RC Aerobatics
Eric Henderson [email protected]
Learn the basics of Pattern flying at a primer!
IN THE WORLD of precision Aerobatics (Pattern), you will see or hear the word “primer” used when referring to a contest. A primer comes in many forms and formats, but the primary contest design theme is to create a day during which new Pattern pilots can get their feet wet at a low-key event.
Primers are typically one-day contests that often contain a coaching segment or element. This is followed by a competition in which the flying is judged and scored. The rules for equipment and sound specifications tend to be, more often than not, eased a bit or relaxed to allow almost any type of airplane to actually compete.
One such event is run by the PARCS (Pennsylvania Avenue Radio Control Society), which flies out of the old Floyd Bennett Field just below Brooklyn, New York. CD and club member Jon Gerber has “run” this event for several years.
The word “run” is in quotes because Jon asked for and received a great deal of extra help from the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA), which is the AMA Pattern SIG. The NSRCA is more than happy to help CDs such as Jon. It will help anyone who sets out to run a Pattern primer. Pattern clubs throughout the US can expect a similar level of support from this organization.
Also included in this column is information about:
- Reviewing AMA wind-advisory rules
- Second-generation Pinnacles
- New life for those “orange boxes”
- Nats online coverage update
This year Jon had an experienced Pattern pilot available to support each entrant at his contest. The NSRCA volunteer team provided the judging and scoring services to help make the event easy to run.
Each contestant was given individual coaching and trimming guidance during the first part of the day. When the pilots flew a competitive round, a Pattern expert was available who could stand next to them and help handle contest nerves or add flying advice as and when required.
If you or your club does not feel confident enough to run a full-blown, five-class Pattern contest, consider holding a one-day coaching and competition event such as a Pattern primer.
How do you find out about primers? All AMA sanctioned events are listed in the back of MA. If you don’t want to search through the fine print, the NSRCA has eight district vice presidents whom you can contact online by visiting the NSRCA Web site at www.nsrca.org. Or you can contact NSRCA Secretary Cathy Reuther at (770) 986-8709 to find out who to ask.
The PARCS is in NSRCA District 1, of which Rick Wallace is the vice president. He was able to muster up a dedicated group of Pattern enthusiasts who helped make the PARCS primer a success.
RC Aerobatics
Eric Henderson
The participants in these events not only have a good time but often end up running their own primers. It is a great investment for all concerned.
A primer is a place where you make new acquaintances and renew old ones. In the last few years I have noticed that you often become reacquainted with certain airplanes as well. These models are being recycled! You used to associate the airplane with the identity of the previous owner. Now that it is being flown by other pilots, you may need a new mental database!
A wide range of models was flown in this contest. There were some sport airplanes, a Scale Aerobatics model or two, and even a couple models that had been flown at the Nats and made it to the Masters finals. It seems as though some of last year’s primer contestants have been busily upgrading their hangars!
High Winds
Wind does not come up often during a contest. Now that airplanes are flown slower, they can be affected much more by the wind than when there were no Turnaround schedules. The AMA wind-advisory rule may be somewhat outdated.
The rule may have been sensible in the past, when the models were designed to fly fast and could penetrate a strong wind. Since the inception and adoption of Turnaround Pattern, the designs have changed significantly. Flight speeds are slower, and there is a big emphasis on box management, controlled distance, and constant speed presentation.
This is just one of the rules that is being looked at in the new NSRCA survey. Although it is called an NSRCA rules survey, it is really an NSRCA survey of AMA rules changes. If you are an AMA member who flies Pattern or may be interested in trying it, you might like to fill out the survey. You can find it on the NSRCA Web site.
The second generation of Pinnacles is now in the US. Some changes have been made that are aimed at minor functional improvements, and others are aimed at reducing this ARF model’s weight even further.
The firewall is now installed in position and angled to accept a Hyde mount. The canopy and the chin cowl now employ white silicone grommets to engage their locating pins. The idea is to prevent the wheels from rattling while the engine is running at low rpm.
There is a new carbon-fiber insert in the lower side of each wingtip to handle any scuffing from low-wing ground kisses in heavy crosswinds. All of the internal formers are now made from brown Nomex board.
The Pinnacle ARF does not require any major building or assembly. However, it does take roughly six evenings to get everything installed.
You may already be familiar with those orange boxes that are actually excellent glow drivers. Even though they may now be surpassed by more modern versions, there is still some life in them yet!
They originally contained a four-cell Ni-Cd that eventually aged and lost its capacity and performance edge. In the past my Ni-starters have had their Ni-Cds replaced with NiMH 3000 mAh cells, but these too eventually lose their edge.
This does have an effect on the unit’s performance. What happens to the Ni-starter is that the lower voltage being delivered prevents the device from clearing a “wet” or oil-fouled plug in an inverted engine as well as it could before.
To be better informed about what was going on with the unit, a C-volt LCD device was shoehorned into the face of the case. This meter gives the voltage that is being supplied to the Ni-starter circuit. A high-intensity LED was previously fitted to the glow circuit on-side of the switch to let you know if the unit was still turned on or not.
To provide the actual power, a used 2000 mAh, 8.4-volt Li-Ion two-cell pack was selected from the “don’t use in an airplane anymore” box. The old NiMH pack was desoldered and then removed from the case using a heat gun to soften the glue holding the old pack in place. While the glue was still hot and sticky, the new pack was lightly pressed into place.
A 5.2-volt regulator was fitted with a small, but necessary, heat sink and wired into place. The copper tracing on the switch circuit of the board was scraped away to intercept the original standard circuit. The regulator has to be switched out of circuit from the battery because the regulator circuit will continually drain the Li-Ion if left connected directly to the battery. A set of wires were soldered in parallel directly to the battery to miss the regulator and connect to the existing charging socket.
The Li-Ion cells charge quickly, hold their charge easily for more than a year, and allow multiple top-up-type charging at any time. The unit has been used almost daily for more than a month and has needed no recharging, so far.
A test plug was filled with fuel, and the unit was turned on to see if it would clear and begin to glow. There was no problem at full charge and there is still no problem a month later.
This year’s Aerobatics Nats was reported about online the week the event was held (July 17–21). I will put a short recap in the next Pattern column for any of you who are not online or do not have access to a computer. The AMA announcement read as follows.
“During the 2005 Nats, column contributing editors will be producing daily articles for the on-line NatsNews.
“The Event Directors will turn in the scores for unofficial scores posting. Our new Associate Editor Michael Ramsey will be on-site throughout the Nats and will be available to help in any manner that is required.
“During the Nationals you can go to www.natsnews.org or to www.modelaircraft.org, and then click on the Competitions tab and then drop down to the AMA Flying Site/Nationals and take a look at the contest reports.”
Landing procedure complete. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
