I'm fairly new to R/C and just getting into 3D type airplanes. I just bought a Skyshark Edge 540 and I was wondering if it would a good idea to mix some flap with the ailerons for landing. The reason I'm asking, is that when flying the Edge 540 on RealFlight, it seems very sensitive to airspeed and elevator inputs when landing, I guess the thinner symmetrical wing doesn't have the forgiving characteristics of the trainers. Would a little down aileron reduce the stall speed and make it a little more forgiving?

I personally havn't had any luck with that setup. I tried it on a few of my smaller warbirds, other guys I know didn't like it either. But hey what can it hurt, you mite like it.

gmair, great Q, my 66in edge lands ok without any flaperon but the other day in a little wind i was having a little bit of trouble getting her to come down and i added 4 clicks down(you dont need much) and it helped alot.
so i used it later without wind(4 clicks) and it is landing sweeter now than ever, if you are still building and not maidened yet i would suggest landing it without flaps first and go from there so you know what you got, but with these types of planes you dont need much input to change things drasticly

good luck

Thanks,
I 've just started experimenting with mixing on my Ultra Stick and my new JR 6102. It adds a whole new dimension to flying compared to
the old Avistar/ 4YF combo.
I agree that I should take it slowly with any changes to the control surfaces. I imagine that the higher performance an airplane is, the more sensitive it will be to changes, WB , throws , mixing...

Also remember when you add in the flaperons mix, you dont need much. Maybe 10-15 degrees of down should do it. Too much and you will find your self ballooning way up when you hit the flaps and having to retrim for a landing. Also too much flaps could slow you down too much which would not be good. You'll find the flaperon mix helpful later when you want to mix it with the elevator. Doing it different ways will help you with different aerobatics. You can add a mix that will give up flaps with up ele, making hovering and harriers a little better. or down flaps with up ele, which will help with certain maneuvers also, like waterfalls and the such. Goodluck and welcome to the great world of computer radios. They can make you or break you.


Sean

I would be surprised if you need flaperons to land it. Very few RC planes ¨need¨ flaps or flaperons at all. Especially if its a 3D plane it will have low wing loading and should float in. Generally flaperon mixes are used for certain 3D manuevers rather than for landing.

If you do use the mixes practice with them high up but I dont think you will need them. They will probably be more of a hassle/danger for landing rather than beneficial.

I agree. In fact down aileron can cause tip stalling at a higher speed due to the increased effective angle of attack so it can have the opposite effect to that required.

Spoilerons or air brake set-up is more effective for slowing the landing speed. This is UP aileron. It will give effective wash-out at the tips to help prevent early stall conditions developing. This setup also can give added angle of attack while at the same time preventing tip stall. This gives a high frontal area of the the model to the direction of travel. Slows it down more for landing.

Try air brakes to give a fixed few degrees of up aileron when you throw the switch - works well on fast landing aerobatic models, so should be good for a 3D model.

Flapperons can be dangerous for landings...

You really don't want flaps on a windy day. You want the opposite or spoilerons. Some radios call them air brakes, as has been mentioned.

I set a Flaperon wing type, then mix throttle-master and Flaps-slave. I set the spoilers to move up instead of down. If you have the large ailerons, 3 inches or more, start with an inch of movement. I set offset so they start at half throttle and are fully deployed at idle. They are armed with a switch.

When I am ready for landings, I flip the switch on and when I throttle back, both ailerons (spoilers) move up. If I have to add power for a go around or a touch and go, they drop down at half stick automatically.

Spoilers, or spoilerons, work very well on windy days and in cross winds. Your plane seems to cut right through the wind.

If you think of 3D, you are really doing a very slight elevator. With a lot of spoiler, 30-45 degrees, the plane will make a very steep descent. With a small amount like I mentioned, the plane descends a little faster and ignores the wind. I use it on several planes and have never had a problem. For example, I have it set on a Big Stick 40 and fly it on very windy days. The only planes I like to use flaps are on a high wing loading scale plane.

Im sorry, i just read what i wrote and i was wrong, i have no idea what i was thinking(old timers disease)
these guys are right, you want spoileron, not flaps

My thoughts are why overcomplicate things ?? If you can land your plane just fine without, why change it?? I have flaperons and spoilerons programed in my radio but I rarely use them and that is only if I am doing waterfalls or a LONG elevator.

i've flown fazers twists and flips all with spoilerons/flaperons, and just yesterday i was landing with the flaps down, because it does slow down the landing speed, and helps me set it down better.... like everyone else said though, you have to watch the throttle and keep on it a bit till you set it down... flaps are fun!