Sojourner

I'm new to 3D manouvers so I'm sure there are other's more qualified to answer your question. The name for "Hanging in the air" is called "hovering", it requires a plane with more thrust than weight, for a plane to be able to hover well, the Center of Gravity (CG) needs to be further back than for a trainer or even a sport plane. It also needs large control surfaces, and strip ailerons so the engines thrust will still allow the plane to be controled. If your plane has unlimited verticle performance, then you can try (at a couple of mistakes high) to hover. If you don't have unlimited verticle, then you might be able to get it in that attitude, but it will slowly descend. If a kit says it is a .40 to .60 size 2s engine, a .60 ball bearing engine MIGHT make it hover, but a .90 will make it hover. The main thing you have to remember is, YOU MUST USE YOUR THROTTLE. If you keep a plane designed for a .40 at full throttle using a .90, you might just pull the firewall out of the airplane. It will fly faster than the plane was designed to go, so you use full throttle for verticle manouvers going up, idle going down and about 1/2 for horizontal manouvers, or a little more or less depending on the speed you want to fly. A true 3D airplane will be almost unstable. If the CG is any further back, you wouldn't be able to fly it, so the CG starts out forward, then is slowly moved back. Fly, adjust CG, fly again, adjust CG until it does all the tricks you want. The CG is a compromise. When you get it far enough back for some manouvers to work well, then it might not want to do others. If you have it far enough forward for some, then it wont want to do some of the wilder manouvers. I can't say this strong enough, move your CG slowly and test fly it. Too far back will kill your plane faster than too far forward.

These are just my opinions and thoughts, if your's differ, voice them, I'm no expert.

Soj

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

My advice, buy 100$ worth of fuel and practice hovering! Hovering, really, isn't incredibly hard. First you need a plane capable of hovering with a power to weight ratio of 2:1 or more preferably. A airplane, say an edge 540 would be a good canidate for hovering because it is one of the premier aerobatic planes around today. When hovering my sig se I bring the plane down low and bring it into a harrier, then quickly cut the throttle and bring it completely vertical then add throttle to maintain hovering position. Some, prefer to do short blasts of throttle while others have a constant throttle rate, for me I keep a constant throttle rate. Now once in a hovering position you basically try and keep the plane standing on the prop. Normally right rudder is needed while hovering. 3d rates really help while hovering. From there its all practice, using your thumbs and constantly adding input in ailerons, rudder and elevator to keep stable.