Flying High

In February I blogged about a remote controlled airplane that I'd purchased after about twenty years of wanting one. Today I was finally able to enjoy an incredible five straight minutes of non-stop flight time and I have to say that it was well worth the wait.

Flying these things is not as easy as it looks. It takes a tremendous amount of getting used to. After several flights that I made specifically to balance the plane and get it flying straight and level, I'd really damaged the body and broken a wing (nothing a little epoxy can't make (literally) better than new). I'd always been disappointed at the performance of my plane when it came to turning. It would be incredibly slow to respond. It would take about 10 to 15 seconds to right itself after turning in one direction. I just figured, since this was a three-channel plane (i.e. a rudder but no ailerons) that I was stuck with that and I'd have to buy a new plane in order to get better performance.

This morning I had a new idea, though. What if I could increase the surface area of the rudder so as to increase the effect of its movements? I did just that in a couple of iterations and now, at twice the original surface area (which wasn't much to begin with) the plane now turns and performs exactly the way I would expect it to. Photo paper is of much higher weight than copy paper, so I took a piece of it and taped it to the rudder with shipping tape.

It was really fun to have this thing up in the air at my control for over five minutes. I did loops and flew it way out into the park and back. I flew it way up into the sky and did tricks at high altitudes. It's a very enjoyable hobby to have. I can't wait to take it out tomorrow! Now that the thing turns when I tell it I have much more predictable control over it.