about flying model helicopters is the constant challenge it provides. No matter what level you reach, there is always something new to learn and perfect. It is good to exercise your mind. Most helicopter pilots can attest that flying is a great mental workout. As you get older, it is even more important to keep your mind working. (Even if you can't remember the name of the helicopter you are flying, keep flying!)

I hope it does not get that bad, but you never know. I am already calling my kids by my dog's name and vice versa. Please e-mail me and let me know your flying stories. I will nearly always include them in a future helicopter column.

Winter Indoor Flying

If you live where it is cold, I hope you have an indoor facility available in which to fly. There are several in my area that are open nearly every weekend during the winter season. It sure is nice when you can keep flying through the winter.

The tight quarters of most indoor flying sites make a pilot work to stay off the walls and ceilings. Flying in these restricted conditions can help improve your skills dramatically in one winter season. Most of the top pilots are good at flying indoors as well as outside. They will tell you that it takes much more skill to do their routines inside a building.

Smaller models are much more capable today. Bert Kammerer flew a T-Rex 250 at the E-Fest 3-D competition last year. Most of us don't have Bert's skills, but he did everything with the little 250 that the larger models were doing.

Finding a local indoor area to fly in is seldom difficult. There are plenty of buildings used for winter youth sports in most towns. Even a basketball gym is sufficient for small models. Ask around and you might be surprised to find some low-rent facilities available nearby.

E-Fest Announcement

The largest indoor fun-fly, E-Fest, will take place in Champaign, Illinois, January 30–31. If you can attend only one event during the winter, make plans to be at this one. Great Planes has been running E-Fest for several years and it has grown into an immense gathering.

The event is held inside the University of Illinois Track and Field Armory — a huge building with a 100-foot-high ceiling. It is so big that dozens of helicopters and airplanes can fly simultaneously.

Last year more than 300 pilots attended E-Fest. It is a good place to catch up with friends whom you might see only a few times a year. I look forward to seeing you there. Get the latest information and register online.

Radix Review

Curtis Youngblood, a world-renowned helicopter pilot, has been selling his new Radix blades for some time. Curtis Youngblood Enterprises (CYE) formulated a new design of main and tail-rotor blades that have excellent flight characteristics. I got to try them for myself this year, and I am impressed.

The 690 mm blades I chose for my Miniature Aircraft Stratus came nicely packaged in a decorative protective box. Curtis has thought of everything. Small pieces of clear, sticky strips are packed between the two blades so they don't mar each other during shipping.

To make a good main rotor blade for our helicopters, many qualities have to be considered. Beyond that, it is important to make a blade that will work well on a variety of helicopters. Important factors include:

  • Stiffness: for hard 3-D flying the blade must be stiff with minimal flexing during flight.
  • Chordwise center of gravity (CG): if the CG is too far forward the blade will be unresponsive; if too far aft the blade will pitch up or down too much and be unstable.
  • Durability and balance: the blade must handle high-G maneuvers and maintain consistent performance.

All of Curtis's years of experience enabled him to make excellent compromises in all the important areas of rotor-blade dynamics. The result is a stable yet aerobatic blade that can handle the high-G punishment of today's top pilots.

CYE also provides tail blades and Stubz flybar paddles for a complete rotary-wing package that is suitable for any level of pilot. A full range of blade sizes is offered for 450-size electrics all the way up to 90-size nitros. You can order various weight versions of the blades to tailor them to your personal flying style. Check them out online.

That is all I have for this month. I hope all of you had a great holiday season and are ready to have a great time in 2010.

I'll be back with you next month. MF

Sources

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