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1 The Monocle Official Newsletter of the Red Baron R/C Modelers Monthly Club Nights are held on the first Thursday of each 2017 Officers President: David Barker Vice-President: Scott Adolfson Secretary: John Schultz Treasurer: Dick Barker Board Members: Ted Clapp Larry Deming Tim Johnson Mark Fitch John Nation Club Liaison Officers: Jim Dokos Desert Eagles Randy Shiosaki Eastern Idaho Aeromodelers Club The April Club Night was held on Thursday, April 6 th, 2017, at Aero Mark, with seven members in attendance and one visitor. Treasurer Dick Barker was absent and excused, having undergone some medical testing that day, which has since provided some promising news for the upcoming months. Chuck Tornabene was welcomed back, having been absent for much of the past year or so, as he recovered from heart surgery. Chuck was looking quite well, and we hope to see him at the field again this year! Jim Dokos, Club Liaison Officer for Desert Eagles Model Airplane Club (DEMAC), reported that Sunday the 9 th was the last scheduled Indoor Flying Event at Skyline High School, but said additional, more spontaneous sessions may be scheduled if the weather is bad. President David Barker reported on some recent financial activity, but had inadvertently left the most current Treasurer s Report at home, so didn t have exact or full numbers. David reminded everyone that membership fees for 2017 are due on April 30 th, and that the next Club Night (May 4 th ) will be back at the flying field. If you have not paid your 2017 membership fees, please do so 1) at the club meetings, 2) by mailing payment to Treasurer Dick Barker at 177 East Fir, Shelley, ID 83274, or 3) electronically via PayPal, sending to redbaronrc@gmail.com. David Barker reported the field, is overall in good condition; however the war on the puncture weeds continues as he had been out and applied another 250 pounds of salt, but that additional patches of puncture weed were present on the north and east sides of the runways, so there is still a lot of work to be done. David also used the County s roller, hoping to help smooth the grass runway. (Salt applied to the asphalt cracks & other areas in hopes of killing off the weeds grass runway after rolling to help smooth the surface)

2 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 2 Bob Secondo presented the Club with several items for fundraising efforts, to sell locally or thru ebay or other means, including a very nice O.S. Max.61SF-P (pumped) glow/nitro engine. (Editor s note although the items were offered locally, buyers for the items were quickly found in Lafayette, Indiana and Rockford, IL after they were listed in a Facebook group and ebay. In all, the donated items brought in $ after fees and other expenses THANKS AGAIN, Bob!) Larry Deming showed his recently completed Airwolf helicopter, completed over Align T-Rex 500 frame/mechanics. Larry has logged about 12 flights, and said the 6-pound helicopter flies quite scale like, and gets 7-minute flights on 6S 3200mAh battery packs. The aircraft has operating retractable landing gear and a light system. David Barker showed his new fire-proof Lipo battery storage and charging case he constructed following details in a video found at David expressed he finally decided to take added precautions for storing and charging Lipo batteries after seeing the result of a co-workers recent cell-phone explosion and fire resulting in damage to his residence. The tool box was lined and dividers added to help keep the batteries organized, with some means of venting designed in to prevent a potentially dangerous buildup of pressure should a battery go thermal. David said he started the case just as a more secure means of storing his batteries, but soon realized his charging equipment would also fit inside the lid, and completed the case as both a storage bunker and charging case. Batteries on charge batteries will be further enclosed in a fire proof container - but are shown exposed for demonstration purposes. David also showed two videos he recently took while retiring Lipo battery packs by intentionally short circuiting the packs. One pack swelled, and upon bursting and venting, spewed s good amount of smoke and flame, which then continued to burn for about 5 minutes. The second pack was les spectaular, in that is simple swelled up for 2-3 minutes before bursting and venbting without any smoke or flame. Take care in using and charging our Lipo batteries and protect yourself and others from injury or damage!

3 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 3 Lithium-ion battery inventor touts new battery breakthrough John Goodenough (The University of Texas at Austin). Published March 08, 2017 Not all tech geniuses are barely old enough to shave. For proof, look no further than John Goodenough, who was 57 years old when he co-invented the lithium ion battery, which is very likely the power source for, among other things, the device on which you re reading this. But that was 37 years ago. Now, at the spry age of 94, Goodenough, a professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has one-upped himself. Goodenough and senior research fellow Maria Helena Braga recently announced the development of an all-solid-state battery that beats lithium-ion in every way imaginable. It s cheap, it has a longer life cycle, it charges and discharges quickly and, best of all, its noncombustible meaning it won t explode and burst into flames. Are you listening, Samsung? Goodenough and Braga, who are seeking several patents, hope the technology could revolutionize the powering of electric vehicles and energy storage devices, according UT News. The all-solid-state battery cells have at least three times as much energy density as lithium-ion batteries, which could greatly extend how far an electric vehicle can travel before it needs to be recharged. The new battery can be charged and discharged more times than a lithium-cell battery, meaning it will last longer. And charging and recharging can be accomplished in minutes, not hours. Lithium-ion batteries use liquid electrolytes to transport lithium ions between the negative and positive sides of a battery. If the battery cell is charged too quickly, it can cause a short circuit that can lead to explosions and fires. But Goodenough and Braga s all-solid-state battery uses glass electrolytes instead of liquid ones. The result is a battery that can have high conductivity at 4 degrees below zero (-20 degrees Celsius) wonderful news for electric car owners and is made from earth-friendly materials. The glass electrolytes allow for the substitution of low-cost sodium for lithium, Braga said. Sodium is extracted from seawater that is widely available. Longer-lasting, faster-charging, more energy-dense and won t blow up. What more could you want from a battery? In 37 years, when he s 131 years old, John Goodenough will let us know. Flying The Humpty-Bump I would love to be able to tell you why fully grown adults gave this maneuver the name Humpty-Bump. To tell the truth, I have absolutely no idea. As best as I can tell, it must have something to do with an egg, a wall, and all the king s men. It is also commonly referred to as a Humpty. In its simplest form, the Humpty is a 1/4 loop to a vertical line up, followed by a small half loop to a vertical line down, finishing with a second 1/4 loop back to level. There are two different kinds of Humpty-Bumps: the pull Humpty and the push Humpty. As you probably guessed, the pull Humpty-Bump uses up elevator (the pull on the elevator stick) to change course at the top of the vertical. Conversely, the push Humpty-Bump uses down elevator (the push on the elevator stick) to change course at the top of the maneuver. The turnaround at the top of the Humpty-Bump needs to be precisely timed so that it carves the right arc through the sky. It is flown at a very low airspeed, well below zero G stall speed. We use vectored thrust to pull or push the nose to a vertical down position. There are a couple of things to note about flying the Humpty. One thing to know is that like the hammerhead, the Humpty-Bump has a high probability of a loss of control if the maneuver is flown poorly. I recommend being comfortable with spins and spin recovery before proceeding to Humpty-Bumps. The other thing to be aware of is the importance of the concept of symmetry to this maneuver; the model s entry and exit looping segments should be the same size. For IMAC judging, the top Humpty-Bump looping segment does not need to be the same size as the entry and exit looping segments. The techniques I teach here are compatible with IMAC judging criteria. Note: Pattern rules are slightly different. They require constant diameters throughout the Humpty-Bump. Check the end of the article for more information on Pattern Humpty techniques.

4 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 4 PULL HUMPTY-BUMP Start the pull Humpty-Bump from a level line with enough throttle to draw a long vertical up-line, but not so much that the model climbs too high to be clearly seen. Execute a 1/4 loop to a vertical up-line. Establish and correct for the vertical line as the model decelerates. As the model slows, you need to gauge the point at which you input full up elevator and fly the model over the top of the Humpty-Bump. The goal for the turnaround is to finish the pull at the same altitude at which you started. If you pull too early, the model will fly over the top of the Humpty in a half loop, rather than rotate at a minimum airspeed. The model will finish low, or establish the vertical down-line at an altitude below the starting altitude. If the pull is too late, the model will flop over the top of the maneuver and finish at too high an altitude when compared to the starting altitude of the pull. With practice, you will be able to judge the correct airspeed to initiate the turnaround. At that point, add full up elevator. The nose of the model will instantaneously pitch toward a nose-down attitude. Due to gyroscopic precession, the model will tend to yaw significantly to the right during the pitch change. Add enough left rudder to keep the yaw axis neutral and the model tracking straight. The left rudder application will be required while you are pitching, but you will need to remove it once you near the vertical down-line. At the top of the Humpty, the airspeed is very low, but the thrust is very high. Torque will have the tendency to roll the model to the left, so correct as necessary with right aileron. If the model buffets or stalls during the pull, relax the up elevator pressure. If flown at the correct airspeed, it will be below the stall speed (very near zero airspeed), yet the model will not buffet or stall because the wing is unloaded through the maneuver. Try pulling at a lower airspeed on the next Humpty if the wing stalls during the pull. With the nose pointing down, focus on re-establishing a good vertical down-line. Remember to relax the elevator sharply to set the down-line. Avoid hunting for the correct pitch attitude on the down-line. Practice will make hitting this line more precise. Recover with a 1/4 loop pulling back to a level line. PUSH HUMPTY-BUMP Begin the push Humpty-Bump from an inverted level line with an appropriate throttle setting. Execute a 1/4 outside loop to the vertical up-line. Correct for yaw during the push and once you are established on the vertical up-line. The push, for a push Humpty-Bump, is flown exactly like the pull Humpty. The big difference is that right rudder may be required to keep the yaw in balance during the push of the push Humpty, instead of the left rudder, which is used during the pull of a pull Humpty. Remember to adjust the amount of right rudder as you approach the vertical down-line. Adjust the ailerons as well, to compensate for torque s leftrolling tendency. With precision, hit the vertical down-line. Recover with a crisp 1/4 outside loop back to a level inverted line.

5 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 5 VARIATIONS ON THE HUMPTY-BUMP Unlike many maneuvers that are very rigid in the nature of the maneuver s elements, the Humpty-Bump has a wide variety of possible transitions. In each Humpty, the maneuver can start and end with a positive pull or a negative push. If you mix that with the fact that the turn-around at the top of the maneuver can be a pull or push, you can see the variety available. Depending upon the direction of the entry and exit corners (pulls or pushes), the Humpty-Bump can be used as a mid-box maneuver continuing the same direction of flight during the maneuver, or as an end box turn-around maneuver changing the direction of flight during the maneuver. The name of the maneuver is based on the nature of the elements of the figure. If the maneuver begins with a pull to vertical, a push Humpty turn-around, and a push out to inverted, the maneuver would be referred to as a pull-push-push Humpty. Another example: if the maneuver starts from inverted with a negative push to vertical, a pull Humpty turn-around at the top, and finishes with a positive pull out to level flight, the maneuver would be called a push-pull-pull Humpty. PATTERN HUMPTY-BUMP These techniques are not structured or intended as prep for a competition pilot; rather they are an introduction to aerobatics for pilots of all skill levels and offer relatively generic techniques that happen to be compatible with IMAC judging criteria. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Pattern Humpty-Bumps are flown differently from the techniques I outlined above. Pattern judging criteria require all looping segments in the Humpty-Bump to be the same radius. To accomplish this, the pilot must adjust the entry speed of the initial pull or push and the overall energy level so that there is enough energy to maintain a constant radius during the middle Humpty section. For all practical purposes, the center of thepattern Humpty is flown like a halfloop, matching the radius of the entry and exit segments precisely. COMMON HUMPTY MISTAKES Poor vertical line: this causes the Humpty to be off-axis when initiated. Early pull/push for the Humpty: if early, the model will fly the turn-around and finish low. Late pull/push for the Humpty: if late, the model will torque excessively, possibly tail slide, and finish high. CONCLUSION The Humpty-Bump is one of the most adaptable figures in the FAI catalogue of maneuvers. It can be used as a mid-box maneuver, a turn-around end-box maneuver, and when combined with portions of rolls on the vertical lines, as a wind-correcting cross-box maneuver. I have seen them flown in every category from Sportsman through Unlimited. Fortunately, the Humpty-Bump is simple enough to fly and virtually any model aircraft can be used. Next time you are at the field looking for a maneuver to practice, I hope you ll give the Humpty a try. Be sure to focus on straight lines, clean verticals, and a nice, smooth pitch transition. Till next time, remember, aerobatics make the world go round.

6 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 6 Successful EDF Flights - by Don Slusarczyk Flying your first EDF (electric ducted fan) can be slightly intimidating because they fly a little different and faster than your average park flyer you need to be prepared for these differences. I fly a lot of jets at my local club and I have seen others become interested in jets after watching me fly. Their first EDF experiences often end up as piles of foam pieces. I have a few tips to help make your first EDF experience a successful one. Launching an EDF model is a little more complicated than launching a typical park flyer. A park flyer has a large propeller up front; the propeller blast blows air over the flying surface. Once launched, the airplane has instant control effectiveness because of the propeller blast, and a gentle toss is all that is needed to get a park flyer going. EDFs are different because there is no propeller blast. EDF models must be firmly thrown with the throttle running (I launch at full throttle), so the airplane can accelerate quickly to a flying speed where the flight controls have enough air over them for full control. What I have seen in person or in online videos are light or gentle tosses and the airplane rolling over or nosing in a few feet away. Slightly nose-up and a firm, straight-ahead throw are recipes for success. When launching an EDF, the nose should be slightly up. A firm throw straight ahead will help quickly build airspeed. One caveat to be aware of is rolling your hand or wrist over when launching. I have seen in videos a good, straight throw until the last moment before release and the throwing hand rotates and rolls the model over into a crash. This wrist roll is a natural action when extending your hand, but a little conscious thought will prevent it from happening. I am right handed, so when I launch my models, my right thumb is pointed up on the left side of the fuselage, and my fingers are pointed up on the right side of the fuselage. During the throw, my thumb and fingers stay upright until the model is released. The natural body movement is for the thumb and fingers to rotate left from vertical to horizontal. This is the roll/flip I frequently see during launches, often leading to a crash. Before you make the actual launch, do a few practice motions to get a feel for keeping your hand from rolling over. Rotating your wrist over during a launch will roll the model and can lead to an immediate crash. This is often incorrectly called an EDF torque roll.

7 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 7 Once in the air, you need to be prepared for the faster flying speed. When airplanes move faster, your reaction time needs to be faster as well. It is easy to get behind the airplane and that can lead to a crash because you are defensively reacting to the airplane s movements instead of the airplane following your commands. If things start to get out of hand, throttle back to slow the airplane down. Another problem I often see is over controlling the model after it is airborne, with the aircraft pitching up and down or rolling left and right. This can be a piloting issue, but more often it is because of excessive control surface movements. A 3-D model will have much more throw on the controls compared with an EDF aircraft, and setting up the control for large movements will make the model hard to control. For my maiden flights, I set up dual rates, so if the factory-recommended throws seem to be too much, I can switch to a lower rate. I also program approximately 30% to 40% exponential on the ailerons and elevator to soften the controls. Factory-installed controls typically have the control rods in the outermost servo horn hole. Moving the rods in closer will give greater control resolution. After you get a few flights in, you can fine-tune your control throws to fit your flying style. Sometimes on factory-assembled airplanes, the control rods on the ailerons or elevator are connected in such a way to provide maximum surface deflection. You then have to reduce the end-point adjustment or rates in your radio to reduce the control throw. I use the radio to control the throws, but when I find the rate getting below 60%, I adjust the mechanical linkage on the control horns to reduce the throw. Many factory-installed servos do not have the best resolution. To get the smoothest control movement, it is best to have the servo move as much as possible. I recall a time at the flying field when I had to reduce a rate to 35%, after the linkages were rearranged, when the rate on the radio was 70% for the same surface deflection. When you are making a maiden flight, have someone else launch the model for you. It is much easier to have another person launch the airplane so that you can concentrate on flying from the moment it is released. When I launch airplanes for people, I use two hands: one on the nose to help hold the airplane steady, while the other hand pushes forward. I hope these tips on flying an EDF will make using your first EDF a successful experience! The New Pilot s 6 Keys to Success - Tony Phalen Learning to fly a model aircraft is a fun and rewarding accomplishment. For many people, it is the closest they will ever come to piloting a real aircraft and it is a hobby/sport that can be enjoyed as a family activity. As with any hobby or sport, if you ask ten different people what the best tips and tricks are to properly learn how to fly, you will get ten different answers. If you have a friend or fellow club member that you trust and are comfortable with, then I suggest working with that person to learn the proper skills you need to succeed as a model airplane pilot. However, with the plethora of ready-to-fly models on the market today and technologies like E-flite s AS3X flight stabilization system, many new hobbyists can successfully learn how to fly on their own. No matter which way you choose to learn, I have come up with six main areas that new pilots should concentrate on. These tips are based on my own experience teaching people how to fly. Some pilots will grasp these immediately while others will take some time. But the key here is to practice a lot! The six main keys for success are: your pre-flight check, evaluating wind conditions, monitoring your orientation, maintaining proper speed, flying at the correct altitude, and not over-controlling your model.

8 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 8 YOUR PRE-FLIGHT CHECK When I work with new pilots, I always pay extra attention to the pre-flight check. Many people are so excited to tear open the box, charge the battery and toss the model into the air that they forget to make sure the control throws are working in the correct direction or that the battery hatch is properly closed. If you were getting ready to pilot a full-scale Cessna with your children in the back seat, would you skip out on the pre-flight check, especially knowing you have lives of your loved ones in your hands? Of course not! Keep that same mindset when getting ready to fly your model airplane and you will be rewarded with many successful, safe flights. If you can be sure that all of these conditions are met, then you can consider yourself ready-to-fly. The process might take a few minutes before each flight, but when you consider how many hours and dollars repairing your model will take, I think it is a worthwhile time investment. AIRCRAFT BATTERY Are they fully charged? Are they properly plugged in? Is the battery hatch secured? PROPELLER/FAN UNIT Is the prop secure? Is there any debris in the fan unit? Are there any cracks or imperfections on the prop or fan blades? FUSELAGE AND WING Are there any cracks or loose joints on the fuselage? Are there any holes in the covering? Is the wing securely fastened to the fuselage? CONTROL SURFACES Are all the hinges secure? Are the control horns and servo connections secure? When the radio is powered on, are all the control surfaces centered? RADIO Do you have the correct model selected? Have you performed a full range check? Does each control surface move correctly, corresponding to the stick movements? Are all the switches (gear, flaps, etc.) in the correct position? Is the battery fully charged? FIELD CONDITIONS Is the flight line and landing pattern clear? Are you taking off into the wind? Is the wind acceptable for your model? Do you have a hat or sunglasses to protect your eyes? Be sure that the wind conditions are not too great for the model you are flying. EVALUATING WIND CONDITIONS One of the biggest causes for crashes by new pilots that I ve seen, next to improper preflight checks, is that they try to fly when the wind is too strong for the model. If you are fortunate enough to be flying with an instructor and they warn you that it is too windy for your model then you need to heed their advice. An instructor is not going to risk ruining your model. Additionally, flying a model in excessive wind is not really much fun. You are spending all of your effort fighting the wind rather than practice controlling the model and flying patterns.

9 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 9 If you are learning on your own, I recommend flying when the wind is calm or a slight breeze of no more than 4 to 5 mph for just about any model. If you are flying a micro-size model, then I suggest flying in dead-calm conditions or trying to find an indoor facility like a gymnasium or sports dome. As your skills increase you will become more comfortable flying in windier conditions. Making corrections will become second nature, especially when it comes to landing the model. Most of the models on the market today will have no problem physically handling the wind, but it is the skill level of the pilot that will determine the how much wind is too much. In any wind condition, even if it is only a couple of miles per hour, always keep the model upwind from you. This is very important! I was at a local field a couple weeks ago and this pilot, who claimed he knew what he was doing (but was clearly a newbie), kept flying downwind of the flight line. I made a suggestion that he stay upwind, especially as his battery depleted the longer he flew. No, no, I am fine here and I have plenty of battery life left, he claimed. Sure enough, his motor stopped and since he was downwind, the breeze carried his model into a tree line a couple hundred yards away. If he d remained upwind, he would have had a better chance to land near the runway. If you are a beginner, always fly upwind! MONITORING YOUR ORIENTATION There is nothing worse than losing the orientation of your model in flight and controlling it as if it is coming towards you when, in fact, it is flying away from you. Many models will appear as a dark grey silhouette in certain sun and cloud conditions or if you fly too far away. This can happen no matter what your color scheme is. Additionally, learning that the rudder and aileron controls are actually backwards when the model is coming towards you is another challenge for many new pilots. Oddly enough, I find that many pilots who also fly full-scale have the most problems with this; perhaps because they are used to flying from inside the plane. There is no real magic pill for dealing with orientation, but I do have a couple of tips. First, be sure that your model has a different paint/covering pattern on the bottom than on the top of the wings. I like to use wide dark stripes on the underside of one wing. Doing so will make that wing easier to see even when shadowed by the sun and clouds. If you keep in mind that the right wing has the stripes on the bottom, you will know whether you are flying towards or away from yourself based on which side you see the stripes in flight. For example, if the stripe is on the right wing but you see it on the left side of the model, your aircraft is coming toward you. Second, I suggest using a flight simulator on your computer. Flying with a simulator will get you used to the proper control inputs for the model in all flight attitudes. Most simulators will allow you to set the position of the sun as well as the intensity of the cloud cover so you can model different scenarios that you might have at your field. After flying on the simulator for a while, you will find that controlling the plane in various orientations will become second nature. MONITORING PROPER SPEED We live in a fast-paced world and everyone wants things faster and faster. There are times when taking things slow is not only good, but a necessity. Many new pilots forget that the throttle is a variable control. They use it in two positions; off and fullpower. Flying a model at full power and max speed can be dangerous, especially for new pilots. Should you lose orientation of the model and you are at full power, you won t have as much time to react and save the model. Additionally, if the model does crash at full power, you will have much less chance of salvaging it.

10 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 10 Full power should be used when taking off and then, on many models, it can be reduced to half or two-thirds once you reach your desired altitude. Many models fly very well at this power setting. One way you can check to see the best cruise speed for your model is to fly straight and level and reduce the throttle from full to half and see if the model maintains level flight. If it starts to descend, then you need to add a little more power. If it keeps climbing, you can reduce some power. All this, of course, is taking into consideration that your model is properly trimmed. See our Trimming Your Model article in the February 2013 issue of Fly RC magazine. It is important to mention that too little speed can also cause problems. If your model is not moving fast enough to maintain lift from the wing, then you run the risk of stalling which can lead to a crash. The best practice here is to climb to about 100 feet and experiment with various speed settings until you get comfortable. Altitude is your friend! Be sure to maintain a safe altitude so you have time to react in the event something goes wrong. FLYING AT THE CORRECT ALTITUDE Many new pilots that I instruct have a phobia about altitude. I can understand if you are afraid of heights but you, the pilot, are on the ground. Your model is more afraid of coming in contact with the ground than it is of being high in the air you can trust me on that! When I am flying with a new pilot I always ask why they want to keep the model so close to the ground and they always respond by telling me that it feels safer because they can better see the model. This is very wrong! You will hear many instructors tell you that altitude is your friend. I suggest maintaining around 100 feet, or double the height of the average tree line. If you are flying a really small model then I suggest staying at around 50 feet. When you are higher in the air you have more time to react if you get caught in some wind or if you lose orientation. You will also appreciate the increased altitude if you run out of battery (or fuel) and find yourself in a dead-stick situation. You will have plenty of height to glide your model to a safe landing spot. NOT OVER-CONTROLLING YOUR MODEL Most trainertype models that a beginner will be flying do not require a lot of input from the pilot. Many times, I have to prove to new pilots that their airplane can, in fact, fly without their constant input. I take the model up to a safe altitude and once I am sure it is properly trimmed, I take my hands off the controls and show them that it will fly fine without any input from me. If your trainer can t do this, you have a trim issue that you need to resolve. Even if you are flying in a slight wind, once you are at a safe flying altitude, you should be able to take your hands off the sticks and even though your plane will be bumped around, it should still continue to fly without any help from you. As long as the throttle is properly set, all you are doing is steering it around the sky. As you turn the model, one wing will become lower and the model will naturally start to lose altitude. To compensate for this, a small amount of up elevator will be required to maintain the same altitude. Be careful not to hold too much aileron/rudder in your turns. If you give too much input or hold them for too long you run the risk of the model banking too much, the wing going into a stall and the model going into a spiral dive and crashing. Keep your inputs slow and gentle. If you plan your turns in advance, you won t need to make sharp turns. THE FINAL WORD While this definitely seems like a lot to remember, if you can just keep the fundamentals in mind and pick one or two items to really focus on during each flying session, then I promise that this will all become second-nature. Pretty soon, all the stress you had about learning to fly will be converted into fun and a passion for the hobby. The best way I can explain it is that learning to fly is like learning to ride a bike; once you master it, you will never forget and only get better.

11 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 11 Fly a Reverse Cuban-8 From the Top with Half Rolls - By John Glezellis When I first started aerobatic competition, symmetrical maneuvers that combined various elements were of the most complex to perform both precisely and consistently. Let s take the loop, for example. While it may be fairly straightforward to perform a single loop, try flying a vertical 8, which is an inside loop followed by an outside loop. Place these maneuvers on top of each another, make sure they are the same size, and fly them in different wind conditions. Now, it isn t so simple! With time, you will take the various maneuvers that we discuss and build upon them. After all, that is the beauty of aerobatics. Let s examine this variation of the Reverse Cuban-8. This maneuver starts at a fairly high altitude. You will push to a 45-degree down line to execute a half roll. Then, you will perform a ¾ outside loop to another 45-degree down-line. Again, perform a half roll. Next, fly a ⅝ outside loop to level flight to exit the maneuver at the same altitude at which the maneuver began. You may be thinking that this maneuver appears to be fairly simple. However, like the vertical 8, you will soon realize that it takes a fair amount of practice. Overview Begin by climbing to a safe altitude, which for a typical 50-inchspan park flyer is about 400 feet. Align the aircraft so that it is upright and parallel to the runway at about 40% throttle. When the airplane is about 50 feet in front of you, decrease throttle, push down-elevator and establish a 45-degree down-line. Fly a short line and perform a half roll as the airplane is directly in front of you. Fly another short line, equal to the first. Increase throttle to about 80% and push ¾ of an outside loop to establish another 45-degree down-line (decrease throttle after establishing the down line). Fly a short line (equal to the others) and perform another half roll. Fly another similar short line. Increase throttle to about 80% and push ⅝ of a loop to exit in upright level flight. As the airplane flies upright and level, decrease throttle to about 40%. Your plane should be at the same altitude in which it started the maneuver. It can help to count while flying the various line segments to keep them the same length. It s also important to fly at a constant speed. Now that you have a brief overview of the general control inputs that are required, let s explore this maneuver as well as a few key flight tips by breaking this stunt into four steps: STEP 1. This maneuver contains two symmetrical elements that must be centered on the pilot. Establish upright level flight at a fairly high altitude while travelling parallel to the runway. Then, slowly decrease throttle as the airplane approaches the aerobatic center. Once the aircraft is about 50 feet from the aerobatic center, push, ever so slightly on the elevator to execute ⅛ loop to establish a 45-degree down-line. Fly a brief line segment. Keep in mind that the length of this line will determine the lengths of the next three segments. Then, perform a half roll in the direction of your choice. Next, fly another line, equal in length to the first. STEP 2. Perform a gentle ¾ outside loop to establish a 45-degree down-line. Apply throttle as needed to keep a constant flight speed. On your first attempt, I recommend that you use about 80% throttle on any segment that involves a climb and adjust the throttle setting accordingly. Remember, the goal is to keep the airplane flying at a constant speed.

12 T h e M o n o c l e P a g e 12 STEP 3. Fly a brief line on the 45-degree down-line that is equal to the previous segments. Then, execute a half roll. This should be at the same roll rate as in the first half roll. STEP 4. Fly another line, the same length as before. When complete, push a ⅝ loop and exit in upright level flight. You have now successfully flown the reverse Cuban-8 from the top with half rolls! Some situations may arise that need special attention and practice. For example, in a strong wind, the airplane may change heading. Make sure that the heading of the aircraft is exactly where you want it to be and ensure that both loop segments are the same size and are round, as intended. Also, define the 45-degree lines and center both half-rolls on the 45-degree lines. While these are the most common mistakes performed, they can separate a novice pilot from an advanced pilot. Now that you have learned the fundamentals, take a breath, charge up your airplane, and head out to the flying field. If you have difficulties performing this maneuver, break it down into steps and examine the setup of your aircraft. Make sure that it responds exactly as you would like it to. If the airplane is too sensitive and shows your every move, increase the exponential. Follow the steps that were outlined throughout this column and enjoy all that this fine sport has to offer The April Club Night Meeting will be Thursday, May 4 th 7:00pm at the Flying Field!