Radio Control Scale Aerobatics-2004/12

ONE OF THE most difficult steps in becoming a skilled pilot is
mastering rudder control. If getting the left thumb to even move
horizontally isn’t hard enough, you also have to understand
orientation of the rudder in reference to the airplane’s attitude.
Every time you make a turn or a roll, the darn thing swaps
direction on you!
In the control of flight in 3-D and correcting heading for
precision figures, getting the rudder direction right the first time
is critical. If you are continually moving the model and flying
fluidly, using the rudder is not so hard. It’s when you have to
start from varying attitudes and need rudder input from a dead
straight line that things really get tricky.
For those of us who always seem to hit the “wrong rudder,”
I’ve come up with a few rules or tricks to help us remember
which way to push the rudder in almost any situation. I’ll start out
fairly simple and work on correlating the rudder to a roll. On any
type of roll, except on up or down vertical lines, I use rudder
input to keep the airplane on heading. As you get better, you can
start using these inputs for Point Rolls and then later adjust your
timing to nail Rolling Circles.
As you do a full roll, you will need rudder input twice—on the
first quarter and the third quarter. The second rudder input during
the roll will be opposite from the first input. A roll from upright
uses opposite input from the aileron stick direction, so if you roll
right as you pass through the first quarter of the maneuver, a
slight amount of left rudder keeps the model flying level.
Rolling from inverted is easy if you use this rule: rolls starting
from inverted use rudder input that follows the aileron stick. So a
right roll from inverted uses right rudder in the first quarter of the
roll. The simple rules are: upright is opposite the aileron direction
and inverted is the same as aileron stick. When you’re starting
out, you might not use rudder during a roll, but after you get
Mike Hurley, 11542 Decatur Ct., Westminster CO 80234; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL SCALE AEROBATICS
Down-line controls are opposite from up-line. When the belly is
toward you, control the nose. When the canopy is toward you,
control the tail.
To control rudder while a model is flying away from you and
upright is similar to an upline. Fly it as if you were in the airplane.
When it is upright, fly the end of the aircraft that is farthest away.
Controlling rudder during up-line with canopy toward you is like
being inside the model. Move the stick left and the nose moves left.
If the belly is toward you, control the tail; move rudder control left
and the tail goes left.
106 MODEL AVIATION
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 8:53 am Page 106
more. For down-lines everything reverses
again. If you are looking at the canopy on
a down-line, the stick will follow (control)
the tail. Looking at the belly, the stick
moves the same direction as the nose.
Clear so far? Let’s get more confused.
When the airplane is upright and flying
away from you, it’s just like being in the
cockpit; you fly the nose of the airplane.
But when it’s coming toward you, how do
you know how to make a rudder
correction? Fly the tail! With your rudder
stick, move the tail in the direction you
need it to go to make the desired
correction.
To go another step further, I like to
think of this as controlling the far side of
the model. When it is upright, you fly the
end that is farthest from you. When it’s
coming at you, fly the tail, and when it’s
going away from you, fly the nose.
From inverted it’s the opposite. You fly
the closest end of the airplane. When it is
inverted flying toward you, the rudder
input will correlate with the nose. Flying
away from you, the rudder will move in
the same direction as the tail. Here we go
again: upright, fly the far end of the model;
inverted, fly the end that is the closest to
you.
All of this is probably starting to sound
like a bit too much to try to remember, but
if you go out and get used to making some
simple up- and down-line corrections, it
will start to make sense.
Why go to so much trouble when all of
this is so confusing? Why not just
remember what attitude requires an
opposite control? I think most of us who
fly RC are visual people. We depend on
visual references to control the model, and
it’s much more comfortable to see the
airplane move correctly in reference to
your input. When your model reacts
opposite of what you expect, it can get
confusing and disorienting in a hurry.
If you just look at the right end of the
airplane as you make your corrections, the
model will move as expected and total
control is simplified. And when you begin
to experiment with inverted Harriers closein,
an instant correction can save your
skin! Controlling the rudder with firstinput
accuracy is paramount to scoring
high in the sequences and being able to
control those low and slow high-alpha
maneuvers.
I hope these tricks I use to help me
visualize and control while in flight can
help you with rudder control. Start out
with just a few of the rules, and then add
to them as they become second nature. MA
108 MODEL AVIATION
When inverted, use rudder to control the end of the model that is closest to you. When it’s
coming toward you, left stick moves the nose left. Going away, left stick moves the tail left.
During a Half Roll, coordinate rudder input with aileron movement. From upright,
rudder is opposite of aileron. From inverted, rudder is same direction as aileron.
proficient, you’ll wonder how you ever did
the maneuver without it. Rolling inputs are
easy, and with a little practice you’ll get
the directions right every time.
Now for the hard part: correcting
heading from varying attitudes and
orientations. I’m going to break this into a
couple of standard orientations that seem
to confuse people most often. As you
would during flight, I’ll reference flight
coming toward you and going away,
inverted and upright, and for vertical
lines—looking at the belly or the canopy.
I like to reference my stick direction to
the direction I want the airplane to move. I
always want my stick to move the same as
my model, so to do that I need to reference
the nose or the tail of the airplane. No
matter what attitude you get into, either
the nose or the tail will move the same
direction as your stick. You just have to
know which one before you hit the stick!
In a specific attitude, does your rudder
stick follow (control) the nose direction or
the tail direction?
Let’s start with vertical up- and downlines.
On up-lines, if you are looking at the
canopy, it’s just like being in the airplane;
your stick input moves the nose of the
airplane. Move the stick right and the nose
goes right. But if you are looking at the
belly and move the stick, the nose will
move in the opposite direction. For me
that’s confusing, so I look at the tail and
decide which way I need it to move to
make the correction.
When the belly is toward you, if you
move the rudder stick right, the model’s
tail will move right. For up-lines: looking
at the canopy, fly the nose. Looking at the
belly, fly the tail. No more confusing
opposite stick inputs! But wait! There’s
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 8:54 am Page 108
more. For down-lines everything reverses
again. If you are looking at the canopy on
a down-line, the stick will follow (control)
the tail. Looking at the belly, the stick
moves the same direction as the nose.
Clear so far? Let’s get more confused.
When the airplane is upright and flying
away from you, it’s just like being in the
cockpit; you fly the nose of the airplane.
But when it’s coming toward you, how do
you know how to make a rudder
correction? Fly the tail! With your rudder
stick, move the tail in the direction you
need it to go to make the desired
correction.
To go another step further, I like to
think of this as controlling the far side of
the model. When it is upright, you fly the
end that is farthest from you. When it’s
coming at you, fly the tail, and when it’s
going away from you, fly the nose.
From inverted it’s the opposite. You fly
the closest end of the airplane. When it is
inverted flying toward you, the rudder
input will correlate with the nose. Flying
away from you, the rudder will move in
the same direction as the tail. Here we go
again: upright, fly the far end of the model;
inverted, fly the end that is the closest to
you.
All of this is probably starting to sound
like a bit too much to try to remember, but
if you go out and get used to making some
simple up- and down-line corrections, it
will start to make sense.
Why go to so much trouble when all of
this is so confusing? Why not just
remember what attitude requires an
opposite control? I think most of us who
fly RC are visual people. We depend on
visual references to control the model, and
it’s much more comfortable to see the
airplane move correctly in reference to
your input. When your model reacts
opposite of what you expect, it can get
confusing and disorienting in a hurry.
If you just look at the right end of the
airplane as you make your corrections, the
model will move as expected and total
control is simplified. And when you begin
to experiment with inverted Harriers closein,
an instant correction can save your
skin! Controlling the rudder with firstinput
accuracy is paramount to scoring
high in the sequences and being able to
control those low and slow high-alpha
maneuvers.
I hope these tricks I use to help me
visualize and control while in flight can
help you with rudder control. Start out
with just a few of the rules, and then add
to them as they become second nature. MA
108 MODEL AVIATION
When inverted, use rudder to control the end of the model that is closest to you. When it’s
coming toward you, left stick moves the nose left. Going away, left stick moves the tail left.
During a Half Roll, coordinate rudder input with aileron movement. From upright,
rudder is opposite of aileron. From inverted, rudder is same direction as aileron.
proficient, you’ll wonder how you ever did
the maneuver without it. Rolling inputs are
easy, and with a little practice you’ll get
the directions right every time.
Now for the hard part: correcting
heading from varying attitudes and
orientations. I’m going to break this into a
couple of standard orientations that seem
to confuse people most often. As you
would during flight, I’ll reference flight
coming toward you and going away,
inverted and upright, and for vertical
lines—looking at the belly or the canopy.
I like to reference my stick direction to
the direction I want the airplane to move. I
always want my stick to move the same as
my model, so to do that I need to reference
the nose or the tail of the airplane. No
matter what attitude you get into, either
the nose or the tail will move the same
direction as your stick. You just have to
know which one before you hit the stick!
In a specific attitude, does your rudder
stick follow (control) the nose direction or
the tail direction?
Let’s start with vertical up- and downlines.
On up-lines, if you are looking at the
canopy, it’s just like being in the airplane;
your stick input moves the nose of the
airplane. Move the stick right and the nose
goes right. But if you are looking at the
belly and move the stick, the nose will
move in the opposite direction. For me
that’s confusing, so I look at the tail and
decide which way I need it to move to
make the correction.
When the belly is toward you, if you
move the rudder stick right, the model’s
tail will move right. For up-lines: looking
at the canopy, fly the nose. Looking at the
belly, fly the tail. No more confusing
opposite stick inputs! But wait! There’s
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 8:54 am Page 108