Styles of Flying

Just for Fun: 

Flying RC airplanes is all about enjoying the experience relaxed and casually, focusing on having fun and improving skills rather than competing or perfoming complex maneuvers. This inviting approach makes the hobby accessible to newcomers and experienced pilots, fostering a friendly atmosphere. Some pilots enjoy flying around a pattern and practicing touch-and-goes, while others may mix in ocassional loop or roll for enjoyment. This style allows everyone to hone their flying skills and experiment with different aircraft types. Wether flying simple, easy-to-handle models or delving into more advanced ones, fun flying is all about enjoying the flight!

Pattern Flying: 

If it’s from Large Scale Planes to Old Timer planes there’s a pattern style of flying that many members of the club partake in or practice to become a more proficient pilot. The old timer planes kitted, designed, or flown before 1975 can be flown in SPA (Senior Pattern Association). Primarily this style of flying entails one maneuver per pass (upwind and downwind) from a roll to a series of rolls performed per pass. For the Large Scale Planes many of the pilots fly routines like the real air show planes following the Aresti system. They perform a series of maneuvers in the upwind, down wind, and show center. Either style of pattern flying can be flown with an airplane as long as you’re having fun. For info on SPA and their patterns, please click here to jump to their site and for more International Miniature Aerobatic Club and their patterns click here.

Scale Flying: 

The primary goal of this style of flying is to fly your planes as if you were flying in it. The primary goals are to have the plane take off, land, and perform like the real plane. Also, most of our scale pilots detail out the planes and have modeled them after actual planes. 

 3D Flying: 

This style of flying is up close and personal. Whether it be flying your plane on the verge of a stall to flying like a helicopter (hover) to anything and everything there, and in between. Often 3D flying is mixed in with Pattern flying to show a graceful routine, which is always amplified with “Smoke On”. 

Helicopter: 

Flying RC helicopters is an exciting and challenging hobby that requires skill, precision, and patience. To operate an RC helicopter, the pilot controls various aspects of the flight, such as throttle, cyclic, and collective pitch.

One of the most thrilling aspects of flying RC helicopters is mastering 3D maneuvers. These advanced tricks involve manipulating the helicopter in ways that go beyond standard flying, often making the aircraft defy gravity. Some popular 3D maneuvers include:

1. Flips – A complete rotation of the helicopter on its axis, either forward, backward, or sideways.

2. Rolls – Spinning the helicopter on its longitudinal axis while maintaining forward motion.

3. Tik-Toks – A vertical, up-and-down bobbing motion, resembling a pendulum.

4. Piroflips – A combination of a flip and a pirouette, where the helicopter spins while flipping simultaneously.

5. Harriers – Flying at a high angle of attack while maintaining forward motion and a steep descent.

Indoor: 

From the living room to the gym, we fly pattern to 3D while trying to avoid the “walls, ceiling, and floor”. If it can be done outside, it surely can be done inside on the micro scale. 

 Powered Soaring: 

How long can you fly. Is it ten minutes, 20, or even hours? Some of our pilots have been and are flying electric sailplane and trying to catch that always elusive lift. By thermal the goal is to see how long can you keep your plane flying. On special occasions the power planes try to match the skills of this and fly in our club event called the Climb and Glide (link) which all based on the same premise of soaring. 

Night Flying: 

Just add lights need I say more?