I've been flying for about 2 years and I am very comfortable with flying my 2 planes, a World Models Cub and P51. I am just finishing a Shoestring ARF and would like to challenge myself with some more difficult maneuvers, I am comfortable with loops rolls and limited inverted flight. Are there any websites or suggestions anyone could make that would help me to understand what different types of maneuvers there are and how to perform them. Also, do you think I should consider an instructor?

Thanks,


Sparkie

www.3drc.info

Are you wanting 3D manuevers like blenders, waterfalls, harriers,,,, or aerobatic maneuvers like Cuban 8, reverse Cuban 8's, stall turns, squares, triangles etc etc etc??...

To be honest I don't know what any of those things are. I'm just looking at the site that Luke recommended and learning what some of these things are. I really have no idea and I'm looking at where I should start, basically what maneuvers do you start with to learn to be a better pilot?

I really got into this on my own and I am a self taught pilot so have none to instruct or mentor me.

Thanks for the help,


Sparkie

I want to do 3D alot, but one thing that strikes me is these low wingers, especially the good ones show up your definciencies, I've found that the plane shows up mistakes more which means you leanr to tidy up your pattern manuvers.

So now I am practising my pattern and will do 3d later (or when I get my engine!)

Sparkie, if your plane is the Shoestring, which is not a 3D model, then I think you'd be well advised to focus on the Pattern Sportsman schedule of maneuvers (straight & level upright, straight & level inverted, half Cuban 8, reverse half Cuban 8, loop, roll, two-point roll, cobra, stall turn, immelman & double immelman). These should all be workable with the Shoestring. Your primary resource for this stuff would be the pattern website, nsrca.org. A nice page with tips for doing the Sportsman schedule well is at www.cox-internet.com/donramsey.

When you get bored with the Sportsman schedule, you can have a look at the higher classes, where you get into snaps, spins, rolling loops, rolling circles, etc. This is pretty fancy stuff.

If you can find an instructor or coach, I think you'll move along much more surely. Apart from learning maneuvers, there are a lot of fine points to landing, landing in crosswind, flying in crosswind, avoiding tip-stalls, etc. that are crucial to avoiding frustrating hard landings & crashes. Also lots to learn regarding setting up your control system, setting up your engine, keeping deadsticks to a minimum--not a lot of this stuff is covered in the usual "instruction" resources, but a good instructor working with you in these areas can save you lots of down-time for repairs and re-building.

Technical descriptions of all the pattern maneuvers are on the AMA website, somewhere in the Competition section.

3D is another world, and calls for a different plane. You can get yourself a 3D model and sample these pleasures, but I think you'd do well to spend a year or two just getting the standard maneuvers polished, since all this is a great foundation for 3D if you choose to go that route.

majortom,
This is exactly the informaiton I was looking for, although I don't know what some of those maneuvers are I will look them up now that i know what to look for. I appreciate your advise and I will start practicing some of those maneuvers today. One of the guys at my field suggested anpther 3D pilot and that he might take the time to guide me.

Thanks again.

Sparkie

Two good sources of how to do the basic aerobatics. Download the figures and descriptions of the maneuvers from the competitions page of the AMA site, and get the Dave Patrick book on Patter/aerobatic flying.

First challenge to you; fly a true straight line, parallel to the ground, wings level, for 500 feet.

Tom

Sparky,
Call the AMA or go to their website and ask for an AMA rulebook. They will mail you one free of charge if you are an AMA member. www.modelaircraft.org . The book has EVERYTHING you need to know about pattern, scale and everything else AMA sanctions competition for.
It includes the sequence of maneuvers for each level in pattern and it has a picture and description of each maneuver it even tells you what NOT to do in the form of downgrade descriptions.

Also if you are serious about Pattern there is an organization The National Society For Radio Controlled Aerobatic www.nsrca.org that has all of the sequences in a printable form that includes the K Factors(difficulty factor). The lists of manuevers are called "Schedules". They are under one of the tabs on the left side of the screen.. They have a monthly magazine that comes with the subscription and its the best way to find out about contests in your district and meet other pattern flyers in your area.

Heres the basic idea of pattern

Pattern is performed in a virtual box.
A pattern field will have a flight box for you to stand at,, ther will be 3 lines in front of you on the ground starting at your feet. One extending out on the runway straight out from you. Then there are 2 lines extending out at 60 degrees infinitely that start at your feet and go out diagonally across the runway and into eternity in opposite directions. The back of the box is straight out in front of you about 175 meters (should be poles out there so you can see how far out you are. The sides of the box follow the diagonal lines on the ground so at your feet the box is about 1' wide and at the 175 meter mark out there its probably about 1000 meters wide,, you get the picture. The further out you fly the more room you have to fly. The best place to fly is probably about 125-150 meters out in front of you. You usually dont get downgraded for flying too high but technically the upper part of the box extends upward from your eye at a 60 degree angle. You will be hard pressed to fly too high if you are out at 125 or so meters..

You are scored on your takeoff and landing and almost every moment in between. You takeoff into the wind, turn around and make a downwind pass and then turnaround back into the wind to enter "the box". You should establish your distance out on the downwind pass so that you enter the box flying level and at the right distance out.

Vocally announce "enter the box" as you enter the box.
Announce each maneuver just before you execute it.

The 1st maneuver will be centered in front of you. The center of the maneuver should be right on the centerline at your feet. I hold my transmitter so that the antenna is pointed up and I can see it to help center my maneuvers.

The second maneuver will be at the upwind end of the box and is called a "turnaround maneuver" like a stall turn, 1/2 reverse cuban 8, 1/2 cuban 8. third maneuver on the center going downwind, turnaround maneuver on the downwind end back to another centered maneuver,,, you get the picture..

The turnaround maneuvers should be made in a timely manner so that they have the correct geometry, but at no time do you exit the box while performing the maneuver. You get downgraded for getting out of the box when you arent supposed to. Ideally the backside of a turnaround maneuver will be performed so that the backside of say a 1/2 cuban JUST touches the box line,, that gives you all the possible room you need to get level and lined up for your next centered maneuver.

Remember the box gets smaller the closer in you fly, so if you are right over the runway the box is only going to be about 100 meters long and have to do EVERYTHING inside the box,, so again mantain adequate distance away from you ,, so 125-150 meters and yo will have all the time you need..

Also between each maneuver there should be a straight line..

So say you do the 2 consecutive loops of the sportsman pattern. As you come out of the second loop you should level out for at least some distance before starting your turnaround maneuver.

So it should
enter the box,
straight line
centred maneuver
straight line
turnaround manuever
straight line
centered maneuver
straight line
turnaround maneuver

on so on and so forth...
any more questions feel free to ask
And be sure to oder the AMA rulebook

Try this link
http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/...vers/index.htm

Hey Sparkie,

If you are interested in 3D, you MUST check out this DVD http://www.jpmediainc.net/ultimate3d.html . Chris Maier is a really great pilot and really knows his equipment requirements, and he goes through all the 3D moves. It's really worth the money.

A simulator will undoubtably save you at least one airframe if you want to learn 3-D. You can learn the basic moves on the sim, then you can go out in the real world and learn how to do them for real. No sim is a substitute for actual flight time, but it can really help you to get the kinks worked out.

The hardest part for me when I learned inverted flying was to train my thumbs reflexes to push OUT when I bail, instead of PULLING it into the ground. Four hours and a sixpack of coors light got my thumb working more realiably Now I fly inverted alot. Sims can really help you to get alot more hours on the sticks, without the PITA of packing your gear, driving for half an hour, unpacking, flying (which is the good part), cleaning up and re-packing, driving, and un-packing everything again. Not to mention, you can't kill a simulator by dumb-thumbing it into the ground!

AFPD is a good sim- and relatively inexpensive.

By all means learn the basics first. I see so many people these days that can do some 3D flight ( harrier, waterfall, hover) and they cant fly a straight line to save their life! If you learn the basics first then learning 3D will come much easier. Practice your straight and level flight first. Concentrate on flying the same line back and forth both up right and inverted, keep the aircraft on a constant heading, altitude, and make the line exactly parallel to the runway approximately 100 ft out from you. Once you get that down then start implementing some rolls and point rolls on that line. Then start your loops on that line centered in front of you concentrate on keeping it round entering and exiting at the same altitude and same line and heading. Work on stall turns at either end of the field to turn around. Then just start working on a variety of many different maneuvers, but concentrate on keeping them precise, on a line and positioned properly. Once you learn the basics of "normal" aerobatics then you can break in to the 3D realm. If you look at all the top flyers right now you will find that in the top 20 or so 3D flyers, we all have a good strong base in precision flying. That is what separates the top 3D flyers from the rest, and gives the ability to put together a freestyle routine that combines all elements of flight! Nothing looks better than 3D done precisly rather than floppin around. Just my $.02 worth

Thanks for the advice I will concentrate on the basics. I just finished building a Funtana for my first 3D plane and will start pacticing this week.

Sparkie