Dumb questions about first full house plane

[redietz]

I just acquired my first full house ship - a Laser 2MC. I've hand tossed it and I'm psyched!

Before I put it up off a high start (which I'll do before I winch it), I'd like some advice. Although I've flown planes with ailerons before, they've always been either no rudder or I've set them up CAR. Now that I have an independent rudder, do I control the launch with rudder or ailerons?

Also, since I bought the plane used, I was surprised when I hooked the flaps up to a Y-harness, they worked in opposite directions. I didn't want to take
a servo out of the wing and flip it over, so I plugged one of the flap servos into the throttle channel and one into the flap channel. I then mixed the throttle and flap channels, with the throttle as the master. Although it does what I want it to, is this a normal way of doing things? My radio (at least as
far as I can figure out) only allows mixing two channels, so I've precluded myself from mixing elevator into the flap. Any suggestions?

Bob

[aeajr]

Mixing - It would be helpful if we knew what radio you have

Will your radio not do an aileron/rudder mix?

Taking a flap servo out and flipping it over is not such a big deal. Flip the servo and reset the horn. I did it on mine when I didn't have the ability to put each flap on a separate channel so I Y'd them.

Give us more info on the radio.

[SoCalGliderFlyr]

Yeap. Need radio make/model. In the mean time you will want a good amount of rudder over ailerons for launch. After it is off the line you don't need more than it takes to over come the aileron drag. Even with more up aileron than down there is still a bit of rudder needed to get the plane to come around.

I've got flaps (flaperon) and the rudder mixed into the ailerons. I can switch these mixes off if I want to. Futaba 8UAF with the three possion switch moved to the top left.

[redietz]

Mixing - It would be helpful if we knew what radio you have

Will your radio not do an aileron/rudder mix?

Taking a flap servo out and flipping it over is not such a big deal. Flip the servo and reset the horn. I did it on mine when I didn't have the ability to put each flap on a separate channel so I Y'd them.

Give us more info on the radio.

I've a Futaba 6EXA. Looking through the programming instructions carefully,
I found that I was right. It will only allow one arbitrary mix per model.

I didn't particular want to do an aileron/rudder mix; I'd like to learn to use them independently.

What I was most concerned about is not being able to mix flaps and elevator if I need to keep the flaps on two channels.

I suppose I could just flip the servo over. I hate to cut into the covering, though.

Bob

[aeajr]

OK, didn't know you had to cut the covering.

You can buy a device, about $20 that will reverse a servo. Goes inline with the connection to the receiver. Replaces the Y cable

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0095p?FVPROFIL=++&FVSEARCH=servo+reverser&FVPROFIL=++

Use this and you can do your flap/elevator mix

[redietz]

OK, didn't know you had to cut the covering.

You can buy a device, about $20 that will reverse a servo. Goes inline with the connection to the receiver. Replaces the Y cable

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0095p?FVPROFIL=++&FVSEARCH=servo+reverser&FVPROFIL=++

Use this and you can do your flap/elevator mix

Thanks. I didn't know such a thing existed.

Should I move the control for the flaps back to the flap knob, or leave it on the throttle stick?

Bob

[SoCalGliderFlyr]

Sailplane flaps and spoilers should be on the left stick. Flaps up with the stick up. Spoilers closed with the stick up. With the 8UAF you can program in a bit of a dead area so you don't move the surfaces if you just happen to bump the stick.

Flaps should be mixed in with the elevator to dampen out the "zoom" effect from lowering them.

[aeajr]

You can have the flaps wherever you like. If you fly flaps on sailplanes AND on power planes, I would suggest you put the flaps on the knob to be consistant. Most sailplane pilots do put flaps or spoilers on the "throttle" stick. It is just more convenient to use there.

As noted above the standard is that when the stick is all the way forward, that is your "go" position. So flaps would be up, or if you had spoiilers, they would be down. Back is your stop position, so flaps would go down.

Again, if you fly both and have flaps on both, you might want to put the flaps on the knob to be consistant. Completely up to you. No one can tell you how you are most comfortable.

[Doc Data]

. Now that I have an independent rudder, do I control the launch with rudder or ailerons?


If your plane has a stable launch, using the rudder to guide it up vice the ailerons is preferred (IMHO). Everytime you move the aileron, you change the airfoil to one less efficient that with them in neutral. Leaving them centered and using the rudder will prevent this.

Obviously if your plane is moving rapidly to one side or the other, using the ailerons to get it back on track may be required.

The few times I have flown a full house 2M plane off a high start, it seemed to me the use of flaps (or actually cambering the TE of the wing) had no effect or even possibly a negative effect on the launch. I do, however, always use a cambered TE (both ailerons and flaps) during a winch launch.

Good luck,
Dave

[SoCalGliderFlyr]

Too much trailing edge camber is detrimental. Takes about 1/16" to 3/32" on a nine or ten inch cord to give it a bit of a help. Then this also depends on the air foil. Some will work better than others with TE camber. The 7035 on the Mako I fly loves TE camber -- both the flaps and the ailerons -- for hard hi-start and winch lauches. With the TE camber and the very rearward balance point it thermals like an Oly/Mirage/Paragon. Coupled rudder does help but I do over ride the rudder now an then.

[Bernie Wolfard]

Bob,

The reality is you don’t have enough radio for a full house glider. The purpose of all of the flippers on the wing is to be able to fine tune camber as well as running crow for landing. Without the ability to set a launch mode on a switch, some way to adjust camber and a way to mix a landing mode there is really no advantage to having a full house sailplane. To mix flaps without elevator compensation is a good way to set up a crash. Even if you can compensate the elevator with your right thumb sooner or later you set a stall on landing and possibly hurt your airplane. Without the mixing capabilities you are better off with a 4-channel ship. I know you don’t want to hear this but there is a reason why full house gliders with camber sensitive airfoils started to become popular with the advent of multi channel computer radios.

I set up a full house airplane on a Hitec flash 5 radio that wasn’t really capable of the mixes needed for a full house ship but it was cumbersome and too much pilot load to make it work well.

[aeajr]

Bob,

The reality is you don’t have enough radio for a full house glider.

I set up a full house airplane on a Hitec flash 5 radio that wasn’t really capable of the mixes needed for a full house ship but it was cumbersome and too much pilot load to make it work well.

OK, some reality.

1) I am of the opinion that you can fly any plane on a 4 channel radio, so you can definately fly that plane with that radio.

2) You won't be able to take advantage of the fact that you have a 6 servo plane today, but that doesn't mean you can't fly it and I don't think Flutterbug was suggesting that you could not fly it.

3) Since you only have one user defined mix, make that the flap/elevator combo. That is your priority mix, in my opinion. I believe that is what Flutterbug suggested as well.


So, here is how I see you setting up the plane using a Futaba 6EXA
http://www.futaba-rc.com/radios/futk55.html

Channel 1 - Both Ailerons (you may have to reverse one with a reverser or by moving a servo

Ch 2 - Elevator

Ch3 - unused

Ch4 - Rudder

Ch5 unused

Ch6 - Flaps ( you may have to reverse one, as we discussed above)

Now set up the user mix so that you get some elevator action, probably down elevator, as you apply the flaps. I can't say how much you need, but start with about 5% and gradually add more through testing until the plane comes in fairly level. If you have a friend who knows sailplanes, or if you have the instruciton book for that plane, that would be a big help.

Flutterbug, would you agree with this approach?

Whether you put the flaps on the stick or the lever/knob is up to you, if your radio will allow you that flexability. I prefer them on the stick, but I am more of a sailplane guy then a power plane guy. I fly parkflyers and slow fly electrics in addition to my sailplanes, though I do plan to dabble in electic 3D.

Now, the good news is that if you ever decide you want to put an electic motor or a power pod on that plane, channel 3 is open for proportional speed control, or you could put it on CH 5 for on/off operation which is all you really need as you climb out, then you switch off.

When you have the money, if you are going to get more involved in sailplanes, or want to fully utilize the capabilities of that one, consider a radio upgrade. If you think of it, you will probably need two reversers, so that is about $40 toward a new radio and you won't need any reversers. Add $110 and you are into a much more capable radio that can handle that plane.

Here are some suggestions.

Moderate $$ upgrade - Futaba 7C - about $150 just for the radio
a big upgrade in features from what you have now
http://www.futaba-rc.com/radios/futj69.html
http://www.servocity.com/html/7ca_transmitter.html

More $$, more capable upgrade Futaba 9C - About $290 just for the radio
I just purchased this one - I got the H version which is better for sailplane focused guys.
http://www.futaba-rc.com/radios/futj85.html
http://www.servocity.com/html/9ca_systems.html

There are more capable and more expensive radios to consider for the future, but these would be significant upgrades from what you have now. They can handle a full house plane, but the 9C can a lot more.

They will work with your current receivers and will be compatible with your current radio. You could buddy them together to help a friend learn to fly.

If you got a 7C you would have 16 model memories between the two. The 9C is unlimited in model memories.

Go set up your plane. Do a lot of testing before you go for a full launch to make sure everything is right. Again, if you have someone available for help, ask for that help.

Go fly your plane! Let us know how it goes.

[nuevo]

Bob,

Go for it. You're right. If you can only have one mix. Flap -> Elevator is what you want. The others you can live without, but your plane could fly much more efficient with a higher end TX. For example without aileron -> rudder mix, the fuse will often be pointed out away from the turn (adverse yaw).

Flutterbug's advice is solid. A higher end TX allows the plane a wider range of efficiencies and reduces the pilot workload. It can be done, but it's a lot of work.

There used to be a guy in my club who flew full-house planes with a fairly low end radio. I know he had no flap-> elevator mix. He did it by hand. Pull flaps and push down big time on the elevator. Believe it or not, he was one of the best spot landers in the club. I saw him do a loop starting at below 50' of altidude about 2 seconds before landing the plane right on the landing spot. All with his "lower end" radio.

IMHO, use a winch for your first launches. If something goes wrong, you can stop pedalling. Not so with a hi-start. If you're not used to a winch, get a friend to pedal the plane up the line.

With your existing radio, you will use rudder for launch, landing, and thermal turns. You will likely want mechanical aileron differential, if not supplied by your TX.

Jon

[bigjohn]

I even went as far as to look up the 6exa manual on-line. It definitely doesn't have the functions that make a full house glider work well. You can still use it with some limits while you save up for a better transmitter.

You would have to set up the ailerons as flaperons or use a y-harness. You might as well use a y-harness because it appears that you can't program aileron differential into the radio. You will need to set it up thru the servo linkages if using a y-harness.

Then you can either use the servo reversing gadget, or reverse the servo rotation by doing a little creative soldering. You would have to open the servo to do that, but then you wouldn't need the gadget.

You put the flaps on you throttle channel and use the p-mix to mix throttle channel to elevator to balance whatever pitching comes with the flap deployment.

This will allow you to use a little flap on launch, and a lot on landing. Otherwise, your camber will be fixed. You can still soar, just not with the advantages your plane can give.

While you are doing that save up for a 9C radio, or an 8U-super if you really can't afford the 9C. There are places that sell only the Tx, BTW. I use the 9C for multiple sailplanes and there is nothing more that I wish for. There are guys who swear that JR is much better for sailplane flying, but I don't know what could be better. I'm not knocking them, I just recognize that you are already set up for Futaba, and the new TX would be a significant upgrade.

I looked at the new Futaba 7C Tx, and it's not a good sailplane radio either, btw. Go for 8U or 9c.

[bigjohn]

oh, yeah - don't mix ailerons & rudder either, especially with only one mix available. It's just bad for soaring anyway. With a plane like a Laser, if you are thermalling correctly, you will be holding rudder into the turn and aileron against the turn. Kind of defeat the purpose for a ail-rud mix, doesn't it? Flat wing sailplanes have a habit of banking into the turn, because the outboard wing is moving so much faster it makes more lift. You need to counter that with aileron while keeping the turn tight with rudder. Be gentle on both though.

[redietz]

oh, yeah - don't mix ailerons & rudder either, especially with only one mix available. It's just bad for soaring anyway. With a plane like a Laser, if you are thermalling correctly, you will be holding rudder into the turn and aileron against the turn. Kind of defeat the purpose for a ail-rud mix, doesn't it? Flat wing sailplanes have a habit of banking into the turn, because the outboard wing is moving so much faster it makes more lift. You need to counter that with aileron while keeping the turn tight with rudder. Be gentle on both though.


Thanks, everyone for the advice.

My original intent was to mix flap/elevator, which my radio is capable of doing. I was just surprised when the flaps moved in opposite directions on a Y-harness, and wasn't sure how to deal with that. The servo reverser will undoubtedly do the trick. I've already ordered one.

And, for whoever asked, I'm comfortable with a winch, but I don't always have one available.

I asked about which stick/knob the flaps should go on because I've seen them set up both ways and wondered about the pros and cons of each. I also fly electric powered sailplanes, so I may just go with putting the flaps on the flap control. Plus that will let me keep the rudder stick in the middle (in the up/down direction) where I find it's a bit easier to get to, and I don't have to worry about moving it with the rudder. (Unless I'm flying a powered plane, of course.)

And yes, I do plan on getting a new radio in the near future.

Thanks again for all the replies. I'll let you know how it goes after I get the servo reverser.

Bob

[RSCherry]

Bob-

I was in the same position as you when I purchased my first full house sailplane and tried to put it on a Futaba 6XAS. I was able to get it to work, but it was a marginal set up at best. I eventually bought a 9c, which is much more capable.

I could dig out the 6XAS and look at the program if you're interested. Not sure of the capabilities of the 6EXA compared to the 6XAS. If I remember correctly, I had the channels as follows:

1) Aileron
2) Elevator
3) mixed to flaps
4) rudder
5) used for the flap mix
6) aileron

Camber/reflex was programmed into the ch 6 knob. I recall many nights of frustration getting this all to work on a basic 6 channel computer radio with just a few mixes. I also had elevator compensation mixed to the flaps.

Seperate aileron channels are a must on a sailplane, in my opinion, to avoid excessive adverse yaw. I usually use about 50-65% down travel -vs- up travel. Don't couple ailerons to rudder, you are better off learning to fly them independently. While some coupling is handy while entering a turn to help counter adverse yaw, it will actually work against you in a constant thermal turn where most planes will require opposite aileron to maintain bank angle. In this case, the rudder would be going the wrong way!

Regarding launches- use ailerons only to maintain the wings level. Use the rudder to maintain your heading straight up the line, correct for cross wind, etc. Use your elevator to keep from stalling. For launch preset- drop a few clicks of flap (or camber if you can program it), and remove it about 1/2 way up the launch. Launching with flaps only is safest, since it effectively adds washout to the wing and nearly eliminates the possibility of a tip stall going up the line.

Regards, Bob

[bigjohn]

Seperate aileron channels are a must on a sailplane, in my opinion, to avoid excessive adverse yaw. I usually use about 50-65% down travel -vs- up travel. Don't couple ailerons to rudder, you are better off learning to fly them independently. While some coupling is handy while entering a turn to help counter adverse yaw, it will actually work against you in a constant thermal turn where most planes will require opposite aileron to maintain bank angle. In this case, the rudder would be going the wrong way!

While you can plug the two ailerons into separate channels for flaperons on this radio, it appears from the manual that there is no option to set up differential in the programming. You would need to do it with the linkages - old school style :cool: So, it really doesn't matter if you use a Y or use the flaperon function. I think I mentioned this earlier.

Agreed on the rudder mixing. I find myself starting my thermal turns with rudder on some of my planes. The 2-meter needs aileron to start the turn, but my scale planes enter very smoothly on rudder only, then just use aileron to maintain bank.

[bigjohn]

Seperate aileron channels are a must on a sailplane, in my opinion, to avoid excessive adverse yaw. I usually use about 50-65% down travel -vs- up travel. Don't couple ailerons to rudder, you are better off learning to fly them independently. While some coupling is handy while entering a turn to help counter adverse yaw, it will actually work against you in a constant thermal turn where most planes will require opposite aileron to maintain bank angle. In this case, the rudder would be going the wrong way!

While you can plug the two ailerons into separate channels for flaperons on this radio, it appears from the manual that there is no option to set up differential in the programming. You would need to do it with the linkages - old school style :cool: So, it really doesn't matter if you use a Y or use the flaperon function. I think I mentioned this earlier.

Agreed on the rudder mixing. I find myself starting my thermal turns with rudder on some of my planes. The 2-meter needs aileron to start the turn, but my scale planes enter very smoothly on rudder only, then just use aileron to maintain bank.

[redietz]

Bob-

Seperate aileron channels are a must on a sailplane, in my opinion, to avoid excessive adverse yaw. I usually use about 50-65% down travel -vs- up travel. Don't couple ailerons to rudder, you are better off learning to fly them independently. While some coupling is handy while entering a turn to help counter adverse yaw, it will actually work against you in a constant thermal turn where most planes will require opposite aileron to maintain bank angle. In this case, the rudder would be going the wrong way!




Fortunately, the differential is already built into the linkage; it was the first thing I checked. I've got enough experience with ailerons to know that.

About 15 years ago, I had a Bobcat that I set up with rudder mechanically coupled to ailerons. There were definitely times when I wished I had an independent rudder.

Still, a new radio seems to be the way to go.

Bob

[redietz]

Bob-

Regarding launches- use ailerons only to maintain the wings level. Use the rudder to maintain your heading straight up the line, correct for cross wind, etc. Use your elevator to keep from stalling. For launch preset- drop a few clicks of flap (or camber if you can program it), and remove it about 1/2 way up the launch. Launching with flaps only is safest, since it effectively adds washout to the wing and nearly eliminates the possibility of a tip stall going up the line.

Regards, Bob


That's exactly the information I was looking for. Thanks.

Bob

[aeajr]

Still, a new radio seems to be the way to go.

Bob

The Futaba 9C is a honey if you got the money!

[redietz]

The Futaba 9C is a honey if you got the money!


You talked me into it. Especially since I just found one at a price I could afford.

:)

[aeajr]

Congratulations! I know you are going to be happy with it!

Now you can get a buddy cord to the other radio and teach your friends how to fly.

Ain't this a great hobby?

[bigjohn]

Man, you are going to love that thing - and the manual from Futaba is the first one they made that was actually usefull. Although, you will rarely need it. Maybe at first, until you get used to the programming system. I was already familiar with programming a radio, and I have only looked in the manual twice. Everything else was natural.

You'll want to:

Select the airplane type as a Glider 2 flap.

plug in elevator & rudder - reverse channels if needed, set up sub-trim (centers the surfaces) and then set up total surface travel under ATV. If you want, set up dual rates and exponential - both are in the dual-rates menu. You can even pick which switch changes the rates.

Then plug each aileron into it's own channel per the manual, set the same things as above, but also set up differential so the up aileron moves about 2x as the down aileron.

Then plug in each flap into its own channel. Center them with sub-trim. Set up the "start" program adjusting flaps and elevators to go down a small amount and elevator up a tiny bit. You will need to tune these amounts to get the best launches. It changes depending on if you use a winch or a weaker high start. It activates with the switch on the right, on top of the TX.( switch F? G?) You can't change which switch does this, whichever it is..

Then set up the butterfly program. This is activated by switch a, and you can't change that either. Although it's activated by switch a, it's controlled by throttle position. Turn it on, and pull the throttle all the way down. Then adjust the travel motions to get 90 deg flaps, 30 deg of aileron up on both sides, and a little elevator compensation. When you push the throttle up again, it should all go back to 0. Then hit switch a to turn off the mix and the throttle won't move the surfaces while you are programming other things or during normal flying. Again, this will need to be tuned as you fly it. You may need to ues a function called flap trim to get the proper motion out of your flaps.

I forget how the manual says to set up camber, but I know it has a speed program that goes on the same switch as the start program ( 3 positions, start, normal, and speed). You are supposed to put your reflex settings on that switch as well, per the manual. But I don't. I put camber and reflex on the left slider VR(D) which is on the side of the TX. I use a couple of programable mixes to do this, but it allows proportional control of the camber adjustments to the wing. That way, you don't get any sudden changes in trim. You can use just a little extra camber at first or in weak lift then roll it all in when you get into a stable circle around a good thermal. I just leave the programming for the speed settings on the switch at 0 and don't use it. The nice thing about having camber on a slider is that you can combine it with the launch mode and get more or less camber if you want it an launch. Sometimes on a high start with a headwind, I launch with just the start setting, then roll more camber into it once the first big jerk is dissipated. Helps kite that sucker up there.

The other thing I do that isn't standard, is I set up one of the timers to start when I switch from start mode to normal mode. This usually happens within a few seconds of when I come off the launch line, so it's a pretty accurate way to keep track of my flight time. You need to reset this between flights which you can do by either shutting the tx off or using a simple 2 button sequence to reset. I usually shut the TX off while I'm chasing the chute, so it's really simple.

Good luck and ping us here or send me a PM if you need any help with setup.

[redietz]

Those are some cool features. Although I own two computer radios already, I've never had to use them for anything other than V-tail or elevon mixing (that any remembering setups for different models.

If only the frequency I requested weren't on backorder ...

[aeajr]

Well, once you get it you can sell off one of your current radios. With unlimited model memories via expansion cards, you can put everything on one, keep a second for a back-up and buddy box and sell the third, or give it away to a friend that you are tying to entice into the hobby.

[SoCalGliderFlyr]

Save your money as Futaba is supposed to have a dial a frequency modual out either now or soon. Coupled with the 9Z or the off brand variable frequency receiver and you have all of the frequencies at your dispposal. I've been using the Hitec mdodual in my 8UAF for at least six or seven years now with the 9Z receiver with absolutly no radio related problems.

[redietz]

Well, once you get it you can sell off one of your current radios. With unlimited model memories via expansion cards, you can put everything on one, keep a second for a back-up and buddy box and sell the third, or give it away to a friend that you are tying to entice into the hobby.

That's kinda my plan. What I don't want to do is buy new crystals for all my receiver, so I'm waiting.

Oh, well.

[redietz]

I finally took the Laser up on the high start today. Wow!

I started by going to the club site about an hour away with the intention of trying it there. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten to put the nose cone back on after charging the battery. It was especially unfortunate because I got a 25 minute flight from a 30 second motor run on Ascent - I'm sure I could have thermaled the Laser.

Got home, picked up the nose cone, and went to the local soccer field for a few hand tosses. (I got the servo reverser, so I was able to put both flaps on the same channel, and then mix some elevator into that. Can't wait for the new radio.)

I finally decided that there was no time like the present, so I set up the high start. I was somewhat concerned about getting my left hand back to rudder after I let go of the plane, but needn't have been. It went up beautifully with just rudder correction. No flap for the launch - I'll wait for the new radio to try that.

The plane never felt out of control, although it sure is sensitive. I think I'm going to experiment with exponential rates.

It took some conscious thought to use the rudder instead of yank (aileron) and crank (elevator) like I'm used to, but I sure works when I force myself to do it.

The air was pretty flat by this point in the day, so all I was really able to do was fly circle around the field. Still, I know it's going to go when I find some lift.

After a few flights, I decided to see how the flaps worked. I had (as suggested here) put 10% up elevator into the flaps, and expected to have to add more. To my great surprise the plane pitched UP rather steeply when I hit full down on the flaps. Tried again next flight with 5%. Pitched up again. I'm now at 0% and it's still pitching up, but a manageable amount. I may try 5% down, but I'm not sure yet that I need to. So much for my worrying about really needing to mix elevator into the flaps.

The plane has good speed range; I can slow it down pretty far. I'm glad for that. So far, I'm lovin' it.

Oh, thanks again for everyone's input.

Bob

[nuevo]

Great progress so far. I'm impressed. A few observations.

The plane never felt out of control, although it sure is sensitive. I think I'm going to experiment with exponential rates.


Good observation.


After a few flights, I decided to see how the flaps worked. I had (as suggested here) put 10% up elevator into the flaps, and expected to have to add more.
I must have missed that one, or I would have commented. You need DOWN elevator with flaps, and a lot of it.

If you've never flown a TD plane with flaps, a few suggestions. If you are flying at your normal cruising speed and pull the flap stick, the plane should not change in pitch. Maybe a very little down, or very neutral. When you are on landing approach, you want the nose of the plane pointed DOWN. 5-10 degrees down is fine. The reason you want it pointed down is the plane has so much drag, you need to keep it moving and not stall.

The time & place to test your flap mixing is when you have plenty of altitude, not near the ground.

Jon

[aeajr]

When you launch, you want to turn off the flap/elevator coupling. This would be your launch setting. Flap/elevator coupling is for landing.

[SoCalGliderFlyr]

Down elevator when lowering the flaps. Usually quite a bit then as the flaps come down to 45 to 50 degrees you start taking out down elevator. Flaps on my old Mako will go 90 degrees.

Helps to have a really good programmable radio.

[redietz]

I mixed some down elevator into the flaps, and took it back out with the highstart. It should have (and didn't) realize that if I'm mixing elevator into the flaps, and it's down when the flaps come down, then it must be up when the flaps are up. Duh!. High started right into a stall and porpoised the whole way down. I land safely, but was momentarily puzzled, as it had been flying pretty much hands off the elevator on Sunday. I was surprise with how much down trim I ended up needing to use. Dropping the flaps now only pitches the nose up a tiny bit. I think I'm done messing with it for the moment.

I put 25% exponential rates into the ailerons; that smoothed things out quite a bit.

I also realized that my "muscle memory" wants to push the rudder the wrong way; when I'm pulling my right thumb to bank right, I want to pull with my left thumb. Again, it's a question of consciously learning to do with my left thumb what I can do unconsciously with my right.

I may also put the flaps back on the throttle channel. It's way too easy to knock the flap lever when I'm picking up the plane.

Still, things are progressing. I hope to winch launch it this weekend.

Bob