Best and worst tips on Stunthangar

[Ara Dedekian]

        Current 'best' tip - Easing in slack on the lines during the landing maneuver to slow the plane and put it down before heading into the wind.

        All time 'worst' tip - The suggestion that water based Minwax Polycrillic could be used as as a topcoat. I'm stuck (no pun) with a sticky gooey mess wherever I tried it.

         Ara

[john e. holliday]

As I was told by one of my mentors years and years ago, when you see a new idea try it.  If it works, use it.  If it doesn't work file it away as it may work layer on.   But as you learned with finishing, always try it on a small piece.   

[Motorman]

Practice practice practice.
Don't drill the crankcase for a PA NVA.

[Ken Culbertson]

Interesting question.  Let me read through all of the posts and find them.  I will get back to you in a couple of years.  Not very much in the bad area.  Much of what we see as bad is opinion and is another man's good.  So many ways to skin so many cats in our sport.

I can't remember any personal *Worst* because I most likely didn't try them.  Trying to pick a "Best* out of the thousands of *Greats* is impossible but here is one from recent activity.  I have been a stubborn mule when it comes to hard point handles.  I love them but always seem to fly worse with them.  From multiple directions I have been unsuccessfully encouraged to try a thin lightweight hard point. Then Perry Rose made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and I tried one. What a difference.  You will likely find my collection of cable and heavy hardpoint handles on Ebay or framed and hanging on the wall as a reminder.

Ken

[Steve Helmick]

Take your cable handles to the same pawn shop that has Howard's! 

FWIW, I've never seen anybody suggest using Polycrylic for a topcoat. That's just silly for IC powered models. I used it on a trim tab on the outboard tip of my Humongus, but way out there, it never got any fuel or oil on it. Nice stuff for basecoat, but I'd rather use epoxy or butyrate dope, depending on the part of the model it's going on.    Steve

[Perry Rose]

 
Worst tip dept.   Leadout position should be further aft for an electric powered plane than for a glow powered plane.

[Paul Walker]

 
Worst tip dept.   Leadout position should be further aft for an electric powered plane than for a glow powered plane.

This is in the category of :buyer beware. Be careful who tells you what works and what doesn't.

PM me if you want to know what I have found to work. No need for a pissing match here.

[Brett Buck]

This is in the category of :buyer beware. Be careful who tells you what works and what doesn't.

PM me if you want to know what I have found to work. No need for a pissing match here.

  Which, intended or not, this thread seems to encourage.

     Brett

[jerry v]

 
Worst tip dept.   Leadout position should be further aft for an electric powered plane than for a glow powered plane.

It’s true for passive timers.
Active timer helps to make more line tension overhead. Similar to glow engines leaning out overhead. In this case leadouts are more forward than same model with passive timer.

Jerry

[Howard Rush]

It’s true for passive timers.
Active timer helps to make more line tension overhead. Similar to glow engines leaning out overhead. In this case leadouts are more forward than same model with passive timer.

How far forward should I move my leadouts per unit of Igor sensitivity?

[Curare]

How far forward should I move my leadouts per unit of Igor sensitivity?

I would suggest 1mm per Igor. You may need to convert this to imperial if you're not using metric Igors.

[Dave Hull]

You also need to correct for out-of-bandwidth acceleration. A starting rule of thumb is one micro-Goolagong/fortnight. Your Igors will have to be in Imperial units for this to rationalize properly.

[Howard Rush]

How far forward should I move my leadouts per unit of Igor sensitivity?

I should have been clearer.  How far per unit of sensitivity on the Igor timer?  Zero sensitivity is equivalent to a constant-speed timer.  I set mine at 20 on a blustery day. 

[jerry v]

I should have been clearer.  How far per unit of sensitivity on the Igor timer?  Zero sensitivity is equivalent to a constant-speed timer.  I set mine at 20 on a blustery day.

Because of  Igor’s famous logarithmic flap control, Igor’s timer, cosine effect, the turboencabulator involvement, the leadouts should be moved forward in geometric progression. From zero sensitivity which I called passive timer to 20 points sensitivity distance is 12.7 mm or in imperial 1/2 inches.

Jerry

[Ken Culbertson]

I have found that the amount you need to move the leadouts forward when going from a passive timer to an active timer is about that much give or take a little bit more or less.  In heavy wind I use about half that much.

Ken

[bill bischoff]

Dave Hull, can you please convert to a more useable unit, like smoots?

[jerry v]

Back to the topic:
The best tip on SH - it’s easier to shift leadouts position for windy conditions VS. adjusting glow engine or reset the timer sensitivity. The benefit is obviously visible.
The worst tip is to convince pilots already flying electric systems to fly glow power.

Jerry

[Rusty]

Best tip I got on Stunt Hanger was avoid some guy called Aviojerk.

[Ken Culbertson]

Best tip I got on Stunt Hanger was avoid some guy called Aviojerk.

Oh come on, tweaking  him was fun.   

[Howard Rush]

Because of  Igor’s famous logarithmic flap control, Igor’s timer, cosine effect, the turboencabulator involvement, the leadouts should be moved forward in geometric progression. From zero sensitivity which I called passive timer to 20 points sensitivity distance is 12.7 mm or in imperial 1/2 inches.

When I saw Jerry's post, I first wondered how an active timer would affect leadout position theoretically.   I couldn't figure it out without a timer block diagram.  Then I wondered how any effect would vary with timer sensitivity.  I guess it could.  Would it be linear?  What about those Fiorotti gains?  After the chuckles, I figured Jerry might have a point, but wondered why I hadn't noticed it.  I generally start trimming with zero Igor sensitivity and no VGs or trip strips.  When I get to the point of turning on the Igor sensitivity and messing with the boundary layer doodads, any leadout position changes are to try to fix oscillations. Maybe I should go farther up the trim chart.   

[Ken Culbertson]

When I saw Jerry's post, I first wondered how an active timer would affect leadout position theoretically.   I couldn't figure it out without a timer block diagram.  Then I wondered how any effect would vary with timer sensitivity.  I guess it could.  Would it be linear?  What about those Fiorotti gains?  After the chuckles, I figured Jerry might have a point, but wondered why I hadn't noticed it.  I generally start trimming with zero Igor sensitivity and no VGs or trip strips.  When I get to the point of turning on the Igor sensitivity and messing with the boundary layer doodads, any leadout position changes are to try to fix oscillations. Maybe I should go farther up the trim chart.   

I had the same reaction before I realized that it really does have an impact.  I use both Igor's method and a Fiorotti.  I used to trim as much as I could with the gains turned off.  I always ended having to move the leadouts forward a bunch (1/4" or more) after turning them on.  Most of the non Fiorotti crowd are not familiar with the impact of G-Force and having it off during most of the trim process means you have to do it all over again once it is on.  All I do now with boost off on a new plane is wings level, CG (balance point) and equal turns.  G-Force even affects tip weight.  Then I turn it on and start the real trimming, which at my 1-2 flights a week and a canard to add to the fun is like herding cats and may take years!  BUT IT IS FUN!

Ken

[Dave Hull]

Bill,

Hardly any correction factor needed to go from Goolagongs to Smoots: just multiply by 1.01515....  (She was 5'6" at the time the standard was established in Aussyland.)

The hypothesis here remains the same, though: the unsensed dynamic effect is very small, so the correction factor for it should be also.

The Divot

[Al Ferraro]

  When you set your timer make sure you allow for daylight savings time! 
Al

[Dennis Adamisin]

  When you set your timer make sure you allow for daylight savings time! 
Al

True dat!  Also don’t forget the metric conversion.