shoom

I may as well ask this question as I often hear these terms bandied about concerning types of planes and their uses
what is the difference between ... : a fun fly, sports model, scale model, racing model, stunt model , '3d' plane , a pylon racer etc

and why do you see some of these planes having tiny props and others having long, pitched ones

help me know what you guys are going on about in these forums

regards

Tom.

Texas_Tom

I'm by no means an expert, but here's my shot at explaining these terms for you:

fun fly: an airplane that is designed to be able to perform extremely radical maneuvers, like flying 4-foot diameter loops, rolling 720 degrees per second, etc. These are usually very short-bodied, fat-winged, with very deep chord, and don't look like any "real" airplane you ever saw. Some make the attempt, like the Sig Somethin Extra, but they really don't.

Sports model: an airplane that is designed to be fairly easy to fly, yet quite aerobatic, and that also "looks good" - ie, resembles some "real" aircraft. Examples might be - Great Planes Sportster series, Sig 4-star series, etc. Usually, but not always, low-wing rather than high-wing.

Scale model: an airplane that is as close a possible to an accurate miniature replica of a "real" aircraft - for scale competition, these are also usually accompanied by some sort of documentation proving the exactness of the replica. The most popular of these are warbirds (P51, P39, F4U, etc.) and international aerobatic competition aircraft (Extra 300 series and derivatives, Staudacher, Edge 540, Laser, etc.)

racing model: aircraft that are designed for one purpose only: going extremely fast in a quite small oval pattern. "go fast, turn left!" Some are modelled after actual Reno racers - one of the more popular is the many modifications on the P51 Mustang, and the purpose-built racers like the Shoestring, etc.

stunt model: a term used to describe almost any R/C aircraft that is capable of aerobatic performance - more descriptive of the way the aircraft is flown than of the aircraft itself. Can be applied to any "sports" model, most "scale" models, all "3d" models, etc. An aircraft you can do stunts with.

3d plane - aircraft that are designed to perform radical manuevers like hovering (hanging still on the prop), and other seemingly impossible manuevers. The majority of these tend to be very large aircraft - 27% and larger scale models of international aerobatics aircraft, and very, very overpowered. These aircraft fly 'normally' at 1/4 throttle, and hover at 1/2 throttle or less.

Pylon racer - see "racing model", above.

Hope this helps, and hope I got it right.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Shoom I think Tom got it pretty close. Actually there are no wrong answers since comman usage tends to change over the years.

The only area I would add to is the word stunt, its not really applied to RC aircraft, and in more traditional usage means the aerobatics performed by controlline aircraft. The words. Pattern, aerobatics and 3D generally apply to Rc aircraft and the three terms tend to indicate the style and way the manuvers are flown.


John

shoom

thanx for the response guys, now I definitely have a greater understanding of the sport. I really should have said "what type of planes are typically used for :?" but you got my drift anyways..

Texas_Tom

I just noticed you also asked about props - some have huge paddles and others have little tiny ones. In general, the larger the engine, the larger the prop used. That's just a general rule. Just like any other internal combustion engine, these little engines need both something to produce a flywheel effect to keep them running at lower speeds, as well as a load of some sort to prevent them turning way too fast and eating themselves from the inside out. The prop provides both these functions. It stands to reason, that for both flywheel and load, the larger the engine (in terms of displacement and/or horsepower), the larger the flywheel needed and the larger the load needed.

Within any particular range of prop sizes that will make a given engine "happy", there are other variables. A larger diameter, smaller pitch prop tends to allow a given engine to produce more "torque", or pulling power, but less outright speed. The opposite is also true - a smaller diameter, higher pitched prop tends to produce less torque but more speed. So prop selection for a given engine depends upon what the application is - what kind of airplane is the engine used in, and do you need speed or torque. Most tend to find some sort of "happy medium".

Hope this helps.

Any experts, feel free to jump in here and correct me where I'm wrong.

CaptKAOS

My Feedback: (7)

Sounds reasonable to me...however I NEVER claim to be an "expert"

Definition of an expert:
Ex is a has-been...
Spert is a drip under pressure...

Nuff said...

greg-RCU

The propeller also has another function. It is used as a fan with which the pilot keeps himself cool! Don't think so? Make it stop. Watch 'im sweat! How big is your fan?

mvigod

Texas_tom,

I threw a few of those descriptions into the glossary...they were pretty good!

thanks,

marc