Add stabilization to planes

OGnapkin

Member
I have flown my Parlzone Sukhoi SU-29MM for a while now and have come to the conclusion that is very squirrley in the air and does not track very well. What can I add to this plane to make it track well and have better flight characteristics besides a gyro? thanks
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
I have flown my Parlzone Sukhoi SU-29MM for a while now and have come to the conclusion that is very squirrley in the air and does not track very well. What can I add to this plane to make it track well and have better flight characteristics besides a gyro? thanks
Apart from adding significant weight or making it fly considerably faster, (which means bigger motor and battery - hence more weight), the only thing you can do is to buy and fit an aftermarket flight stabilizer. Then again you could restrict your flying to days where the air is extremely still.

If you do add a stabilizer start with the gains very low and test fly it. After the test flight if still squirrely increase the gains slightly and redo the test. The worst thing you can do is to start with the gains far too high and those that do either a fight on their hands or a plane to repair/rebuild.

Have fun!
 

quorneng

Master member
OGnapkin
You haven't actually defined what is happening. Is the CofG is the right place?
Small twists and bends in the wing or fuselage can cause flight characteristics that can be speed dependent.
Trim it to fly satisfactorily at one speed but any faster or slower and it may want to turn, bank, climb or dive in any combination! Furthermore it is likely to get even worse worse at or near the stall.
A good visual inspection checking to see that the wings look exactly the same left and right, and from all angles, is a good starting point.

With a bit of practise you can do quite a bit of aerodynamic analysis with the good old Mk1 eyeball. ;)