Post by sham on Jul 11, 2014 10:37:33 GMT 1
Sent to me by a fellow flyer when I first bought my plane...
Throttle: Used to change the power output of the engine or motor. Has enormous effect on climb rates and also on ability to complete manoeuvres. Too much throttle may affect roll and yaw due to the effects of torque twist as the engine accelerates, or cause unexpected climbing while too little will mean the plane cannot maintain speed and will aerodynamically stall in tight turns or when pitching up. Beginners should fly high enough to allow time to recover from any possible stall - particularly if flying slowly.
Ailerons: Used to control roll angle of the plane. Due to the angle of lift changing, rolling the plane will change its direction and altitude unless countered with other controls. Please note that returning the stick to centre after the turn or roll will not normally level the plane - you will have to use opposite aileron input to do this. Always perform turns and changes of roll angle high enough to allow for any loss of altitude.
Elevator: Used to control pitch angle of the plane which in general terms controls altitude when used at correct speeds. Most useful, however, when used to counter or accentuate effects of the use of other controls - for example, a little up elevator will slow the planes descent when throttle is reduced and will also help the plane turn tighter when using steep bank angles while down elevator will stop the plane climbing when throttle is increased. Incorrect pitch angle or sudden elevator input could cause the plane to enter a dive, or a steep climb causing loss of speed which would result in a stall. Practice at height.
Rudder: Used to control yaw angle of the plane - steering. Due to the angle of the main wing changing as the plane starts to yaw (turn) and the difference between the speed of the left and right wing, the plane will tend to roll when rudder is used and also lose height due to the roll. This may need to be countered with other controls - you may want to allow the roll and counter loss of altitude with elevator or you may wish to cancel out the roll with ailerons. Rudder is also often used to counter unwanted effects of other controls or crosswinds.
Flaps: Used to increase the lift and drag produced by the wing. Incredibly useful for slow speed flying and for maintaining control at even lower speeds when landing/taking off. Flaps should only be used at slow airspeed. When deploying flaps, particularly when travelling too quickly, the plane will want to climb and this effect will need to be countered with elevator and/or throttle changes to slow the plane to correct speed for flap usage.
Landing gear: Used only occasionally, mostly with the kind of hope reserved when expecting to survive being hit by a large truck travelling at speed.
Throttle: Used to change the power output of the engine or motor. Has enormous effect on climb rates and also on ability to complete manoeuvres. Too much throttle may affect roll and yaw due to the effects of torque twist as the engine accelerates, or cause unexpected climbing while too little will mean the plane cannot maintain speed and will aerodynamically stall in tight turns or when pitching up. Beginners should fly high enough to allow time to recover from any possible stall - particularly if flying slowly.
Ailerons: Used to control roll angle of the plane. Due to the angle of lift changing, rolling the plane will change its direction and altitude unless countered with other controls. Please note that returning the stick to centre after the turn or roll will not normally level the plane - you will have to use opposite aileron input to do this. Always perform turns and changes of roll angle high enough to allow for any loss of altitude.
Elevator: Used to control pitch angle of the plane which in general terms controls altitude when used at correct speeds. Most useful, however, when used to counter or accentuate effects of the use of other controls - for example, a little up elevator will slow the planes descent when throttle is reduced and will also help the plane turn tighter when using steep bank angles while down elevator will stop the plane climbing when throttle is increased. Incorrect pitch angle or sudden elevator input could cause the plane to enter a dive, or a steep climb causing loss of speed which would result in a stall. Practice at height.
Rudder: Used to control yaw angle of the plane - steering. Due to the angle of the main wing changing as the plane starts to yaw (turn) and the difference between the speed of the left and right wing, the plane will tend to roll when rudder is used and also lose height due to the roll. This may need to be countered with other controls - you may want to allow the roll and counter loss of altitude with elevator or you may wish to cancel out the roll with ailerons. Rudder is also often used to counter unwanted effects of other controls or crosswinds.
Flaps: Used to increase the lift and drag produced by the wing. Incredibly useful for slow speed flying and for maintaining control at even lower speeds when landing/taking off. Flaps should only be used at slow airspeed. When deploying flaps, particularly when travelling too quickly, the plane will want to climb and this effect will need to be countered with elevator and/or throttle changes to slow the plane to correct speed for flap usage.
Landing gear: Used only occasionally, mostly with the kind of hope reserved when expecting to survive being hit by a large truck travelling at speed.
