If you're an accomplished skier or R/C pilot, then you know the exhilarating feeling of reaching the point of reasonable success. When snow skiing, it's as simple as not falling down and making it down the hill or accomplishing the parallel skiing style.
In R/C flight, successful flying saves us dollars, down time in the workshop, and feelings of despair, and provides feelings of accomplishment.
Many of us know to keep tabs on the wind's speed by tying a piece of ribbon, about a foot or two in length, to our TX (transmitter) antenna. If the ribbon is blown by the wind to an angle which exceeds 45 degrees, beginners are encouraged to remain grounded.
Let me add, that a "full ribbon" position can mean a very precarious wind condition that can easily take our planes into far distant places, unknown, or send them crashing into the ground. But on some days, you will experience that modest steady wind, with maybe occasional gusts, that keep the ribbon at length, but you feel confident that the wind isn't so strong that you are convinced you have a fighting chance.
Today's tip is how to give you that fighting chance, which worked for me yesterday and this afternoon -- which are days I would ordinarily remain grounded. ("Where there's a will, there's a way, right?")
The first key as to whether you can be successful is to determine if your plane can take off from the ground or be tossed without being immediately blown back at you or into the next county. If your plane can successfully take off and climb at all, moving any amount forward, then you will likely be able to sustain flight. Here's how.
The once you have gained any altitude to where you feel you can put the nose of your plane downward as to gain speed and then level off, then do so. Helicopter pilots use this same techique as they lift off -- get a little height -- and then nose downward as if to put the copter in a forward swooping motion, gaining downward momentum as the copter descends and then transfers the momentum to moving forward and upward.
Using this same technique, merely begin as soon as you are able, to nose your plane downward enough into the wind to gain speed by diving it at an angle into the wind, rather than allowing the wind to take hold of it from underneath the plane, and blow it backward out of control.
Please note that I'm not saying to nosedive your plane at a severe angle, meaning more than 45 degrees because the wind will hit your wings broadside, thus taking control away from you. If you know how to sail a boat, then you know my principle, here. The idea is to keep the wind from getting too much of our plane's exposure [as you would a sail]. I accomplish this technique by diving my plane at angles from about 15 degrees to about 30 degrees. These angles are enough to gain added momentum to sustain lift into the wind so we can then turn downwind and circle back around. When you circle around, and the headwind is strong enough to hold your plane, keeping it from advancing forward to continue flying, then, do the "Stan-the-Man Ducking (Swooping) Motion" and nose your plane slightly down again, and continue your dive and pull up after you have enough momentum to land safely, or continue flying.
In summary, the entire process is utilizing a wavelike cycle of climbing and descending to keep the wind from getting any "grip" on your plane, while you utilize the momentum of your downward speed from an angled dive of less than 45 degrees. When you're ready to land and you're facing the wind, merely nose the plane downward into the wind to gain speed, and then pull up at the last second or two to "flare" the plane for the perfect landing. (Flaring means bringing the plane's nose up suddenly, as if to almost stall the plane. You see helicopters use this technique when they nose up, tilt their tail back, and then level themselves just before landing, as to use the swirling prop as a brake to stop their forward momentum.)
There you have it! Give this a try and let me know how this works for you. You experts out there probably have technical terms for all I've said, but it was new to me, and no one was here to teach me, so here it is for others who can hopefully learn from me.
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