Peter Jenkins

Good point Martin. I read of another way of checking that involved flying vertically downwards with the throttle closed and then pulling sharply to the horizontal. You do not need to have wings level before you pull but just need to make sure that you don't introduce any aileron (if you are Mode 2!) into the proceedings. Then look carefully to see which wing is low. Repeat several times to be sure that the aircraft behaves in the same way for most of the time. The wing which is low is the heavy one. Martin's described the cure above. I've found this easier to use to check for a heavy wing than any other method which always requires you to start with wings level and high.

Hi guys, the big problem with having the wings level is..... having the wings level. It is difficult to get used to what it should look like with wings level when the aircraft is higher than you normally fly. Most folk tend to have the wing nearest them a little bit lower than it should be. If you have a stick model, hold it at the sort of angle that your aircraft will be at height and have a good look at what a wings level attitude looks like. The other way of telling if you are wings level is that the aircraft should fly in a straight line. If it turns then the wing on the inside of the turn is low. Just fly backwards and forwards at the bunt start height until you are satisfied that you know what the aeroplane should look like when wings level. The other check is whether you have the correct amount of sidethrust. The way to check for this is to fly into wind so that the aircraft is tail on to you. Apply full power smoothly and pull to the vertical and watch in which direction the nose goes - do not make any rudder correction, just watch. Do this a few times to make sure you are satisfied it is either going straight up (well done, move on) or if it's going left or right. If it's going left, add more right sidethrust. If it's going right, remove some right thrust or else add left side thrust. Needless to say you only want to make small adjustments and then do the flying test again. It's worth spending time on this as it will greatly reduce the amount of correction you will need when flying the bunt or any other manoeuvre that requires a lot of power - most of them! With my Wot 4, I also get it skewing out of shape unless I use some rudder despite having the side thrust sorted. I'm out flying tomorrow so will take the Wottie and experiment with it. Generally, as power comes off the nose will tend to swing to the left needing a squeeze of right rudder to keep straight. As power goes on, remove this rudder and be prepared to squeeze a small amount of left rudder to keep straight. As you come round to the top of the bunt remember to return the rudder to centre. Hope that helps.

OK, we’ve covered the initial circuit, the Fig 8 and the loop. The next manoeuvre is the bunt or outside loop. For many people this is a frightening manoeuvre as it involves pointing the model at the ground! For that reason, for your first attempt, make sure you are high for you first attempt. An alternative approach is to roll to inverted and then apply down elevator so that you establish the first half of the bunt travelling away from the ground and so you know that the aircraft is capable of performing the second half of the manoeuvre when it’s heading towards the ground! Let’s assume you’ve had a couple of goes at the bunt, that you’ve convinced yourself that you are not going to crash or break the wings and go onto considering the finer points of the bunt. Again, I’ve already covered this see Page 25 and at 24/05/2014 16:57:06. For the B, you will have completed the loop so you need to execute a P turn during which you climb to the required height for the bunt. Also, you need to position the aircraft so that it is a bit further out into the field so you don’t have it right over head. How high? Higher than the high point of your loop as most models (non-specialist aerobatic jobs) will take a bigger radius to perform a bunt compared to a loop and you don’t want to scare yourself by getting too low! The one thing I’d add to that earlier description is that you may need to use rudder (small amounts – sort of a squeeze) to keep the average club model tracking straight around the bunt. This raises the question of which way to squeeze rudder? Well, here’s a useful tip that I’ve picked up. As you will be seeing the model as if it is inverted think of which direction you need the tail to be moved and squeeze rudder in that direction. Each model will have a different amount of rudder needed as the power comes off and then goes back on again. You will also need to move the rudder in opposite directions to cater for the power off and power on cases. Think about this before you get airborne, and if you have a stick model (or a small model) go through the bunt slowly thinking about what you need to do at each stage. You won’t get it right every time but after a bit of practice it will start to become less of an issue. So, as with all manoeuvres, start with the wings level and wait for the model to cross your datum point for the centre of the manoeuvre. That’s when the power starts to come off and not before. I’ve seen some pilots slow up too much before they reach the point at which they push the nose down and speed determines both the radius of the bunt as well as the effectiveness of the controls. Try and keep the speed relatively constant. Read carefully the point about easing off the elevator at the bottom of the loop. That’s because you have the greatly increased slipstream from the engine at full power (or high power) making the elevator more effective. So easing off the down elevator allows the aircraft to come up the second half of the bunt at the correct radius to allow you to reach the same height at which you entered the bunt. Once you have completed the bunt at the same height as entry you will also have smoothly reduced the throttle to normal cruise power. Don’t forget to fly in a straight line (no climbing or diving either) for a short period after the bunt. Since your next manoeuvre will be the two rolls, you need to position the aircraft sufficiently far down wind during your P turn to allow a good entry for the rolling bit. Use the P both to descend and position the model on your previously established standard line and height.

I've not had an Osmose, but I did have its predecessor the Oxalys. I had the tank forward with that one and had no difficulty with the CG and an Irvine 53. It flew beautifully but needed a fair bit of sticky lead at the back to get the CG to the right position as judged by its flying characteristics. Just a thought, if you move the balance to the 230 mm point will the aircraft balance? If it does, then I'd stick some lead in the nose for the first flight at 220 mm and see how it feels in the air. If when you roll inverted the nose pitches down quickly, remove a little lead. Keep removing lead until you reach the point when the nose drops slowly when inverted. What ever lead remains will then be there for keeps. The other issue is whether the rudder and elevator servos are mounted in the centre of the fuselage or have been moved to the tail - or just one has been moved to the tail. That will also have an impact on CG as if my memory serves me right the servos should all be mounted in the centre of the fuselage.

I said I'd write about the transition moves between manoeuvres. Just to be clear, the term "standard line and height" is used in the B Schedule to describe the positioning of the aircraft when it is flown across the front of you/the examiner. It should be the same distance out and at the same height unless the manoeuvre requires a different height. The manoeuvre I found most helpful was the P turn (because it looks like a P shape) or procedure turn. This can be used to turn the aircraft around through 180 degrees and fly back along the same path - very useful to maintain your standard line and height. The P turn can also be used between the loop and bunt to climb to the required height and return you along the same line as the loop. The P turn can also be used at the end of the bunt to descend for the first of the 2 rolls and also return you to the standard line and height. So what is the P turn. Having flown a manoeuvre, you continue to the end of your circuit and turn 90 deg (1/4 of a circle) in the circuit direction then reverse the turn and turn 270 degs (3/4 of a circle) to bring you back on the track you have just completed. The aircraft should now be at the same height and travelling on the reverse of the track you have just flown. This positions the aircraft for the next manoeuvre at the right distance out and the right height. If you need to climb, that is you are going from the loop to the bunt, then start a steady climb as you begin the first 90 deg turn and continue climbing steadily while you perform the 270 deg turn. With practice, you will reach the desired height as you complete this turn at which point you roll out and level out ready to fly down the right track at the right height. If you need to descend, then you begin a steady descent as you start your first 90 deg turn and follow the same procedure described above except you are aiming to reach your standard height and line on this occasion. When you need to change circuit direction, e.g. after the overshoot and prior to commencing the low level circuit in the opposite direction, you use the P turn again. If you feel really confident, then you can use a half reverse cuban eight to turn round at each end when you want to be at the same height. If you need to change height you can use an half loop and half roll. The thing is that if you get these manoeuvres wrong it puts the aircraft in the wrong place and you have to then re-position the aircraft or compromise the next manoeuvre. Since you are not being tested on your prowess in performing elegant turn around manoeuvres, my recommendation would be to keep it simple and use P turns where the chance of error is greatly reduced. The P turn will also cope with a cross wind more easily than an aerobatic manoeuvre. With the wind blowing from behind you, you will need to perform well banked turns for the first 2 90 deg turns and then open out the bank to allow the aircraft to regain the desired track. Clearly with the opposite crosswind you reverse this procedure.

Martin - you have made the point I was trying to make earlier more eloquently. Flying is just one part of the B. However, I thought that most people who fly in a public display probably need more than just a B - don't they need to have some track record that is known to the CD or else the CD is quite entitled to ask them to fly their display to judge whether he/she is prepared to have that pilot fly in their show. Also, I wonder if someone who's just passed their B would think they were up to organising a public display. Perhaps I'm wrong - I don't know. What I do know is that anyone, regardless of how exalted a pilot they are, is required to fly their proposed show for the Farnborough Air Show in front of the Display Committee. If they don't like it you don't fly or else you leave out the stuff they don't like and get a thumbs up. It may be that this is good practice that we should follow in the model world. To take your point about the B manoeuvres being very simple. You have to have a B to enter any competition so hence the reason I thought I'd try and help readers of this thread with some advice. I have to say that when I flew my B I was extremely nervous - probably as nervous as when flying in my first competition. From discussion with other competition pilots, nervousness continues to affect most of them. The trick is to have enough adrenaline coursing through your veins to keep you on the ball without affecting your performance adversely! I'm still trying to find out how to do that! As for the A or B becoming harder, it may be that in the past the standard was too lax. The BMFA now encourages the Area Achievement Scheme Coordinators to run regular workshops for Examiners in order to achieve standardisation in their approach to judging performance. These workshops are open not just to Examiners but instructors and candidates as well. They are well worth attending. Again, if you don't know when these are being held, ask your Club Sec and if they don't know ask them to put you in touch with your Area ASC to find out the answer. Peter

Following up on Mashers post, and as I said at the beginning of the B discussion, Andy Ellison's articles are well worth reading. I certainly found them a great help when doing my B and read them through several times before finally taking the B test. Do be careful about people who give strange advice - there are a lot of folks who have never read any of the guidance articles who can give you the wrong advice. Be warned. The BMFA is also now encouraging standardisation, at least within Areas, through the use of Examiner/Instructor/Candidate workshops. If you can get along to one of these, that will be of great use. Again, as your Club Sec to put you in touch with your Area ASC to find out when they will be running these workshop sessions. Peter

You do not have to fly the B either as a schedule or by flying round the circuit every time. The point about flying around a circuit between manoeuvres (where it's possible) is that it gives you time to calm down between manoeuvres. Any test tends to bring on anxiety to a greater or lesser extent so why not take the opportunity to have a "rest" between manoeuvres. Mind you, the examiner will be watching your flying all the time so maintain the same standard throughout - in any event, it becomes second nature to fly in an accurate fashion as your practice progresses. Don't forget that the B consists of four elements which all have to passed before your Q&A session: Pre-session and pre-flight checks (includes things like range check, failsafe demo etc); Getting from the pits to the take off point The flight Post flight checks including getting back to the pits If you get into the habit of trying to do all of them as you progress then you will be in a good place when you say that you are ready for the test. Don't forget that you can always ask an examiner to give you some coaching to let you know where you are in the process. If your Club doesn't have an examiner or a B qualified Instructor then ask your Club Secretary to put you in touch with your Area Achievement Scheme Coordinator and ask them to appoint someone to help you. It is quite likely this will be an Area Chief Examiner in which case you will be in good hands. Peter

Hi Geoff Paradoxically, the winter is the best time to get stuck into the B provided that you can get some help at critical times regarding the correct way to conduct the whole process. Flying in strong winds can be hard work but my goodness you learn a lot by doing so. Becoming more confident in flying in windy conditions and learning how to cope with cross wind take off and landing will expand considerably the number of days on which you can fly. It also means that when you are ready for your B test (in the spring!) you'll have better and easier weather in which to fly! As regards the ribbon depiction, I've never seen one for the B and I really don't think it is needed as the B is not flown as a schedule unlike Clubman. For a schedule it's always helpful to have a picture in your mind of how you transition from one manoeuvre to the next. For the B, you know that you generally have to fly round the circuit to set up for the next manoruvre or else fly a procedure turn sometimes incorporating a change of height. I'll write about these topics shortly and try and put some diagrams together but they won't be quite as good as the ribbon diagrams on the calling cards provided by the GBR/CAA I'm afraid! Keep up the good work. Peter

The next manoeuvre after the Fig 8 is the loop, but remember that you have to fly round the circuit again to position yourself for the loop. I sometimes see pilots practicing for the B who don’t complete the Fig 8 flight to the top end of the field but go straight into the loop. This is wrong and you will be failed for doing so. Make use of the time afforded by flying round the circuit to take a breather and to think about the next manoeuvre you have to perform. However, remember to maintain the same accurate flying that the Examiner will expect to see all the time. While you are not being marked on flying the circuit, the examiner will note any sloppy flying and if your manoeuvres are marginal as well, don’t expect to be successful. You are required to fly to the required standard throughout the B. I have already covered the loop on page 4 of this thread (date time is 6/12/13 17:19:01). To avoid padding this thread out, I’d be grateful if you’d head back to page 4 to read my comments there. The key point to remember is that the throttle is not an on/off switch. Furthermore, you should have got into the habit of keeping your thumbs/fingers on both sticks at all times. I often see pilots flying with their left stick sitting there without the benefit of either. Don’t expect to pass your B if that’s how you fly. You will need to demonstrate to the examiner that you are on the ball all the time and that means keeping control of both sticks. So, power changes need to be made smoothly for two reasons. Firstly, abrupt throttle movements can precipitate a misfire or, worse still an engine cut, with an IC engine. If you are flying an electric aircraft you’ll be free of this worry but sudden applications of power unbalance the aircraft and cause unwanted yawing, pitching and rolling that a smooth application or reduction of power will avoid. On no account snap the throttle closed as you reach the top of the loop. That will destroy any chance you have of flying a round loop that ends at the same height at which you started. The other tricky bit is to compensate for the changes in yaw induced by the changes in power. These are caused by a number of factors which include the spiral airflow from the prop, a certain amount of gyroscopic precession (but nothing like as much as the spiralling airflow) and any twists in the model that you have had to trim out to get it to fly straight and level. As speed increases and decreases these slight twists give a non-linear reaction as they are governed by the square of the speed at which you are flying. So, a straight model will be a lot easier to fly than one with a few twists in it. Each time you trim out the imperfections it is only good for that speed – remember that! You can do a lot to overcome unwanted engine effects by sorting out the up-thrust and side-thrust of the engine. Ideally, you want to be able to go from idle to full power without the aircraft deviating much from straight and level – it will do eventually as the speed builds up or drops off. The other thing is to apply full power and pull to the vertical and watch which way the aircraft nose goes. If it swings left you need to add more right thrust and vice versa. Don’t skimp on this as it will make it harder for you to fly a loop or bunt and keep the aircraft from screwing out of the manoeuvre. I’ll talk about compensating for the residual effects of power in the next post.

Hi Max 50 - glad you are finding this thread useful. I'm pleased to see that you have decided to give the Tx tray a sustained try. Yes, I had to re-learn how to fly as I was a thumbs only flyer. Now, I find that the stability afforded by a tray has made a very significant improvement in my ability to fly F3A manoeuvres i.e. large ones that require constant minor adjustment to keep on track - that's not to say that I don't still need to improve by a large amount! It took me around 3 months before I felt that I was back to level at which I was flying thumbs only - but then I'm no longer a young lad and am entitled to a bus pass these days! You make a good point about the downwind part of the Fig 8. In a strong wind, it is particularly challenging but following the simple rule of less bank when flying into wind and more bank when flying downwind will go a long way to ensuring that you don't need to resort to 90 deg banks to get the aircraft on the right crossover point. You would probably be failed for doing that anyway! So, assuming that the wind is straight down the strip, as you roll into the first part of the Fig 8 don't use more than around 20 deg of bank. Reverse the roll as you go through the cross over point making sure the aircraft is heading directly away from you at the point you roll. Maintain the same 20 deg bank angle the other way but be prepared to open it out a bit more as you fly more into wind. As the aircraft starts to point it's nose out of wind start very gently to increase bank until as it passes the top end of the 8 you have about 50 to 60 degs of bank (will depend on wind strength - less variation on calmish days and more for windier ones). That should get you round to the cross over point without having to resort to a 80/90 screaming bank at the last minute. Keep adjusting the bank to either tighten or open out the turn as you see fit aiming to arrive at the crossover point with no more than 50-60 degs of bank. As you fly through the cross over point, smoothly reverse the bank to same amount you were using before the reversal. Maintain that bank angle until you pass the bottom end of the 8 and then smoothly take off the bank to the same amount you used at the beginning of the 8. Adjust the bank angle (smoothly!) to intercept the your standard flight path past your pilot's position - you do not cross over this time just fly through on the take off heading. Remember that the Fig 8 is not complete until you turn cross wind at the upwind end of the patch so keep the aircraft heading and height constant - don't let it dive, climb or wander off course. You always need to remember that practice makes perfect. If I'm asked to demo a B Schedule, I'll try and have a couple of flights to get back into the routine before I do the demo for real. It is useful for the student to see that I struggle to fly an acceptable B until I've had a little practice to get back into the routine - especially flying the Fig 8! Peter

L Plate - certainly no bigger than the circuit! I would aim to fly what ever size is generated by a 45 deg bank. That allows you to increase bank to say 60 deg and open out to say 20 deg. You want to avoid having to pull 90 deg banks at the last moment and flying with no bank as the two extremes. After all, you are trying to fly a smooth circular ground track without any sharp discontinuities. The speed that you fly the Fig 8 will also determine the size of the manoeuvre. A little over half throttle for most 50 size aircraft is about right but that depends on how you have set up your throttle! Does that help?

The two most important external factors in flying the Fig 8 are the wind speed and direction. I have been surprised when pilots tell me that you have to fly the Fig 8 with a constant bank angle. This is plain wrong with the one exception of flying in a flat calm. Bank angle allied to speed gives you a radius of turn. The wind speed and direction act to jigger up your selected radius of turn when the flight path is projected onto the ground i.e. the aircraft’s ground track. It is the ground track that is used when assessing the Fig 8 by the examiner so it is important to vary the radius of turn that you are flying through the air to get to the required shape projected onto the ground and seen by all on-lookers. In a flat calm a constant bank angle will give you the required ground track of a perfect Fig 8. However, as soon as you introduce wind speed and direction into the equation, while they do not alter the radius of turn in the air, they do distort it when viewed from a stationary position on the ground. So, as the aircraft flies into wind and its ground speed reduces, you need to fly a smaller bank to allow the radius of turn to appear to be constant. Equally, when flying downwind you need to increase the angle of bank so that the increased ground speed is countered by a higher rate of turn. When dealing with a cross wind, you need to be clear where the transition is between flying into wind and down wind occurs and those are the points where you initiate a reduction or an increase in the angle of bank. You should also vary the angle of bank smoothly as this will match the increase/decrease in the effect of the wind on the aircraft’s path. Don’t just bang on or take off bank as you pass through these points, rather feed in the change smoothly to match the speed with which the aircraft tracks around the two circles. While all this is going on, you must also keep your height constant. The most critical points are the two occasions that your aircraft passes through the middle of the Fig 8. You must practice the roll reversal so that as you take off bank so you ease off the up elevator that is making the aircraft turn and then smoothly return the same amount of elevator as the bank angle increases to the desired level. The aircraft has to be rolled from one circle to the other without any change in height. When you first start, the aircraft will tend to balloon as you are slow in taking off the up elevator. A few may find the aircraft descends as they removed the up elevator too quickly. The only way to get this right is to PRACTICE. You should leave the throttle alone while you are flying the Fig 8 but you may, depending on the way your aircraft flies, need to coordinate rudder with aileron to avoid adverse/proverse yaw. The fact that your aircraft appears to be flying faster going downwind is a function of ground speed and not airspeed. Remember, throttle controls height and elevator controls speed. So, if you leave the throttle alone and maintain the aircraft in a level attitude (constant height) the aircraft’s airspeed will be constant. That means the effectiveness of the controls will be the same all the time which will help you to fly an accurate pattern.

Sorry about the delay in progressing advice on the B Certificate but I've been focused on the last 2 competitions for 2014 which, amazingly, were blessed with excellent weather in both cases. Right, on with the B! OK, now that you've found that flying a perfect rectangular circuit is really quite difficult (in fact, it’s probably the most difficult manoeuvre!), we'll move onto the next step. By the way, if you didn't find it difficult, either you are an exceptional pilot or your ability to criticise your own flying is not very high. You really do need to have height control such that the aircraft looks like it's flying on rails. Your turn at each corner should not have any change in height as you roll in, fly the turn and then roll out. That's what the examiner will be looking for - and you need to be able to do it regardless of wind conditions in due course (within sensible limits of course!). I don't think it matters what manoeuvre you try next but many people start with the horizontal figure of 8 - and it is the first proper manoeuvre in the test anyway. Again, if you have read the Guide to Candidates I referred to above, you will see that there is a diagram of the ground track that you are required to fly. The first thing to note is that the diagram depicts two circles that are touching where you have to change direction. By definition, this means that having commenced the first part of the 8 you roll into the second part when the aircraft is at 90 degrees to the original path – not crossing at 90 deg is likely to result in a fail so don’t fall into the habit of flying a lazy fig 8. The 2nd cross over is required to be in the same place as the first change of direction and the manoeuvre is completed by rolling out onto the same direction of entry i.e. you do not fly through the centre of the 8 again for a third time. The key point to remember is that the radius you are required to fly has to be the same for both parts of the 8 but, assuming it isn't a flat calm, the bank angle you use will vary in order to counter the wind/cross wind on the day. Whatever radius you establish for the first part of the fig 8 has to be replicated with the second part. Don’t fly too big a radius as it gets progressively more difficult to a) fly it and b) replicate it on the second part.

Steve, I've just looked up the Typhoon on the Phoenix web site. I'd never heard of it but it looks like it's aimed at the club precision aerobatic (F3A as opposed to 3D) market. Were you thinking of using electric or IC power? In my experience, the electric option always seems to be the more powerful of the two on most current kits. That being the case, I'd go for more power every time! You can have too much power but I doubt that would be the case here. Being able to fly big manoeuvres is both more impressive as well as giving you time to work out what correction is needed to compensate for the wind and in applying them. If you do go ahead and buy one do let us know how you get on with it. Peter

Hi Tony Congratulations on three counts: having the idea, executing it and flying it successfully! Yes, 6.6 Kgs is a bit porky. My Capiche 140 weighs in at that figure and struggles on the verticals with unpiped engines. As a comparison, my current F3A machine weighs in just over 5 Kgs (5,130 g to be precise) and with a 3 Kw electric motor is very capable in the vertical - unlimited in fact. Getting to 5 Kgs is feasible if you build it yourself as we have a guy who's desgined, builit and flown his own F3A machine in the GBRCAA - if you've not already seen his build blog, it's here. I'm using 5000 mah 5S Zippy Compact packs from Hobby King - they do a 5800 mah pack as well but it's heavier of course and that's the last thing you need at the moment. In the UK, they are just over £31 per pack plus postage. You can also take a look at the prices in the global warehouse but you will more than likely have to pay import duty if bringing it into an EU country. Keep up the good work! Peter

Terence I only flew in my first competition at almost 61! I'm still not very good at flying in competitions but it keeps me interested! As for pushrods and connectors, there are several options: First, Pete Tindal - he has some nice carbon rod systems Secraft connectors from Macgregor Industries Aerobertics - for both Secraft turnbuckle rods and ball links F3A Unlimited - for both Secraft turnbuckles and ball links Peter

Hi Steve I've no knowledge of this airframe. However, according to a German forum it is a bit fragile but the auto-translation was not very successful. I found a Greek forum but again the auto-translation produced gibberish! There was one entry on RCUniverse but no answer. What I would say is that converting an old design like this to electric power poses a number of challenges such as cooling to the ESC and batteries as well as providing easy access to changing batteries. You will need to make sure that you have enough cooling air entering and a large enough hole to exhaust the now warm air. Typically you should have an exit twice the area of the inlet. As Mark says, it looks good and so should fly well. I'm not sure I agree with his analysis of rudder blanking when in an inverted spin - there will be a lot of rudder below the tailplane and therefore not blanked in my view but I guess there is only one way to find out! So I guess it depends on whether you think a punt at E60 is worth taking. I'm sure a company like Jamara would not have sold a lemon so you should be OK. Let us know how you get on. Peter

I think you'll find this is not a fault but electrical noise generated by the motor and will need suppressors to eliminate as well as keeping the Rx and aerial as far from the ESC, motor and connecting wires as possible. In a Bixler, this might be difficult to achieve. I have read that one of the reasons for going to 2.4 GHz is that all the electrical noise stops at around 300 MHz so at 2.4 GHz all is peace and quiet! Since most electric models these days are on 2.4 GHz you don't tend to get the same stress on checking for electrical noise as there used to be with 35 MHz - and still needs to be! In any event, it is essential to check radio operation with the engine/motor running before your first flight. I'm slightly surprised that your instructor didn't check this out for you.

Simon, it is not just a question of whether it looks like you are interfering with aircraft on approach. All aerodromes have an air traffic zone (ATZ) around them that extends from ground level to 2,000 ft for a distance that varies from 2 miles to much further. You, or your club, need to make contact with them to establish whether you are operating within their ATZ. If you have access to an up-to-date aeronautical chart this will also show the extent of the ATZ. Mu gut feel looking at your Google Earth post is that you are operating within their ATZ. So, it would be best if you contacted the Air Traffic Officer and discussed what you are doing to establish that they are content with you operating where you are. If they are unhelpful, then approach the BMFA for help in resolving the issue as we do have rights to operate model aircraft and they cannot just say no unless there are clear safety issues e.g. you are on the runway centre line and operating in the airspace through which a passenger carrying aircraft will be flying. Be absolutely clear though, that if you are operating within their ATZ you must speak to them as soon as possible to clarify the issue.

Welcome to the world of specifically designed aerobatic aircraft Terence. As you have found, they fly like they are on rails. However, even they can be improved by proper trimming as I have described earlier in this thread. The first, and most important area being the CG position. Get that right first and then set about the other areas I have described and you will be surprised at how much you can improve and already excellently flying model. Be warned however that the Wind 50, like all lightly built aerobatic aircraft of today, is not overly robust on its undercarriage mounts so you really do need to keep your landings light! It is also helpful to reinforce the landing gear plate attachment with some carbon tows before you do any more flying. Enjoy and let us know how you get on. Are you intending to get into competition flying?

Wow - that's pretty good SR71! Echo L Plate's comment on a successful test flight. That's a darn good paint job!

I started with 35 MHz Futaba and always used dual conversion Futaba Rxs - had the occasional glitch in the same part of the sky at one field. Then moved to 2.4 and went JR as Futaba were taking so long to launch their module Tx. Used the JR DSM2 system (Spektum of course) and had problems using Speky 5 and 6 ch Rxs but none with the 9 Ch JR nor 9 Ch Spekky.r Now moved to JR DMSS and use exclusively JR Rxs. Have an 11 Ch, 2 x 8 Ch and 3 x 6 Ch Rxs. So far, they have been bullet proof. I particularly like the speed of connection when you first switch them on (less than a second) - much better than the 3.5 secs on the DSM2 system.

Oooh, that looks the job Steve. Sadly, having stuffed in my Ametyst, of which the HK model is a dead ringer, I am now without my much loved bipe. I hear the HK model is great in low winds but a bit of a struggle in gusty conditions - bit like I found its 2 mtr inspiration! Let's know how it goes, if not on this thread then on the Aerobatic thread.

For what it's worth, I used a Wot4 with Irvine 53 for my B. I flew a totalof 80 flights and generally flew 2 B schedules per flight. Safety, accuracy and full conrol as well as a thorough knowledge of the BMFA Handbook are what are the pre-requisites for a successful outcome. Provided the aircraft you use can bunt and spin you can use any airframe that weighs more than 1Kg. However, flying a lightweight aircraft accurately on a windy day is a darn sight more difficult than something like an IC Wot4 type. As has been said above, it's the pilot being tested not the aircraft.