RC Aerobatics
Eric Henderson, 303 Shady Ln., Marlton NJ 08053; E-mail: [email protected]
THIS PROMISES to be a very exciting year.
On the personal front, I married my best friend. Michelle Henderson is not only a terrific wife, but also a Pattern supporter, proofreader, and caller/coach/scribe. This will be her sixth Nationals. It definitely makes life more fun when your partner supports the hobby you love.
This will also be the first year that I commit to flying FAI (Federation Aeronautique Internationale). For Pattern, it is the first year for the new FAI P-01 schedule. This new schedule levels the playing field somewhat, because all pilots get the same time to prepare.
It is also the first year for the new AMA Masters schedule. We will also run the world team trials at Muncie, at the same time as the Pattern Nationals. If you add Scale Aerobatics being flown the three days immediately before that, you can see I have a great reason to have a second honeymoon in Muncie!
The fact that both types of RC Aerobatics are being flown consecutively should allow many pilots to fly in both categories. You can expect to see all of the big names.
Flying Precision Aerobatics is the most fascinating challenge I have ever seen. I know why I fly Pattern, and would like many more of you to do the same. Let's explore what is so great about Pattern.
People and community
It must be said that you meet the nicest people flying RC Aerobatics. Pattern draws some of the most creative and interesting characters that one could hope to meet.
Examples of backgrounds represented in Pattern:
- Artists
- Musicians
- Doctors
- Lawyers
- Judges
- Airline pilots
- Military personnel
- Race car drivers
- Carpenters
- Electricians
- Builders
There seems to be no real age barrier, either. The young and the old are both involved, as illustrated by my favorite photo of Bob Noll giving young Peter Collinson his trophy after winning the Advanced class in the 1999 Nationals. (It was the same photo the year before when Peter won Intermediate, and Bob still looked just as young.)
Another common sight is father-and-son teams:
- Merle and Chip Hyde
- Mike and Sean McMurtry
- Jason and Don Shulman
A picture taken at the District I Poconos PA contest run by Joe Lachowski shows four teams. In the photo there can be found the 1998 AMA Masters champion, who is now flying FAI: Dave Lockhart, with father Ron.
Look around you at the AMA Nationals and you will see a high percentage of family teams. I also note that a high percentage of spouses/significant others attend Pattern contests. They say, "The airplanes are so quiet that you can relax while you watch!" So you meet great people and experience a strong family environment.
Technical influence
There is probably not an aspect of RC fixed-wing flying that hasn't been influenced or improved by the endeavors of Pattern technologists.
Technical leadership is an obvious example. The radios that are so common today owe their lineage to the developments made to satisfy the needs of many Pattern world champions.
A leading RC manufacturer designed a radio in 1976 (the Unlimited-8) for Hanno Prettner that was light-years ahead of the "agricultural" equipment of the time. It was programmable, with roughly 30 backplate pots, snap switches, auto-flap/elevator trim, mix switches, etc. The big guns soon joined in, and the technology race that led to our computer radios began.
Engine developments for Pattern airplanes reach the club field in very short order. Items such as sound-reducing engine mounts, propellers, and mufflers have a genealogy that traces to Pattern's competition needs.
FAI set standards that nobody thought could be met without losing power. Now we have more power than ever, with less noise than before.
It is an obvious reality that we will continue to see the results of some very successful marketing. You may well believe that you have to have the very latest and best of the above to be a winner, or to just be competitive.
You may ask, "Is this a lost cause?" "Certainly not!" would be my response!
I plan to write about the viable choices that are available to people who want to give Pattern a try—to show equipment that will work without having to spend $2,000–3,000 on a "luxury" Pattern airplane. You may already have the right equipment or just enough "spare" cash to buy a reasonably good Pattern-capable setup.
Part of our "Pattern problem" is that it is commonly felt that you cannot just go out and buy an affordable Pattern airplane as you can buy a sport airplane; this is no longer an accurate sentiment. It can readily be disproved by looking at what is available today.
There are many sport airplanes that will fly the Pattern schedules in a very respectable manner. There is also a growing number of Almost Ready to Cover or Almost Ready to Fly airplanes that are purpose-designed for Pattern. Any of these airplanes can get a pilot hooked on Pattern. Once hooked, they will follow their heart and enjoy their competitive path of choice.
With an interest level of, say, "casual" or "curious," you will naturally follow the path of least resistance. Typically the most attractive will be the ever-improving ARF scene. I bought a World Models Chipmunk; with an O.S. 91 Surpass, it was pretty acceptable. I swapped in my new YS 91 FZ and it turned into a mean machine! It gave acceptable FAI performance capability, with great verticals. This airplane will do very well in the first two or three AMA Pattern classes.
A more serious Pattern ARF offering is the 60–90 Tai Ji. I have only had the opportunity to take one out of a box, but my impressions are: superb construction, light, and very well-finished. Designed for .61, but could easily take a YS 91 FZ or 1.20 NC or FZ. Also a very good platform for many two-strokes, with or without tuned pipes.
Check out the EZ line of "Pattern" purpose airplanes. EZ has never stopped producing Pattern-primed kits. These kits look good, are quick to assemble, are light, and most of all, fly well on readily available "port" engines.
Next month I'll list all of the airplanes I have found that are Pattern-compatible. I will also take a look at engines and radio options, to give you some idea of where to get your feet wet in Pattern.
Getting started and finding instruction
Many pilots believe that they will not be good enough to enter a contest—sort of like the golfer who says, "I'll take some lessons when I get good enough not to make a fool of myself." Right there is the nub of the participation problem.
Where do you get the lessons? And how do you get good enough without them?
In golf, you can't turn around without bumping into a pro. In Pattern, we keep "hiding" from you! To find Pattern people, ask your local hobby shop for information or contact the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA).
Wind-correcting the Loop
All maneuvers in Pattern require the lines to be drawn in the right place, irrespective of the wind. If you pull a vertical line, the line must be vertical. Note: not the fuselage; the line. This concept is what many feel is the differentiator between good and great pilots. So all of the next maneuver challenges will include the wind-correction requirements in the form of advice and hints.
Wind comes from any direction it feels like. More often than not, your flying field is laid out in a fixed position. To do the Loop, you will have to deal with headwinds and crosswinds. (A hybrid wind direction will require a combination of the techniques explained below.)
In a headwind the pilot needs to allow for the wind pushing the airplane back as it enters the loop, and blowing it too far downwind on the back half of the loop. Enlist that "friend" again, have them line you if you are doing a truly round loop right in front of you. You need to establish a pole or tree that you can use as a centerline.
As you go into the first quarter of the loop, you pull slightly less elevator than if there was no wind. This allows the airplane to penetrate more as it climbs, and keeps a more-round curve going in the loop. As the model comes past vertical and starts to go over the top, you add a touch of down elevator to "kick" the airplane back to the centerline. It also helps to add more power than usual on the back half, to help the airplane pull down and back into the wind.
You soon find that your throttle stick is used as much as the elevator in a Loop.
In windy conditions, it also helps to fly a little faster so the airplane is less exposed to the "kiting" effects of the wind, especially when it is in the vertical position. Nailing a round loop in a big "blow" is an art form. Impressive when done at your club, and a high score-getter at a Pattern contest.
Now let's tackle the crosswind—the harder of the winds that you have to deal with. It is hard to see the effect of the wind until it is too late. The airplane either becomes a speck or appears right over your head, depending upon which way the wind is blowing. The good news is that you can do something about it.
The first "trick" is to continually lower the wingtip that is pointing at the wind. Only a few degrees is required. It does not detract from the appearance of the loop. An example would be when the wind is blowing behind you, often referred to as "blowing out."
Let's cover the execution of a loop flying from left to right.
- As the model enters the loop, the wing would be rolled slightly right.
- As the nose reaches vertical, the wings would be rolled left to be dead square.
- Over the top you lower the right wing again, with some left aileron (because the model is upside down).
- On the way down, a small roll to the right to square the wings.
- Finally, as you pull the model level, the wing is rolled right to lower the tip into the wind again.
At first this might seem complicated, but if you think about side-slipping into the wind you can see that the inboard or windward wingtip needs to be kept low. You can have fun trying this when there is no wind, and see how much you can move a loop to the side. Then, on a windy day, you take on the forces of nature and win!
The other (and perhaps more preferable) technique is to use the rudder to yaw the airplane all of the way around the loop, to keep the nose pointing slightly into the wind. In the same loop case as above, you would apply right rudder all of the way around. Many proficient pilots use a combination.
The fun thing is to go out and try these suggestions and see if you can effect a loop that starts in the middle of the runway and ends up the same distance out/in as it started. Learning this technique alone puts you two-thirds of the way into Precision Aerobatics.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
