Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I'm new to 3-D flying. After seeing the Ohio Model Planes Edge 540-P video and watching it hover rock steady, I bought it and set it up just as the one in the video, using a Thunder Tiger .46 Pro and a APC 12.25 x 3.75. The plane tracks true and flys great. But I really bought it to learn how to hover. I know most of my trouble is me, but it seems like it shouldn't be this hard. When I get to vertical, say from a harrier or wall, and add power it stays for a moment, then if it climbs I will reduce power and instead of sliding straight down, one of the wings will dip.. Would it be easier if I was using a 4-stroke instead for more low rpm torque. or is hovering really this hard and I just need that mental implant from practice and it just clicks all at once. Just don't want to waste time praciticing the wrong way. Thanks for you help.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I have read all the tips and tricks about hovering:
1) rearward CG
2) Large diameter flat prop (12.25 x 3.75 is great)
3) High power-to-weight ratio
4) flaperons
5) right thrust

But the real secret is in the fuel. You have to use a lot of it.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I have 2 of these, one with a Saito .72 and the other with a .46FX. The 2 stroke is by far the easier plane to hover IMO. The 4 stroke has power galore but I seem to have to "work" the plane to maintain a hover.

Be sure to do ALL of the following:
1. Balance the plane 2" behind the main spar

2. Balance the plane laterally, supported by the fuse at the front and the tailwheel at the rear. DO NOT use the engine crankshaft to support the front as the engine is offset from center on these profiles and will result in an imbalance that will destroy the 3D characteristics of this plane.

3. Dail in 2-3 degrees of right thrust. I have 2 number 6 washers between the fuse and the engine on the front engine mount screws (6-32).

4. Max rudder throw and elevator throws with lots of expo, mine is set to -50 on both and seems about right (to me anyway), adjust to suit your individual needs as you progress.

5. If you don't have a PC sim to practice on then you are going to be burning A LOT of fuel and fixing the plane periodically. Hovering is NOT easy at first and anyone trying it on a sim will find themselves crashing a LOT before they finally "get it".

HTH

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

Thanks for the solid advice. I am at 1.5" from the spar and will go to 2". That makes sense. I will also laterally balance, and add another washer for the right thrust. You're right, I am burning a lot of fuel with close calls. Thanks for telling about the 2-stroke .46 being plenty, it seems like it to me too. One more question, what simulator program do you recommend for hovering practice, and should I being using a radio with the expo throws and or mixing. Right now just using a straight radio. Thanks again.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

Thanks for the good tips.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

When you say "straight radio" do you mean a plain jane 4 channel with nothing but the basic 4 channels available? If so then that is a large part of your problem. IMO the addition of dual rates and expo are essential for a beginner when attempting to learn 3D, the plane is just too sensitive when set up with the throws necessary to fly it "3D" style.

As for simulators, get Ikarus Aerofly Professional. I had Realflight G2 and learned to hover on it with a few planes that I downloaded off the net. G2 is pretty good if you a rank beginner and learning the basics of flying but for all out aerobatics, including and especially 3D, Aerofly is the winner hands down.

The cost of the simulator is cheap if you consider the number of crashes that happen when first start attempting to hover on it, try that with a real plane and you'll spend more time fixing the plane than flying it. I think it took me the better part of 2 weeks of flying the sim for and hour every night before I got it down and wasn't bashing the plane on a regular basis.

Get the sim through OMP, they are selling them like hotcakes.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I really wants Aerofly, it probably won't work on my set-up tho, I know crap loads about computer compatibilty so I don't need help there. I just want to try it out. Because once I had a game that did not work at all, my comp was too limp, but after a little tweaking it worked! Aeroflt demands a little less compared to that game but I need a demo, except there is no demo.

I don't mind the cost. But why the hell is G2 so damn expensive. Microsoft flight sim is much cheaper and its more sophisticated in my opinion.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I run AFP on a 3 year old Athlon XP 1600 w/512 meg PC 133 and a GeForce 2 MX 400 card. The sim runs fine in 16 bit color but is slow and stutters bad with 32 bit color enabled. AFP is more video card intensive than anything else and doesn't need a lot of memory or processor to run well.

They are so expensive because the market is so much smaller compared to MS Flightsim, there just aren't as many people who are going to buy an RC flight sim. FWIW MS Flightsim is ok but the one thing you need to do proper training for RC is the controller that mimics the real RC transmitters we use at the field, a PC joystic just doesn't cut it for getting your thumbs working with your brain. The third person persective available in MSFS is pretty poor and is very limited in it's usefullness as a training aid for flying RC planes IMO as well.

I know the sims are expensive but they are worth every penny that you will save in repairing damaged planes.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

The Aerofly Pro. is the one I have been looking at, at OMP. That's right about my radio just basic 4 channel. Time to invest in a radio with dual rates and exponetial throws if I am going to pursue 3D flying. Thanks again for the advice.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I will second the AFP sim I have had mine for a few months and I love it. I have been trying to learn inverted harriers and this flight sim has saved me several airplanes!!

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

The use of dual rates / expo is totally dependent on your preference.

I don't use expo on any plane while I'm flying 3D maneuvers, and on most I don't even setup dual rates to use in "normal" flight. Even with setups that use more than 45 degree deflection each way.
The expo IMO make the controls slugish and not very usefull for 3D. Again though thats up to you and what you like.

Bill

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I'm sorta headed the other way from Bill about the dual rates/expo issue.

When your getting started in 3D and atually have a plane that is capable of the manuevers next comes learning proper control input. Most of these planes are so sensitive that inexperienced pilots can get themselves into a furball in a hurry if they try to fly them with full on control, softening up the sticks helps a great deal when learning 3D at first.

Once you know which way to move the sticks and can do it with the right amount of input and at the right time you'll be ready to start dailing out the expo and maybe even do away with the low rate setting altogether.

Basically, if your new to this stuff, use expo and dual rates. Once your an expert you probably won't want them anymore.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I will throw in another vote for Aerofly Pro as a learninng tool. Got mine last week and have put about 10 hrs of time on it. It's simply amazing how closely the flight characteristics of OMP's 65" Yak resemble my real one. I've definitely gotten better at hovering on the sim, but haven't been able to try it out at the field yet. It's also helped me in flying around in knife edge. My only complaint about AFP, and it's really a minor one, is that maneuvers that require a lot of altitude to set up, like the blender, is difficult for me because the plane's position is hard to judge when it's right at the top of the screen. I tend to lose perspective on where it's at, and how high it is above the ground.

Bottom line, if you want to learn 3D, you really owe it to yourself to get AFP. It's worth every penny, and then some.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I'm leaning the same way as Bill on the Expo issue, but agree with shogun that it is fine for beginners. Most of us are using 6V RX packs for faster speed (and more power), then dialing in Expo to slow it down (around neutral)[&:][&:][sm=confused.gif]. I'm dialing in less and less (sometimes 0) Expo.

Jeff

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

Ok my computer is so crap its illegal:

Pentium 3 550 MHZ
128 RAM
32 MB Intel onboard 810 (***** as you can get)

Well those are the main bits that I lack in, RAM is ok but graphics are terrible.

I think AFP would blow my computer up as I need a new one.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

hey, zep, thats wot ive got but i got a diff graphics card, used to have a voodo 16mb but now ive got a nVidea geeforce thingy 64mb. i use AFP

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

Yep but the Intel Onboard is hardly a graphics card, its built in and doesnt support OpenGL too well, it wont like AFP. I'd like to just have a go anyway, Ripmax RC worked fine but thats different. AFP should have a downloadable demo!

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I'm learning when it comes to 3d, but just managed to get my flip to hover today, I entered it from a harrier and it stayed there for about 30secs and then it fell to the left. I tried it again and couldn't get back into it and it kept falling to the left, eveytime it started to hover it fell to the left no matter how much right I put in. Any help with what I'm doing wrong would be really great?

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

Dont wait for it to fall to the left, put some right rudder in before it falls. You may need more rudder throw and possibly some right thrust on the engine. The most important tip....practice, lots of it.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

I started out trying to hover with a Twist 40 a couple of years ago. After waisting a good amount of time somene advisted me to get an OMP Edge 540. I started out with a tame setup and moved the CG back as I got comfortable with the plane. Like you I can hover for close to 30 seconds most of the time - well some of the time. As I start to fall out I correct and add throttle. Soon I am so high up I feel that I might hit the moon.

I am going to keep practicing till the end of the season and give the sim a try till spring. I am going to put together another Edge 540 just in case. One reason I like the OMP planes is that they go together quick.

There is about four good weeks to the season left. I am going to check the plane out for balance and add some right thrust. I am going to work on the throttle linkage. It always seems that the best location for the throttle is between to clicks!

In the meantime if you find the secret to hovering - post it here!

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

My biggest challenge was being able to keep the plane at the same altitude without climbing. Once I got it, it was cake. I really truly learned on the OMP Proyak and still love flying it.

CG....as the CG gets pushed back it seems easier. The way I was taught was to fly plane inverted. Should only be giving it a smidge of elevator if any to keep it flying level. Be advised that as the fuel level goes down, it will become more tail heavy. Easy fix - when buzzing around and getting ready to land...I give it 1 or 2 clicks of down elevator and it still just glides right in.

Once you are able to keep the plane pointing up and have gotten the corrections down, you're almost there. With the throttle, I found that perfect sweet spot on the stick where the plane sticks in the air( about 1/2 throttle for me). As I correct the plane by giving input to the surfaces...I only have to give it 1 or two notches up and down on throttle to keep its altitude right where it is. Now sometimes you will need more for drastic corrections....but keep practicing and you will get the hang of it. Practice high...and learn to control the throttle a click at a time.

Sim - if you have Real Flight....it has a hover training mode. It actually allows you to set the SIM to only control a single surface while hovering. Spend 15 minutes on each one. Then spend a few minutes on each surface in conjunction with throttle. Took me about 1-2 hours doing this and it all just came together for me.

Right thrust...you can use washers under the front engine rails. I currently have 1 on each side...but will be adding 1 more at some point. That should be perfect. You will still be able to hover regardless.

RE: Hovering w/ the OMP Edge 540
 

my opinion is the secret is just to keep practicing. You don't need fast servos or the hottest 3D ship to learn to hover. Any plane with decent control authority and enough power can hover. Even though the OMP Edge is a million times better at 3D than the Twist, the twist actually hovers and torque rolls pretty well. Where you really see the difference between the two is in harrier. The Edge is just so much easier and does it so much better. Having said that, if you have the skill to control wing rock you can get nice harriers out of a Twist, too. Only saying all this to focus on skill, not the airplane. Sounds like you're doing great, and you picked a fantastic airplane to learn on.</p>