ORIGINAL: wsmalley
Dan: I like your approach and will probably go ahead and buy some mixers to experiment with. I need to work out the air brake mechanics too. I think I'd like to slave the brake to the flaps(flaperons) but not sure of that 'mix' either. An interesting side note-I think-was found in the Mil-Tech series book, chapter 'How to fly the Su-27', stating that it can be flown with control at under 100 kts! One of my favorite full size exercises is mushing about at slow flight. If you screw up, it says you push the little button on the upper right of the stick and you're straight and level-regardless! The 'Cobra' is commenced at 220 kts, 85% power, pull back with 35lbs pressure-to overide the AoA limiter, etc. It touches down at 125. You gotta love the Flanker!
Yes, you're going to love flying it. It's a very honest airplane with no surprises or nasty habits. It's very well behaved at low speeds.
Speaking of Cobra's... I'm not sure if you've already seen this video, but here's a [link=http://www.allaboutguppys.com/flanker/su-27_2_cobras.mpg]short clip[/link] of Daren executing a couple of Cobra's with his Flanker. The second one turned out pretty well. He hasn't quite reached 100 degrees, but it's close. As you say, we've discovered it works best if initiated at low speeds and high power.
Dan