the loop
On the face of it the loop is the simplest of 'aerobatic ' manoeuvres, right? ..... Well... not
exactly.
Yes it is possible to chuck in some up elevator with power on and the model will go over
the top eventually coming back round....but that isn't a proper loop.
What makes a proper, decent and recognisable loop is patience, control, grace and
accuracy.
Loops should be round...not a figure '9' or a big oval or an up, stall, fall over, swoop round
etc.
How do you make them round and tidy?
As always, correct speed, positioning and grace on the sticks offer best results. There is
far more going on in a good loop than most people realise.You need to visualise the
model as if it is stationary in front of you and the air is moving past as a giant block at a
constant speed. ....to make the loop look round from the ground, you need to make it an
oval in the air! To make matters worse, you need different relative airspeeds at different
points as you go round the loop to make it look like a constant ground speed when you
view it from the ground.
So let's imagine you are going for a lovely loop into wind, what are the key steps and
components as you go round?
First begin straight and WINGS LEVEL DIRECTLY INTO WIND, if the model is not level to the
horizon and particularly if your wings are not level, you will immediately fly into a giant
corkscrew and the model will come out miles in or out from where you started.
You need to use smooth power and gradual elevator together to trace an accurate first
quarter loop. As the model becomes vertical you need to increase the power from about
half as you enter the loop to 3/4 or more power as you try to accurately scribe the second
quarter. Most people pull far too much elevator here and are too impatient to get the
model over the top. Don't rush it... relax, let it fly round a constant arc that matches the
first quarter. As the model gradually reaches fully inverted, you need to do two things as
the model enters the downwind phase..... firstly push a little down elevator to stop it
falling into too tight a return third quarter, and reduce the power gradually when it gets to
about 45 degrees over until the model is vertical and descending at very low power. You
need to actively hold off the descent of the third quarter by applying 'down' elevator and
enough power to keep the model up! This is where you need to imagine trying to fly a big
squashed oval rather than a circle... counter intuitively, this actually helps you fly a
rounder loop! This third quarter is almost always, always not flown, but simply allowed to
go over with whatever momentum it entered the loop with! The third and fourth quarters
are the parts that everyone, apart from F3A and IMAC pilots, always mess up and end up
ruining the loop! Most people start pulling on the elevator and cut short that essential
third and fourth quarter. That is how people end up with a figure 9 or g shape instead of
an O shape. Don't rush it, hold off on the elevator and let the model gradually come
round in a constant arc that matches the first quarter as you went up. This often means
applying slight down elevator as you hit vertical on the way down to complete the third
quarter...this stops the fourth quarter tightening up too quickly. You gradually ease this
off and begin to smoothly apply slight up elevator as you scribe the fourth quarter. You
need to aim to keep each quarter at the right size to let you come out of a smooth
constant arc fourth quarter at exactly the height and place you entered and began the
loop, e.g. directly in front of the pilot.
I haven't mentioned the rudder, and this is a more complex next stage on, but, as you get
better, you may have to contend with a cross wind or have to correct your line. .... I think I
will leave that for another time so as not to confuse the issue!Give it some thinking time
and then go out and practise when you can.
the loop
On the face of it the loop is the simplest of 'aerobatic '
manoeuvres, right? ..... Well... not exactly.
Yes it is possible to chuck in some up elevator with
power on and the model will go over the top
eventually coming back round....but that isn't a proper
loop.
What makes a proper, decent and recognisable loop is
patience, control, grace and accuracy.
Loops should be round...not a figure '9' or a big oval
or an up, stall, fall over, swoop round etc.
How do you make them round and tidy?
As always, correct speed, positioning and grace on the
sticks offer best results. There is far more going on in
a good loop than most people realise.You need to
visualise the model as if it is stationary in front of you
and the air is moving past as a giant block at a
constant speed. ....to make the loop look round from
the ground, you need to make it an oval in the air! To
make matters worse, you need different relative
airspeeds at different points as you go round the loop
to make it look like a constant ground speed when
you view it from the ground.
So let's imagine you are going for a lovely loop into
wind, what are the key steps and components as you
go round?
First begin straight and WINGS LEVEL DIRECTLY INTO
WIND, if the model is not level to the horizon and
particularly if your wings are not level, you will
immediately fly into a giant corkscrew and the model
will come out miles in or out from where you started.
You need to use smooth power and gradual elevator
together to trace an accurate first quarter loop. As the
model becomes vertical you need to increase the
power from about half as you enter the loop to 3/4 or
more power as you try to accurately scribe the second
quarter. Most people pull far too much elevator here
and are too impatient to get the model over the top.
Don't rush it... relax, let it fly round a constant arc that
matches the first quarter. As the model gradually
reaches fully inverted, you need to do two things as
the model enters the downwind phase..... firstly push
a little down elevator to stop it falling into too tight a
return third quarter, and reduce the power gradually
when it gets to about 45 degrees over until the model
is vertical and descending at very low power. You
need to actively hold off the descent of the third
quarter by applying 'down' elevator and enough
power to keep the model up! This is where you need
to imagine trying to fly a big squashed oval rather
than a circle... counter intuitively, this actually helps
you fly a rounder loop! This third quarter is almost
always, always not flown, but simply allowed to go
over with whatever momentum it entered the loop
with! The third and fourth quarters are the parts that
everyone, apart from F3A and IMAC pilots, always
mess up and end up ruining the loop! Most people
start pulling on the elevator and cut short that
essential third and fourth quarter. That is how people
end up with a figure 9 or g shape instead of an O
shape. Don't rush it, hold off on the elevator and let
the model gradually come round in a constant arc
that matches the first quarter as you went up. This
often means applying slight down elevator as you hit
vertical on the way down to complete the third
quarter...this stops the fourth quarter tightening up
too quickly. You gradually ease this off and begin to
smoothly apply slight up elevator as you scribe the
fourth quarter. You need to aim to keep each quarter
at the right size to let you come out of a smooth
constant arc fourth quarter at exactly the height and
place you entered and began the loop, e.g. directly in
front of the pilot.
I haven't mentioned the rudder, and this is a more
complex next stage on, but, as you get better, you
may have to contend with a cross wind or have to
correct your line. .... I think I will leave that for another
time so as not to confuse the issue!Give it some
