| From Slope Trash Magazine Slope Trash Magazine Getting Started in Slope Flying with a Foamie Warbird
It takes less than the unbridled hand of God to ground one of Dave Sander's World War II nigh invulnerable slope soaring dog fighters. Good thing. To the contrary, the only bellicose phenomenon needed is a breeze that would make the backside of any windsurfer's trunks run slick with panic, a suitable hill, “rubber airplanes,” and some hard core flying buddies. Mixing these three key ingredients serves up a volatile elixir that puts the hysterical laughter and berserker energy in Bedlam;a powder keg of sorts. Before relating my story of learning to fy RC slope combat, I suppose a briefing of my credentials should be laid out on the table to add fairness and a sense of reassurance to the readers. To put it bluntly, I have no credentials. As a child I hid from all models and could only manage to construct a rectangular box when Legos were introduced into play time. Prior to losing my aeronautical virginity, I ran from models with the same bolting kinetic energy in my post pubescence as well. Consequently, I'm an English major that still runs to dad when the car needs an oil change. However, despite the apparent loss of the section of the brain that controls critical thought in association with spatial arrangement, I built and flew a foamy replica of the Focke Wulf 190 that not only maintains airborne capacity, but has the aesthetic qualities that pushes my prior building faculties past nursery school block building and into the realm of Da Vinci's dreams.
Sailplane designer Dave Sanders has developed several W.W.II dog fighters for slope combat that are made to mimic the Timex watch slogan "Takes a lickin', and keeps on tickin'. " The principal component of construction is expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam. Before the gurus of slope soaring incorporated this wonder foam for combat plane construction, EPP was serving the computer world as a packing material. A variety of desirable characteristics clearly underscores why this material is favorable: It's light, which is ideal for gliding in even the most gentle of slopes; it is easily cut with either a hot wire or a hobby knife; the material is resilient, which allows for repeated midair collisions with fellow combat hounds. EPP will even humor the occasional (and of course accidental) kamikaze nose dive, assuring you minimal time spent in the depths of your repair shop.
For the average slope enthusiast construction and covering of a DAW warbird should take between 10 and 12 hours. Mine took longer, but I bring my own spatial reasoning limitations to the project. Briefly, the phases are:
Step 3: Sand the wing halves. The goals here are to round off the leading edges and make sub-trailing edges flush with the cores.
We went to the beach and my man Lou launched my plane for a trim flight. It appeared to fly like a champ. However, whenever the controls were handed over to yours truly, she became spontaneously intoxicated and plummeted to the sands below. The concept of slope flight echoes my fledgling disposition. I spent the entire weekend climbing up, down and around cliffs, sand dunes and various stretches of beach. What troubled me most with flight was the concept of control reversal. When rounding a corner with the intention of coaxing my Foam Wulf into another pass, I constantly and never with out fail, slammed it into the slope. I found some success when I flew directly in front of my viewing field, way out over the lip. Although it proved difficult to make out what direction she was actually pointed, I was actually able to keep her in flight for a couple of minutes; I'd get cocky, try a loop or a roll and end up slamming her into the sand. I learned that the airframe can hang with the most abrasive of belly up crashes, but frowns when I smack her down on her back.
The next flying weekend brought us sunshine and moderate winds; perfect for making meaningful headway into the fundamentals of R/C slope soaring. The mistakes I made in the first flying session were quickly corrected. This time around we were able to link passes and navigate ten-minute flights. After we finally cracked the riddle of control reversal (when the plane is pointed toward the pilot) and I got it through my skull that speed and speed alone will grant us altitude, we prayed that the wind would pick-up. Moderate wind will keep the foamies up, but it' s a battle of hugging the slopes to maintain altitude. In addition, their relative instability (these planes are designed for aerobatics and evasive maneuvering) is quite a chore to control in moderate winds. Now that I had the basics down, I looked forward to flying in higher wind speeds. The higher winds we craved eventully came, I got more practice, and gradually I increased my flight-control skills. The Big Kahuna of slope soaring is SLOPE COMBAT. Knock the other guys out of the air, pull a loop or roll verification maneuver, and laugh so much you can't breathe.
I am no master, but after just two weekends I was able to experience the wonder and zen of silent flight. It's rewarding to watch your foamy combat plane soar with the gulls and know that it’s up there - without fuel nor engine - by your hand, and by your new-found mastery of the tricks of RC slope flying. Although the DAW foamies are maneuverable, high-performance aircraft, I was able to log several ten minute flights with only two weekends of stick time.
And slope combat with like-minded flying buddies is a laugh riot. You gotta do it. © Copyright 2000-2005 by Slope Trash Magazine |
