RC AEROBATICS
Eric Henderson, 303 Shady Ln., Marlton NJ 08053; E-mail: [email protected]
THIS MONTH I will introduce a new section in which frequently‑asked questions (FAQs) are answered, and I'll continue to look at affordable Pattern airplanes that you can use to experience the feel of a Pattern model or fly in a contest.
Speaking of feelings, there is nothing like flying in front of a panel of judges. Even if you only experience it once, it is well worth the trip just to see what you are made of.
Adrenaline is freely available in your body, and the last time I checked it is "street‑legal." Your body will supply you with a ton of adrenaline right at the moment when you least need it! The pilot who can handle that surge and channel it into concentration is the one who will win the contest nine times out of 10. The good news is that the "rush" lasts for quite awhile after we have finished our flights and may well be, in part, why we come back for more.
Whether you compete or just try to perform the schedules, you need a capable airplane. A model that does not fly well will not make you a great pilot. You simply learn all the wrong things. The model that was Pattern‑tested for this month is the Kyosho Majestic 1400. It was designed by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F3A Pattern World Champion Christophe Paysant‑Le Roux.
The Majestic is for .30‑.40 two‑stroke or .52 four‑stroke engines. It took a four‑channel radio and five servos. I used the JR DS368 digital servos because they are small, light, and just as powerful as standard‑size servos. Standard servos will work well, but you might want to consider using a 40‑size engine.
The engine chosen for the Majestic was a tried‑and‑proven O.S. .32. It is better to use a trusted engine with a new airplane. The .32 was rotated from the standard installation and angled so that the standard muffler exited directly under the airplane. The .32‑size Hyde Mount has a round backplate and made this an easy option to implement.
An NiMH 700 mAh pack was used to provide the electricity. Everything is a tight fit, but it all goes in there, and the result is a nice, light airplane. Fixed gear simplifies the undercarriage installation.
As I stated last month, this is not so much a product review but more a review of how the model will fly the new 2002 Pattern routines. (The preceding was provided as need‑to‑know information that may not come from the photographs.) The Majestic is a capable airplane. It has one purpose: to fly precision aerobatics smoothly and with authority.
RC Aerobatics
The initial concerns about using the smaller engine were completely unfounded. The O.S. .32 will take this model straight up. It will even do a good snap and keep going on the 45° climb. You need to carry some speed on a pure vertical climb, and it will help if you try not to scrape the sky after the snap is performed. Coming down is no problem, but I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.
The first maneuver is, as always, the takeoff. If this is an issue with a model, you may want to stop right there and choose something else. The takeoff sets the tone, in many ways, for the rest of the flight. There were no problems here at all with the Majestic.
I needed an instinct and made sure that as much wheel as possible was showing out of the bottom of the wheel pant. This allowed the airplane to track easily over the grass. The model then accelerated easily on half throttle and left the ground in a three-point attitude with no ballooning. Nine or 10 points await the pilot who smoothly executes takeoff.
Landing was predictable. You need to carry a “purr” of throttle so that it does not sink as you hold the nose up. At approximately six feet, you just chop the throttle and flare when it is ready to touch down. So far, so good.
What about how the Majestic flew the maneuvers between takeoff and landing? The 401 entry-level schedule was easy to perform. The rolls could be done with no corrective input. It’s not recommended, but at least you could do a half roll without losing 20 feet of altitude! As you improve, the rudder and elevator allow you to do a very axial roll indeed. The loops are strong as long as you do not come off the throttle before you are well over the top of the loop.
The Stall Turn was “by your command” (only meaningful if you speak Zylon and watch “Battlestar Galactica”). Put the airplane into a vertical climb, and halfway up drop to roughly one-third throttle. Wait until the airplane stops climbing. Hit the rudder, either way. As it swings over, chop the gas and you have a graceful crisp Stall Turn.
There were no problems at all with the Intermediate and Advanced schedules. You do have to fly the 30- to 40-size Majestic a bit closer than you would fly a two-meter model to keep it visible. The wind was not a problem, other than the scale factor of being bumped around a bit more in rough air than would the Majestic’s bigger two-meter counterparts. (Not an offense that should incur a downgrade.)
The Avalanche was easy to execute with no over-rotation in the snap component. This could most likely be attributed to the tapered light wing and low overall mass of this airplane. Slope rolls were devilish, but care was needed not to use too much rudder. Roughly 30% exponential (positive on JR radios and negative on Futaba radios) made the rudder results less dominating and more like the effect of the elevator.
The airplane will spin on rudder and elevator only. The spin entry is quick and precise; there is no waiting around. Throttle back, and slowly feed in elevator as it slows to keep the nose up. Then as it breaks into the stall, add rudder. The spin is quick, but you need to allow for this airplane being smaller than the usual Pattern model. The spin stops when you tell it to — a good feeling.
Surprisingly enough, the Masters schedule was well within the grasp of the small but well-designed Majestic. It was clear that it had a powerful rudder; that was seen during preliminary setup, when application of full rudder gave a tight knife-edge loop. Some rudder-to-elevator mix was needed in the knife-edge to correct a “push” to the belly. Otherwise, it went up and came down as designed. It’s a nice and easy airplane to fly. Two thumbs up for a ready-to-win Pattern airplane.
In case you are wondering, there are more exotic models in the pipeline. If you are really getting into Pattern and need information sooner, look at www.NSRCA.org, the AMA “Competitions” section on www.modelaircraft.org, or call AMA. If you join the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics, you will receive a monthly newsletter with all the latest developments and competition information across the country.
FAQs: Which is better? Fixed gear or retractable gear, and why do I have to keep my gear down during my 401 Sportsman routine? I don’t want to be contentious, but, and I quote, “The no-retract rule in Sportsman is a dinosaur and needs to go!” The more progressive minds support a rules change here, but there is a strong affinity for the “I had to do it, so they have to do it, too” tree-hugging mentality.
In the days when retracts were expensive, there was an attempt to make the playing field more level for new Pattern pilots. The prices have changed, as have many of the designs. These changes tend to make this a nonsensical rule. Even more ironic is that the rules have downgrades for retracts if they collapse, etc., on landing.
At some point, sticker shock occurs when the pilot is using a fixed or retractable undercarriage; neither is better. Some prefer the fixed gear because it does not use a servo and there is less to go wrong. Others prefer the clean lines of retracted wheels and the springier setup for less-than-smooth fields.
The choice is purely a personal-taste issue. Just be aware that you can’t pull ’em up until you are in event 402 and above. Also remember that you really should put ’em down again before you land. Many pilots have forgotten to do that. (Switching between the fixed-gear and retract versions of my Hydeouts has made me forget to hit the switch—at least until the last moment when the hollering from the pits got through to my cerebellum.)
YS Cooling Tip:
In a conversation with Dave Shadel and Rich Verano of YS Performance, we got into the use of air scoops on the current breed of Pattern airplanes. You may have noticed a scoop on the top of George Asteris’s Omen in a recent Aerobatics column. It seems that the YS 140 responds well to the cooling effect of the air on the crankcase.
When an engine is run inverted in a Pattern model, the crankcase is often well shrouded. The top air scoop puts cool air over the warm parts. There is definitely an increase in power with this setup, probably because of the effect on the inlet gases being drawn into and held in the cooler “supercharging” crankcase.
Before you all rush off and “Dremel” holes in your fuselages, another way to fit this idea into the cowl area is to use a lightened backplate by Tru-Turn. This backplate combined with a big-model cutout for the propeller will allow the air to be drawn in around the nose ring — if that area is not too obstructed. Either way, we can all use some more power, right? MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
