RC Flight Training With EPP-Foam Slope Sailplanes
Dave Garwood
Introduction
What if you have potential radio control (RC) fliers who don't have the time required to learn via traditional methods? Maybe work or school schedules limit their recreational time. Maybe if it takes too long for them to fly their first loop or roll, they will lose interest.
The impatience of youth—so apparent in today's mountain-biker and snowboarder types—makes the traditional method of "start with a slow polyhedral trainer glider" too time-consuming to be effective. What is needed is an RC training method that accounts for their high energy, need for adrenaline, and shorter attention spans.
The New York Slope Dogs use a training approach that starts newbies with expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam slope sailplanes, emphasizes preflight instruction, provides in-flight coaching, and protects beginners from "dumb thumbs" mistakes with a transmitter trainer-cord setup.
Why EPP-Foam Sailplanes
EPP-foam sailplanes are our trainer models of choice because they are extremely tough—like Nerf airplanes. They bounce when they hit the ground. EPP foam can be shaped with hot-wire techniques and will often return to its original shape when dinged or squeezed.
Pat Bowman introduced the Ruffneck aerobatic slope sailplane in 1995. Today there are at least 10 designers and makers of EPP-foam kits—mostly slope sailplanes, but also thermal sailplanes and electric models.
- Experienced builders learn new construction and finishing techniques with their first EPP models.
- New builders can construct them with little trouble by following kit instructions.
- Completed models can withstand hard landings, midair collisions, some straight-in crashes, and can often be picked up and relaunched with no repairs needed.
We use sailplanes for beginner training because they are the least expensive way to get an RC model into the sky and we can skip motor setup, fuel handling, and propeller-safety instruction. Having no after-flying cleanup is an additional benefit.
Many EPP-foam slope sailplanes available today are 30- to 50-inch wingspan World War II fighter replicas; these semiscale models can be convincingly detailed with iron-on covering, which helps hold newcomers' attention.
Some slope sailplanes are larger—up to 72 inches in span—and add rudder control for those who want to learn to use their left thumb. Dave's Aircraft Works (DAW) makes a 120-inch-span EPP Ka6E aerobatic trainer with full-house ailerons, optional flaps, rudder, elevator, and aerotow release. It requires a six-channel radio but looks great and flies like a dream. A few EPP-foam airplanes are available for fuel or electric power for those who prefer powered flight.
Equipment and Radios
Most of our trainer airplanes are built from roughly $60 kits and have only aileron and rudder servos, so they can use the simplest radio transmitters.
- One good radio is the Hitec two-channel, single-stick setup, which costs approximately $125 after adding rechargeable batteries for the transmitter, a rechargeable receiver battery pack, and a wall charger. The Hitec IIS does not offer trainer-cable capability.
- Some larger EPP-foam sailplanes control ailerons, elevator, and rudder and therefore require a three- or more-channel transmitter.
- Airtronics, Futaba, Hitec, JR, and Tower Hobbies make four-channel radio sets that come with rechargeable batteries, a wall charger, and three or four servos; they cost roughly $160. The FM versions of these radios have trainer-cable sockets. The trainer cable itself is an accessory item.
The single biggest value for $15 spent in RC radio equipment is the trainer cable. These cables are compatible with FM radios (four channels and more) made by the manufacturers listed above. In some cases a trainer cable will work across radio brands.
Connecting two transmitters allows the instructor pilot (IP) to control the airplane. When the IP depresses the momentary-on trainer switch, control is passed to the student pilot (SP). The IP can release the trainer switch to instantly regain control. Make sure the two transmitters are set up identically for servo direction and trim settings.
Why Slope Soaring for Training
Slope flying is our discipline of choice because sailplanes need lift, and in slope flying the lift is in a predictable location when the wind is working. The student can be shown where the lift is and taught how to explore the lift band; they are relieved of the task of searching for lift as on a thermal flying field. Plus we like the view from the top of the hill.
For instructional background on slope soaring, see the four-part series in the January, April, July, and October 2000 issues of Model Aviation.
Choosing Slope Sites
It is worthwhile to travel to a known good slope-soaring site: a place with steady lift, good launching and landing areas, and easy access to the slope face and the bottom in case a downed model must be recovered.
Recommended sites for predictable flight-training experiences include:
- Torrey Pines Flight Park, San Diego, California
- Wilson Lake, Kansas
- Cape Cod, Massachusetts
- Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan
- Jockey's Ridge, North Carolina
- Morningside Flight Park, Claremont, New Hampshire
- Eagle Butte, Washington
- Point of the Mountain, Utah
- Mount Equinox, Vermont
Save quirky inland sites, launch-between-the-trees mountain spots, and tricky soar-over-three-parked-vans venues for more experienced fliers.
To locate suitable slope-soaring locations, search the web for "slope soaring." Greg Smith's comprehensive site at www.slopeflyer.com lists slope sites in 30 states and offers an extensive links list to other slope-soaring resources. You can also locate soaring clubs through the Academy of Model Aeronautics site at www.modelaircraft.org (click "About AMA" then "Chartered Clubs"). See the April 2000 Model Aviation article "Finding Slope Flying Sites."
Whitecaps on the water indicate that there is wind velocity, but wind speed does not always equal usable lift—it's a science.
Training Methods
Our training methods include preflight briefing, coaching during flight, and postflight discussion. A student pilot's high time in the air on early flights is made possible by use of the trainer cable.
Preflight briefing:
- Explain how sailplanes fly and how to find the lift band.
- Watch gulls and other airplanes to demonstrate lift and flight patterns.
- Stress avoiding stalls by keeping airspeed up.
- Explain the roll-control reversal effect when flying toward the pilot.
- Warn that many new pilots (especially video-game veterans) tend to overcontrol.
We discuss launching, flying the classic figure-eight pattern, and landing. We cover emergency procedures for lost orientation and out-of-sight models, and we review frequency control to avoid conflicts.
Final preflight checks include confirming "correct and free" control surfaces and matching transmitter-switch positions. The IP launches the sailplane, trims it, and repeats any significant trim changes on the SP's transmitter by hand so that the handoff is smooth.
During flight:
- The IP announces when control is handed over: "You've got the airplane."
- The IP gives the SP as much control time as both can handle.
- The experienced pilot talks through decisions and actions while coaching the student.
- If the IP needs to regain control, releasing the trainer switch is immediate; the IP should announce this action to avoid anxiety.
Postflight:
- Inspect the aircraft for loose servos, stripped gears, damaged clevises, and general structural integrity. Repairs are part of flying.
- Discuss what went well and what went poorly. Reinforce guarding against overcontrol and stalling.
- Establish learning goals for the next session.
After a few trainer-cord flights, the SP progresses to loops, rolls, and inverted flight and eventually can launch, fly, and land unassisted.
How We Spent Our Summer Vacation (Case Study)
This flight-training method was developed during weekend trips to the east coast over a four-year period. Most of the interested SPs were college buddies from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. They were experienced computer and video-game buffs; some had tried motorized RC airplanes, but none had experienced an RC flight longer than 10 seconds.
Participants:
- Chris Costigan, Matt Keramati, Kyle Saltzman: very little or no RC experience.
- Jim Harrigan: had flown slope and thermal sailplanes intermittently for five years and wanted to progress to aerobatics and slope combat.
- Lou Garwood: more than 10 years of slope flying experience.
We mainly flew DAW two-meter-span Schweizer 1-26s in light and medium lift, and DAW EPP-foam warbirds in medium and heavy lift. We did not perform a rigorous comparison of EPP designs and simply flew what we had.
Results:
- Kyle and Matt made 10-minute solo flights by the end of their first weekend.
- Chris achieved this after two weekends.
- Jim now flies loops and rolls and is working on extending inverted hang time.
- Kyle progressed from SP to IP by his fourth weekend.
- Matt, Kyle, and Jim each bought an additional radio and began building second slope airplanes (DAW 1-26s) with split wings and removable horizontal stabilizers for easier transport and storage.
Chris wrote about his experience from the SP viewpoint in "Slope Training and Then Some" (Flying Models, November 2000). He wrote:
"I am no master, but after just two weekends I was able to experience the wonder and Zen of silent flight. It's rewarding to watch your foamie combat plane soar with the gulls and know that it is up there—without fuel nor engine—by your hand, and by your new-found mastery of the tricks of RC slope flying.
"I was able to log several ten-minute flights with only two weekends of stick time. Had the plane been balsa, and had the slope chasing been followed each time by an hour's worth of shop work, I would have been discouraged long before I learned to fly."
Contact
Dave Garwood 5 Birch Ln. Glenville, NY 12302 [email protected]
EPP-Foam Model Makers and Suppliers
Sailplanes (F4U Corsair, F-15 Eagle, Speed 400 electric):
- Aerofoam Radio Control
6956 S. Russet Sky Way Gold Canyon, AZ 85218 [email protected] www.aerofoam.com
Tough slope sailplanes (Avenger, Mog, Zipper, Geek):
- The Birdworks
Box 1302 Port Orford, OR 97465 (541) 332-0194 [email protected] www.harborside.com/~birdworks/bwhome.htm
Sailplanes (Apache, The JW, Comanche, Sonic):
- Bowman's Hobbies
21069 Susan Carole Dr. Saugus, CA 91350 (661) 296-2952 [email protected]
(End of article)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
