It is really an UGLY name for a control function that can be so much fun. It should be renamed," elevons & elevator, coupled". I just got my ELECTRON 6 fired up with the thought of setting the HALFWIT EXTREME up with FLAPERONS. No matter how I mixed the flaperons in with the elevator, it totally sucked. OK, while flubbing around in flaperon mode on my radio, if you turn the mix value from plus to minus you get spoilerons, meaning that the elevator moves in unison and in phase with the elevator. You are flying like it is a flying wing with an auxillary elevator. It really smoothed out my herky jerky , tail heavy, high rate floater and transformed it into a much groovier plane in all respects, but did not hamper the control response. The difference was subtle, but you could see and feel the difference. The elevons respond quicker and more solidly to prop blast in high alpha flight, and I experimented with percentages of mix until it was apparent to crank it up 100%. The HWX has a high mounted stab that is not masked by the wing flaps at full deflection, and that is key to making this idea work at zero airspeed. The horse power manuevers were a little bit crisper, and the flat spins had a greater variety of positions you could wobble the plane into while spinning. I can't wait to try this with my 40 sized 3D. I have always looked at SPOILERONS as a control function to use sparingly for the purpose of killing wing rocking in high alpha, and depending how the plane is set up, this mode of control could be a nightmare, so don't flip the enable switch the first time until you get way up there!

You may be onto something new here CP. I've never heard of anyone doing this.

Hi BRUCE! The guys in the PROFILE BROTHERHOOD have talked about using spoilerons from time to time to dampen wing rocking when the wing panels are taking turns stalling in high angle mode. I don't know if they leave the function active through the whole flight routine or not, but I just leave it on all the time now. I need to try it out on a more conventional layout like the original HALFWIT. Strangely, the last few times that I have attempted to use flaperons on scratch built models, it has been a bust. It sure does wonders for a CL stunt ship. I'm beginning to think that you need a special combination of things before under cambering the wing with flaperons will create more lift than it does drag. The most successful use of flaperons I have ever had was with a MORRIS SUDOKOI. The plane flies like a trainer until you hit the switch, then it becomes a 4.5 pound, 2 horsepower furball! BTW, when I refer to flaperons in this context, it is implied that it is flaps coupled to the elevator, out of phase. I got into a huge, and very stupid argument in the beginners' forum a couple of months ago about it's pure meaning, until my typing finger was bleeding. The literal meaning has no useful function ,IMHO, because coupling the flaps to the elevator will help keep a plane from pitching and contribute to smoothness when settling an over weight model in for a slow, flap assisted landing.

Bruce, this is not at all unusual. Frankly, it is the first thing most 3d flyers reach for when they encounter wing rock in a harrier or elevator maneuver.

CP is right though, it can be very wierd in execution. Some examples: my Pitts M12 profile reacts very well to spoilerons while in harrier flight and elevators, but leaving it on past that point is not so good, so the switch is only on during high-alpha stuff. Same with my Turbo Raven.

On my Half-wits, I have even gone so far as to adjust the ailerons permanently up or down to provide either effect.......

As for whether or not to leave it on, I don't know anyone who leaves it on during regular flight. Its too easy to switch it on and off....

CP, rather than mixing it in as a backwards flaperon mix, run both ailerons on a programable mix against the elevator. Then you can have flaperons on one switch and spoilerons on the other.....

I use spoilerons on my Funatana and Extra 300 to soften wing rocking when doing harriers. I have a 3 way switch on my radio set so that up is spoilerons, middle is no mix and down is flaperons. I also have another switch set so that when the elevator hits 75% the spoilerons kick in. That way I can fly on low rates with no spoilerons and flip to high, pull back hard on the elevator into a "wall" and then release the elevator and climb vertical.

MATCH, I don't think I have that capability, I lost the programming instructions years ago before I ever learned how to make full use of this radio, but at any rate, my flaperom switch is only a single throw switch, and the only other switches I have are for retracts and an airbrake. There is also a flap trim dial, but I leave that sucker dis abled!

CP, if you have a Futaba 6xas, I know it will do it. I did not know how until pretty recently either......... The instruction book does not tell you how to do it, but it tells you how to do each of the components to make it happen.....I'm not sure, but I believe JR has a similar feature...

Well I guess you know me pretty well, Yes that is my radio. Just call me MR CHEAP! The T6XAS looked like all that I would ever need, and at the time it was under $200 if I remember right. Now I don't feel so incompetent, if you yourself, Sir, are just now learning the trick! When it comes to anything computer related I have a serious inferiority complex, and I have been too stupid and lazy to get a replacement instruction booklet. I just bang buttons and swear at it till it works[:@]!

My JR radios can do it. That's what I meant in the post above. The switch mixes the ailerons to the elevator, not just turing on spoilerons or flaperons.

But you have a double throw switch MR BIPE, and that would be a user friendly thing to blindly fumble for . I still can't visualize how I could convert my single throw switch to do two seperate things at the same time[sm=spinnyeyes.gif], whilst I am in the midst of doing one of my breath taking routines? Matchless must be able to move his eyes independently[ like a cameleon] while doing inflight reprogramming!