Hi,
Congratulations to the 3 pilots that took place 1-3 at the NATS F3A competition, and the designer should be very proud of his Allure design!
The comments about the Allure seems mostly positive but I'm sure it is things still to improve on the plane.
Just curious, when next production run of Allure is made (when?) is there any improvments planned that can be revealed already?
I have not read really any negative comments about Allure (or maybe I have missed them) from pilots.
But it would be interesting to hear from pilots that fly Allure what, if any, negative behaviour or design/construction the plane has.
I'm sure there are some that can be nice to know about so all cards are on the table so to speak (the positive and the negative).
/Bo
Hi Bo,
What specific questions might you have? As of the conclusion of the US NATs, my Allure has 365 flights on it. In the last 150 flights, I have made minimal changes to it.
I can offer the following -
Bryan personally weighs and checks alignment on every part of each plane before it is shipped to customers. When you start with that level of QAQC, you are likely to get a solid product.
I have known Bryan for 20+ years, and talked with him many a time in detail about design and trimming. Do we agree on everything? Nope. But I have flown plenty of Bryan's planes, and never found his assessment of the flight qualities to be anything less than accurate and honest. While the Allure is his most recent offering, I would suggest it is not a "new" design per se. The Allure is the most recent refinement of a proven design, and it is targeted for the current day and 2017 F3A sequences. You will not be able to ask Bryan a question about the flying qualities or behavior of the Allure that he can not answer. Should he need to refer to it, his "black book" has copious notes of all the settings he has tried and the resulting flight characteristics. Bryan knows his designs inside and out, and knows what trim settings will affect the behavior of the plane in any maneuver. I don't think that type of a resource can be found with any other offering on the market today.
Is the Allure perfect? Maybe. It depends on your definition of perfect. I installed my motor to match the nosering thrust alignment exactly and I have not changed the wing incidence (it is fixed). I have experiemented with CG, and settled on 1/8" behind the wing tube.....which is right in the middle of the recommended CG range. My plane had a little bit of elevator trim, so I adjusted the stabs to eliminate the elevator trim. I experimented with control throws, and ended up with throws very similar to what Bryan recommends. I don't use flight conditions; I use individual rates. I fly the P and F 15 sequences on a single elevator, rudder, and elevator rate. On those rates, the plane has nothing other than a small downline mix. I switch to high rate rudder for stall turns and spins. I switch to high rate aileron for snaps. I switch to high rate elevator for spins. For the more demanding KE K6 unknown maneuvers, there is the smallest bit of coupling with the rudder, so I am using a curve mix that only activates near full rudder throw. Rud>ail and Rud>ele mix percentage max values are less than 2%, and keep in mind that only a small percentage of pilots will ever be doing KE K6 maneuvers in competition.
Several other pilots have flown my Allure. The only criticism they have had is that the rudder is very sensitive, and I acknowledge that my personal preference for many years has been to fly with a sensitive rudder. I use about the same amount of rudder input as elevator input in rolling maneuvers; it is a more balanced feel for me.