Next step is…..fly the aircraft and watch what it is doing. Hopefully it will stay straight and level with power on and power off. Pull to upline vertical and go 300 to 400 feet up without correction from you. If it fails to do these reasonable well then you must adjust:
center of gravity
engine thrust
Decalogue of wing or stab
Two tests that I suggest for CG, assuming that you have set it at manufacturer’s recommendations, are…..Test # 1. get up high and fly downwind and roll to inverted and fly for 200 or so feet and watch to see how much down elevator is required to keep it in level flight. It should require a little bit. If it climbs or falls substantially then you must adjust the CG until it does what I described. Test # 2. pull to a 45 degree upline and roll to inverted again and watch how much it drops the nose. Without down elevator it should just gradually begin to arc toward the ground……very slight arc….the longer that line goes without arcing the closer it is to being right. Down wind test may arc a little less than upwind.
Keep your adjustments small until you achieve this balance because it is essential to get this right. Fudge toward the aircraft being a little nose heavy as it is easier to land and will not be as pitch sensitive and it will stay on heading a little better that way.
If power on power off shows the airplane to climb and or dive then the thrust line is in need of adjustment. If you are carrying up trim in your elevator to get it to fly straight and level at full power than you have too much down thrust in the set up. If the airplane stays straight on horizontal flight when you power up and power down than move on.
If this is in the bag then begin to look at how the top of a vertical line ends up. Does the aircraft go left, right, to the wheels or to the canopy? Small adjustments to the motor thrust line will pay dividends and keep it straight a little longer. A small washer here or there will usually do what you want to get that line a bit longer.
Your ultimate goal is to have an aircraft that is in a groove in horizontal and vertical flight…….NOT BUSY….. as in requiring constant corrections to keep it in a straight line. If your airplane is busy than your thumbs will be busy and that is definitely not a good thing.
If your aircraft is flying straight then be happy, burn electrons, and bring the aircraft and fully charged batteries to the field for more advanced setup tests and modifications. Fuel and gas airplanes are just the same so bring them down and ask.
Ask one of the aerobatic pilots in the club including: Pedro Brantuas, Ray Fulks,Steve Dente, Tim Attaway and they will most likely consult with you and fly your aircraft and suggest further adjustments to:
Exponential, amount of throw, differential, and small mixing programs that will make your thumbs relax even more.
Tim Attaway
See Tim’s EMAC Flying & Judging Seminar
PROPOSED MEETINGS / EMAC SCHED.
SEFSD MEETING / EVENTS/ FOOD/ RESPONSIBLE PARTY
APRIL 23 SEFSD MEETING / CLINIC PRECISION FLYING / DANISH, COFFEE, TREATS (TIM ET. AL.)
MAY 28 SEFSD MEETING / PYLON / GLIDER EVENT / DOGS ETC. (FRANK, PEDRO)
JUNE 25 SEFSD MEETING / SCALE OR LIMBO, SWAP MT. / CARNE (RAY, FRANK, STEVE D)
JULY 30 SEFSD MEETING / JIM’S PLAN / SUB SANDWICH DAY /_(JIM BONNARDEL)
AUG 27 SEFSD MEETING / EDF / FOAM THROW DOWN / FOOD (STEVE D AND OTHERS)
SEPT 24 SEFSD MEETING / FULL FUN FLY / CARNE OR BURGERS (TIM)
OCT 29 SEFSD MEETING / CLASSROOM ELECTION ? OR____________________________
NOV 22 SEFSD MEETING ELECTION / FUN EVENT?__________________________________
DEC 10 OR 11 SEFSD AWARDS AND BANQUET AT_________________________________
EMAC PROPOSED DATES 2011
APRIL 23 CLINIC PRECISION FLYING PATTERN EMAC
MAY 7 EMAC # 1
JUNE 18 EMAC # 2
JULY 16 EMAC # 3
AUG 20 EMAC # 4
SEPT 10 EMAC # 5
OCT 15 EMAC BACK UP DATE
By Tim Attaway , the chairman of fun for SEFSD
