1/2 rolls full rolls and two rolls.

[Keith Black]

Eric, thanks for taking the time to write this long description. I'll be working on this my next trip to the field. 

In the past when I've tried to do two rolls with rudder and elevator the challenge I found was keeping the heading straight through both rolls. I imagine this is an issue of not feeding in the rudder inputs at exactly at the correct time. I'm pretty close, but off just enough to make the heading deviate.

Keith Black
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Henderson,Eric 
  To: discussion at nsrca.org 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2003 8:37 PM
  Subject: 1/2 rolls full rolls and two rolls.


   There was a note a few days ago about rolling that I think still needs some attention.There was a time when I cranked the ENYA 120R up to full bore and tore into these maneuvers and got them over with as quickly as possible. Now I like to roll as slowly as suits the maneuver and almost never at full bore. (WOT) What changed the most was the plane I flew.  The older designs required more rudder correction as they went from wing lift to fuselage lift. Often the fuselages were too small and almost always the center or lift of the fuselage was not even close to the CG.

  Today's planes have this worked out. The new designs are not nearly as significant in how wide or bulky they are as to how well balanced they are. I do not want to trash anyone's personal pet plane here but some of them literally "roar" in knife edge due to the poor "balance of wing to fuse side-area and CG relative to C/L.

  You can still do a very respectable axial roll with most planes out there. Where I see folks struggle is the roll rate and the reaction to what the plane is doing. If a plane is flying level and dips its nose you immediately correct with elevator. If the same plane was in knife edge most of us would roll out before jamming in some rudder.

  There is a 1/2 roll exercise that will help anyone trying to do good rolls.  Try doing a half roll only, time and time again. Apply left aileron at such a rate that the plane is not twinkle rolling. at the same time apply right rudder until the plane is inverted. (A good discipline is to roll back and not through the next 1/2 roll- at least not yet! - With my system you only get to do the full roll if you can hit dead level in the 1/2 roll on a regular basis.) What you will actually also do is a reflex "catch" of the plane with a little down as it hits inverted. Stop rolling right there and see what happened. If the plane climbed you put in too much rudder or vice versa. If the plane lost heading you were too soon or left it in too long.

  You have to work at this 1/2 roll until you can transition to inverted with confidence,

  Then you practice doing the same thing from and inverted entry. Left aileron is this case is followed by left rudder. A simple rule is to say if inverted rudder roll the same way. Keep doing these half rolls until you can come out level an upright. Don't be tempted to string the two together until you can do both 1/2 rolls equally as well. The first ten times you pause in the center, then gradually it becomes one roll. It might seem tedious but it is very like learning aileron coming towards you. At first you have a "system" and thing it becomes instinctive.

  All of the above is aimed at horizontal 1/2 roll and single roll maneuvers.

  Now to tackle the two consecutive rolls. I use used to do them with little bumps of elevator and then with little bumps of rudder only. What change was the planes. I would suggest that most of what I have seen is done at too high a speed. Too much speed gives fast changes and less time to think/react. the 2 rolls can be done at 1/2 throttle going downwind.  A plane like the Quest, (Forgive the repeated mentions but is really does work well in roils), only needs a touch of elevator as it goes through inverted, none when upright and another touch through the second inverted. My Hydeout, Hydeaway, Focus and Temptation, needed a touch of rudder as they came to both of the upright positions.

  If your plane needs very little input you can roll it a bit slower and give yourself more time to hit the "bumps of control input". If it needs a lot of "altitude-maintenance-help" then you should elect to roll it a bit quicker. If you are rolling it so fast that you don't need any input I will wager that you are really rolling to fast.

  So will any of this help. Well it's a bit like learning to write, You learn your letters, then words and then sentences. Take solace in how long that took, and then apply that experience to give you the patience to work on the 1/2 roll drill. Once you get a good roll that you commanded you come back for more and more...

  Regards,

  Eric.

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