Radio Control Jets
Jim Hiller [email protected]
Runway Intimidation
Here in the Midwest we are into our flying season, and I thought it would be a good time to discuss some flying techniques. This one relates to flying at jet meets and staying on the runway and away from obstacles.
Last year at Superman we flew from a runway that by size and location was excellent. It was 60 feet wide and sufficiently long. The talk in the pits, however, was about how intimidating it was.
The runway was lined the entire length on the near side by a safety fence, and located on the far edge of the runway were the dreaded taxi lights. Now throw in a direct crosswind coming from our backs with the associated turbulence as the wind rolled over the hangars and the tents. Yes, there was reason to think and prepare for the situation, but it was unnecessary to be intimidated.
What I realized as I crewed for various modelers was how different fliers reacted to the conditions. The confident pilots flew with little or no problems, taking off straight down the center of the runway and landing near the center of the runway.
However, good pilots with whom I had flown in the past were losing runway heading just before liftoff and fighting to align with the runway on landing. Why were these good pilots having difficulty? I have my thoughts, and they are all related to pilot technique rather than pilot skill.
Takeoff Technique
Let’s start with the takeoff. Nobody had problems with the early part of the takeoff run; all had problems either as they went past themselves or just before liftoff. I see these as two different issues.
- First, pilots tend to pull the model’s heading in toward themselves as the model passes close by. I don’t know why this is, but throw in a crosswind from the back and this bad habit becomes exaggerated.
- Second, many pilots lose runway heading just before liftoff. We steer our jets at high speed during the takeoff roll, and then when we pull the up-elevator to fly, many pilots quit steering the airplane. During the time from when up-elevator is pulled to when the model leaves the ground, the crosswind will weathervane the airplane into the wind; you must keep the rudder correction in until liftoff. Don’t quit steering the model until it completely leaves the ground.
Landing Technique
Landing is much more complicated. I break my landing into several parts:
- Downwind leg: Establish altitude, position, and glide speed prior to turning the base leg. That’s a great deal to do in a short distance, but if I get this right I have the start of a good approach.
- Base leg: Set and judge the angle of descent. The size and start of the turn to final is based on how I judge my rate of descent.
- Turn to final: Position and align the airplane with the centerline of the runway. This is when a great deal must be mentally processed.
Two important objectives during the final turn:
- Position the airplane over the centerline of the runway.
- Align the flight path with the runway, applying the right amount of heading correction for the crosswind.
Corrections done early tend to be smaller because they are adjustments for heading with little required to get back to the centerline. Correcting heading to track the runway is not good enough — the correction must also bring the airplane back over the centerline. Follow with a second correction once the aircraft is back over the centerline to stay above it.
Have you noticed how often I have repeated “centerline of the runway”? There is a reason for this. While correcting track and position on your final approach, judge it relative to the centerline — not the entire runway. If you watch the whole runway, you can find yourself at the edge of it and only a few feet from those dreaded taxi lights. Drift slightly and you’re into the taxi lights.
Use the center of the runway as your visual clue; aiming at the centerline will leave the model 30 or 40 feet from those obstacles. As they say of the skier trying to avoid the tree, don’t look at the tree or you will for sure hit it; look around the tree where you need to go and you will miss it.
Preparation and Habits
Watch your bad habits, and think about them before you fly. We all suffer from similar habits, but work on them every time you fly so when a busy runway situation presents itself, you are mentally prepared to handle it with confidence.
If the situation feels intimidating, take additional time before the flight to think about takeoff and landing details while viewing the runway. A well-prepared pilot is much less prone to make mistakes—especially the silly ones.
Composite-ARF Flash
Have you seen the Composite-ARF jets lately? The company continues to improve its jet models and increase the selection. The newest offering is the Flash for 18- to 30-pound-thrust turbines. This model incorporates many of the novel features of the Lightning introduced a year earlier, only in a smaller package.
The Flash has a wingspan of only 64.5 inches and a length of 81.5 inches. This is a great size to achieve awesome performance from these midsize turbines. The expected weight is only 21–23 pounds.
Typical of the Composite-ARF models, the Flash is available in a variety of color schemes from sport/aerobatic to military, including a scheme based on the famous Blue Angels. If you prefer to paint your own, as Composite-ARF representative Ray Labonte has done, the Flash is also available in basic white.
Ray has a most outrageous modern demon-dragon paint scheme on his Flash that is nothing short of a piece of art, but that does not make it a hangar queen. Ray flies the products he represents!
The Flash has the typical Composite-ARF skin hinges. It also has the unique flap design introduced on the Lightning, where the top of the flap extends above the wing’s upper surface when the flap is lowered to increase the drag more than conventional flaps. Another neat feature is access panels on hatch covers in the wing for easy installation and maintenance.
For details, visit the Composite-ARF website at www.composite-arf.com. There is a link to the build manual and associated build pictures as downloadable PDF files. You can research the Flash and determine if a Composite-ARF airplane is right for you.
Composite-ARF Rookie
Composite-ARF has also dusted off the old Rookie models and cleaned up some minor areas, continuing this grand, old introductory turbine model. The new Rookie is available in some bright color schemes.
For those who haven’t seen or flown a Rookie, it is a simple flying-wing jet, now with canards. The Rookie has always been an extremely maneuverable — some say 3-D-capable — model. If you like flying hard, the Rookie can still turn with the best.
F-4 Phantom Demonstrations
One of the best shows at any jet meet is when the Bob Violett Models F-4 Phantom pilots get together to put on a demonstration flight. The sight and sound of a gaggle of F-4s burning up the sky with speed and power will really get your attention.
Fellow fliers respect the skills of these pilots because the reputation of the Phantom on landing is real. The Phantom is for real pilots with real skills when it comes to landing. With a final approach speed somewhere near 60 mph, it’s still ready to fall out of the sky.
All Phantoms tend to be of scale-competition quality, yet these pilots push them harder than most of us fly our sport models. It seems that the same few core pilots continue flying the same F-4s for years, yet newcomers to F-4s jump right in and go big with them.
This month’s photos are of the fliers who shook the skies at Superman 2006 with their F-4s. Great show, guys. Keep up the exciting flying. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
