Help on Turning Pylon Racers;Lanier Predator II

[Jasonb3391]

Hey guys - Well I couldn't quite complete my first procedure turn after takeoff on the maiden flight of my very first Pylon Racer. Thats what you get when you don't get help on your first flight with an airframe style thats ya never flew.

My question is: What would the 'minimum' throttle setting be for turning one of this speedsters? I wonder if I stalled her. I had a Lanier Predator II with a Thunder Tigre 40 Pro BB and Mac tuned pipe. From what I've read pylon racers fly 'just like other planes' but with that small 3/16" control surface deflection now I'm wondering...

Hopefully somebody can help educate me while I dig dirt out of the end of what used to be a nice tuned pipe!

Also - would a 4 oz take be sufficient for friendly racing at the club? I had a tetra bubbleless 6 oz, but it was difficult to shoe-horn into the fuse; and how the opportunity has presented itself to try a different volume!

Thanks for the feedback cuz I'm not giving up!

[dwbebens]

Jasonb3391;

I'd need to know more about your plane and the flight in order to offer some meaningful advice. Where was the CG? How fast were you flying at the time of the crash? How did the crash occur? Did you check for proper flying surface incidences? How windy and turbulent were the conditions. Etc.

When properly set up, this type of plane should fly like it's on rails. They fly very badly if the CG is way off. Actually, near the rearward portion of the CG range, there seems to be a "threshold" where suddenly the plane becomes very touchy and difficult to fly. A good safe CG range would be about 2-3/4" to 3" back of the LE of the wing.

This kind of plane doesn't like to fly too slowly. If you were puttering around your first turn after take-off at reduced throttle and at low speed, then it is very probable that you stalled and spun in. Landings are best when you "grease" it in at well above stall speed. Take-offs are best when you let the plane build excess speed and it then flies off the ground with only a little up elevator.

Check your wing, tail, and engine incidences. They all should be zero. Check that the wing is straight.

Another factor that you should consider is your flying ability. Are you used to flying a plane going 120 mph and mentally staying ahead of the airplane? If not, then thottling back will help. BUT, don't thottle back too much - - the plane needs a minimum speed to fly, even more to fly through a turn. This type of plane is not a floater.

A 4 oz tank would be OK if you could guarantee that your pick-up could get ALL the fuel without any kind of starvation, bubble, or leaning problems. I would recommend a 6 oz bladder type tank. Then you will always have a good clean engine run.

Doug Bebensee

[Jasonb3391]

Thanks for the feedback. The CG and throws were set up to manufacturer's specs, but I've since learned that the control surface deflection was likely short. Other folks at my club had 1/2" or "max" of aileron throw and 1/4" elevator (vtail); all my throws were only 3/16" up and 3/16" down according to the owners manual.

I'll seek help from friends at the field before flying it again after repairs are complete. I may have stalled; the airspeed may have been slow as you suggested.

Thanks again for your response.

Jason