Radio Control Scale Aerobatics - 2011/06

As I am writing
this, winter has
finally come to an
end and the contest
season is quickly
approaching. As a
result, I’m going to
break this month’s
column into two
segments.
First, since Aerobatics is a fairly
individualized sport, I want to discuss
mental preparation for the competition
scene. In doing so, we will look at how fullscale
aerobatic pilot, Michael Goulian,
prepares for a given flight and how I prefer
to get ready for a competition flight.
Second, I will examine a maneuver from
the 2011 International Miniature Aerobatic
Club (IMAC) Advanced class, covering
various flight tips to assist you throughout
the competition season. Without further
hesitation, let’s begin!
Prior to entering your first competition,
check out the IMAC website for both a local
competition and a judging seminar.
When I started participating in contests,
I flew Novice RC Aerobatics (Pattern) with
both my father and a close family friend
named Jeff Carrish. We all began flying
Pattern at the same time and helped one
another throughout the ranks.
Some will argue that you need to have a
higher-ranked pilot as a coach. That can be
the case but is not always reality.
Let’s face it; you don’t need an
Unlimited-class pilot to tell you that your
geometry is incorrect, that a roll rate varied
throughout a given maneuver, and so on.
Any Aerobatics pilot with a firm grasp on
the rule book can help you.
In addition to physically practicing
various maneuvers, please remember that
mental training is extremely important; this
is an individualized sport, especially in the
competition scene. I urge you to treat each
practice flight as a completion site.
Visualize judges standing behind you,
watching and critiquing your every move.
In the full-scale arena, Mike Goulian is a
well-known air show and competition pilot.
He likes to visualize his aerobatic sequence
45 minutes to a half-hour before he has to
perform a flight in a contest.
Mike prefers to listen to music to serve
as white noise, which enables him to focus
on performing for the judges. This is a great
tool, but you must keep in mind that what
works for one person may not for another.
As does Mike, I like to repeatedly visualize
my sequence.
If something
breaks his
concentration, he
mentally goes
through the routine
from the beginning.
This and other
techniques are
covered in a book
that Mike co-wrote
with Geza Szurovy
titled Advanced
Aerobatics.
During contests I
have my airplane
prepared well in
advance of each
flight. I make sure
that it is fueled and that all servo
connections, bolts, retainers, etc. are secure.
The only thing left for me to do before a
flight is literally turn on the transmitter and
aircraft, prime the engine, and start up!
Enough about mental techniques; let’s
move on to flying! We will review the
second maneuver in the 2011 Advanced
Known Class and cover a few techniques to
ensure success. The accompanying diagrams
serve as visual aids.
At heart, it is a Split S that starts from
inverted. The pilot performs 11/2 rolls and
instantly begins a soft push to perform half
of an outside loop. Once horizontal inverted
flight is established, the pilot must
immediately perform 11/2 negative snap rolls
to upright level flight.
Performing maneuvers such as this
requires not only quick reactions to various
stick inputs, but also the proper aircraft
setup. After all, as I have stressed multiple
times, a properly programmed model will
decrease, to some extent, the pilot’s
workload and add to his or her ability to
consistently perform a given maneuver well.
Let’s discuss throttle management. I am a
firm believer in constant-speed flying.
Hanno Prettner emphasized this style of
flying years ago, and it does add to the
presentation of any given aerobatic move.
Start the maneuver with approximately
60% throttle and perform 11/2 rolls. Once the
rolling segment is almost complete, pull the
throttle back to roughly 20%.
When the wings are level, pull the
throttle back to 5%-10% power and begin a
soft push. As the airplane almost completes
the looping segment, increase power to
approximately 75% and get ready for the
snap!
You do not want your model traveling at
Mach 1 throughout this stunt. Remember
that the key to Aerobatics and success is
consistency. If you perform this maneuver
at close to the same speed every time, the
necessary control inputs will be similar; that
should decrease your workload and promote
a prettier maneuver!
Roll rates must stay the same. Since we
are performing 11/2 rolls, it might be easy to
change the roll rate. To ensure that this does
not occur, look at your dual rate and
exponential settings.
If you feel that your model is too
sensitive in roll, increase the exponential
percentage in small increments. On the
contrary, if your model is too quick to
respond, increase the amount of exponential
or decrease the endpoint travel for that
given rate by decreasing the dual-rate value.
Remember that settings that work for
one pilot might not work for another. Just as
we all have different driving styles and
prefer different vehicles, aerobatic airplanes
are no different.
Now, for the half outside loop you will
need to push, ever so slightly, on the
elevator control stick. Keep in mind that
smoothness is crucial, and you should make
Contest preparation
June 2011 115
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Scale Aerobatics John Glezellis
A Composite-ARF 2.6-meter Edge 540 performs a knife-edge
pass for the camera. The author’s Edge has a Desert Aircraft
120cc engine and is a great IMAC and Freestyle aircraft.
Also included in this column:
• Talking maneuvers
06sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 4/20/11 4:36 PM Page 115
no sudden elevator
input changes; that
will decrease the
likelihood that a
constant looping
radius is being
performed.
If you think your
airplane is too quick
to respond when you
apply elevator input
and that it is difficult
to maintain a smooth
and constant radius,
look at your control
throw and
exponential values
for the elevator
control surface.
The same as
when you examined
aileron input for the
11/2 rolls, you might
need to make a few
changes to the
elevator. In the end,
make sure you
practice the half loop
a few times before
making changes to
the radio setup, to
ensure that it is a change that you want to make—not a simple error
that you made in one instance.
Once the model breaks inverted flight, perform 11/2 negative snaps
to upright level flight by adding throttle and immediately applying
down-elevator and opposite-direction aileron and rudder input.
Oftentimes people ask me what the difference is between a tumble
and a negative snap roll, so let’s take a brief moment to clarify that.
Regarding control inputs, a negative snap occurs when the pilot
applies down-elevator and opposite aileron deflection when
compared to rudder. You need to “cross-control” the aileron and
rudder stick.
A “tumble” occurs when the pilot applies down-elevator and the
same-direction aileron and rudder input. This is wrong, and the figure
will receive a score of a zero if done during an IMAC sequence. Don’t
lose easy points!
Since I like to utilize flight modes, I flip to my “medium” rate
immediately before performing the 11/2 negative snaps. Then I apply
the proper control inputs, as mentioned earlier.
If the airplane snaps too quickly, you might need to adjust the
roll rate (decreasing the aileron deflection). Or if the aircraft gets
too “deep” in pitch, you might need to decrease the amount of
down-elevator input.
After performing a few snaps and making a few changes to the
model’s dual/triple rates, you should be
snapping properly in no time!
You have now learned a few tricks to
mentally prepare yourself for Aerobatics
competition. In addition, you’ve learned
about a maneuver that is in the 2011
IMAC Advanced class and how to make
various changes to the setup of your
airplane.
Remember that every pilot has personal
preferences. Make changes, for better or
worse, to see how your model responds to
them.
However, I urge you to record certain
settings that work for you at a given time
before you make a change, such as
deflection and exponential rates. I make
a note of these values for peace of mind.
Changes don’t always work out for the
best, and it is reassuring to be able to
obtain your previous settings.
And last, always remember to have fun! MA
Sources:
International Miniature Aerobatic Club
www.mini-iac.com
Composite-ARF
www.carf-models.com
Desert Aircraft
(520) 722-0607
www.desertaircraft.com