Monday 14 April 2014

The Taming of the Torque

...finally getting Radjet launches under control

This morning was exquisite, starting out misty across the fields as I flew the Phoenix in lazy loops and low passes, before clearing almost imperceptibly so that, by the time I headed back with two depleted batteries, the morning was clear and crisp as you could possibly imagine.



Today I scored a major victory of the small-step variety - I launched the Radjet without crashing. However it wasn't just the fact that it launched it successfully, but more how I launched it that was significant: it was the first successful launch with opposite aileron.

And it was very successful, launching on about one third power with about the same degree of opposite lock, the Radjet buzzed off happily, in an almost perfectly straight line. I was that flabbergasted that I left it for a bit long, then flipped onto full power causing it to jink left.


These, however, were minor issues and, managing to quickly correct the attitude, the Radjet soared into the crisp morning air, relishing the novelty of an outing without incurring structural damage.

The little buzzy jet flew beautifully, the latest restoration being sufficiently rejuvenating that I could actually reduce the amount of elevator trim with which I usually fly. However, having suffered through multiple impacts, the Radjet is now not without vices; pulling a little too much G will cause a high-speed stall, and I suspect more than that may result in an irrecoverable spin...

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