Preparation for takeoff. Wind 17 to 24 mph and gusty. Something the camera finds difficulty in capturing (at left). Holding position on the runway (above) at a little less than 1
⁄4 throttle so as not to taxi backwards. Banked
pass (bottom) for the camera. You’d hardly guess from this picture that the wind was 17–24 mph and gusty and that the model was only about 17 inches in span.
the first flight, after viewing the Demo video that showed the plane flying indoors in a rather large old aircraft hangar, I elected to wait for better weather outside for a first flight. A man’s got to know his limitations. Splattering a new airplane against a wall for a review was not a good idea. Finally about a week later an opportunity to get a first flight in presented itself, but it was not under the calmer conditions hoped for and the temp was only a couple of de- grees above freezing. Wind was 10–15 mph and a bit gusty and there was a tight sched- ule for deadline and needed to have as much flight time on the plane as possible to get a good feel of the plane’s true potential. The flying field was absolutely vacant for obvious reasons and with the wind finding a location for the aircraft to reach “stabilized” condition was difficult. With the AS3X sys- tem stabilized the Sbach 342 3D was placed on the runway where it immediately began to taxi backwards. A touch of throttle arrest- ed the condition and a preflight check of con- trols and orientation showed all was in order and the controls were busily making correc- tions for bumps and gusts. This bit of chatter was reassuring as it showed the AS3X sys- tem was working as intended.
I had hoped to use the Sukhoi as a warm up, but it was too windy for that at this point, so the AS3X system would have to prove its mettle on the first flight, and it did not disap- point. As the throttle was advanced the plane smoothly and quickly accelerated forward, quickly became airborne climbed smartly to pattern altitude and the only thought in my head was “Wow, this is the real deal!” A quick tour of the pattern showed no need for trim whatsoever right out of the box and it handled like a much larger plane. A slow climbing roll was attempted and was over in about two seconds. The controls were on low rates. Control harmony was very good and did not leave one with that “on-edge” feeling. Time to make a first approach for landing and the plane went around the pattern like it was on rails. On final some extra speed was held to compensate for the gusty winds and the plane approached the runway with that same “on rails” characteristic that was noticed right after takeoff. The Sukhoi would have been bouncing around like a jumping bean un-
FLYING MODELS
der these conditions. The first landing was un- eventful and very smooth under the circum- stances and as the plane passed by you could hear the AS3X system working like mad keep- ing things under control and on track. Several more uneventful landings and takeoffs and general flight envelope trial ex- cursions and it was time to call it quits. The thumbs were numb with cold and the sun was on its way down over the horizon. I had the basic information needed to make plans for another day. This plane was a winner. Subsequent flying sessions showed that the first impression on that windy day was no fluke. In fact the second flying session was about two days later in the afternoon with winds 17 to 24 mph and even gustier conditions. An old friend named Jan Jones had been away from R/C for about 25 years and had just recently got back in with the purchase of a Parkzone P-51, but was not in- terested in flying his nice new Mustang that day. So instead he took pictures of the Sbach for me. With the wind 17 to 24 the model was beginning to jump around a bit, but the AS3X system kept the model steady enough to get some reasonable pictures. Slow flight testing was all but pointless as the model quickly blew downwind.
The next flying opportunity was with wind 6 to 9 mph and with the wind decreasing to- wards sunset the next day. With the high lev- el of thrust available, very slow flight at a high angle of attack is possible and almost ef- fortless under the calmer conditions. With the AS3X system chattering away to abate any wandering tendencies things seem to go very smoothly. Control harmony is very good and rolls are smooth and almost effortless. Invert- ed flight was simple and straightforward. Spins, loops and snap rolls were very quick and the plane always recovered quickly. I even tried some 3D with the forward c.g. posi- tion and the model was always sedate and very controllable.
The next flight was with the battery in the rearward position to see how it would affect the model. If thumbs were kept off the sticks the plane would continue on course with no hiccups, but maneuverability was now greatly increased and any movement in the stick produced drastic course changes. Just what you want for 3D flying, especially in-
doors in a tight space near the wall, but you need to be ready for it.
Hanging on the prop was now easier and if you were not “on top” of the airplane things got crazy real quick with only slight movements of the control sticks. Slow flight with thumbs on low rate gave approaches to landing that were almost surreal as the model hung on the prop with power towards landing.
I then moved the battery back to the for- ward location without shutting down the system and took off again and the model was back to its sedate self. When the dual rates were turned to high, everything happened a lot quicker, but was not scary with the AS3X helping keep things under control and sta- ble when the controls were neutralied. One thing also noticed is that with the ad-
vent of these small R/C ready-to-fly models is that the social dynamic of our hobby is changing. Everyone congregating at the fly- ing field is no longer necessary as any small suitable flying site is now all that is re- quired. Backyards, farm fields, abandoned roads or other sites are now possible flying sites. Three and four plus dollar a gallon gasoline has also been a factor here as you do not have to drive as far to fly with one of these machines.
So the social fabric is now not everyone at just one field but a patchwork of splinter groups is becoming the norm. It has been no- ticed that the local hobby shops are selling quite a few of these planes, but they are al- most never seen at the major local flying field. At the local flying field it is almost al- ways the larger gas/glow ships that are seen with the micro R/C models only showing up occasionally on a nice calm day. Planes with AS3X type systems may change that, but it remains to be seen if this will be so. We are seeing great changes at this time and with the rapid pace of technological innovation this may be only the beginning.
For now, each new flight just brings a big- ger smile and a growing confidence that the plane represents the equivalent of a big plane that can be stored in a small box and the plane can do just about anything de- manded of it and is ready at a moment’s no- tice as long as the battery is charged. Now that’s a big deal.
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