Are smaller planes more difficult to fly than larger planes?

[frank mccune]

    HI:

    I have been attempting to learn how to fly stunt and I think that I have found that the .15-.25 sized airplane of yesteryear are more diffichlut to fly as compared to the larger and heavier .35-.46 sized planes.  I have about 30 Stunt planes hanging in my attic ready to fly and I thought that I should learn on the saller planes first and save the better planes for later.  Perhaps I have this backwards.

   What I am missing is the feedback through the lines on the lighter planes.  I like to have more pull than what the smaller planes offer.

   I think that 1/2A planes are the most difficult to fly due to their very light pull on the lines.

   Any thoughts or comments about this matter?

                                                                                                   Stay well my friends,

                                                                                                   Franchi

[Tim Wescott]

I would heartily agree with the statement "smaller planes are harder to fly well".  They buzz along faster, get kicked around by the wind more, and as you mention they give less feedback to the hand.

I suppose that translates to "harder to fly at all", but it's a reach for me.  Possibly because I learned to fly on 1/2-A planes, and because my bar for "flying" is right at ground level -- if you're not hitting the ground, you're "flying" in my book.

[Ted Fancher]

I would heartily agree with the statement "smaller planes are harder to fly well".  They buzz along faster, get kicked around by the wind more, and as you mention they give less feedback to the hand.

I suppose that translates to "harder to fly at all", but it's a reach for me.  Possibly because I learned to fly on 1/2-A planes, and because my bar for "flying" is right at ground level -- if you're not hitting the ground, you're "flying" in my book.

.35/.40 airplanes are probably the best all around for what you're after.  They are a nice balance between your quite correct concern about lack of tension with small planes and the sometimes uncomfortable pull of the modern behemoths.  Any number of classic kits available from Brodak and Eric Rule (RSM) make for a nice variety and, especially when powered by the more reliable and powerful modern engines (the OS LAs especially from the $$$ point of view) provide performance only a tiny smidgeon removed from whatever is state of the art today.

Good question, Franchi.  Welcome back.  Wear out a few of those attic antiques!

Ted

[ChrisSarnowski]

You might use those 1/2A planes for learning inverted flight. They will usually bounce off the ground. If not, well you haven't lost much.

I did a lot of learning on 40 size ships, which worked well for me. Our field usually has some amount of wind present. I also did a lot with a 25 size ship,
but that one was more sensitive to the wind. And yes lighter on the lines.

-Chris

[Glenn (Gravitywell) Reach]

This is just my opinion but I think learning on 1/2a is best because:
1.  easy to repair
2.  cheap to replace
3.  they are fast and twitchy, so when you learn to fly them, anything else is a breeze.
Its kind of like the AT-6....it was designed to be inherently unstable so it was an easy transition into fighters that were more stable.  Its just my opinion for what its worth.

[Tom Niebuhr]

Ted said it all.

 Don't play with 1/2As. You need a solid predictable airplane to develope your skills.

[frank mccune]

     Hi All:

     It is strange that Ted Fancher replied about my Attic Air Force.  One of the planes that is there is a Fancherized Twister that I have never flown! Lol

     I have been spending the last several days mounting engines in things like Shark 15 three of them,, Dumas Tom Tom, and a scratch built stunter with Fox .15BBS either DDD or glow.  The Sharks wil have S.T. G20/.23 glows or a ST G20/.15D for power.  I will try these planes to see if the smaller airplane has anything extra to offer.

     One of my best flying airplanes is a Midwest ME 109 with an O.S .35 for power.  That plane is great!!  I must spend more time with it! Oh yes, it was built about 40 years ago!!

     Thanks for the replies.

                                                                                                                      Frank

[Randy Cuberly]

    Hi All:

     It is strange that Ted Fancher replied about my Attic Air Force.  One of the planes that is there is a Fancherized Twister that I have never flown! Lol

     I have been spending the last several days mounting engines in things like Shark 15 three of them,, Dumas Tom Tom, and a scratch built stunter with Fox .15BBS either DDD or glow.  The Sharks wil have S.T. G20/.23 glows or a ST G20/.15D for power.  I will try these planes to see if the smaller airplane has anything extra to offer.

     One of my best flying airplanes is a Midwest ME 109 with an O.S .35 for power.  That plane is great!!  I must spend more time with it! Oh yes, it was built about 40 years ago!!

     Thanks for the replies.

                                                                                                                      Frank

Hi Frank,
Dig out the Fancherized Twister, mount an LA40 or 46 on it and Fly, Fly, Fly.
I've been flying since 1952 and fly in the expert class and I still find flying the smaller airplanes much more of a challenge.
Listen to Ted.  You will progress much faster on the medium sized (40-46) planes.  You might even consider one of the ARF Noblers with an LA46...they are relatively cheap, light and fly very well.  They need just a little work to make them last a bit longer but it's all easy to do and you can find lots of advice about what to do here on SH.  Crash it and it's repariable most of the time.  If it's lost you haven't lost much.
They really fly about as well as anything and will teach you to trim and fly all the maneuvers without risking something you've put a lot of work into.
When Chip Hyde, a many times R/C World and National Champion, decided to learn to fly CL Stunt He did it with one of these ugly little blue Noblers and learned very fast!

You can too!

Randy Cuberly

[proparc]

All stunt ships can be fun but, if you are serious about getting your act together, stick with "the proven formula".  Ships in the 35\45 size range have been the standard for learning as far back as I can remember,( no, I didn't fly with Noah!!). I am still partial to the Magician for learning but, anything these guys recommend will be good to go for you.

[Paul Smith]

Airplanes, ocean ships, boats, railroad trains, models:  Bigger is better and much more efficient.

In any form of sport, military, or economic competition, the biggest allowable machine is the best.

They don't build jumbo jets and 5,000 passenger cruise ships for nothing.

[Brett Buck]

.35/.40 airplanes are probably the best all around for what you're after.  They are a nice balance between your quite correct concern about lack of tension with small planes and the sometimes uncomfortable pull of the modern behemoths.  Any number of classic kits available from Brodak and Eric Rule (RSM) make for a nice variety and, especially when powered by the more reliable and powerful modern engines (the OS LAs especially from the $$$ point of view) provide performance only a tiny smidgeon removed from whatever is state of the art today.

Good question, Franchi.  Welcome back.  Wear out a few of those attic antiques!

Ted

    One thing I would add is that stick time is still worth something, so fly whatever you have while you work on something better. One of the bigger mistakes I see people make on occasion is to let perfection be the enemy of good enough, so they spend a lot of time building what might be an ideal airplane and don't get any flights in. When you are reasonably-skilled competitive flier, you can make reasonable decisions about how much flying practice is required, but if you are just starting just learning how to do all the tricks and safely bail out of whatever mistakes you might make is worth something.

    Brett

[55chevr]

Bigger planes (within reason) fly better.  Very difficult to scale down wind conditions and air molecules.   I think that there are a lot of good designs in the 550 sq in sized planes.  They also fit in cars. 

[Steve Helmick]

"They also fit in cars."


ABsoLutely! At least, if you're not hooked on solid musicwire leadouts. That's not a good idea, IMO.  Steve 

[Dave_Trible]

Larger airplanes and engines cut the breeze better and can fly on longer lines which slows your perceived airspeed down (lap time) and gives you more time and space above the ground to goof up.  Small stuff can be in the dirt so fast there is little time to think or react.  Training goes better.

Dave

[Ron Cribbs]

As a beginner maybe I can help,

I picked up a handle the first time ever almost 2 years ago and I flew strictly 1/2A for the first year. I busted a lot of planes in very short order. No training and no help just me in my back yard. The good thing about 1/2A is the planes repair quickly and you can keep on flying when you have more than one. The bad thing is they are calm day fliers and depending on engine choice they can be quite quick. In that first year I learned how to do inside/outside loops and lazy eights. Did I mention I crashed a lot?

On a whim I purchased a beat up old Ringmaster on Ebay and restored it. Within 2 flights with the Ringmaster I added inverted flight to the table. 3-4 months later I was doing horizontal and vertical eights and just recently overhead eights with a new to me Cardinal.

What I am trying to get at is I progressed much quicker with the old Ringmaster than I did with 1/2A. The plus is I still fly 1/2A from time to time and the skills I learned with the bigger stuff allows me to fly the smaller planes better.

I think the best way to learn is to fly whatever, but fly as often as possible. The bigger stuff is easier, but you can do it with the smaller stuff too.

Practice makes perfect!

Hope that helps some.

Ron

[John Craig]

I am going to give this a try to attempt to learn the full pattern.

http://stunthanger.com/smf/index.php?topic=34331.0

KISS at its best.  Just bolt on an Aluminum or wire gear.  The fewer the parts the easier it will be to repair.  Bust up the wing; cut out the broken one & glue in the new.

[john e. holliday]

You say you have a Fancherized Twister?  Get a LA .46 and put on it.   Start with 11-5 prop and go from there.   Mean time start another Twister for back up when you ding the one you have.   If you can loop both ways and do lazy 8's you are ready to go to inverted laps.  Just keep stretching the lazy 8.   You will progress much faster as you will be flying on days when the smaller plane would not like the wind conditions.    But, then on the calm days you can go with the smaller planes if they are straight and trimmed right.