Hey guys. Recently I have been practicing pattern style manuevers with my Great Planes Reactor. It flies striaght as an arrow and seems really well suited for this style flying. Only downside is it has HUGE control surfaces. I have been working on slow rolls, cuban eights, level flight and other stuff like that. TO be honest I have been flying 3D for awhile now and have no idea how to set this plane up for pattern flying. What type of throws would you guys reccomend for pattern flying on this aircraft? Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

As a starting point, you might want to set the ailerons for near 360 degrees roll per second at cruise speed, elevators at just enough to snap roll and the rudder so you can knife edge with a little left over. These maneuvers should be done at cruise speed with full stick movement. Of course you will have to adjust the settings but this should calm down the plane enough to allow smooth, flowing maneuvering.

Terry in LP

Each plane is different so adjustment will be required, but a starting point could be 10 degrees aileron, 12 degrees elev and about 35 degrees rudder. These throws are each direction from center, so total throw would be double what I stated. Once again, this is just a starting point, adjust as needed.

Woodie

I am a pattern flyer who likes to have a funfly to goof off with, and got a Reactor which I'm now putting together with a YS63. I want to do fun-type 3D, nothing outrageous, plus I'd like to see if I can set up the low rates to demonstrate/practice various pattern maneuvers as well. I'm setting up high rates at +/- 45 on rudder, 25 ailerons, 45 elevators, then low rates 30 rudder, 12 ailerons, +10 and -12 on elevators. These are initial settings, subject of course to changes as the model gets flown. The 45 degree throws on rudder and elevator high rates will be ample for any maneuver I expect to fly, and 25 on ailerons may be way too much for my kind of flying. The ailerons and elevators are way, way too big for normal pattern flying, so I will almost surely tone down the low-rate throws after I've made a few flights with it.

The important thing, as I see it, for a 3D/pattern hybrid, is to have full servo travel (maximum end-point adjust) at the high rates, so resolution is compromised no more than necessary on the low rates. This is mainly a matter of the relative moment arms on servos and control horns. Also ball links for linkages, to eliminate slop as much as possible.

majortom,
I think you are really going to love the Reactor. I love flying this thing. It has been alot of fun and it has taught me alot about more advanced maneuvers. I have only recetly become interested in Pattern style manueuvers. They are much more difficult than I originally thought. I am still working on straight and level flight! I'm getting better though.

Thanks for everyone who has given me some advice. This will get me going in the right direction.

TruBlu,

I urge you to stay with pattern flying if for nothing else, the descipline it requires. The desciplined flying will make you a better pilot overall

MattK

Well said , Matt. May I suggest that even one who chooses not to compete regularly or at all, should develop a routine via pattern flying . In time, that person will notice that some of the pilots who started out with him/her are still performing at a lower level and experiencing a greater frequency of mental errors while airborne. Someone once called it purposeful flying.