Hey guys. I fool around on G4 a lot, and I've been flying the Extra 300 and hovering and doing knife edges etc. I saw a video on youtube of a guy holding a hover and doing torque rolls etc with an avistar. Here it is:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5VOdjM0kkc


What do I need to start practicing this stuff? Better servos? Will a tower .46 give me enough power? I mentioned buying the low wing sonic. Is that capable? If an avistar is, it must be, right? I'm also thinking about removing the dihedral from my tower trainer. Can I just saw down the center and drill out the wing joiner and fashion another one? Thanks!

To do that stuff with a .46 you will need a .25 size airplane. and that is not a beginners maneuver by any means

I would have to reccomend hours of sim time and get yourself SOME foamys

www.chargerrc.com has a good selection.

Another note. the top 3D pilots don't have to think about controls when they are flying all they do is react.
I started doing 3D maneuvers with my foamy about 6mos ago and it isn't easy. Eveytime I stop and think
what control to input the plane falls out of the maneuver and because it's stalled it's usually heading downward fast.
Sims don't model real 3D flying at all. all they can teach you is orientation.

If you just wanna dip your feet, and expand your capabilities as a pilot, increase the control surface throws on your trainer to the most you can reasonably achieve, set the low rates up to what the throws used to be. If your current engine gives you unlimited vertical, it's about powerful enough. By that I mean, you can pull up to do a stall turn like manouver, but instead of ruddering over, apply throttle, and accelerate up. If you can't, it won't hover as is. Then you'd try the lowest pitch, highest diameter prop you can swing (maybe a 12 or 13 x 4 or so). This will lower your top speed, but give drastically more thrust, and hover may become possible. Also, the CG will need to be at the rearmost position you can fly'er at. Move it back a titch at a time, until it feels too sensitive, then forward a titch. Move it maybe 1/8" at a time, and avoid adding weight, it won't help the hovering.

That said, hovering and torque rolling, etc. is very difficult even with a 3d plane. It'll take alot of practice.

A good friend at my club does all this with a nexstar, and he's using the stock engine. It doesn't do it cleanly, but hover, harrier, torque roll it will. Knife edge is not really good, but can work for short periods. Alot of coupling in trainer types.

Best advice has already been given. Find a cheap 'lecky foamy, or an inexpensive profile arf to learn on, but see what your trainer will do while you rustle up the funds.

J

Thanks for the great input.

Here Yetti this video is of one of if the not the best RC pilot in the world. If you will notice there is alot
of aerobatics at speed not just post stall and hovering maneuvers. Don't mind the plane it's a little larger
most trainers.
http://qqaircraft.com/downloads/videos/qq120yak_med.wmv

The thing about 3D planes,and the difference from your trainer, is large control surfaces especially ailerons that extend all the way to the fuselage. The reason is very simple. 3D is flying the airplane in a stall condition. ie.. hovering, when the airplane is in this condition the only air moving accross the control sufaces and thus the only way to control the airplane is from the air coming off of your prop.
Take a look at planes like the Showtime and the U-Can-Do and you will see what I mean.

Large control surfaces, Proper wing loading, Power to weight ratio, proper plane and CG and setup are all
important in flying 3D. Many planes can hover with the proper CG (way too far back for most people)
and power, But to get an all around good 3D plane it has to have the right package.

You can do torque rolls on your trainer or learnd to hever on a trainer.
That's what that those turn around manuers : stall trun, tail slide are for.

partice doing those on your trainer and bascailly build off the that.

Bascailly you bump the throttle to kick the tail around for a stall turn.

You need to learnd how to do this at 2-3 mistakes high anyways.
Bacsially learnd how to recover the model when it falls or stops flying.
and learn how to set up for a hover...bascailly wake up your left hand.

In hovering...your going to be bumping the throttle for the other control surfaces.

Move the CG back and get proper props. Larger diameter less pitch

like this vedio

listen to the sound of the engine..as he's bumping the throttle


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hUBW99jGr4

Get a flight sim to help you with the oriantations...anyone will do.
There's models set up for torque rolls..even in the free onces

g-day
the parkzone typhoon 2 3d is a good plane to learn this kind of stuff on because is is hard to wreck and spare parts are cheep and it is very easy to fix.
good luck
simmo

After re-reading your post.
Yes the low wing sonic will do quite alot of aerobatics and make a great second plane.
Learn basic aerobatics first, forget the hovering until you can do strait line aileron rolls, inverted flight all the way around the field. clean cuban 8, and a whole long list of other maneuvres that don't involve 3D. at some point you will be able to do a rolling circle when you do, grasshopper, you will be ready for 3D.

hello
when i lurnt on the typhoon i set it on mild rates and it handles very nice to lurn mild arobatics but you do have a point.
happy flying

simmo