Ok, here we go!

So for the past few planes I've done as TV-VPP, I've been sourcing kits from a variety of places and modifying them to suit. I think this has been a good way to go, as it saved me the time and hassle of painting, as well as all the effort involved in designing and cutting out the parts. Future planes are going to be designed and built from scratch now that I'm seeing reproducable positive results with the TV-VPP setup; previous planes were considered essentially as test beds, and since some didn't last that long, It was probably a wise move. When starting out, I would suggest doing likewise - find yourself a indoor kit with a flying weight of 140-150g or less, and modify it!

First let me discuss the CF hardware I used. The stuff that typically comes with the kit is good for normal flying, but once you start taking the plane backwards and/or modifying the ailerons to be huge, ALL BETS ARE OFF. Taped hinges WILL NOT survive first contact with backwards air, they have a depressing tendancy to peel right off! Also, the forces and stresses that the plane experiences doing these type of maneuvers are often beyond what the planes are designed for, so we have to toughen them up. But, we have to do it smart - that means wherever possible, our additions and modifications need to be weight neutral - that is to say, they dont affect the ultimate flying weight of our plane. For all the hardware we throw away, the new stuff should be the same weight or lighter. Now...Continue Reading

Let me start this off by introducing myself, My name is Scott Brownewell, I'm a resident of NW Indiana and have been flying RC in earnest for about 10 years now. I'm a very infrequent poster on here, but as I've seen some interest in the subject and a general dearth of concise information regarding it, I figured I'd write up some blog posts and share what I've accumulated. When I first saw people flying indoor planes, I was seriously interested. Later, when I first saw people flying very refined versions of those planes backwards and hovering on the nose, I knew that this was something I absolutely had to do.

Fast forward about 5 years of intermittent efforts and about as many failed or half-successful attempts, and I've finally managed to figure it out (mostly) and put together a system that WORKS. Here are some shots of my current plane:





...Continue Reading