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FLYING THE MODEL
Well, I don't know what you
people are like, but I usually pick a quiet time to test
fly a new model - a day when it is most likely there will
be few if any other members present - you see, I get
nervous with a crowd of onlookers! I chose a fine, clear,
windless Saturday morning but on arriving at our flying
field, I couldn't believe the number of car in the car
park.
I had forgotten that this
particular day was a major working bee for our club (Greensborough
Model Aeroplane Club) to improve the site drainage - there
were trenching machines, tip trucks, piles of crushed rock
and upwards of forty members present! |
In this situation, you leave the
model in the car boot and pretend you knew all about the working
bee. You pick up a shovel and spend the next few hours moving
crushed rock. I went home at the end of the working bee and
returned two hours later expecting to find the flying field
deserted and ready for the Ultimate's maiden flight.
By this time the crowd had grown
and there was something of a party atmosphere! When the Ultimate
Biplane was unloaded the members gathered around - this plane
sure does grab attention.
Poor John, anxious enough to test
fly a new plane, but to have to do it in front of the whole GMAC
committee, top gun model pilots etc!! Well, what do you do in
this situation? Amongst the crowd, I saw a friend and expert
grade pilot - Russell. You guessed it, I asked him to do the
honours.
At 3/4 throttle the Ultimate
Biplane rocketed along the strip, tracking true and responsive
to rudder input. A touch of up control at 20 metres and the
plane is into a straight, gentle climb and looking great.
At about 30 metres, Russell did a
short crosswind leg and then into the downwind leg of level
flight. No trim adjustments were required - hand off flying
within 15 seconds of take off.
Russell was obviously enjoying
flying the Ultimate Biplane. Within two minutes he was putting
it through the full range of aerobatic manoeuvres from standard
loops and rolls to sustained knife edge flight.
Snap rolls could only be
described as eye popping with onlookers wondering whether the
aeroplane would hold together. It did!
Vertical performance with a .75
ASP was staggering. At this stage the transmitter was handed to
me. I found the Ultimate Biplane to be sensitive to all control
input but accurately responsive - it really feels like it is
flying on rails: Rolls to the right, to the left are good clean
axial rolls.
This model is overpowered with
the ASP .75 and flew quite quickly at half throttle. With slow
speed flying the response was still clean and crisp with a
gentle and predictable stall. Performance through the whole
speed range is excellent.
On landing I was surprised at how
quickly this bipe washed off speed making landing just that bit
easier. |
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