IT'S SHOWTIME!: TALKING RC WITH 5 EXPERT PILOTS

Model Airplane News, Nov 2004 by Yarrish, Gerry

Have you ever watched someone do a really great aerobatic routine or observed a pilot nail a mind-blowing 3D maneuver and asked yourself, "How do these guys do it?" Expert RC pilots all have one thing in common: a deep love of the hobby! Whether they fly turbine-powered jets, electric pattern ships, or 40-percent, giant-scale unlimited aerobats, these pilots are all committed to perfection.

We spoke with five well-known "masters of the sticks" and asked them what it takes to compete at the highest levels. What does it take to run with the big dogs? Read on!

TURBINE-POWERED SCALE JETS

Name: Terry Nitsch

From: Grove City, OH

Occupation: engineer

Years in RC: 43

Q: What are you most proud of?

A: That's an easy one. I am most proud of all my major scale competition wins. I have won six U.S. Scale Master competitions and have won seven times at Top Gun-that's more than anyone else has won.

Q: What, in your opinion, would be the perfect airplane?

A: For me, the perfect plane would be equipped with tricycle landing gear for good ground handling; it would have a medium to medium-heavy wing loading for smoother flight performance and predictable landings; it would have to be somewhat large-somewhere in the 60- to 80-inch-span range and be over- rather than under-powered. The perfect plane also has to be easy to see; its paint scheme should allow easy in-flight visual orientation. And to top it all off, it should have several mechanical options for scale competition, such as bomb drops, droppable fuel tanks, flaps or twin engines, etc.

(J: How much practice tune do you devote to the hobby?

A: With jets, I try to fly twice a week every week throughout the flying season. Then to prepare for an upcoming event, I also fly a minimum of two practice sessions the week prior to the event.

Q: What do you think is the most important aspect of setting up a model?

A: Keeping it simple and making sure that everything works reliably. I make sure that every component is installed correctly and leave no margin for error. I usually over-engineer to ensure that it is going to work every time.

Gt'. How about radio setup?

A: I try to keep it simple. Dialing in the dual rates and expo settings is very important. I set them up so that each of my planes has the same feel; the fewer differences between the models, the better. I use minimal dual-rate percentages and keep all the switch functions in the same places on the transmitter, regardless of the model. Complicated radio setups increase the probability of making a mistake.

Q: How do you form a flight routine?

A: I look at this as a team effort between the model and myself. I practice and fly a lot so I can figure out what the model does well and what it doesn't do so well. Then I use what I can do best and what the model can do best. Some models roll better than others, so I use that to my advantage. I try to maximize my model's potential as well as my own. I don't want to fight the maneuvers; they should feel natural.

Q: What's your mindset?

A: Before each flight, I discuss what we want to do with my caller-my wife, Sheila. We concentrate on the things we are having trouble with during the maneuvers. We zero in on what we aren't doing well, so I can adjust from round to round to make improvements. I totally depend on her to make sure that all aircraft are accounted for, and I talk to her before I execute each maneuver.

FREESTYLEAEROBATICS

Naine: Quique Soineiizini

From: Summerfield, NC

Occupation: model-airplane kit manufacturer; consultant to Horizon Hobby

Years in BC: 27

Q: What are you most proud of?

A: Being the creator of 3D aerobatics. I think it is by far my biggest accomplishment and my biggest contribution to the hobby. I also can't forget my four wins at the Las Vegas Tournament of Champions.

Q: What, in your opinion, would be the perfect airplane?

A: To me, the perfect airplane would be one that followed the pilot's inputs closely with no bad tendencies; one that was predictable at all airspeeds and in all flight attitudes. In other words, one with unlimited performance that's always predictable.

Q: How much practice time do you devote to the hobby?

A: Competition requires a lot of practice time. I would say that the average preparation time for a major competition is around four weeks of flying, three or four flights a day, every day. This doesn't count the time needed to set up the airplane and work out any major engine or control-linkage problems.

Q: What do you think is the most important aspect of setting up a model?

A: To make it fly straight in every attitude and at every airspeed! The more the airplane can fly by itself, the better it is. Remember, when we fly our airplanes, we use our eyes, so the fewer corrections the model needs, the more stable and solid it will fly. By the time we see that a correction is needed, it's too late. This is easy to say but hard to do, and in my experience, it's what takes the most time.

Q: How about radio setup?

A: Mixing is very important. Most airplanes need some kind of mixing, whether rudder to elevator or rudder to aileron, and so forth. This keeps the airplane tracking straight in knife-edge to eliminate unwanted pitch-and-roll coupling. I also like to use flight modes such as normal, rolling circle, spin, snap and landing. I also like throttle-to-elevator mixing for perfect straight vertical downlines.