Sorry guys! I didn't mean to leave ya hangin... This real job thing has really gotten in the way of my soaring addiction.... a necessary evil unfortunately... but it is going to be a good thing for me. While I won't have much freedom to fly toys, I will have access to a full scale plane to assist me in getting around to manage some of our remote offices. Soooo... at least I'll be in the air.
I'm trying to get them to look at a Cirrus, but they seem to be stuck on an A-36, and now the owner is making noises about a twin. As I wouldn't have to pay for fuel while on company business, a nice Cessna 421 would be nice, but then, I wouldn't be able to afford to borrow it... so I'm pushing for the Cirrus. We'll know more in a few weeks.
Up and coming contest season:
I've flown the Supra pretty exclusively for the past couple of seasons. There is absolutely nothing that touches it in the air... its launch performance is outstanding... its light air performance unmatched.... but it never fit my landing style, and I'm just too old and stuck in my ways to relearn how to land. Many of you land the Supra very well. Bob McGowan won the Masters with it for Christ's sake, so it certainly works, just not for me...
Anyways..... Looks like I may be flying a new model for the season, at least until the Stalker is done. You all know what a freak I am for span... well, there's not really anything out there that'll beat a Supra in the air... except maybe .... a bigger Supra. Can you say Icon 2? What's drawn me to the model is the span, and, more importantly, the flap span. Now I know the model had some issues when it was first released, but Don Peters has retooled the fuse... added some nose moment, and gotten rid of the outsourced tailboom and is molding the entire fuse in one piece. He can now control tailboom flex... Oh, and did I mention he's made a larger stab for the model? If all goes well, expect to see me maidening mine at the SWC.
How does all this affect the development of the Stalker? Right now, I'm not real sure. Barry is understandably not real happy about it. He owns the Stalker. I believe in the Stalker, and I have told him I still want to work with him on the development. He, of course, may choose to go a different way. It really would be a shame to let it die... I expect it to be the next generation in contest sailplane performance...
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
V-Tails suck!!!
I get asked a lot of questions. Sometimes privately, sometimes publicly posted, but I try to respond to the best of my ability. This was my response to a question on RC Groups from a long time slope guy in reference to V-tails for open class thermal duration:
Nice to see you learning all you can about this TD stuff. You slope guys starting to fly TD.... there goes the neighborhood.
The V tail for duration question is one that has been around a long long time. There are many schools of thought... and... naturally... I've got my own opinion... and of course... mine is the only right one. The fact of the matter is, V-tails are cool, they're sexy, and a V-tail is a compromise. If the V is sized to be correct in pitch, it will be undersized in yaw. If it's sized more towards yaw, it will be oversized in pitch. Not that far off in either direction... certainly flyable... but a compromise none the less. The typical trend is to optimize the V-tail for the correct pitch feel, and live with the adverse yaw issues generated as we get slow and hang it on the wing.
The main problem shows up in contest flying, not so much due to the V-tail, but due to the articulated, and not full flying, stab. Most people tend to land with almost full flap deflection. That means that the elevator is in a full compensation mode, with not much authority left to push over with. I've seen many pilots fly right over the spot with their V-tail equipped model, push full down on the elevator stick, and start this big slow gentle arc towards the earth, barely missing their shins, but certainly missing their landing... they then look at their timer, then down at their transmitter, back at their timer as they wave their arms up in the air, wrongly proclaiming... "I had nothing" (This is a problem with any model with an articulated stab - t-tail, cross-tail... V-tail.) The full flying cross tail gets around the pilot's bad habit, with a much more linear response, even if already in full compensation mode.
This can all be overcome by creating good landing habits. Don't land with your flaps down... I can't remember the last time I broke a flap servo, but that's not why I do it. With the flaps down, the model will stay more buoyant at the slow speed, and if not stuck hard, will float a bit more, even along the ground, and will yield inconsistent landing scores. Close and push all at the same time.... that gets rid of all sorts of problems... and will even allow you to utilize that sexy V. Sure worked for Feigl...
Nice to see you learning all you can about this TD stuff. You slope guys starting to fly TD.... there goes the neighborhood.
The V tail for duration question is one that has been around a long long time. There are many schools of thought... and... naturally... I've got my own opinion... and of course... mine is the only right one. The fact of the matter is, V-tails are cool, they're sexy, and a V-tail is a compromise. If the V is sized to be correct in pitch, it will be undersized in yaw. If it's sized more towards yaw, it will be oversized in pitch. Not that far off in either direction... certainly flyable... but a compromise none the less. The typical trend is to optimize the V-tail for the correct pitch feel, and live with the adverse yaw issues generated as we get slow and hang it on the wing.
The main problem shows up in contest flying, not so much due to the V-tail, but due to the articulated, and not full flying, stab. Most people tend to land with almost full flap deflection. That means that the elevator is in a full compensation mode, with not much authority left to push over with. I've seen many pilots fly right over the spot with their V-tail equipped model, push full down on the elevator stick, and start this big slow gentle arc towards the earth, barely missing their shins, but certainly missing their landing... they then look at their timer, then down at their transmitter, back at their timer as they wave their arms up in the air, wrongly proclaiming... "I had nothing" (This is a problem with any model with an articulated stab - t-tail, cross-tail... V-tail.) The full flying cross tail gets around the pilot's bad habit, with a much more linear response, even if already in full compensation mode.
This can all be overcome by creating good landing habits. Don't land with your flaps down... I can't remember the last time I broke a flap servo, but that's not why I do it. With the flaps down, the model will stay more buoyant at the slow speed, and if not stuck hard, will float a bit more, even along the ground, and will yield inconsistent landing scores. Close and push all at the same time.... that gets rid of all sorts of problems... and will even allow you to utilize that sexy V. Sure worked for Feigl...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year Soar Addicts!!!
Well guys and gals,
2008 is almost over. That's ok... it's been a pretty tough year for a lot of us. The economy is in the crapper, nest egg's are gone, and most importantly (I know it's been a big concern for you all)... my contest performance sucked. I only won 1 major this year. Finished 6th in the World Champs... most would be happy with that... yeah... well... not me. That's the spot I deserved. I need to shoot a few million more landings before going back if I want to win. Those Europeans get to fly 2-3 F3J comps a month... tough to compete with. But... I know I can take 'em... I underestimated them.
2009 will bring a lot of positives in my personal life. I start a new job right after the first of the year.... I'll be getting my pilot's license current again. It's just not right me not flying.... Looks like the Stalker will FINALLY go into production.... Airtronics new 10 channel is only months away...
I plan on being much more accessible this year. I'll try to make the Nats this year. Team selects will be the number 1 priority. And I'll be at Visalia for sure. Hopefully I can take the company plane... ;-)
Green Air!!!
dp
2008 is almost over. That's ok... it's been a pretty tough year for a lot of us. The economy is in the crapper, nest egg's are gone, and most importantly (I know it's been a big concern for you all)... my contest performance sucked. I only won 1 major this year. Finished 6th in the World Champs... most would be happy with that... yeah... well... not me. That's the spot I deserved. I need to shoot a few million more landings before going back if I want to win. Those Europeans get to fly 2-3 F3J comps a month... tough to compete with. But... I know I can take 'em... I underestimated them.
2009 will bring a lot of positives in my personal life. I start a new job right after the first of the year.... I'll be getting my pilot's license current again. It's just not right me not flying.... Looks like the Stalker will FINALLY go into production.... Airtronics new 10 channel is only months away...
I plan on being much more accessible this year. I'll try to make the Nats this year. Team selects will be the number 1 priority. And I'll be at Visalia for sure. Hopefully I can take the company plane... ;-)
Green Air!!!
dp
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