Hints & Tips

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I have reordered the hints & tips sections so that the most recent is at the top of the page...

Submitted by David Osterloh - May 28th, 2002

RE: Flying in the wind

I promised last time to talk about flying in the wind, so here goes.

I just don't know how well I can express myself with a keyboard so please bear with me.

Let me breakdown it down into three sections. Takeoff , flight, and landing. For the most part takeoffs are actually easier in the wind. The only time its not is when there is a crosswind. All planes will try to vein into the wind. Tail draggers more than tricycle but they all will a little. The advantage to windy takeoffs is the amount of ground you have to cover to get airborn. If there is a severe crosswind just angle it into the wind best you can and once your bird leaves the ground point it directly into the wind. Like a said most of the time it's easier, just mind your business when taxing especially on a high wing. The wind can flip one in a hurry.

Flight is not really any harder in the wind. As a matter of fact its a great time to practice that new trick you've been wanting to learn. I know you think I've lost my mind, but think about it. If your plane flies at 75mph and the wind is blowing 25mph your ground speed is only 50mph. Your plane has no idea how fast the ground is going by so performance is the same. But from your perspective things are happening slower. To put it another way a trick that covers 75 yards on a calm day may only cover 40 yards on a windy day which keeps the plane in front of you the whole time. The tricks you have to be careful of are the ones were the plane changes direction. Try and do these where you finish into the wind.

Landing is another story. This is what scares most people away from flying in the wind. It can be tough. You have to fly the plane all the way to the ground. What I mean by this is you cant just go on final and let your bird settle in. You have to be on your toes the whole time. What I try to do is increase the angle of attack on final and keep a little throttle in it. If you try to slow it down to much it will try to stall out and slam down on the runway. You should also learn to work the throttle. Practice on a calm day using your throttle to control your rate of descent instead of your elevator. Once you master that you will more trouble landing on a dead calm day than a windy one. Anyone that has seen me fly on a calm day knows that's true. In closing I will say we live in western OK and it's windy a lot of days. If you start flying in the wind I think you will enjoy it as much as I do. The only other

consideration is the plane you are flying. This is not a good time to test a new airplane/engine combo. The engine being the main concern, if you loose power down wind you wont make it back to the field. And finally aircraft with a light wing loading like a big trainer or a Cub are difficult to get on the ground in high winds.

see you in the wind

& keep it safe

David

Submitted by David Osterloh - April 25th, 2002

Hi guys, I found a great post flight airplane cleaner. I read about it on R/C online. I tried it Sunday and it works great. Simple buy a jug of that blue windshield cleaner for your car then add a tablespoon of Dawn or Joy dishwashing liquid. I put mine in a spray bottle and it worked great. It's the best thing I've found to cut the film off the the Monocote after flying.

#1 The best way for me is as follows. I like to use my iron. After pre cutting the stripes I tack down one end and work my way back and forth across the covering with my iron. All the while holding the other end up off the base color. Each pass with the iron should be a little further down the stripe until you reach the end. Go very slow moving the iron back about 1/8" at a time. Also you should have your iron about half way up the temperature range and always use a sock. The hotter the iron the more bubbles you will get. If the stripe is very wide it's a good idea to pre-mark the part you are going to cover. Than poke a bunch of holes in the part you are going to cover up. A Woodpecker works good for this or stick a bunch of small T-pins through a block of scrap balsa and use it. This will give the hot air a way out and cut down on the bubbles. A word of caution on this. If your top color is a lot lighter than your base color the holes you poked will show through the top color.

#2 Trim solvent is a wonderful tool, and gives you a great finish. It activates the glue in the same way the heat does. But it does have it's drawbacks. For me personally I find it harder to work with Unless you have an extra pair of hands to help. Then it goes a lot easier. You apply the stripes in the same way as with the iron but use your finger to go back and forth across the stripe after you spread the solvent. The key here is using the right amount of solvent. To little and your stripe wont stick. To much and it can take the color out of your stripe. The glue on Monocote is in the color. And if you touch the back after it has been activated the color is gone. Again practice is what makes a good covering job. After your stripes are on if you find out you didn't use enough solvent you can reactivate the glue with your iron on a low setting.

When you want to seem a long piece like down the side of the fuse try this. Measure & cut your pieces first. Then peel the backing off & arange them on a sheet of glass. (Lonnie tells me a picture off the wall works good for this but not when the wife is home) Then you can use a trim iron to glue the seem together overlapping about 3\16th of an inch.Try to put the piece going to the top of the plane on top of the seem. Don't worry if the colors bleed a little this can be cleaned with a cotten ball and a little trim solvent.If you are using a very light color with a very dark color the dark color should be put on top of the seem to keep the dark from showing through the light. This method also works well for camo jobs. All you need to do is cut your shapes Iron them together on the glass and tranfer the piece to the plane in one piece. I like to use a dry erase marker to mark the size of the wing panel on the glass.

After all I didn't invent most of this stuff, I learned it from another flyer, a magazine, or instructions from a kit.

#1 Use a 1/8 inch piece on every clevis to keep it from opening in flight.

#2 On fuel fittings that don't have to be removed on a regular basis. Like the ones on both sides of your fuel tank stopper. Put a small piece on top of the fuel line before you slide it on. This makes them really tight and they won't slip.

#3 If you like to use a washer instead of a wheel collar on the inside of your main gear axle, use a piece of fuel line to hold the washer in place. This will also keep the solder from running under the washer and making the wheel run rough.

#4 Put a small piece on the end of your axle after the wheel collar goes on. You still need to check the collar to make sure it is tight as a hard landing could still cause a problem. But this will keep you from losing a wheel in the air.

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