Will coupling the alierons to the elevator help with elevators and harriers?My 35% Edge does these manevures pretty good,but I was wondering if this would help.Which way should alierons move when coupled,up ele and down flap or up ele and up flap?
Mike

I've coupled ele and spoilerons for torque rolling, and I think the same setup should work for harriers and elevators, since I think the point is to be really slow, but not necessarily increase lift (as would occur with flaps instead of spoilerons).

I'll wait until the experts have had their say though....I'm not even close to decent on any of this yet.

On my 40% Giles 300, I found a noticeable improvement in harriers and elevators by using the spoilers. Basically, it eliminated the slight wing rocking it had, and give it a perfectly stable stance laterally. The giles would stake a steep descent profile with no rock at all, and the harrier was just as stable.

A good friend of mine has a 35% Radiocraft Extra which had excessive wing rock in elevators. He added spoilers which had an impact, but it did not eliminate it. Best of my knowledge, he never did get that airplane to perform stable harriers or elevators, and it always had a pronounced wing rock.

The 40% Extra 330s I have does not seem to be affected either way. It has a slight wing rocking, and using spoilers, or reflexing the ailerons, does not change it. So I guess, is just a matter of experimentation to see if it helps, does nothing, or is a determent. Each plane is somewhat unique, and its all dependent on CG placement, airplane design, and setup.

I have found that if you have the ailerons going down when the elevator goes up, this makes harriers and elevators almost
impossible to do. I think that the ailerons going downcreates more vortices which increases the lift of the wing and reduces he stall speed, but make the transition bettween low and high alpha flying a lot more tricky. I found it a lot easier when i had them turned off. If your wings start rocking when you are the right way up, try doing it upsideown- many planes do not wing rock inverted.
Another thing that also seems to work is to increase your rudder elevator movement to get the plane in a deeper stall.
If this is not quite enough then try entering your harrier from a snaproll on full 3D rates. This often gets the plane very deeply stalled without wing rock,without the need for any mixers , and is also a bit more cool looking. It is also easier, because the deep snap roll transitions you seemlessly into a harrier or an elevator, once you have got your setup right and have practised it. You can see this manuver done to near perfection in one of Jason Shulman's videos on www.scaleaerobatics.com
Luke

Is that a 3W 330S? If so, what does yours weigh, and how do you rate it for 3D compared to other large scale models?
Thanks_bob

I agree with Luke, in the flapperon setup actually making it harder to do harriers and elevators. I was only addressing the spoiler configuration, and neglected to mention flapperons.

Bob_nj,

I haven't weighed either of my 330S, so I can't comment on their weight. The airplanes I have flown the most are the 40% Carden Giles 300, and the 40% Carden Extra 330S, and a Pirate 35% Cap232. I have briefly flown the 40% Fiberclassics Extra, 35% Radiocraft Extra, 40% Carden Edge 540, and a few other smaller 35% and 30% aerobatic planes. However, to really be able to evaluate the differences between each airplane, one really needs to put in a couple hours flight time on each one, and thats something that I haven't done.

But with regard to a comparison of the ones I have flow extensively, I can say the 330S is a nice 3D machine. It is also very smooth and stable as well. I have not had any difficulty doing the 3D maneuvers I am comfortable with (harriers, blenders, walls, waterfalls, elevators, etc). I have also seen others perform the more advanced 3D maneuvers with it without trouble. Its no slouch at all, but like all airplanes, it just has some differences.

For example, if I did a direct comparison to the Giles 300 and the Extra 330s, I would say the Giles is better at harriers and elevators than the Extra because is was so rock solid. However, I believe the blenders and waterfalls are better on the Extra because they just look and presents better, almost more graceful. Both airplanes are very capable of the maneuvers, they just handle and present just a little differently.

With the flight time I had on the Carden Edge 540, I walked away feeling that it felt much like the 330S. Stable, graceful, yet fully capable of doing the 3D tricks. My short time on the Fiberclassics left me with no real firm comments either way. The airplane was to be used in the TOC flight demonstration by John Glezellis, and he let me fly it just a couple Weeks before he was to leave for the TOC. I was too afraid of having a mishap with it, and leaving him without the airplane, that I just flew it up high and easy. He kept telling me to get it on the deck and play with it. I just couldn't do it . But, it felt light, nimble, and seeing it fly in the hands of John, its obvious its more than capable. I just can't offer any real comparison.

Which also beings up another point. John also flew my Carden 330s, and did much of his normal antics with it. First flight on that airplane, and he was comfortable enough to toss it around the sky. This also confirms the 330S is more than capable in the 3D flight mode.

I know its a non-committal answer, but its hard to contrast the differences in those airplanes without adequate flight time on each one. Hopefully this all helps none the less.