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Old 08-29-2003 | 02:41 PM
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Chris300s
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From: Bedford, UK
Default tip stall and h-9 cap

I know I'm going to catch flack on this but blaming it on the airplane is a crock! (Jeff this is not directed towards you, I'm sorry about your crash, that sucks).
No, Cap's aren't prone to "tip" stalling more than any other double tapered wing with the same wing loading. The vast majority of model aerobats share the same airfoils and planforms, I.e Extra, Staudacher, some Sukhoi's, Katana, Laser.
That said, there's a lot to say about proper set-up. The Cap has a low center of drag and a high thrust line. It also has a tremendously powerful rudder and elevator. When set up at the typical 0-0-0 incidence, the plane flys level under power, and balloons at idle. As the plane pitches up, aerodynamic braking slows it down quickly and you stall. Cap's need 2deg. of up thrust to counteract the difference between thrust line and center of drag.
The rudder is the second source of the crashes that I see. Pilots flying Extra's and sport planes can bang the rudder from stop to stop and never worry about snapping the plane in. Caps typically have enough rudder authority to stall/snap/spin the plane at any velocity and attitude. If I use 100% rudder in a tumble the plane will stop 90deg. to the direction of travel then rotate another 90 (think of doing a 180 in the car), keep in mind that this is at 45-60 mph! (You'll yaw 20 deg. in a Cap without thinking about it but that translate to a big loss of airspeed over that inside wing panel)
The final issue with any plane is wing warp. I've built 12 Caps from 54" to 97" and all needed correction to the wing tips. Several of the arfs had a 5 degree difference between tips, one positive one negative. This is usually trimmed with aileron but pops up when you're in the low velocity, high AOA flight mode.
If you keep the wing loading low, it will minimize any other problems and make the plane easier to fly. If you take care of the other issues by using a meter, correcting the motor thrust alignment and dialing in expo you'll take care of the source of your problems.
My (3) 25% (74") Caps flew better than any of my other 30% stuff. The 80" flew even better and the 33% flys better than all but a handful of the 40-42%.

Chris
74" Cap+Moki 2.10=12 lbs= 5mph, nose high all day long.