[RCSE] Re: Great Job guys
Probably the best story from the WC comes from our first full day there, although not really connected with the flying aspects. We were on the way to the practice field, and stopped to pick up some food at a truck stop on the highway. On our way out, a teenager zips up to us on one of those scooter things. He took one look at us, and asked us (in english) what are you guys doing here? Gordon, in his typical rapier wit, answers INVASION! The kid, not at all intimidated, continues, no really, why are you here? We explain to him that we are here in Finland to compete at the world championships for radio controlled gliders. He doesn't bat an eye in replying, Oh,... GEEKS! Joe Team USA Geek member - Original Message - From: Kiesling, Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 3:23 PM Subject: Great Job guys Congratulations on the podium finish. Looking forward to some great stories. Tom RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: programming tricks
Oleg, For steady state circling, yes Virginia (or South Carolina...) the left thumb has to come into play. As you aptly note, with my setup I have to use additional rudder to override the ailrud mix for a coordinated turn. The reason that I leave the ailrud mix in, is to make the roll input (that is, the right stick movement for those of us that fly mode two) pure. By pure, I mean that when I move the right stick, I get a fairly pure roll output, without any cross-talk from other axes. If I do not have any ailrud coupling, then when I make adjustments with the right stick for bank angle adjustments, I get adverse yaw (the cross-talk from a roll input into a different axis, the yaw axis). With the ailrud coupling, I get a roll response with little adverse yaw. I'm good at holding in the in rudder on a consistent basis for coordinated flight in steady state circling, but not so good in moving the left stick in concert with the right stick for momentary roll corrections. The penalty is that I get to hold in more in rudder during steady state turns. For me, having the ailrud mix active reduces the total pilot workload while thermalling, as I don't have to continually wag the left stick, but just hold an amount of in rudder that is somewhat proportional to the bank angle. My conclusion is that I can live with the penalty so as to get the benefits, that being a lower amount of total stick wiggling. Your optimum may be different than mine... For the purists out there, the rudder input is a function of both bank angle and airspeed, but one wants to be optimized, so one shouldn't be thermalling at excessive speeds where little in rudder is necessary. Joe PS Thanks for those of you that provided the link to my write-up. I did a quick search but could not find it. And yes, I are an engineer... :-) - Original Message - From: Oleg Golovidov [EMAIL PROTECTED] Joe, thanks for sharing your setup tricks. I notice you always use more ail-rud coupling for thermal modes, both TD and HLG. What do you do during circling, when you need to give some opposite aileron to counteract the over-banking tendency? I always disable ail-rud coupling in thermal mode for that specific reason. When circling, I use the left stick to give a little in rudder and, of course, the right stick to give a little out ailerons. If you enable high ratio of ail-rud mix during circling, any outside aileron input will screw up your circle. I use ail-rud coupling in cruise mode, but as soon as I start circling I turn it off. Regards, Oleg. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: Programming tricks help
Jim, I found that the stock manual that is supplied with the radio did a pretty good job for me in explaining the how of the programming. From what I can glean from your email, you are looking for more of the what or even the why of how you set up an airplane. I wrote up my thoughts on programming the 9303 a while ago, and sent it off to JR. I've heard that it is available on their website somewhere, but I've not ever hunted it down. I'm sure that someone on RCSE will kindly assist here in locating the URL. I've done some of what you are talking about, including the softer throws for the thermal mode (along with up trim), different aileron to rudder coupling for different flight modes, etc. One thing that I've gotten away from, is the concept of a separate landing mode. I just know that I'll forget to activate the landing mode in the stress of a difficult flight, so I just don't have a landing mode (I've seen others that have a separate landing mode get in trouble when they forget to enable their landing mode before landing). I have just two switches active on the Tx, the launch switch, and the three position flight mode switch. The launch switch institutes the launch mode regardless of where the three position switch is. The flight mode switch is active when the launch mode is not selected, and it has speed, cruise, and thermal modes. The speed mode has a bit of down trim, little differential, little ailrud coupling, along with the 1-2 degrees of reflex (airfoil dependent). The cruise mode has the trailing edge in the neutral point, neutral elevator, a little bit more ailrud coupling, and a bit more differential in the ailerons. The thermal mode has about 3 degrees of camber, lots of ailrud coupling, a bit of up elevator preset, and about the same differential as the speed mode. Also, I cut the aileron and elevator throws in half for the thermal mode, which helps me to fly smoother when thermalling. The low differential for thermalling is because it is less draggy to use the rudder than a spoileron for coordinating a roll input. I have the crow on for all flight modes, as there are times that I'll forget to be in the proper mode for landing. One thing, I typically don't have to worry about being in thermal mode for landing, because the sluggish plane response in thermal mode is a very positive reminder not to start a landing approach in thermal mode! Also, I like having the camber slider active for landing so that I can slip in some extra camber if I end up needing to get a little extra float if I accidentally slow the plane down too much on final. If the air is exceptionally turbulent, or I am doing very low level thermalling, I'll leave the plane in the cruise mode, but add camber using the side slider. Other than that, and in stretching the landing, I use the flight mode switch to define the camber, and don't bother with using the side slider. To me, it is easier to just put a switch in the appropriate position dependent on what type of air that I'm in, and not have to worry about adjusting the camber all of the time. Another item that I do that doesn't seem to be typical, is that I always have my elevator to camber mixing active. It is nice to have more lift capability when I pull some elevator, regardless of which flight mode I'm in. Finally, the launch mode has full span camber, typically about 12 to 15 degrees of camber. The differential is set to between 80 and 90%, with as much ailrud mix as possible. The large differential is because the trailing edge is already set to produce the maximum amount of lift out of the wing. If more downward deflection would produce more lift, then I'd put it in the preset (an oversimplification, but should get the concept across). BTW, I put in the speed/thermal amount of aileron differential in via end point adjustments, and use the differential function to put in the required differential for cruise and launch. One can typically do the above setup methodology on the 9303 with the stock supplied mixes, and you do not have to use any extra free mixes. This is nice because it makes it easier to hunt down the appropriate menu to make changes. Joe Wurts Date: Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:37:48 -0500 From: James R MacLean [EMAIL PROTECTED] So I have got this nifty new JR9303 radio and a beloved full house sailplane. I know the plane flies very well and all the servos are set up etc. The flight program resides in a Futaba transmitter so I am starting over again pretty much. Neutrals and reversing is a piece of cake but now I have five flight modes if I want them and all sorts of flexibility to play with I didn't have before. Here is the question: anyone have a write up on programming philosophy with this radio addressing useful tricks or helpful tips? I am thinking something like using the THERMAL mode to enable camber control on the slider, soften up the control throws, add a bit of up trim, and remove aileron to rudder coupling
[RCSE] Gatherings formats
The details of serious contesting has been gone over ad infinitim here in the past, so I won't reiterate my views... But, I'll give an example of a great gathering of people for soaring that I participated in last weekend as an example of a fun weekend. Last week I headed down to Brazil, the second time that I have gone there. The attraction: a full three days of fun flying, with the occasional semi-contest breaking out, just for fun. The contest part was all-up/last down HLG, and modified F3J (different target times, and the time starts at the same time for all pilots). But mostly, just fun flying with a lot of scale ships in the air at all times. The tow plane seemed to be in the air almost continuously, and occasionally two tow planes were up at the same time. Think of Visalia without the annoyance of not being able to fly when you want! And best of all, the people there are great fun, always smiling and laughing. I've learned a little bit of Portuguese, but much of it is probably not fit for polite company! There are two aspects to why people go to events. One is the serious side, the competition. The other is the social side, the fun and cameraderie. If the focus is on the competition, it seems that the event declines in participation. If the focus is on the enjoyment of participation, then the event grows. The trick is in getting a good marriage of the two into a single event. The two times that I've been to Brazil were about the best two events that I've attended from an enjoyment perspective. What I'll remember for a long time are the friends that I've made there. Also, the flying is very good there, with amazing thermals at mid-day, but that is secondary to the overall fun factor. Joe RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] Re: I'm LSF 3 and you're not!....sort of, almost:-)
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 08:35:49 EST From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] So where are you on level 3? Gordy Form filled out completely, never sent in... the last signature was in 1979. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] F3B TS contest
Gordon covered the basics quite nicely, thanks Gordon. I'll reiterate on the appreciation though. I certainly appreciate the effort and time spent by all of the people that gave their time to help out in the event that selected the US F3B team. It is a challenging task to go to the flying field, and not fly but just watch others do the flying. Thanks for everybodys efforts in making this a successful TS. We have a very strong team, and I am confident that we will represent the US well at the world championships next year. It takes a lot of people to make an event such as the F3B TS work successfully. Some people came out for one day, some for two or three days. In addition, when we weren't flying, fixing lines, or calling for our teammates, the competitors were also pressed into service as workers. I am grateful for all that put the effort into this successful selection of the team that will go to Finland to represent the US. Special thanks go to Dave Corven for spearheading this team selection effort, Phil Renaud for coming out to be the CD the contest, along with Steve Kaluf of the AMA for the site, tents, and other stuff that made the contest work. Regards, Joe Wurts RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
[RCSE] AMA district XI F3B/F3J pilots
I am looking for FAI pilots in district XI. Please drop me a line. Thanks Joe Wurts [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
[RCSE] Visalia FSF
Another year of fun n games in Visalia has gone by. It is the largest sailplane social event in the world, with some people arriving almost a week ahead of the actual contest to hang out with like minded folk, and occasionally even fly. Every year I see at least one amazing thing. The most amazing thing that I saw this year was Paul Anderson flying his little 3D electric plane at night under the shade structure. I was having trouble keeping up with what he was doing, I have no idea how his brain was staying ahead of the plane. An awesome display of flying skills. The contest itself was typical Visalia. Most of the time there was good lift somewhere on the field, at least in the tasks that were longer than four minutes. Of course, there were the occasional slots where it just wasn't working very well. The late morning air was sometimes quite fickle, which cost some people when the thermal would seemingly instantly transmute from lift to sink. And trying to hunt down where it used to be would just seal your fate. Saw a few go down this way. I had to do a couple of eyesight check flights out in the distance when there was only sink near the winches. Congratulations to Edgar Vera and Larry Jolly for winning the 2M and Open classes respectively. Larry in particular was nailing his landings, and he locked up the contest before his last flight as long as he didn't land early. I'd like to thank Hank Shorz for loaning me his backup RES plane, and CVRC for letting me change my 2m entry to RES on short notice. I found out Saturday morning that I had left my 2M wings at home, so I decided to use my 2nd entry to fly RES as I didn't want to waste the entry. It is a very different experience flying an RES compared to the now standard full house equipped airplane. It does make one think a little bit more on the landing. Of course, my RES score beat my Icon score... not sure what that means other than the blind pig found the acorn! It was a fun diversion from the traditional pull the flaps and aim at the target type of landing. Joe Wurts RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
Re: [RCSE] XC story
Not much of a story here. I thought that the equipment that was in it was still fine, after all it worked last year... (!) Turned out that the brand X Rx xtal had detuned itself. As I was kinda stupid and didn't do a range check, I found out about the ~100 ft range on the tow. The plane went up the line, the vario started announcing in a cultured voice, Attention, attention, attent... splat. The plane had turned around on tow with a 180, and headed down to the ground. It hit at about a 30 degree nose down attitude, totally destroying the fuselage. The wing survived unscathed, which means that at least a part of it can live on. Wiley probably had about 3k road miles on its odometer, so it had certainly performed for far longer than I could ever have expected. As this isn't much of a story, I'll talk about the stuff that transpired afterwards. After the dark cloud hovering over me moved off to a safe distance, Jim Rolle graciously offered up his backup SBXC plane for my use. The great thing was that it was set up with a JR 10X Tx, and even better, was on Ch 21, which was my primary frequency at this years nats along with the F3J WC. I downloaded his setup onto my tx (transfer cable is a very nice feature), and checked it out. It is based on a setup from the midwest (computer storage and transfer of setups is also a nice feature). Still, after some experimentation, I decided to use a setup based on my Icon, which took about 20 minutes to work out. As I had arrived fairly late, then spent time with Wiley, then more time gathering wreckage, I was seriously late by the time I got things ready to go. Several other teams had gotten on the course by 10:30 AM, and I didn't enter until about noon. The task for the day was longest single flight. They had made GPS measured turnpoints around the valley that we were flying in, the goal being to fly from one to another, to another. The only restriction was that you couldn't just fly back and forth between two waypoints. After some flying, I started regretting that I hadn't figured out how much down elevator trim I could safely use at altitude. This really became an issue in the afternoon when there was a patch of serious lift that was a few miles wide. I had thermalled up to about 5k in altitude, and was cruising on course. But, the air was still great, and the plane kept going up. I queried the vario at one point for altitude and got in response 5463 ft in altitude. It was pretty darned high... and I was scared to push too hard because I was afraid of using too much down elevator. Fortunately, I finally popped out the far side of the lift, and I could start breathing easier. The flight went fairly uneventfully until the late afternoon when my patient spouse (and driver) Jan said that we had to make a pit stop. The next time that we flew by the motel, she hopped out, made a run to the room to powder her nose, while I flew around in sink. Why is there never a thermal where you need it? Finally she got back and we headed down the road. Of course, I was in similar straits by then. We came upon another team that had pulled off to the side of the road to work a thermal. They had a spotter in the back of their pickup truck, so we pull alongside, I tossed him my tranny, pointed in the general direction of the plane, and ran off to a bush... got back a couple minutes later, and realized that I hadn't bothered to drop off the receiver for the vario. Of course, more sink was the order of the moment. It turned out that this was the lowest point of the flight excepting the launch and final glide. Scott Meader had finally hooked up with a thermal about the time that I returned, but the plane was down to about 1500 feet. After climbing back up, we were back in operation. We flew until almost 5 PM when the clouds came over and shut down the thermals. We did about another 15 miles at something close to best L/D speed before landing, finishing up with 112 miles. There is nothing like XC, optimizing your thermal, figuring out how fast to fly based on the expected thermal strength, along with what lift/sink you are flying through, as well as whether it was an upwind or downwind leg that you were flying. Sunday was back to the old style classic XC task. A closed course of 22.7 miles, minimum time wins. The wind was up early, compliments of the upper level low pressure that had transited the previous evening. By the time that it was time to fly, it was blowing about 15 mph on the ground, and about 20 mph in the air. But, there were some very good thermals. I set my goal of having 4000 ft before entering the course, but the thermals just weren't cooperating, so we entered at about 3500 ft. We did the first two mile leg of upwind easily, and cruised nicely on the quartering downwind leg. Got down to about 2500 feet, and hooked a great thermal. Went to above 4k, and got back on course. Jan was a law abiding driver and wouldn't go above the
[RCSE] Soaring, TD, Icon, NASCAR...
It isn't even GPS season yet. I wish that there was a way to transmute the standard TD contest into a soaring contest, but it just isn't going to happen. Every so often a soaring contest breaks out in the middle of a TD event, but not that often out here in the west. Typically, the thermal portion is just a minor barrier to be stepped over before the real money is made or lost in the landing circle. My view is that I like soaring events. If the precision flying with respect to the ground is what was important to me, I would have taken up pattern flying. In other words, I don't really look at landing proficiency in the same light as I do soaring proficiency. I can say that I've won, and lost, the biggest events in the world due to landings. But what I treasure are the soaring flights in these events, not drilling the plane into the sod accurately. Fortunately, there are some real soaring events out there for the intrepid of heart. A couple of weeks ago I attended what I consider the pinnacle of soaring flying, a cross-country contest. And even better, all of the competitors flew for a large portion of the day, with some for more than seven hours on Saturday. The average distance flown on Saturday was 64 miles per team, with the top three teams getting more than 90 miles. Note, this is in a single flight, not an add-em-up. Yup, conditions were good, although it was shut down early when a layer of mid altitude stratus moved over the area. Lots of people flying a soaring contest, and the landings were measured not with a tape, but an odometer! There are other contests that are all about soaring, and not so much about landing. HLG is a good one. It is all about reading and working the air, with a derived requirement for good control of the airplane both for thermalling, and in the turnaround when the conditions are good. F3B is a pre-eminent example, although it has some other challenges which make it more difficult to learn. BTW, if you can't handle your plane properly, you cannot soar well, so I'm not sure that I totally agree about the airplane handling justification for the emphasis on landings are merited. To paraphrase Bozo, I got the plane that I designed... And I finally figured out how to design the airplane that matches my flying style, which is what it is all about. Find out what floats your boat, and LEARN how to fly it. The plane of the month club members typically don't earn much wood in the winners circle. I also happen to believe that it gives me an advantage, but your mileage may vary. It is just that it is such a good match for how I want an airplane to fly. Of course, this won't stop my search for the next world beater! NASCAR. The rules that they are using are silly for measuring the best team in the season. But, they work well for the advertising. Guess what, NASCAR isn't about the racing, it is about a very large, and very successful, business. If a team has wrapped up the season championship in points well before the last race, fewer people are going to be watching, which means lower advertising revenue. Not exactly an appropriate analogy for soaring, as much fun as it would be... DP did note that it does match up fairly well with F3J. Throwing out the preliminary scores just doesn't make much sense to a lot of people. Back to lurking, Joe Wurts PS A moment of silence is requested for my now deceased XC ship, Wile E.s Revenge. Wiley has finally departed to the great thermal in the sky after almost two decades of cross-country soaring. Time to design the next generation XC ship after a suitable mourning period. RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
