Flight Techniques Archives - Model Airplane News

Secrets to Inverted Flight

Regardless of the type of airplane you fly, whether it’s a warbird, an EDF jet of a Piper Cub, nearly all aerobatic maneuvers involve some inverted flight. So to keep improving your flight skills, you need to develop proficiency with inverted flight. To start, let’s do away with the often repeated reference to the elevator […]

RC Aerobatics: Fly the Avalanche

Let’s discuss a maneuver called the “avalanche.” You can learn from the fundamentals in this exciting 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 one addition to it. At […]

Flight tips for Knife-Edge Flight

On your first attempts, it’s wise to enter your knife-edge maneuvers from a slight climb to buy yourself some extra time to think through the steps so you don’t finding yourself rushing to recover. You’ll also find it much easier to build your first sustained knife-edge if you initially roll the airplane in the same […]

RC Aerobatics Explained — Mastering the Tailslide

A typical tailslide begins from upright level flight parallel to the runway. The pilot then applies throttle and performs a 1/4 loop to enter a vertical up-line. After the vertical line is established, the pilot gradually pulls the throttle back to idle. The aircraft will slow down and eventually will come to a stop. At that […]

Perfect the Positive Snap Roll

At the start of their flying careers, some pilots can only perform certain maneuvers from a particular direction. The proficient pilot, though, must be able to execute figures in all directions. Being able to apply corrective inputs in all directions, no matter what orientation the aircraft is in, is a critical skill. The positive snap […]

Slow Rolls — Wow the Crowd

Want to spice up this weekend’s flying? The slow roll is a challenging classic maneuver that’s actually much harder to perform than it looks. With a little practice, though, you’ll be ready to put on a show! Enter straight and level, full-power roll left Slowly add right rudder Maximum right rudder Smoothly release right rudder […]

Flying with Flaps — Understanding their use.

Sooner or later, many RC modelers try their hand at a scale subject, and since most full-size aircraft use flaps, their scale model should include them as well. A scale model with the flaps fully deployed is an impressive sight. This will most likely be the pilot’s first exposure to flaps since most of our sport […]

Rudder: Use it to Fly Better!

Actually, pilots should begin their flying careers by using rudder from the very beginning. One of the ways we used to help beginner pilots is by programming in an aileron/rudder mix from the very start. This improves the plane’s performance by eliminating adverse yaw, which is the opposite yaw or skid inherent with aileron deflections […]

RC Aerobatics – Master the Harrier Pass

A major cornerstone of 3D flying, the harrier pass consists of flying an airplane at a very high angle of attack at a very low airspeed. In this “high alpha” or post-stall position, it can be said that the plane is flying more on the prop than on the wing. Control during a harrier is […]

RC Aerobatics: Fly the Cuban-8

This precision aerobatic maneuver looks like a figure-S lying on its side. It consists of a 3/4 loop with a 1/2, roll as the plane flies inverted downward at a 45·degree angle, followed by another ¾ loop and another 1/2 roll during the second descending angle. It is especially impressive when performed close to the […]

Fly the Figure-6 with a half-roll down

This maneuver takes elements from both the roll and an outside loop. It is known as a turnaround maneuver as once executed, it will change the direction in which the airplane is travelling. During this maneuver, you should orient the aircraft parallel to the runway, flying upright at an altitude of about 600 feet. The […]

Fly the Avalanche

The Avalanche will cause spectators to gasp, especially when performed close to the ground. The surprise is that both maneuvers date back to a time long before 3D was even an aerobatic style. We enlisted the help of our good friend, aerobatic pilot and designer Mike McConville, to guide you through this maneuver and offer some tips […]