Radio Control: Sport Aerobatics
PICTURE this scene: A Pattern contest has been conducted for four rounds with the Contest Director being sure that contestants were equally exposed to the judges. Then, just before the fifth round starts, it is discovered by a contestant that during the fifth and sixth rounds the judging arrangement will not provide equal exposure to judges. The contestant can demand that either the judging arrangement be changed to guarantee equal exposure, or that the contest be decided based on the four rounds with equal exposure. Right? You must realize that I wouldn't have set it up the way I did if the answer were "Yes." Actually the answer is no; contestants do not have the right to equal exposure to the judges. Before you begin to howl, let's check out the 1988/89 AMA Competition Regulations (the rule book).
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
LAST MONTH I included drawings and calculations on how to locate the "proper" center-of-gravity of an airplane. The reason I wrote "proper" is because there are various "proper" centers-of-gravity. For example, there are some centers-of-gravity which are so far forward that the airplane will be very stable in pitch. In fact, the airplane can be made so stable that it would be very difficult to maneuver. On the other hand, there are some centers-of-gravity which are so far aft that the airplane would be extremely maneuverable. Depending on what is desired, the range of "proper" centers-of-gravity is very broad. My use of "proper" was intended to yield a safe starting point to test fly the airplane. After the initial flights, the center-of-gravity can be moved forward to achieve more pitch stability or aft to get more maneuverability.
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
"To whom it may concern, . . . I have been flying RC planes for about 4 1/2 years now. I started with a Goldberg Eagle 63. Over time I was able to perform various stunts such as loops, barrel rolls, inverted flight, touch-and-go, etc. I recently purchased and built a Goldberg Sky Tiger. My problem is that I can't get the plane to turn with the rudder (left or right). "When I use the rudder, all the plane does is a flat turn. I can't get the plane to bank unless I use the ailerons. When it is banking and I try to level the plane out with the rudder, it acts as if it's side-slipping. Say I'm banking to the right and I give left rudder to roll out of the bank. Instead of the plane rolling to the left and level flight, the plane stays in the bank and the nose goes up as if doing a sideways flat turn. This tends to cause a loss of altitude.
AMA Nats: RC Aerobatics
THE HYDES, Merle and Chip, established a record by being the first father-and-son duo to capture the Nats RC Pattern championships. Chip won the FAI Turnaround (F3A) event, while Merle won Advanced. This year's Nats RC Pattern events saw 202 competitors flying in five events: Sportsman-62, Advanced-35, Expert-29, Master-21, and FAI-53. It was a big Nats for RC Pattern! The Nats Pattern events were held at NALF Fentress, near Chesapeake, VA. Contrary to some confused opinions, NALF stands for Navy Auxiliary Landing Field (not others like Narly Alien Life Form, or Nearly Adult Little Fellow, or even Not Always Likely to Fly). Except for a few support buildings, and one small swimming pool, the field is vacant and only has one runway and a taxiway.
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
THE LONGER I write this column (13 years and counting), the more I get recurring questions. Outside of the downwind turn, the most common question is probably, "How do I figure out where to place the center-of-gravity on my new plane?" The obvious reason that the question keeps coming in is that new RC fliers enter the hobby all the time, and they've never read the answer in previous columns because they joined since it last appeared. It's time to redo the center-of-gravity calculation discussion. I hope to hit a happy medium between boring you with excessive mathematics and insulting your intelligence. It's difficult to do, because the background of RC column readers is so varied.
