2018 flying season is almost here

Transcription

1 2018 flying season is almost here It s time to consider submitting your dues for next year That time of the year has crept upon us again. It s time to think about sending in next year s dues. Did you ever stop to realize what your dues provide for you at our flying field? The maintenance at the field includes regular mowing and weed control along with covering for the parking area. We pay monthly fees for the porta-potty, raffle prizes and the mailing of the newsletter and all official correspondence. There are also some yearly fees for various administrative purposes. We also put money aside for runway upkeep and repair like re-surfacing and damage. We used to have financial help with the contests we used to run. It was not unusual to have up to three major events a year which brought in extra funds. The interest in contests has diminished considerably in Southern California as has attendance at those events. Several contests in the local area were cancelled this year because not enough pilots signed up in advance. We were lucky that we garnered the NSRCA, District 7 pattern championships at our field which brought in some nice income. Each year our club has fewer members (for various reasons), so the dues are a very important part of maintaining a viable flying site. So, the bottom line is for us to fill out the 2018 dues form located on the last page of this newsletter (as it will also be in the December and January issues) get that form and check off to Larry as soon as you can. Remember that Larry can always work with you if you have a problem and he may not cash your check until he gets a sufficient number to put in the bank. Our yearly dues are quite reasonable for the facility available to you and we have not raised those dues in many years. Just think of it as being less than $5 a month for one the best fields in Southern California. RRCC CLUB OFFICERS President: Jeff Szueber Vice-President: Bob Baker Secretary: Rob Evans Treasurer: Larry Roberts Safety Coordinator: Jim Bronowski Field Director: Dale Yaney Newsletter Editor: Jim Bronowski Turbine Flying Director: Berry Hou ALL OFFICERS MAY BE CONTACTED AT: Next meeting saturday Nov 18th 10:00 a.m. crowley field

2 Oscar s Observations By Oscar Weingart At the Field Howard Born was once selling off some of his planes, when he moved from a two-story to a one-story home. I bought several of his well-constructed models from him at that time. One of them was a Bridi 40 with a Super Tigre 46 in it. This very small and clean airplane was too fast and hot for me to enjoy flying it. Much later when Paul Rinde was looking for a plane for his son Jonathan to fly in Classic Pattern events, he bought the Bridi 40 from me. Paul is a meticulous builder, and has made many improvements to the Bridi 40. Lately, Jonathan has been practicing his stall turns, and it is gratifying to see them patiently doing one stall turn after another. The Bridi 40 still moves out quickly and cleanly, and Paul continues to tweak it for better and crisper maneuvers. We need more wholesome Father-Son relationships like this in our hobby. My grandson Joshua, 16, will be staying with us during the Christmas holidays, so I have been flying his E-flite electricpowered Apprentice and my electric Kyosho Calmato Sport high-wing trainer backup, to be sure that they are ready for some rough and tumble beginner flying. Joshua has been practicing on a computer flight simulator to prepare for this visit. I hope to get in a number of enjoyable flying sessions with him. It is a good thing that I have been doing these test flights, as the Apprentice lost its prop assembly during a take-off. A member loaned me the missing metric set-screw and it flew fine. At a recent Thursday morning senior member flying session, Bob Jones was flying his Sig 4-Star 64 ARF with an OS.91 4-stroke engine. This beautiful aircraft is based on the old 4-Star 60, modified with slightly clipped wings and a handy top hatch. The brilliant red covering is eyecatching. Bob says that he can quickly change over the ship to electric power. At the previous Tuesday flying session, Bob s brother Paul Jones mysteriously lost all control of his electric Ugly Stik and it became an instant kit. This was really a shame, as it was a brandnew airplane, with only a few flights to its credit. Tom Bingham has been flying up a storm with his Kyosho Calmato 60 ARF, powered by an OS 46. This plane was assembled by Don Lien, (Rest in Peace, Don), who gave it to me. I subsequently gave the now rather beat-up model to Tom, who fixed it up nicely. We call it the Don-Oscar-Tom. On Thursday, just for variety, Tom brought out his shoulder-wing Sig Mid-Star 40, powered by an OS 32. This ancient ship has survived a number of unplanned hard landings, but a moment of inattention made it another instant kit. We have not seen Big Jon de Fries at our twice a week senior flying sessions lately, and I was starting to worry a bit about him. But at our abortive October 28 Club Meeting, there he was! It seems that he has to drop off his grandson at school during those mornings. (Not enough members showed up to call a meeting, so it was cancelled.) Happy Turkey Day, Oscar Above: Paul Rinde and his son Jonathan with Bridi 40. Below: Bob Jones with his Sig 4- Star ARF with OS.91 4-Stroke.

3 Scenes From the NSRCA District 7 Pattern Championships It s that time again; time to send in our 2018 dues. Annual fees are due by the end of January. The annual dues are $50 for an Open membership and $10 for those under 18 years of age. Fill out the form above, cut it out and mail it with your dues to Larry s P.O. Box. A check is the preferred method of payment as it makes Larry s job so much easier. Again, if you have a hardship let Larry know. He can help you work out a payment option. Just to let you know, Larry doesn't usually cash the checks until he has number of them. Riverside Radio Control Club 2018 Dues Name: Address: AMA Number: Phone: Make checks payable to RRCC Mail Dues to: Larry Roberts P.O. Box 295 Homeland, CA Check One: $50 (Open) $10 (Junior)

4 MASTERING STRAIGHT LINES AND TURNS How the pros make it look easy by David Scott ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID SCOTT Our good friend Dave Scott is going to take us step by step through flying a plane in a straight line and making a textbook, picture-perfect procedure turn. Dave is the flight instructor for the 1st U.S. R/C Flight School as well as a full-size aerobatic pilot. His insight into flying aircraft is derived from his personal accomplishments and from teaching thousands of students at his school. Enjoy. SYMMETRICAL WING FIGURE 2 INTRODUCTION When most people learn to drive a car, they work hard to keep the car going straight. This is mostly due to holding in the steering wheel corrections too long and trying to steer the car straight. Yet, after a while we re able to keep the car straight with very little effort. The reason is that we develop an appreciation for the fact that most deviations can be corrected with a simple little nudge upon the wheel, and we re confident that if one nudge doesn t do the trick we can always apply another. Thus, applying small nudges to the steering wheel produces straighter lines and reduces the number of corrections we have to make. Small, brief bumps of aileron or rudder (not held in) have precisely the same effect to help us fly straighter lines, as well as make small course changes without over-controlling. BUMP Small course changes with symmetrical wing airplanes entail briefly bumping the aileron (in/out) to bank the wings slightly and holding in a small amount of up-elevator to affect a gentle turn. BUMP NEUTRALIZE BUMP NEUTRALIZE FLAT-BOTTOM WING FIGURE 1 Straight lines are maintained using small (brief) aileron bumps to keep the wings level. Small course changes are made using a small bump of aileron (in-andout) to bank the wings slightly. BUMP APPLICATIONS Proficient pilots use small bumps of aileron to keep the wings level in order to maintain straight lines. Bumps are also used to bank the wings slightly and cause an airplane to drift slightly to the left or to the right (Figure 1). As long as the bumps are not too large or held in, the airplane won t lose altitude after a bump so there is no need for elevator when making small course changes. If the airplane features a symmetrical airfoil wing, the course change after an aileron bump will tend to be much more gradual. To affect a more deliberate course change with a symmetrical wing plane, the pilot must also pull a little up-elevator and, in effect, perform a mini procedure turn (Figure 2). Because the bump is small, it must be applied and returned to neutral smoothly to give the plane time to respond. Quickly

5 jabbing the aileron will likely produce little or no response. Keep in mind that the slight wing bank and gradual course change after a smooth, small bump may not be immediately obvious. Thus, you must pause for a few moments after each bump to be certain whether another bump is needed. Remember, over-controlling is usually not caused by aggressive inputs at first, but is the result of holding an input in too long and occurs most often when pilots hold in their inputs waiting to see an obvious reaction of the plane. Therefore, it s better to make two separate bumps, if necessary, rather than hold in the aileron! Bumping the rudder on airplanes without ailerons works just as well, but rudder bumps must be applied very smoothly to have the desired effect. The bump technique works great for gradual course adjustments up to 20 to 30 degrees. A larger course change will require a deliberate turn involving aileron and elevator. As pilots (like drivers) become more relaxed, they start noticing deviations off the intended path the instant they occur, thus the corresponding bumps become so small that anyone watching won t even be able to tell that corrections are being made. That s one of the main reasons why really good pilots make flying look so easy. FIGURE 3 Turnaround point FIGURE 4 SHOW CENTER SHOW CENTER Turnaround point To improve your consistency and ease of flying, picture where you want the plane to be when it passes in front of you then project that distance to your left and right parallel with the runway and pick some ground references to use as parallel turnaround points. An airplane will fly in a straight line when the wings are level. Flying in a crosswind causes the fuselage to crab into the wind, yet as long as the wings remain level the plane as a whole will continue to fly in a straight line. Pilots, therefore, need to pay attention to where the airplane as a whole is traveling, not where it is pointing. FLYING BETTER STRAIGHT LINES AND A PARALLEL FOUNDATION If you have ever watched proficient pilots fly (you can tell by their ability to perform one maneuver after another), you may have noticed the absence of visible corrections between their maneuvers often referred to as being smooth. The primary reason for their smooth flying is that they posses a solid foundation of flying consistent parallel lines with the runway. Establishing a parallel foundation starts with picturing the comfortable viewing distance where you want the airplane to be when it passes in front of you, otherwise known as show center. Then, project that distance out to your left and right parallel with the runway and pick some ground reference targets on the horizon to use as parallel turnaround points (Figure 3). Guiding your airplane toward these points will greatly add to your consistency in the air. CROSSWIND POSITIONING BASICS AND OBJECTS AS A WHOLE As a rule, an airplane will fly in a straight line whenever the wings are level. If a crosswind exists, the plane will crab (point) into the wind a bit, but as long as the wings remain level, it will continue to track straight. From the ground, the position of the wings can often be difficult to judge, so rather than relying on the positions of the wing or fuselage, proficient pilots concentrate on where the airplane as a whole is traveling (Figure 4). It is easy to see deviations when guiding the airplane as a whole toward a distinct target on the horizon. It s a bit trickier on the return path to show center. To detect deviations from parallel after turning around, keep your eye on where the airplane as a whole is traveling relative to yourself. That is, ask yourself, Is it drifting away from me? (bump it in). Is it drifting toward me? (bump it out). When neither a deviation in nor away from you is detected, the airplane will be tracking generally parallel with the runway (Figure 5). While wind is often blamed for deviations, it s actually the wind s principle effect that helps to exaggerate deviations and mistakes that pilots can otherwise get away with in calmer conditions. For example, when a crosswind exists, amateur pilots often make the mistake of completing their turns when the plane points where they want it to go, and then input a crab into the wind after they detect wind drift. The correct method is to finish your turns a little early or late so that the required crab angle

6 MASTERING STRAIGHT LINES & TURNS FIGURE 5 SHOW CENTER SHOW CENTER PILOT When the airplane as a whole is neither veering in nor away from you approaching show center, the airplane will be flying generally parallel with the runway. FIGURE 6 When turning into a crosswind, exit the turn a little early to establish the necessary crab angle and prevent getting blown. SHOW CENTER Actual flight path when the fuselage is mistakenly pointed toward show center in a crosswind. When turning with a crosswind, overshoot the turn a little to establish the necessary crab angle and prevent getting blown. into the wind is already in place (Figure 6). How early or how late depends on the strength of the crosswind. A note to beginners regarding left/right confusion when the plane is approaching show center: consider the fact that a person driving a car doesn t have to think about whether to apply a left or right input. Because he s facing in the direction that the car is traveling, all he has to do is move the steering wheel in the direction that he wants the car to go. With this in mind, rotate your body to face in the direction the airplane is traveling and think in terms of bumping the control stick in the direction you want the plane to go. This reduces left/right confusion when learning to fly (Figure 7). Body rotation will naturally start disappearing within a few days as you shift from thinking about your own orientation to thinking more about guiding the airplane as if you were in it. NOW FOR THE TURN Once you have mastered flying straight and level you will need to apply what you learned with bumps to make a smooth procedure turn. Novice pilots typically attempt to turn by reacting to the airplane. By definition, reactors need to see a mistake before it occurs to them that they have made one. For example, reactors tend to start their turns by holding in some aileron and watching the wings bank. As the bank gets steeper and the airplane starts to drop, the pilot becomes focused on increasing the elevator and trying to pull out of the dive, all while continuing to hold in the aileron. The result is an increasingly steep bank, a pro-

7 gressively tighter spiral, and confusion about why the plane is going down when they are pulling up (Figure 8). Unless you intend to do aerobatics, never hold in the ailerons, especially during a turn! FIGURE 7 PROCEDURE TURNS (AILERON TURN) The term procedure turn is taken from full-scale flying and refers to a course reversal turn executed to such precise standards that the results are the same whether performed day or night, in clouds or out. That s precisely our intention of executing intentional turn inputs that produce consistent turn results whether high or low, near or far. The turn procedure utilized by proficient pilots starts with a smooth, yet brief, aileron input to bank the wings. The aileron input is neutralized to avoid entering a downward spiral, and then up-elevator is applied to pull the nose into a turn and keep the turn level. Once the bank has been established, elevator, not aileron, turns the plane (Figure 9). The size of the aileron input determines the degree of bank and therefore the size of the turn, as well as how much elevator will be needed to keep the turn level. For example, a smaller aileron input produces a shallower bank and therefore a wider turn, whereas a larger aileron input produces a steeper bank and a tighter turn. The objective is to find the aileron input that consistently produces the degree of bank that you are comfortable with, and then determine the correct amount of elevator to pull each time to keep the turn level. Note that during a mild bank, most of the wing s lift is still opposing the pull of gravity, and thus very little up-elevator is needed to keep the turn level. During a steeper bank, there s less upward component of lift to oppose gravity. As a result, more up-elevator is required to keep the turn level (Figure 10). FIGURE 8 FIGURE 9 Right turn, left correction BODY ROTATION To reduce left/right confusion, face in the general direction that the airplane is traveling so that your left and right match that of the plane. Fixating on watching the wings at the start of a turn may cause a pilot to hold in the aileron, resulting in a descending spiral and eventually rolling upside-down. CONSISTENT TURNS The neutral stick position provides a distinct point from which to gauge the size of each of your control inputs, therefore making correct amounts easier to repeat, and incorrect amounts easier to modify correctly. For example, if your initial turn is too tight, reducing the size of your aileron input from neutral next time will result in a shallower bank and wider turn. Or, if you initially pull too much elevator and affect a climbing turn, next time repeat the same aileron input but pull less elevator from neutral and the turn will be more level (Figure 11). NEUTRALIZE PULL BANK Ailerons bank the wings. Pulling up-elevator begins the turn and keeps the turn level. You will not experience tight spiraling turns as long as you do not hold in the ailerons!

8 MASTERING STRAIGHT LINES & TURNS FIGURE 10 FIGURE 11 A FIGURE 12 FIGURE 13 PULL 20 A larger aileron input produces a steeper bank, a tighter turn, and requires more up-elevator to keep the turn level. If you pull too much elevator at the start of your first turn resulting in a climbing turn, repeat the same aileron input and bank next time but pull less up-elevator from neutral to affect a more level turn. B Focus on your inputs when initiating the turn then adjust the amount of elevator you re holding in to keep the turn level throughout. Smoothly bump the aileron while continuing to hold in the elevator to tighten or restart a turn. BUMP IN-OUT Less elevator Less More More elevator 45 Performing a procedure turn can be summed up by the motto, Trust, and then adjust. That is, proactively initiate your turns trusting your inputs then adjust (finetune) the amount of elevator you re holding depending on what you see to keep the turn level (Figure 12). If you see the plane start to lose altitude during the turn, pull more elevator. If the plane starts to climb, lessen the amount of elevator that you re holding in throughout the remainder of the turn. Keep in mind that, as a rule, it is easier to add more input than it is to recover after over-controlling. Therefore, the best procedure is to target a small amount of elevator at the start of a turn, and then fine-tune the elevator, if necessary, to maintain a perfectly level turn. RESTARTING AND TIGHTENING TURNS In the event that a turn needs to be tightened or restarted, the correct procedure is to smoothly apply a small bump of aileron (in/out) in the direction of the turn while continuing to hold in the elevator to steepen the bank angle (Figure 13). For reasons stated earlier, the aileron bump needs to be briefly applied in and out, not held in! PROCEDURE TURN CORRECTION At the point that you want to exit the turn, neutralize the elevator and smoothly apply opposite aileron to level the wings (Figure 14). Note that the key to applying the aileron in the proper direction is reminding yourself which way you re turning and anticipating opposite aileron before it s time to correct. The temptation to look at the wings to determine which way to apply the aileron produces hesitation and confusion whenever the position of the wings is not clear. Ultimately, applying the aileron correctly will hinge on how well you start and maintain level turns, because the less demanding the turn is in general, the easier it will be to remember which way to apply the aileron to level the wings. In fact, when a turn is kept level, a person can actually get away with correcting the wrong direction, catch the mistake, and level the wings correctly with minimal altitude loss. It can spell the end of an airplane if the pilot corrects the wrong way during a diving turn. RUDDER TURNS A rudder turn is performed using the rudder to yaw the nose of the airplane in the direction you want to turn. When the rudder is

9 MASTERING STRAIGHT LINES & TURNS FIGURE 14 Ailerons bank the wings. Pulling up-elevator turns the airplane. To exit the turn, neutralize the elevator and apply opposite aileron to level the wings. FIGURE 15 FIGURE 16 YAW FIGURE 17 Right turn, be ready with left. Smoothly apply rudder to bank the wings, and then neutralize the rudder to avoid over-banking and entering a downward spiral. Pull and maintain up-elevator to keep the turn level throughout. Prolonged rudder deflections tend to scrub off airspeed during the subsequent yaw/skid. Therefore, you will likely have to hold in some up-elevator while leveling the wings to keep the plane from dropping. GLIDER RUDDER TURN INPUTS Here is the typical stick movement for a rudder turn on a plane that exhibits a lot of upright stability. TIME Hold left rudder BANK PULL REDUCE RUDDER RIGHT TURN deflected, the wing on the outside of the turn also travels faster, causing it to generate more lift and therefore bank in the direction that the rudder is applied (Figure 15). There are basically two different techniques required to turn an airplane without ailerons using the rudder. Planes that exhibit a lot of upright stability, such as a high wing powered glider, typically resist banking and therefore require you to continue holding in rudder to keep turning. These aircraft typically require a larger rudder input to get the turn started, but once started the rudder has to be reduced to keep the turn from becoming too tight. Note that the inherent skid and subsequent speed loss when applying rudder will most likely require you to combine some up-elevator with the rudder at the start of the turn to keep it from dropping (Figure 16). Other rudder planes require a technique similar to an aileron turn, where the rudder is applied only long enough to bank the wings, and then it is neutralized to avoid over-banking and entering a downward spiral. The degree of bank and the size of the turn are dictated by the size of the rudder control input. Keep in mind that rudder banks are less precise than aileron banks and will tend to lag behind your inputs if applied too quickly. Thus, in order to achieve results that more closely match your intentions, you must apply all your rudder inputs very smoothly to give the plane a chance to keep up with your inputs. Once the turn is started, you ll need to adjust the elevator to keep the turn level then level the wings with opposite rudder to exit the turn. Returning the wings to level usually takes longer with rudder than it does with aileron, so you ll have to start leveling the wings prior to the point that you want the turn to stop, and then continue holding in the rudder until the wings are level (Figure 17). Prolonged rudder defections tend to scrub off airspeed, so you will most likely need to hold in a little upelevator while leveling the wings to keep the plane from dropping. CONCLUSION Consider that when flying straight or when your turn inputs are made correctly, the need for additional corrections may not exist. Then you will be free to think ahead of the airplane just like a pro. See the Source Guide for manufacturers contact information.