Hello, I am new to 3D flying. I bought a passion 3D .60 and a tower hobbies .75. I will be using an Airtronics VG6000 radio. My question is how should I program the radio. How much aileron differential? Flaperons? Spoilerons? Any general suggestions on set up? I have been flying slope and fun fly's for years, but this is my first tru 3D plane. Thanks, Ryan

Set it up to fly first, THEN worry about mixing. Chances are, whatever gets suggested will be a matter of taste, so once you're comfortable with the plane start working the mixings that you mentioned.

HI Ryan congrats on your first real 3D plane and let me start off by saying you are going to get more than your share of opionions in here from every aspect of what people think is going to be the best. I will try to stay unbiased as I try to share some of my knowledge. I fly a Funtana 90 with a YS 110, a Morris knife profile with a YS .63 and a Quique Yak 54 72" with a YS 1.40 in it. All are 3d planes.

To start, along with a capable 3D plane and an engine thrust to weight ratio at least 2:1 your set up is key to getting your plane to perform eaisily for you. lots of guys, I will go out on a limb and say the majority of 3D guys are flying 4 stroke engines. There torque curve being mopre constant through the low to high rpm range makes them a favorite among 3D guys. Although their are advocates of the reliable 2 strokers they do have a lag in their power band from low rpm to high which to lots of people make a big difference when they want that power instantly. Prop choice is extremly important along with engine tunning. Runnning them hand in hand is one of the biggest set up features you will want to get dialed in. I have found although lots of people give their advise on the particular enigne maybe even the one you are running and what works best for them doesnt necessarily mean it will work for you. There are sooo many conflicting posts in here on set ups that work for some and not for others. The changing variables here are many, weather, location even the engine itself as no 2 are identical. As for prop selection, for a 3D plane lower pitch higher diameter is key. The purpose is to get the maximum amount of air to be thrown across your control surfaces while in a stalled state. To do that you increase the prop diameter and decrease the pitch. Lots of guys use anywhere from a 4W pitch prop to a 6 pitch prop. IMO any more pitch will give you more speed than you'll want and not enough pull out power. When you look at the prop ranges for your engine you wont see the smaller pitch props llisted youll have to do some investigating and some small figuring to get your prop size. as an example if you can run a 15X8 on your engine then you should also be able to spin a 16X6 or a 17X4, maybe even a 4W for wide props. 3D guys like the W props for increasing the volume of prop wash across your control surfaces. When flying 3D its important to remember they werent designed to fly 100mph they were meant to be slow and powerful. Some of these airframes cannot handle the over speeding and will fly apart at excessive speeds. Because most everyone overpwers their planes its important to use good throttle management.

As for setting up your aircraft you will need to make sure all control surfaces are sealed just a good idea. Linkages must be tight no slop what so ever. Use good servos for you will be taxing them when in 3D mode. Maximum deflection on 3D rates. If you can everything should be over 45* more if you can get it. I use 3 rates on mine low rates for just putting around middle rates for a bit more aggressive flying and all out 3D rates for well 3D. I do have spoilerons and flaperons set up for things like harriers and waterfalls. Just cool to see them and what they do.

Balance is also a big item to make sure you are on. Typically a changing CG in flight can change the way your plane performs so lots of guys myself included put our fuel tanks on the planes CG. That way no matter full or empty its perfectly balanced. Another reason why I fly a YS engine. They are pressurized and that allows you to put the tank anywhere you want with out running a pump. You will have to put yours up front and in line with the carb. Unlsess you buy a pump. I would suggest to run it as mfg recomends the CG to be but as you get more comfortable moving it aft a 1/2 an inch or so will make it a bit more fun. IMO i like tail heavy planes.

Lastly programming your radio you should have at least 2 rates low and high. Expo IMO is important on 3D throws. I have 60% in elvators and Alierons. I believe 50% in my rudder.
Hope this was imformative for you. Good luck

Thank you for all the good info. I would consider myself an intermediate pilot, more slope soaring with composite gliders than power though. I fly at my house, I don't have any input from other expirienced pilots, so I will be relying on the comments posted here. I have a fun 51, wich I can hover and flatspin quite well with, so I think I am ready to set the passion up for more serious 3D. I decided to use the .75 because it was lying around. I should be able to get good enough power with it, I live at sea level and use 15%. One person on here measured 11.4lbs of thrust running an APC 13x4 at around 12k rpm. I believe the passion is 5.5-6 lbs wet. 13x4 seems a little small, but I will give it a try. Also thinking of an APC 14x4W, any Comments? How much throw should I set spoilerons and flapperons at? Also, should I add in some flap to elevator mix (flapperons down when I pull back on elevator)? I will start with the CG at the recommended spot or slightly behind for starters. I beefed up the tail structure, landing gear and firewall, so It should be sturdy enough to handle the forces.

IMO if your gonna go 13x4 go 13X4W depending on altitude it may not be enough. The people who dont like the 13 usually fall on the 14 and vise versa. As far as spoilerons and flaperons start them off at about 30% and see how that makes it fly. All of these mixes are secondary to getting the plane up and flying. you may not need any of them depending on how it likes to tumble.