Model Airplane Thrust Angle
What To Do When Your RC Airplane Stalls
Flying a radio controlled model airplane is one of the most rewarding and exciting things to do on a weekend afternoon. There is something wonderful about piloting a small model that seems to defy gravity and sail through the sky like a majestic eagle with a 6 foot wingspan. The problem is, the airplane does not really defy gravity and that is glaringly evident when the airplane stalls.
A stall happens when the angle of attack increases too much causing the lift of the aircraft to decrease. This is why an airplane cannot continually climb into the sky at a steep angle of attack without increasing its thrust. Stalling is a natural part of flying model aircraft and although it can be ‘scary’ it doesn’t have to be if the trained pilot can recognize a stall and knows how to recover.
Depending on the type of aircraft there are different characteristics that come into play once the plane stalls. A high-winged aircraft such as a Super Cub has very gentle stall characteristics. When the airplane begins to stall the nose will dip slightly to gather speed but remain steady in the air because of the high wing design. This is why the Super Cub is a good airplane for the beginner. A World War II warbird such as the P47 Thunderbolt may have less forgiving characteristics when it stalls when compared to a beginner airplane such as the Super Cub. The balance of the plane can dangerously affect how the plane stalls. In a war bird it is typical to see what is called a ‘tip stall’ where the airplane will roll dramatically to one side as the plane stalls. This is sudden and surprising if the pilot is not ready for it. The low wing design of a warbird requires more speed than a high winged aircraft and is less floaty because of this.
If your aircraft stalls it is important to not panic. That’s easy to do when you’re simply reading words in an article, but keeping your cool is imperative if you are going to try and save your plane. A smart pilot will test the stall speed and characteristics of his or her plane way up high in the sky before finding out the hard way. The key word to remember when dealing with a stall is: SPEED! The plane is most likely stalling because there is not enough speed to keep it in the air at the current angle of attack. If the nose drops, it is because the airplane is trying to gather enough speed to remain in the air. Help the airplane along and throttle up if you have more throttle available. When the nose of the airplane drops let it drop and don’t pull back which may be a natural reaction for some. Pulling back on the elevator will make the stall worse and cause the model airplane to fall out of the sky. Increase throttle, let the airplane level out and then slowly feed in some up elevator.
Many stalls happen during the landing phase of flying which is the most dangerous time since the airplane is close to the ground and the ground is very unforgiving for airplanes that happen to smash into it. When landing it is important to keep a slow steady speed that will keep the airplane flying but not stalling.
Stalling an airplane happens to even the best RC Pilot, the important thing to remember is to try and increase the speed of the airplane as you decrease the angle of attack of the wings. This will allow the airplane to regain speed and maintain level flight.
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About the Author
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Hobbico FlyZone Select Piper Super Cub RTF Airplane w/2.4GHz Radio $219.99 With its distinctive high-wing design and yellow trim scheme, the Piper Cub is one of the most recognizable airplanes in the world. Flyzone’s Select Scale Ready-To-Fly Super Cub model boasts impressive quality, performance and scale detail. It’s equipped with the finest technology R/C has to offer. Flyzone offers both an RTF and Receiver-Ready (Rx-R) version to meet any modeler’s needs, from a beg… |
