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I have very few planes where I have done an elevator mix to compensate for flap "ballooning" or in some cases, flap diving. The unsettling of the plane when flaps are deployed is primarily a function of a couple of things.
1. When do you use flaps generally? Real planes use partial flaps when taking off. Some models do and some models don't. The real problem comes when preparing to land where high incident flap positions are used. Real planes deploy flaps as they begin to slow down in preparation for landing. They don't deploy flaps when at cruising speed. They wait till the plane's airspeed has slowed down some. If you drop flaps when the plane is still flying "at speed", of course the plane will become unsettled. Now, go to point #2 .......................
2. Deployment at too fast a rate. Slowing down the deployment will reduce or even eliminate any abrupt change in attitude. When the flaps suddenly and instantly drop, of course the plane will suddenly react. Real aircraft don't deploy their flaps instantaneously. Flaps go down gradually.
3. If you do #1 and #2 above ........................ IE, slow down a bit first and deploy flaps at a slower rate. Any slight unsettling can be dealt with easily and manually. As the plane slows down some more, you will likely find that this manually compensation is no longer needed as the plane then flies quite well and naturally with the flaps and without any compensation. Have you ever noticed that when you "mix" in some elevator compensation for flaps and you deploy them before slowing down and deploy them rapidly, that you may have cured the "ballooning" BUT as the plane slows down more as you make your approach, you need to apply more UP elevator now? That's because at the slower speeds and after the plane has had time to "get used to" flying with flaps, it doesn't need any elevator compensation.
In most cases of RC flying, there really is no "need" for doing this mix. The "need" is mostly due to the way the pilot flies.Comment
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Excellent points and well taken. I'm guessing my speed was too high to get the correct result from experimenting. I do have the flaps set to deploy very slowly so I got that right. :) Thanks for your inputs. As always this forum has a tremendous amount of good and solid information! :Cool:Comment
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Landings...
I cannot stress enough that with any new airplane you must become intimate with how it stalls, clean and dirty.
Get The model high enough but not too high that you can’t see exactly what it’s doing and practice stalling it. It’s nothing at all like a full size airplane where you learn to feel the stall progress in the seat of your pants.
All we have in Rc is our eyes in place of our asses. Only your eyes to rely on, no airspeed indicator, no AOA gage, just eyes. Not easy to master at all...
Couple that with the dozens upon dozens of different type models most of us fly and that’s amazing stuff what we do.
If you alter settings with flap and elevator, see what the model does on a practice run high up.
With any new airplane do not just fly around for 5-10 minutes for the sake of a video, take off, trim it out, start the stall practice runs then see how slow you can fly without stalling it clean or dirty.
Remember, you are a test pilot at this point! And...
That is a real maiden flight!
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Remember that what works for some may not work for others. It's just that I used to "slam" my flaps down at speed and watch my plane head for the clouds. Those were the days when I suffered from "frozen" thumbs when I just stood there and looked at the plane, unable to move my thumbs when something weird happened. I even saw a fellow flyer do it at full speed and he darn near did a loop. If he was flying a 3D plane, we would have all been impressed at how well he did a prop hang and tail slide.Comment
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Very true! Contrary to what one might naturally surmise, using high incident flaps may also require keeping some throttle going as it can be very deceptive how slow flaps can make a plane go. Sometimes, so slow that it will stall and when landing, the plane is getting closer to the ground - a very bad time to stall. Then, some planes don't like flaps at all and need quite a bit of throttle to NOT stall. The Eflite Cirrus was one of those planes. I gave up on the flaps and just left the flaps alone the whole flight.
My big FMS Corsair, on the other hand, loves full flaps and as already pointed out, looks so cool with them down. I will presume that my FL Corsair will be very similar.Comment
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I’m nearing completion of Gus’s Gopher. Special thanks to “LB” as without his initial input and 3DP cockpit, this would be just another plain Jane warbird of mine!:Cool:Thanks LB!
3 3/4 inch Robart tires, 3DP cockpit, Warbird Pilot, canopy repaint, engine mods, gun port mods, fuel caps with pull for main tank battery access, Callie Graphics... a bit more weathering and such as time permits but it’s 90% and airworthy now.
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[QUOTE=Ole-Timer;n182675]I’m nearing completion of Gus’s Gopher. Special thanks to “LB” as without his initial input and 3DP cockpit, this would be just another plain Jane warbird of mine!:Cool:Thanks LB! 3 3/4 inch Robart tires, 3DP cockpit, Warbird Pilot, canopy repaint, engine mods, gun port mods, fuel caps with pull for main tank battery access, Callie Graphics... a bit more weathering and such as time permits but it’s 90% and airworthy now.[Quote]
O-T, WOW! She's Outstanding, Sir. Love the subtleness and the 'mottled' areas (Salt Technique?). Though no thanks necessary as I just like what you do. Bravo Zulu. Best, LB"I am having an extraordinary ordinary life."~Lucky B*st*rd~
"Find satisfaction in the process rather than an outcome."~Anonymous~
AMA#116446Comment
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Even Corsairs that remained stateside suffered countless oily boot scuff marks to the inboard wings from maintenance crews.
I used an old sea sponge from the craft store and a pallet of grey’s to daub that on. Best thing I could think of :Confused:
There’s a lot of fading different hue’s of blue n grey in this model to simulate sun fade all over it.
I’m ready to do some dry brushing here n there to help blend some areas and add a bit more tones.
After that some baby powder coral dust !
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Great work OT! Really like the subtle areas and the scuff marks is a unique and nice touch.
As for flaps, I agree with xviper, I always hit mine in two stages and never at cruising...With this model, no elevator mix is needed...Simply decrease throttle when setting up for the final, hit the first stage and then kick in full flaps on final and even with them as full as they can possibly be, there is absolutely no ballooning effect. Also, I always have my flaps on a realistic slow speed via my radio (5-6s on my iX12) to help avoid any undesirable pitch tendencies.My YouTube RC videos:
https://www.youtube.com/@toddbredaComment
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OT:
Very nice! And I noticed that the foot step in the starboard flap is gone! Excellent detail. ;)Comment
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Ole-timer
I really like that idea, where did you get the powder? Is it dry, wet or both?
KenComment
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The mottled area that simulates foot scuffing was done with Model Master enamel paint. When you use a technique like this you are able to achieve a variety of texture, from nothing to rough. If you want a textured surface go heavy on the paint, but in this case I did the opposite, picked up a small load of paint on the sponge then work it over the pallet to achieve the correct color and work most of the paint off so when the sponge goes to the wing it’s barely wet and doesn’t build up a textured surface, just adds a thin coat of color. With a little practice it’s very easy to do.
Yes, I’d filled in the flap hole with foam board and some 222 lite. That was a big enough boo boo it had to go.Comment
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Hi Guys
I found some scale detail photos that I took a couple of years ago at the San Diego air museum .. Hope you like the shots
RichComment
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From the start I wanted to keep the mottled paint as thin as possible, primarily so I didn’t create lumps of paint on the wing. Keeping the paint thin also allowed me to sand the area with a piece of used 240 sandpaper. I did sand in the direction that feet would normally be clamoring around the wing at, envisioning coral encrusted boots at work. I was surprised at how little sanding was necessary to remove much of the harsh detail and blend the area into a more realistic appearance. I just dove into this pool headfirst but for some of you detail diehards out there, a little practice on an old wrecked piece should get you going on something really keen.
Before sanding
After sanding
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Love coming back to this thread after a few days and catching up on peoples progress. Ole-Timer, looks amazing, the early bird cage version would have been my personal model choice, for the weathering potential alone, and you've done a stunning job sir, thank you for sharing.
We had a break in the weather recently, unusually hot and calm for March! It did mean however I was able to get out and fly the Corsair, then shoot video too (see below). Obviously she's a sweetheart in the air (better than the 1.6m Spit and and almost as good as the F7F, the lack of torque being the only advantage) but on the ground just as much fun as you should see.
There are some in-flight still's I'll post a little later too.
Stuart.
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