RADIO CONTROL AEROBATICS
Eric Henderson, 303 Shady Ln., Marlton NJ 08053; E-mail: [email protected]
THERE ARE MANY reasons to attend a precision Aerobatics contest. The chance to escape a "slow" New Jersey spring to be in Myrtle Beach in early April and to attend a contest run by the venerable Buff Miller are good enough! My wife and I drove down to South Carolina to escape our overly long winter. The sun shone and it was relatively warm, but we did not get to fly on the first day because of extremely high wind.
No matter, because the Greensea, South Carolina, contest has a hidden attraction. This was our third time there and our third "Guy and Debbie Smith Saturday Pig Roast." The barbecue and associated food was well worth the trip. Guy outdid himself with his wind-proof, custom-built meat roaster and his special, almost magic, secret sauce.
The issue of wind does not come up too often during a contest, but it is becoming clear that the advisory rule may be somewhat outdated. It may have been sensible in the past, when the airplanes were designed to fly fast and could penetrate a strong wind. However, since the inception and adoption of Turnaround Pattern, the designs have changed significantly. Flight speeds are slower, and the emphasis is on box management and constant speed presentation. It could be a good time to look at changing this rule.
Speaking of changing the rules, the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) will be sending a survey to all AMA members who the officials know are interested in Pattern competition. This is a change from the past practice of sending the survey only to NSRCA members.
If you are an AMA member who would like to participate in the NSRCA precision Aerobatics 2007 rules-change survey, please contact the NSRCA secretary, Cathy Reuther, at www.nsrca.org/. You can enter your information on the nonmember form on the main page or call Cathy at (770) 986-8709.
You can register with the NSRCA to receive future surveys and significant announcements of changes in the world of Pattern. This is a no-fee activity that the NSRCA provides as part of its Pattern-growth and promotional activities.
The NSRCA is an AMA SIG, and it is a society you can join. As a member you will receive the monthly Pattern-focused newsletter called the K Factor, which is a living compendium of Pattern-related activities and Pattern suppliers. The NSRCA Web site provides Pattern information and on-line access to a free K Factor from three months ago or the current issue—if you are a member.
The new Piedmont Models Brio made a showing at the Greensea contest. Dave Guerin built the model, and Steve Wall of Piedmont Models owns it. Steve is running a YS 140 Sport engine and reports that the Brio has plenty of vertical with it.
A second, almost complete Brio was delivered to Don Szczur the Friday before the contest. He used the high-wind-induced downtime to install his YS 160DZ and almost got it ready to fly on the following Sunday. Subsequent flight reports from Don are positive. (I also had a call from Quique Somenzini, who had just taken delivery of his electric-powered version. He has promised the column some pictures and a report!)
The Brio is an Almost Ready to Cover (ARC), for want of a better description. It is aimed at the builder who wants all of the hard work done so he or she can choose a color scheme and control equipment. The "hard work" for most of us is installing and aligning the wing tubes, stabilizer tube, and firewall. Throw in the undercarriage mounting formers and prehinged rudder, and you have a Brio.
Its "kits" come with different levels of prefabrication. There is a deluxe carbon-fiber/Kevlar version with carbon-fiber wing tubes, etc., which sells for roughly $1,300. The standard version has a fiberglass/foam/fiberglass-composite type of construction that comes with aluminum landing gear and an aluminum wing tube. You can find an official announcement about the Brio with detailed descriptions, prices, etc. at www.piedmontmodels.com.
Where does the Brio fit into the model-airplane market? I have been trying to figure out what to call it. It is not just a kit, nor is it an ARF. Most of the difficult work is done: wing tubes, adjusters, stabilizer tubes, firewall, sheeting and sanding, etc.
It could be summed up as a prealigned ARC that you adjust, cover, and paint to your own specifications. The prefabrication does not limit choices that people will most likely want to make when building a "high-end" model.
The Pinnacle and the Impact that I featured in previous columns have been flown and have proven to be satisfactory. These new-generation airplanes fly different from the designs of only a couple years ago; most noticeable is the slower down-line speed. The Pinnacle often needed a bit of throttle to pull it down the line in certain maneuvers.
They all roll as if the side of the fuselage were another wing. The current round fuselages give a smooth transition between level flight and the knife-edge position.
In the midst of ordering some more clamp locks from Al Young of J'Tec Radiowave (www.jtecrrc.com), the conversation turned to several new designs that debuted at the 2005 Toledo Show. Al gave me the following preview of three models that looked promising as Pattern aircraft.
The Infinity ARF has a composite fuselage that is 78 inches long and comes with a sheeted-balsa wing with a span of 74 inches. It is expected to weigh 10-10.5 pounds, depending on the equipment selected. The wings and stabilizers plug in and have incidence adjusters for both. The fuselage is prepainted, and the wings are covered in MonoKote.
The Infinity has a retail price of $1,299.99. At the time of writing (early April), a promotional price in the neighborhood of $1,000-$1,100 was being offered. You will need to call to see if it is still in effect.
There is a choice of "standard" hardware and composite landing gear. The composite fuselage has a removable cheek cowl and prehinged rudder. Wing and tail feathers are sheeted-foam construction with top-hinged ailerons and elevators. The Infinity currently comes painted in one color scheme and may be offered in additional colors.
There will most likely be two versions of the model. One will be specifically for glow engines with the pipe tunnel preinstalled and the other will be for electric power. It will have no pipe tunnel so that it will be more open inside for the battery packs and cooling.
The Orion ARF has more of a wood-and-foam construction. It is also more square, at 74 x 74 inches. The weight has been measured at 8.9 pounds less battery and receiver, with a .40-1.60 two-stroke engine in it. Its wing and tail surfaces have incidences that can be adjusted. It is covered with MonoKote.
The Orion's street price is expected to be approximately $899.99. It will have composite landing gear and a basic hardware package.
The Panther is a smaller Pattern airplane that is suitable for 91-120 engines. It has a 67-inch wingspan, and the weight should be roughly 6 pounds. It has 3-D capabilities and may well serve as a dual-purpose model.
The fuselage has composite construction, and the wings and tail surfaces are balsa-sheeted foam. Only the wing is removable on this airplane. It is available as an ARC or as a painted ARF. The ARC is expected to cost approximately $399.99 and the ARF will be a bit more at $449.99.
The Panther looks much like a model that would become a good Pattern aircraft in the right hands. It is directly aimed at the pilot who wants a high-performance airplane without having to use the biggest engines available. A YS 110 looks suitable for this model, but it could fly just as well with an O.S. or Saito four-stroke because of its size and weight. All of the J'Tec/Radiowave models come with the servo trays preinstalled.
The increasing number of super-high-quality and good-flying precision Aerobatics-specification ARFs and ARCs is encouraging. They not only give us many choices, but will have an effect on what is flown in the club flying sites.
This is a great opportunity for Pattern pilots to get involved with local club members and give them much-needed exposure to Pattern participation. I fly such ARFs as the Quest and Quest 2 or the Icecap off my local field to show how smooth relatively inexpensive Pattern airplanes fly.
Manufacturers are coming out with Pattern ARFs quicker than I can build them! The more choices available, the merrier. That is, of course, as long as you are not prone to indecisiveness.
Off to practice, or should I build an ARF? MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
