aquila Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Hi, Has anyone else had this happen to them and does anyone have an answer to what I might have done wrong please? I was flying my Gentle Lady in a breeze that was a struggle to get it to go forward without almost constant full down elevator. I did manage to get it up and out once and when I was trying again and as I put in left rudder to turn back across it went into a spiral dive and I'm sure I was pulling in up elevator but it completely ignored that and piled in at such speed it buried the nose block and shattered the wing and rudder and fuselage, not repairable. What did I do wrong, should I have done something different, not put in full up? Thanks Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultymate Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Up elevator and rudder will command a spin/spiral dive Edited By Ultymate on 28/05/2016 07:53:35 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon barr Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Hello Peter. I think you have answered your own question... It sounds like you had too much up elevator in, and as you turned, the model stalled. Once the stall has occurred, the model will just spiral as you say unless the elevator is released allowing the model to un-stall (if that's a word)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 We used to do that when I was attached to the Seakings from 845 NAS in Bosnia. It was for an entirely different reason; to avoid anti aircraft missiles locking on when landing at Kiseljak Sitting in the back as you did a spiral dive to get to ground level then flare for landing in a helicopter made me feel very unwell - every time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 It also sounds like you were anyway flying in conditions unsuitable for such a lightly loaded glider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers Bowlan Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Peter, what you entered was a spin. If the aircraft is at a high angle of attack airflow will start to detach from the upper surface of the wing. Large amounts of rudder will yaw the aircraft causing one wing to stall further with the associated increase in drag and loss of lift in the direction of the yaw. The consequence is that the aircraft autorotates as it continues to yaw,roll and pitch. This is an incipient spin or spin entry. Unchecked this will continue into a full spin with the aircraft descending/rotating rapidly in a fairly flattish, although nose down, attitude in a stable state until it hits the ground. In a spin the aircraft is no longer 'flying' but falling as it is heavier than air. Applying more up elevator in a spin will only act to increase the angle of attack and deepen the wing stalled state. The classic recovery technique is to apply some down elevator to unstall the wing with full opposite rudder to stop the rotation. The speed will build up and the aircraft can be eased out of the ensueing dive. The recommended recovery technique will vary from aircraft to aircraft and and to some extent on how it is loaded, c of g position and configuration. Finally a spiral dive is not a spin. A spiral dive is when the aircraft is decending vertically/rolling but is still flying so the aircraft will respond to elevator input in the normal way. Speed will build up very rapidly and care must be used when recovering from the dive so as not to over-stress the airframe. Edited By Piers Bowlan on 28/05/2016 11:48:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouncebounce crunch Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 OK all the answers above are excellent and here is a little more Peter. I believe the Gentle lady is a polyhedral type wing, strong breeze is not her best flying conditions more a warm thermal type glider or gentle slope soarer. That wing banked steeply and transitioning from full frontal lift in a strong breeze to a very strong tailwind could have caused the wing to stall, and then in a flash up elevator was added causing the stall to deepen, the model then started to spiral downward. Ballast (Weight) is added to help penetrate those stronger breezes with many gliders too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquila Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Thanks to all for your replies, Peter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Wilson Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 And a thank you from me. The above has explained the demise of my much abused EasyStar. An unrecoverable spin. (I would have said spiral dive as it wasnt very flat). With full opposite rudder and full up. This has puzzled me for ages as I had never felt that out of control before, well not without knowing it was my dumb thumbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.B. Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Kevin, Full up will hold it in the spin. I would expect an EasyStar to recover from a spin by just releasing the sticks. It may take a turn or two to stop spinning, level the wings then gently pull out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaunie Posted June 22, 2016 Share Posted June 22, 2016 Unfortunately putting in down elevator when the ground is rapidly getting bigger is counter-intuitive to many but that of course is what needs to be done to get the wing flying again. With practice it does become a natural response though. Shaunie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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