Finally, a few laps inverted!!

[ray copeland]

Well, this weekend i finally did some laps inverted with my patched up Flite Streak!  The plane flies excellent for me, standard FS with OS FP 20 , 2 oz. regular vented tank, 9x4 old nylon prop. Took a few tries but finally decided to go with the palm up approach and nailed it for 2 laps and then 2 more! I can just stop turning and it goes right back upright!  I really wanted to learn with hand pointing up and down , but this way just felt right so i will stick with it for a while. 




 

[Wynn Robins]

well done Ray!!!

If you find it comfortable flying palm up - stay that way - once you try to change it - you'll get back into trouble

[Larrys4227]

I know how you feel about your first laps inverted! My first ones were only a few short weeks ago! I use the same approach .... palm up. Now that I'm doing it that way every time ... its very comfortable. I'm still trying to get up the nerve to go inverted after a wing over.... as well as doing outside loops. Inverted after wingover is my goal right now.

I've got a Flite Steak as well, with an OS25LA, 9x6 prop. When your comfortable, you might consider switching to a larger tank. I found with the lil' 2 oz, it just wasn't enough flight time. Just as I would get comfortable, it would run out of fuel. I put a 4oz in ..... make sure you rebalance!

FlySafe! Larry (Larrys4227)

[Keith Spriggs]

It has been fifty years since I made my first few laps inverted. I still remember it very vividly. I could take you to within 10 foot of where I was standing on the baseball field. I think I was on my third Veco Tomahawk. $ 3.50 each. I probably had a more difficult time learning than most people. I finally succeeded by repeating over and over in my mind, "give it down".

 When I took up C/L again after 35 years I wondered if I could still fly inverted. About the third shaky flight with the new Flite Streak ARF  I decided to get the plane inverted. When I got it inverted it suddenly went very rich and didn't have enough power to get turned back over. I flew out the almost full tank inverted. It wasn't pretty, but I could still do it.

[gary tultz]

Stay with the Palm up , it works for you and feels right.Many Walker Cup and World Champ winners do it. It's not the problem some would have you believe.

[Just One-eye]

It has been fifty years since I made my first few laps inverted. I still remember it very vividly. I could take you to within 10 foot of where I was standing on the baseball field. I think I was on my third Veco Tomahawk. $ 3.50 each.

Someone is always tickling the old remember it buttons around here.  I'd halfway forgotten my first two Tomahawks, that also predated skillfull inverted flight.  Two of those ended up combind into just one, but not before another oldie of mine, a Circus King, was what I was using the day someone pointed out that lazy eights were filled with "turns AWAY from the ground", and were ideal to stretch longer into full laps of inverted flight. 

I was doing my inverted a really hard way, with half of an outside for an entry, likely because that was more similar to a reverse wingover midway point, but with slightly less speed build-up quite so close to the ground.  two years, plus or minus, later, I was doing the 1955/56 pattern (not well, but most of the maneuvers were recognizable). 

[ray copeland]

Well , doing a lot better now , even in the backyard with the small planes. Took the Flite Streak out again yesterday on the 52 foot lines , got 3 laps inverted 2 different times. Got real brave , wanted to see how low i could go and of course scrubbed the ground, nothing a new prop and some elmers won't fix. 

[Charlie Pate]

Well , doing a lot better now , even in the backyard with the small planes. Took the Flite Streak out again yesterday on the 52 foot lines , got 3 laps inverted 2 different times. Got real brave , wanted to see how low i could go and of course scrubbed the ground, nothing a new prop and some elmers won't fix. 

Ray ; how bout getting just a little past down wind and as the plane just starts to begin to come into the wind , pull it into an inside loop. As the plane gets over the top and starts down ,apply a good bit of down( with palm up if you wish , and bring the plane back to upright position. With a little practice  , you will soon be  doing figure eights(lazy eights) this will help you to get better at inverted flying. (At least it did me 55 years ago).
Just be sure you are down wind when pulling out of inverted , or its "run  johnny , run"