I don't think the subject is exactly right because I'm not so much doing something wrong as I'm just not doing it right. lol.

First off, I have been flying for about 6 years now and have just started to try my hand at 3D flying. I have a DP Ultimate with a YS120 on it. I've had it for about a year and am really comfortable flying it in normal mode now. And like I said, I've just started to try and learn 3D. One of the biggest problems I have is that we have a fairly small flying club and nobody else here flies 3D, so I don't have anybody that I can watch/learn from.

I guess my biggest question would be what kind of vertical performance can I expect from the Ultimate/YS120 combo. BTW, I am swinging an APC 16x8 prop on it. I have been able to hover a little bit and have held it in the hover for almost 2 torque rolls. But the way I get into to the hover is full throttle up until it stops going up and then try to hold it there. I know that this isn't exactly correct because I do have a hard time seeing the plane controls once it stops going up.

What kind of vertical should I expect??

What throttle setting should I be hovering at??

What is preferred method of getting into the hover/torque roll??

Shouldn't the DP Ultimate be able to pull itself up and out of the hover???

As I don't have anybody at our field to help me, I really appreciate any and all advice that I can get from all of you out there.

Thanks in advance.

For hovering enter a vertical with very low power and enough speed so it wont snap out as you pull it into it.
Let the plane just about stop as its going vertical. At that moment add power to sustain the hover.

If you enter it with full power the plane will just climb and climb till it eventually runs out of speed. Problem with that is that you will be holding power in and you wont have enough reserve to actually sustain the hover.

Get it vertical, let it stop and then catch it with the power needed to hold it there.

Hello,

First of all, get an APC 17x6 prop (not the narrow one). It's about the same load as the 16x8. If your YS 120 swings 16x8@9000, it should do likewise with the 17x6. It will give you 20 lb of static thrust, about 2:1 thrust to weight ratio if your ultimate is 10 lb. like advertised. 17x6 prop will hover a 10 lb. plane at 6500 rpm, which is about half throttle. You will need the rest to pull out of trouble.

The easiest way to learn hover is to do a low speed low pass (1~2 clicks of throttle), pull hard into vertical while giving a sniff of throttle, then as the plane slows down, gradually advance the throttle to the hovering level. When the plane starts to fall one direction, correct with control surface while increasing throttle to whatever necessary. Then when the plane is vertical again, reduce throttle to the hovering level.

Having fast servos help, and increase the elevator and rudder deflection as much as the parts physically allow for 3D rate.

Good luck!

Your CG needs to be right on the mark too. A little aft helps, but you don't want to get it too far back. When you do a vertical up line, does it try to nose over on you? If it does, add some up thrust. That will help your tourque rolls too. A tip that helps me is when the top of the plane is facing you, use the Tx to control the nose. When the belly of the plane is facing you, use the Tx to control the tail.

I had the exact setup and here is my results: With a YS 120 the bibe was a blast to fly but would not sustain a hover forever with a 16-8 APC prop.It would eventually fall out.I put in a Saito 180 and wow!It still flys great and will accelerate out of a hover.Downside,I had to put in a 24 oz. tank to give me a safety margin.The Ys 120 loves fuel and the Saito is an addict.My advice:If you do not already have a bigger motor enjoy what you have( i already had the 180)I could not tell any difference with the added weight.The 17-6 might give some added thrust but I did not try it.The Bipe is great fun. Dave

The YS 140 is even better than the Saito 180. You know what the difference is between the YS 140 and Saito 180 is? The 140 will pull the 180 backwards.

Yeah, the YS is also a lot harder to maintain.

The 1.80 actually will out-accelerate a ys1.4, but the 1.4 will eventually catch up and pass it.

Not to mention the YS is only a few hundred dollars more.

I appreciate all the advice that everyone has given me here. I'll put it all to good use. As far as moving up to a YS140, well I can dream can't I???? lol. I actually have that in the plans, but it gonna have to wait till next august when we pay off a couple of the loans that our business have!!! I'm lucky to have the Ultimate/YS120, it was a birthday present from my father-in-law last year (my wife told him that I was drooling over the ads in the magazine and he did the rest. yes, I'm lucky to have wife I have. she encourages this hobby for me). So I'll just make do with the YS120 for now till I can upgrade

thanks again all