RE: Am I the only one who flies pattern with no mixes in their plane ??
Along with Jason's comment.. if there was 1 thing I wish I could do differently, it would probably be to change to mode 1.
Posted on: 9/14/2012 1:03 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11228577

RE: BJCraft Episode
I'm not sold on the DTFS wing. I've heard from someone I'd consider VERY reputable that it caused some yaw stability strangeness, that he didn't have on the Nuance with the standard wing.
Posted on: 9/11/2012 4:35 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11225491

RE: Am I the only one who flies pattern with no mixes in their plane ??
A good competitor, regardless of sport, generally will use all tools available which reduce the workload in correcting problems to allow them to focus on the task at hand. A good analogy is this, which came from my motorcycle racing. Basically, thinking of your mental capacity as $1.00, and every thing you have to deal with takes a certain percentage of that dollar. If correcting for some misalignment in the airplane takes 10 cents, roll coupling takes another 10 cents, and your airplane pulls to the canopy on downlines taking another 10 cents. Out of your original dollar, you now only have 70 cents worth of mental focus with which to actually fly the maneuvers. Now, using mixing, you can trim these mental costs down to about 5 cents total. You now have 95 cents worth of mental focus to fly the maneuvers. Who's going to perform better given equal skills?
Posted on: 9/10/2012 10:26 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11223851

RE: Team TS Design ? (Todd Schmidt Design)
Hmm.. last time I talked with Todd he said he wasn't going to make any more Mystic fuses as he was already working on something new!
Posted on: 9/10/2012 10:14 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11223834

RE: Perfect Model Jet
BVM F-100. It's dead-nuts scale, and yet flies like a sport jet. Full flaps and leading edge devices and it'll land at a crawl. I remember Chris Huhn flying his a decade ago at Fresno Jets and being blown away at how slowly it landed, followed by no more than a 75' ground roll to full stop. I was plain floored. If scale isn't your thing, nothing beats the way a Super Bandit flies, but they aren't fun to build at all.
Posted on: 9/7/2012 12:21 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11220402

RE: Contra Rotating Propeller Drive for f3a 2m Pattern Planes
The flare of the rudder actually enhances the effectiveness of the surface by helping to keep flow attached when deflected. It also creates a drag rise aft of the trailing edge of the rudder, creating a stabilizing force moment.
Posted on: 9/6/2012 11:28 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11219695

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
Might Jeti be calling them an Aircraft (AC) speed controller?
Posted on: 8/16/2012 4:33 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11196227

RE: 2102 FAI/F3A EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
[quote]ORIGINAL: smcharg That interview was amazing.  I picked up a few points that I find very interesting regarding his ''style''   He intentionally flies at approx. 170 meters and definitely doesn't fly ''on the poles''.  He equates this to not flying electric as he must fly a little faster therefore, he needs a little more room His prop choice 20.5 x 10 is to provide additional breaking for the YS 175CDI He doesn't practice near as much as I thought he did (but hey, he's CPLR) He's going to start ''testing'' electric with a new Axiome and Hacker motor The stab is smaller to help the plane fly better in heavier wind The evolution of the wing and stab has progressed to help with wind, snaps, and spins I'm impressed with how open CPLR is about his techniques and his willingness to share information.  The canalizer evolution was also interesting to me.  Start with version 1 then increase span then find the chord helps more than the span and finally, version 3 with a shorter span (equivalent to version 1) with a wider chord.  Chris, thanks for posting this. [/quote] He's been like this as long as I've known him. At the TOC years ago, he didn't know me from Adam, as I was just a caller for a couple pilots, but was always willing to stop and talk and share the wealth so to speak. He never spoke with any sort of superiority in his voice, no condescension, or contempt. The second time I saw him in Vegas he acted as if we were old friends. Just a genuinely nice guy and an ambassador of the sport for sure.
Posted on: 8/15/2012 10:42 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11194482

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
I understand Scott. My point was more that the K-factors assigned seem very arbitrary. In IMAC and full-scale competition, the K-factors are derived by assembling the components of the maneuver, so you have a much more granular determination of the K-factor, and IMO one that better reflects the difficulty of flying said maneuver. I'm NOT trying to turn this into an IMAC vs Pattern discussion. I'm just using those examples to explain my point.
Posted on: 8/13/2012 11:28 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11191789

RE: Contra Rotating Propeller Drive for f3a 2m Pattern Planes
[quote]ORIGINAL: br@m Finally finished; my new toy airplane:-) [/quote] Reminds me of a wood Miss Wind. I like it a LOT. Very nice looking design.
Posted on: 8/13/2012 10:51 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11191730

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
I'm still puzzled why FAI hasn't developed an Aresti catalog specifically for F3A. All these K-factors are so completely arbitrary and don't really give proper weighting to the really difficult or complex maneuvers.
Posted on: 8/13/2012 10:49 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11191726

RE: Electric Vs Engine.
My reasoning for flying electric is simple. Firstly, I have an electric field 10 minutes from my house. To get to an IC friendly field, I have at least a 40 minute drive. Additionally, I don't have to clean up the mess. Lack of vibration means I'm beating up my airframe and servos less even when using Merle Hyde's amazing mounts. Simplicity of operation (ease of use, and less support equipment). Generally I can take the airplane, transmitter, and battery packs to the field and not need anything else. Reliability is hard to match. I know people have had excellent results with YS, but I feel electrics are much easier to understand and operate. Cost is also a factor. Nitro is never coming down in price again. It's expensive to manufacture and isn't environmentally friendly, which only raises prices due to HazMat fees, transport costs, etc. Batteries will only get cheaper in the long run. And quite honestly, I don't like the sound of the engines anymore. I MUCH prefer the quiet hum of electrics.
Posted on: 8/9/2012 12:14 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187189

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
[quote]ORIGINAL: OhD It is amazing to me that the rules permit the IC engine powered planes to be weighed without their required energy source. One of the key components determining their performance. Jim O [/quote] I'm fairly certain this is just a hold-over from the days when electrics just weren't practical, and that nobody has been able to come up with a measuring standard that is fair to both powerplant types. If I were king, I'd say 5kg ready to fly. The reality is electrics are 1 battery evolution away from never having to worry about this again. Where IC engines get larger and heavier to develop more power, batteries are only going to get smaller and lighter as they evolve. In talking with some friends of mine in the electric truck industry (as in Class 1 trucks), that evolution is here, it's just very expensive at the moment. When this tech trickles down to our hobby level, it'll be the same technology shift as Li-Po's were to Ni-Cd batteries.
Posted on: 8/9/2012 12:01 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187171

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
[quote]ORIGINAL: apereira ORIGINAL: danamania Could it be that low end torque refers to the amount of power the motor can produce at the low end of its RPM range? Yes, exactly, and that translate in the ability of turning the prop with enough authority without having to significantly increase the RPM, so you can feel the power increase at lower RPM more than electric, this in turn is easier to control, but the control is a matter of getting used to any given engine/motor, so right there it becomes a matter of preference. [/quote] Actually this sounds like you could use some adjustment on the throttle curve to get the motor response you're looking for. More often than not the biggest transition when moving from IC to Electric power is the adjustment of throttle curves to get the desired power delivery respective to the throttle stick position, or more accurately, the power delivery that most resembles what they used to have with IC motors. As has been mentioned before by others in this thread, electric motor torque is not a function of RPM like it is with an IC engine. Electric motors are capable of delivering their maximum torque regardless of RPM.
Posted on: 8/7/2012 3:14 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11184716

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
Sorry but this is basic aerodynamics here. A wing requires angle of attack to produce lift, and in producing lift, creates INDUCED drag. General airframe drag is parasitic drag. They are VERY different things. Without angle of attack as in a purely vertical line, either up or down, the wing is NOT generating lift. If it were, the vertical line could not be maintained at all, as there is no weight for that lift to counteract, such as in level flight. Most fixed gear installations use a roughly (very roughly) airfoil shaped gear leg. Most retracts use a round wire. In truth, the round wire (and any similar round object) is a significant increase in drag over an airfoil shaped surface. This is not theory, estimation, guesswork, or voodoo, it is aerodynamic fact. A round wire is a VERY high drag object. In truth, most people more likely switched to fixed gear setups to reduce complexity, AND reduce weight. Retracts are generally heavier than a comparable fixed gear setup. In a purely vertical line, either up or down, there is no lift being generated by the wings. This again, is not theory, conjecture, common sense, or even voodoo. It's fact, and has been proven countless times over by aerodynamics engineers far more intelligent than me. What causes an airplane to pull the to the canopy on down lines generally is the trim required for level flight at a given airspeed, more specifically the stab trim required to counteract the nose-down pitching moment of the airfoils used on the wing. Again, basic aerodynamics.
Posted on: 8/6/2012 10:08 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11182931

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
[quote]ORIGINAL: TonyF I'm having a hard time with this. The winner, who absolutely smoked 'em in the finals, was flying electric. And second place, who was distinctly ahead of the third place YS flier, was also flying electric. And now the top F3A pilots will have to switch to a YS? Just seems difficult for me to comprehend. [/quote] Yep, and that 2nd place guy was flying a very non-overweight biplane too. Hmmm.
Posted on: 8/3/2012 6:30 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11180202

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
[quote]ORIGINAL: flyncajun Hi Doug I`ll take that bet! The only smoke that will betray you is the one showing the ''spiral slip stream'' or coming out of a speed controler! Bryan [/quote] It can create the appearance of non-axial rolls as well Bryan. The whole Electric vs Glow argument is so Chevy vs Ford it's laughable. Clearly, viable options are there for both.
Posted on: 8/3/2012 6:27 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11180197

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
I'd be willing to bet a smoke trail will betray you more often than confirm your geometry.
Posted on: 8/3/2012 2:26 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11179950

RE: BJCraft Episode
Wow. That color scheme hurts my eyes.
Posted on: 7/31/2012 1:50 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11176243

RE: Osiris 2m Flight
Yeah.. it was a Falcon v2. I don't remember diameter or pitch though.
Posted on: 7/29/2012 7:34 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11173204

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
He DID put wing fences on the airplane at the airfoil step though, as he told me "to help it on the downwind portions of the knife-edge looping stuff", but yeah.. it's a nice, simple design. Can't wait to get my fuse here soon. I've already got the wings and stabs built.
Posted on: 7/26/2012 6:47 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11170645

RE: F3A Results - SPOILER
Andrew flew his new Proteus, Jason flew Mark Leseburg's Sensation (Gernot Bruckmann design), Wickizer flew Bryan Hebert's Alferma design. Wickizer flew YS, while the other two flew electric. I think Andrew used the Q80, but I'm not 100% on that. No idea what is in the Sensation, but I'd guess it's Hacker as well.
Posted on: 7/26/2012 4:37 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11170493

F3A Results - SPOILER
1st - Jesky 2nd - Shulman 3rd - Wickizer Alt - Hyde Jr - Sczcur (you must be CRAZY proud Don!)
Posted on: 7/26/2012 3:36 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11170431

RE: Not finished but I could not wait
Looking forward to it Chip. I won't miss it next year!
Posted on: 7/13/2012 6:58 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11153663

RE: Pattern ship winglet.
The main effect from the fins, t-canns, etc is to straighten the spiral slipstream. It's hard to call their use a band-aid for a design problem, when there isn't any standard fuse design that can straighten spiraling airflow otherwise.
Posted on: 7/8/2012 7:40 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11148149

RE: Proposed 2013/2014 Sequences
Don't look at what IMAC does as correct or incorrect. They're different entities, and only share aerobatic maneuvers as their core. I believe IMAC is doing it right from the standpoint of shorter sequences for ALL classes, but that has had a secondary effect that to increase difficulty requires putting so many elements into each maneuver that the maneuvers become incredibly hard to judge accurately. As far as the proposed Masters sequence, Tony hits the nail right on the head with respect to placing maneuvers in optimal position for flying and judging. #16 is going to be VERY high in the box, making it incredibly hard to see by both pilot and judge because of the need for #17's inside loop segment. #17 is then going to be a HUGE maneuver in order to make it look decent, which will in effect squeeze #16 into a smaller space in order to not fly #17 out of the box. My suggestion would be: Change #15 to be a figure 9 (looping at the top) to bring the exit line down lower. Change #17 to be a 1/2 outside loop w/rolling segments at entry and exit. It's a real shame you can't use integrated rolls in looping segments in AMA, because this would be a perfect location for a 1/2 loop w/integrated 1 roll.
Posted on: 7/5/2012 11:25 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11144097

RE: Extreme Flight Vanquish 2m Build Thread
[quote]ORIGINAL: danamania Ah, but they serve absolutely no practical purpose whatsoever on a pattern plane, at any weight? A vanity only? If so, I'd rather a telemetry part if condoning a bit of frivolous weight. To each his own for sure, pilot preference, if bling then it's just weight to be removed or drag it along LOL!? [/quote] They can and often do produce a rolling moment when in knife-edge. As we get bigger and bigger fuselage volumes, this force is reduced as fuselage angle of attack is reduced, but it's definitely there. Removing or adding wheel pants CAN change your roll mixing with yaw.
Posted on: 6/28/2012 4:44 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11135662

RE: BIPLANE IDENTIFICATION
Basic kit is around $1300 if I remember, but shipping is kind of a killer from Europe.
Posted on: 6/28/2012 10:33 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11135192

RE: F3a The Future
Well, the weight argument now is because of electrics, but honestly that's not really even a factor anymore. When you can buy an ARF pattern airplane for $650, a motor for $200, and bargain batteries and still make weight, it becomes a non-issue IMO. The only real point of contention for glow/gas vs electric now is the point at which the airplane is weighed. The weight limit SHOULD be RTF, not empty weight.
Posted on: 6/28/2012 10:29 AM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "RC Pattern Flying"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11135184

RE: HobbyKing Turnigy Rotomax 1.60
IMO there isn't a better 'bargain' motor on the market for pattern flying than the Hacker A60-7S V2 28 Pole motor. I flew Andrew Jesky's Osiris 2m with this motor in some pretty heavy wind in Phoenix and it had MORE than enough power for anything I wanted to fly.
Posted on: 6/24/2012 8:29 PM by Author "Doug Cronkhite" in the forum "Electric Pattern Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11130497