Control line stunt speed!

What speed does your average stunter do - in MPH!

This sort of thing is relative. On 60's, the six second laps that George Aldrich says are the right speed for a flapped bird comes to 44 mph. I only had one plane I could fly that slowly without losing tension overhead. It was an overweight Magician 35 with a goo-encrusted Fox 35 on it that happily chugged through entire stunt patterns with the only break to a two cycle being the last couple of maneuvers.

My personal preference on 60's was more on the order of 49-50 mph, and somewhere here I have a chart in Excel that matches timings for 60's for one lap to mph. If you want a copy, I'll hunt it down. I had some bigger, slightly heavier planes that I couldn't get adequate overhead tension with at that speed; with longer lines the higher speed cancelled out and I had a lap speed that felt the same as my preferred 5.5 second/lap (or whatever).

I have already knocked up a spreadsheet which produces a table showing speeds in mph for line lengths from 50 - 75ft in 2.5 feet increments and lap times from 3 to 10 seconds on .1 second increments - wonderful things compooters ain't they!

Thanks for the offer anyway!

In answer to your question, however, the airplane needs a certain speed in which to fly well. Slower speeds may be possible, but at some point it is going to fall out of the sky, either because it is flying too slow for its weight, or too light on the lines to be controlled. Overly fast isn't good either, unless you have exceptional reflexes or love spectacular crashes.

The truth of the matter is, most people who are flying on 60 foot lines are flying under 5 second lap times. If you have the power and the line tension, you can go to longer lines, maintain the same flight speed, but reduce lap times and give yourself more space in which to fly (so square maneuvers look like square maneuvers.) If you were previously flying on 60 foot lines and moved to 66, for instance, you would be flying a 10% longer circle and adding 10% to your lap times. If you were flying 5 second laps on 60 foot lines, you would now be flying 5.5 second laps on 66 foot lines at the same flight speed. Thus, as a rounded "rule of thumb", you can figure to add about one tenth of a second to your lap times for every foot of additional line length you add, so long as you maintain the same flying speed. (Remember, this is "rounded".)

It is usually best to increase line length a little at a time--make up several sets of lines in shorter increments--to see what feels the most comfortable with your plane. Line length is one of the most often neglected trimming devices available to the flyer. It is surprising how many people still fly with 10-6 props and 60 foot lines thinking "that is the way it has to be."

Lap speed is something that should balance the ability of the flyer to keep up with the aeroplane, the capability of the aeroplane, and a speed at which judges feel confortable and are capable of being consistant with.

Real xoomy, 90 mph stuff is nifty (Larry Scarinzi occasionally cranks one up to almost those speeds!) at first, the thought of actually JUDGING it makes me crazy! Windy and them are using speed control.....s l o w w i n g o v e r s are possible, but they, too would prove difficult to judge. Most "little" aeroplanes seem happiest in the 5 to 5.2 second range, while the bigger stuff seems to like 5.1 to 5.4 sec. Buy any of Windy's Nats or Team Trial tapes (WC or top eight day) and time/see for yourself.

See Ya

I'm well convinced that being ready, willing, and able to make up a new set of longer lines, or cut off a too long set is a trimming tool as valuable as any other.

Leonard Neumann

*I always found it interesting watching Al Rabe fly. (You can learn a lot sometimes by watching the flyer.) Al would pivot on his left foot and turn it precisely 90 degrees, four times each lap. Some flyers wander all over the circle while they are flying and you wonder how they stay focused.

Almost everyone competitive is flying in the range of 48-55 mph. The most common mistake beginners make is trying to fly too slowly, because it "supposed to be that way". The lap times tend to be quicker for smaller airplanes, and slower for larger, but mostly because of differing line lengths, not airspeed.

The very top competitive airplanes are almost always in the range of 5.2-5.5 seconds a lap, or somwhere between 52 and 55 mph. This is slower than 15 years ago, where 4.7-5.0 seconds was common.

I personally fly near 5.2-5.3 right now, mostly because I run shorter lines. I prefer the control feel. I have the very dubious distinction of being among the slowest of the competitive group in recent years, with my 6.1 second laps with the Infinity/40VF on finals day in 1998. It was because of cooling issues with my 4 day old airplane. I didn't make the flyoff.

World Class golfers spend a lot of time on the driving range, and some time in practice rounds.

World Class stunters presumably spend some time practicing specific maneuvers (the driving range) and some time flying the whole pattern (practice rounds).

Questions:

1. Do you generally fly at competition speed when training or do you often / sometimes fly faster to make the competition flights seem easier?

2. Do you normally practice with your competition ship, or do much / some of your training with a slightly more disposable ship?

3. Do you generally fly the whole pattern in practice, or spend some days on some specific maneuvers?

4. Do you make it a point to practice when the weather is poor?

It is always best to fly at the speed you would normally fly under the conditions. Speeding up or slowing down merely tends to throw off your reflexes. It is not a matter of trying to make it "easier". It is a matter of making it right.

>2. Do you normally practice with
>your competition ship, or do
>much / some of your
>training with a slightly more
>disposable ship?

When Matthew was still in the Intermediate stage we flew with a practice ship based on the same platform. Once his flying improved, however, it became important that he practice with the same ship he will be flying in competition. You can never get too familiar with the plane and need to know as much as you can about it under all conditions. Besides, you are practicing to be able to fly your best with what your plane is able to do.

>3. Do you generally fly the
>whole pattern in practice, or
>spend some days on some
>specific maneuvers?

Virtually every flight is one complete pattern. No more. No less. The beginner may find value in practicing certain maneuvers and adding them to what he already knows, but once you have learned to fly the pattern, it is generally best to fly each maneuver in order as if each flight were a competition flight. Nobody flies any maneuver consistently perfect. Even the two level laps between maneuvers should not be skipped, for it is not only necessary to give you a "rest", but it is additional practice in flying level flight.

>4. Do you make it a
>point to practice when the
>weather is poor?

If you don't, you will never be a good contest flyer. You expect the weather to be bad at a contest. Therefore, you need to know what your capabilities are and what are your limitations and the limitations of your plane. It is good sometimes to go out early in the morning on a day when the wind is predicted to be bad. That way you can work up to the heavier winds and learn just how far you can go with your, and your airplane's capabilities.

One thing you also need to remember is, for everyone, there comes a point when it is time to pack it up and go home. They don't give trophies for making one more flight and crashing. It is always best to go home one flight too soon, rather than one flight too late. For most beginner or imtermediate flyers, it is best to not even begin a flight if there is even a question in your mind of whether it may be too windy for either you or your airplane.

"He who flies and runs away
Lives to fly another day."