Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
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How to cheat at Aerobatics and have an extra affair by wise brianman

If you read my last offering you will now be able to loop. Now how about a roll. Here we will cheat a bit. Rolls are easy but dangerous. It is nearly impossible for the likes of us to do one in a straight line. For reasons of aerodynamics the plane likes to go into a dive. So here we go.

Start over on the right at a good height. Give it full throttle and send it downhill a bit to pick up speed. Then take it uphill a bit. Then flick the aileron stick fully to the right. Most planes will roll but they will lose height.  If you start off level you could end up in a dive. You need a good deal of movement in the controls to do a roll. When you have done your first one you can see if you have too much movement or not enough. Some trainers in the hands of you and me do not want to roll at all.  They will slowly turn over and then to go straight down. If you are at that stage you need a helper to keep you right.

If you watch Simon Cole he can  do a level slow roll without dipping down. I thought that was  because he did not understand the laws   of gravity. What he does when his left wing is highest, he gives it a bit of rudder. When he is upside down he gives it a bit of forward stick and when the other wing is up he gives that a nudge with the rudder.  It is almost too fast to see. He can do it, we can if we practice enough. The problem is that when the left wing is up by the time you have worked out which way to turn the rudder it is too late.

The way to cheat is to start uphill. Then ignore the rudder and just give it some forward stick when it is upside down. With practice it looks pretty good so long as Simon is not watching. When you get good you can do several rolls one after the other, but it is very difficult not to end up in a dive.

To change the subject. You will remember that I am having an affair with an Extra 300. To start with things did not go well but they have now settled down and we get along well. My latest trick is to get it high, put the ratings to full, open the throttle to full and give it full down. The plane then loops in its own length. This is the only plane I have ever had with controls which will do that. The forward movement on the elevator is immense. Because the aileron is also on nearly full it twists as well as loops. It looks most spectacular.  The problem is that not only does it loop but it goes downwind and drops out of the sky quickly.   I am trying to devise a pause when I can climb but so far have not got there. This means that after about ten loops it is getting dangerously low and I have to get it out. This I do by waiting until it is pointing up, then centre the stick and drive it upwards, this has to be done quickly and is at the limit of my skill. I then level it out. Then start breathing again. After my last go I was told that some people watching thought the plane had gone completely out of control. Not unknown in my flying career. But they were told that I had it under control because I had done it several times before. What I now need to do is to get the aileron controls softer so I can turn it on its side with the wings pointing vertically. I can then use the rudder to keep it up there. I did have a plane years ago that would do that but the loop was several feet across. We will have to see what I can do with this one  I doubt if I will be able to keep it up because when it loops in such a small space there is no lift anywhere. This hobby is full of lovely challenges.

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