Flight Techniques Archives - Page 5 of 7

Extreme Slip to Landing

At the 1994 Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas, NV, I saw an extreme slip to landing performed by David Von Linsowe’s giant-scale Extra 300S during his freestyle program—it was choreographed to music with the engine off! Ever since that flight, this maneuver has caught my eye. You don’t often see an aircraft slip in […]

Master the Outside Snap Roll

Inside and outside snap rolls can add great excitement to your flying while opening up a whole new world of maneuver possibilities. Outside, or “negative,” snap rolls are accomplished by applying full (normal rate) down-elevator while at the same time cross-controlling the rudder and aileron. How does this work? The ailerons produce the same direction of […]

Fly the Harrier: 4 steps to success!

As 3D flying continues to be popular and its pilots push the aerobatic envelope, there continues to be new advanced acro pilots wanting to break into the 3D arena. With this, we thought it would be beneficial to discuss some of the basic 3D moves that other more elaborate sequences can be built upon. As […]

Fly the Shark’s Tooth

The basic shark’s tooth consists of a vertical climb followed by a 45-degree segment that traces the outline of a shark’s tooth. To perform it, fly straight and level, add full power, and do a small loop to a vertical upline before the plane reaches the center of the field. Continue to fly vertically for […]

5 Easy Steps to the Knife-Edge Spin

In my opinion, the knife-edge spin is one of the most impressive extreme aerobatic maneuvers. It’s very demanding for the pilot and the airframe. In traditional knife-edge, the aircraft is rolled approximately 90 degrees from upright level flight. Then altitude is sustained by using top rudder. When the maneuver is complete, the pilot will roll […]

Flight Technique: Freestyle Roller Coaster

To do the Roller Coaster, start by flying downwind, straight and level at about 1/3 of your model’s top speed. Pull up the elevator to full deflection. The model will execute a big pitch change: its nose will go up past vertical to about 130 degrees, and at the same time, the model will slide backward so its tail is in […]

RC Aerobatics: Take off with a Snap!

A takeoff with a 1 1/2 positive snap roll will get everyone’s attention on your flight right from the start! Before attempting this move, you should be proficient with performing positive snap rolls in general. When you execute this move, you must be in complete control and exit the maneuver at a safe altitude. Do not drop […]

Secrets to snap rolls!

Inside and outside snap rolls can add great excitement to your flying while opening up a whole new world of maneuver possibilities. Outside, or “negative,” snap rolls are accomplished by applying full (normal rate) down-elevator while at the same time cross-controlling the rudder and aileron. How does this work? The ailerons produce the same direction of […]

Improve your Reaction Time

Veteran heli pilot Curtis Youngblood is always happy to share his pointers with other fliers. Here’s his secret to improving his reaction time. “Try to fly the helicopter relative to itself. For example, back cyclic stick movement always makes the canopy move toward the blades (not really, but this is how I think of it). […]

Engine out? Better know how to do an auto!

Every helicopter pilot should be proficient in performing autorotations to cope with engine or motor failure. They are demanding and should be practiced periodically. The model should have sufficient pitch range before you attempt this maneuver. A steady breeze of about 10mph will make initial attempts easier. The engine should be running at a fast […]

Perfecting Pirouettes

To control the direction of a heli during a pirouette, pick an imaginary rference line passing through its center. Every time the helicopter’s nose come around and crosses that line, give a control input in the direction you want it to go. For example, if you’ve done a pirouette in a hover in front of […]

Flying Upside-Down

Flying inverted is a lot of fun, and it’s a basic requirement if you want to execute some of the more difficult 3D maneuvers. Learning to fly inverted will take you back to those days when you learned to hover with your training gear attached! As you might expect, it’s a bit tricky at first […]