Behind every great flying airplane is a reliable engine with a smooth transition. To obtain this, you may have to spend some time tweaking the High and Low End needles that can be found on the carburetor. Personally, I always start with the factory recommended settings and run the engine first to see if [...]
Before you attempt the stall turn, take a moment to ensure that the motor thrust is properly set on your aircraft. Sometimes, manufacturers build what is called “right thrust” into the aircraft’s motor box. When you view your model from above, the spinner and propeller should be on the fuselage’s centerline, but the propeller may [...]
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. First, I’ll describe the maneuver. 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 [...]
On all of my nitro and gasoline-powered airplanes, I use zip ties to secure my fuel lines going from the fuel tank to both the carburetor and the muffler. When routing lines within your airplane, make sure that they can move freely and are not bent in any odd fashion. After all, you need to [...]
By John Glezellis 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. First, I’ll describe the maneuver. In traditional knife-edge, the aircraft is rolled approximately 90 degrees from upright level flight. Then altitude is sustained by using top rudder. When [...]
Some aircraft have built-up tail surfaces, which need tail bracing wire. The AMR 42% Super Decathlon shown in the photo, has a built up tail like the full-scale Super Decathlon, and tail bracing is needed! First, check with the instruction manual of your aircraft if tail bracing is needed. Otherwise, if you feel that there [...]
When I build an airplane, I always spend extra time to ensure that all internal components are installed properly and well-secured, whether I am building a .25-size glow-powered model, or a 170cc giant-scale aerobat! This time, we will take a look at my ignition installation on my 2.6m Composite-ARF Edge 540. This is an all-composite [...]
In my 22 years of flying radio-control airplanes, I have learned that time must be taken when both building and setting up your aircraft. For example, let’s talk about control surface deflections. Over the years, I’ve seen some cases at the flying field where pilots simply “eyeball” various control rates and often blame their aircraft [...]
Safety First: Electric Airplanes Nowadays, it is quite common to see many different electric airplanes at the local flying field, and with their increase in popularity, I would like to discuss safety. On my electric powered models, I use a feature called “Throttle Cut”. With the flip of a switch, the motor can become deactivated. [...]
As my opening blog, I would like to take a brief moment to introduce myself as well as talk about a recent event that I am preparing for. It is my goal to provide insight in either a flight or building tip. Anyhow, let’s begin! First off, I have been flying remote-control aircraft for the [...]
Even if you don’t aspire to be a competition pilot, you can learn from the fundamentals in this exciting competition move. For example, I’m sure a lot of you have performed a basic loop. In fact, the loop is the first aerobatic maneuver that many people perform. The avalanche is a basic loop, but has [...]
