BullardRM

My Feedback: (39)

We have a FF coming up next month and one of the events I always have trouble at is carrier landing. Any help on how to make a GOOD hook would be appreciated. Pictures would also help. Thanks.

gene6029

I'd ask this question & or look in the control line forum, since there is an event where thats what they do. You will probably find some good ideas there....Gene

thatairplaneguy

My Feedback: (50)

Do you actually string lines to catch?

CanCanCase

I thought it was a typo and the OP was talking about "Harrier" landings... ;-)
Yeah, if a guy's gonna fly into a line, he'd better be careful! Unless it's 2 planes strung together by the tails ... aerobatic tug-o-war... now that's some funny stuff right there!

-Case

BullardRM

My Feedback: (39)

OK guys guess you never lived in a "Navy" town. I live in Pensacola, home of the Bkue Angles, and they beleive in doing a carrier landing in their yearly fun flys. On three attemps, I have never been lucky to catch the wire. However I have seen some that have. Its a tough one to do. It seems to be more luck than skill.

hugger-4641

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I'd like to see a video of this!! Sounds like it would be a fun event, and bound to cause some expendature of balsa and glue wether the "hook" was successful or not.

BullardRM

My Feedback: (39)

Its not that bad. Most come in too high and after the allowed passes are complete, just land. Some come in too low and land before the wires, which counts for a "0". It helps to have a light plane with a thick airfoil and lots of power.

thatairplaneguy

My Feedback: (50)

A plane with alot of wing area is much better than one with a thick airfoil. A thick foil just forces the plane to fly slow yet has bad ballooning tendacies which is what you would never want in such an event.
Something light with plenty of wing will be more controllable and fly slower than say a twist.
Try a Valuehobby Sabre 47. They float like crazy and have a CF rod running down the bottom of the fuse from nose to tail which you can drill and screw the hook into tht will never pull out or rip the fuse.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

This is the set up I use. Hook around twelve inchs long inserted thru a tube in the after fuselage and the trap is a piece of fifty foot mason line strung between two water filled milk jugs.

Here is a vidio of a trap with my hellcat and I also have a corsair set up. Will get some pictures of the tail hooks up in a few minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2WIV...cXnWA&index=16

For takeoff the tailhook is allowed to drag on the ground does not hurt anything and in flight it will hang at around a twentyfive degree angle.


John

thatairplaneguy

My Feedback: (50)

Hard on the wing blocks, eh? And you tried any spring bent or z bent gear legs to take some of the blow?

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Take a close look at the vidio, actually it is not hard on the gear at all and note the Corsair the rather delicate mechanical retracts which are quite tender have proven no problem (The Hellcat gear is fixed).

I have caught the tailwheel at times missing the tailhook and this also was no problem. What you do need to be carefull of is catching the main gear on a tailwheel type airplane. On on occassion I actually caught the propellor which stalled the engine but the airplane acted almost the same as a normal trap.

Its not easy and quite a challange but great fun and not at all the dire risk of destroying airplane as so many who have never do it always predict.

Perhaps the biggest challange is getting the engine absolutely reliable that will idle and throttle up well from long idles. This because you will do many go arounds before you ever get a successful trap.

John

thatairplaneguy

My Feedback: (50)

I know what you mean. I used to setup games like spot landing, ballon popping and streamer drop/cut and such and it was very rare anyone would any throw up a park flyer to try any games!!

Wussies!! Lol