Teesside Model Flying Club

Basic Certificate of Competence. 

Holder can fly solo without supervision

Taken by approved BMFA Club Examiner.

Enables holder to fly at a public display

Necessary for many forms of competition flying (e.g. GBR/CAA events)

Taken by 2 Examiners (lead must be FW) or a FW Chief Examiner.

Possible to take the B Certificate without first holding an A but more usual to progress from one to the other

Points in Common to both Certificates

Seek the help of an approved Club Instructor

Practice until the manoeuvres become second nature

If you have one, use a simulator to gain extra practice

Don’t become ‘handed’.  Ensure you are equally comfortable landing or flying circuits left to right or vice versa.

Don’t wait until the weather is flat calm before flying.  Learn to handle the wind and to correct for drift.

Learn your Club Rules and the Safety Section of the BMFA Handbook inside out.

Doesn’t have to be brand new or expensive 

No gyros or autopilots allowed

Must be tidy, well prepared and airworthy (i.e. clevises secured, control surface hinges in good condition, engine securely mounted, propeller tightly fastened with no bad nicks or deep scratches, wheels secure, wing properly attached, no loose covering etc)

Specialist aerobatic model not essential for the B Certificate – just needs to be capable of flying the specified manoeuvres.

Baseline Height of 100 to 150 feet   - adjust if necessary using throttle

All manoeuvres to be carried out in front of pilot

Don’t have to fly manoeuvres one immediately after the others as in a schedule, but, candidate must be familiar with the sequence.  (A lack of familiarity is a clear indicator of insufficient practice).

Good throttle control essential

A test flown on full throttle throughout is likely to result in failure

Don’t rush.  Give yourself space and time between manoeuvres. 

Trim your model just before the test if possible. 

If your model is out of trim during the test, take time out to re-trim it during the test rather than fighting against an out of trim condition

Examiner will make some allowance.

Deep breathing can sometimes help!

Second attempt allowed at the odd manoeuvre. 

Not allowed to keep repeating each manoeuvre until it is flown to an acceptable standard

Second attempt allowed on same day – depending on circumstances

In the event of an engine failure the whole test must be repeated after a proving flight

If Flight Test failed, the Examiner will not proceed to the Questions part of the test.

Before taking the test, make sure that the Examiner has described what is meant by the “designated landing area”

 A Test – Some comments on the individual Manoeuvres

Pre Flight Checks as per BMFA Codes. 

Check model carefully for airworthiness

Carry out the Club Frequency Control procedure to the letter

Make sure model is safely restrained before attempting to start the engine

Follow a safe arming sequence for electric models

Make any adjustments to the engine from behind the model

Avoid standing with your head over the top of an I/C engine in case the plug blows out

Keep all personnel (including the Examiner!) well away from the arc of the propeller

Ensure model is carried a safe distance out from the pits (30 metres) before take off

Line up and take off into wind

Use rudder to ensure the model tracks straight on the ground

Apply up elevator gently and climb out gradually to circuit height

Circuit can be either rectangular or race track pattern

 Required shape is 2 circles touching in the middle

Concentrate on good height control

Vary angle of bank depending on the wind

Rectangular circuit, approach with landing with appropriate use of throttle. 

Maintain height with elevator during turns

May need to make each turn slightly more than or less than 90 degrees depending on the wind direction

Don’t forget to call out ‘landing’

On final approach, use throttle to control height and elevator to control speed

Try to kill engine before arranging for model to be collected. 

Do not carry transmitter onto the flying square.  If engine still running, send a colleague (or the Examiner!) to collect the model

Carry out pre-flight checks before taking off again

Complete L or RH Circuit and overfly TO Area

As before

Rectangular circuit at constant height in opposite direction

As before but in opposite direction

Simulated deadstick landing

Begin at approximately 200 feet

Once engine goes to idle it must stay there until the landing is complete

Call “simulated deadstick landing”

To avoid landing short, use base leg rather than down wind leg to bleed off excess height

As before

Post flight checks

As detailed in BMFA Handbook

Rx off, Tx off, Peg back!

 Figure of 8 at constant height

As per A Test but higher degree of accuracy expected

1 Inside Loop into wind

Vary the throttle setting as necessary throughout the manoeuvre (Avoid yanking back the elevator on full throttle - almost certain to result in failure!)

Keep wings absolutely level at the top and bottom of the manoeuvre

Correct any skewing using a) rudder when model is horizontal – remembering that rudder will work in reverse when model is inverted and b) aileron when model is pointing vertically up or vertically down

Leave on some throttle over the top of the loop to maintain shape and prevent the loop ‘collapsing’

1 Outside Loop downwind

Similar to Inside Loop but start from a safe height and push down

Be ready to apply rudder to correct yaw as throttle is increased on final 90 degrees of the manoeuvre

Split S optional for model that is genuinely incapable of performing an Outside Loop

Examiner will be on the look out for the usual dodges so don’t bother trying them! (Examples - twinkle rolls, lifting the nose before the first roll, pausing between the 2 rolls

Aim for each roll lasting between 2 and 3 seconds

Keep model horizontal by using a small amount of elevator and top rudder to adjust height when model is horizontal and in knife edge respectively.  (It may be possible to get away without using rudder, but if you can learn to use it so much the better)

2 Consecutive rolls downwind

As above but in opposite direction

Stall turn – Left or Right

Wings absolutely level before pulling vertically into wind

Throttle back as height reaches about 150 feet, but leave a little bit of throttle on to provide prop wash over the rudder

Just as the model is about to become stationary, smoothly apply full rudder (Note that applying rudder prematurely will result in a wingover which is not acceptable)

Keep some rudder on after the turn and gradually reduce it to neutral as the model descends

3 Turn spin after gaining height

Perform into wind

Gradually throttle back and maintain height by gradually applying up elevator and raising the nose of the model

When the model stalls, apply rudder plus a little bit of aileron in the direction of the dropping wing

At about 2 ½ turns into the spin, release rudder and elevator but keep on the little bit of aileron

Use aileron to control the exit point of the spin which must be within 15 degrees (and ideally 10 degrees) of the exit heading

Note that a flick entry into the spin (i.e. applying rudder before the model is fully stalled) is not acceptable

Rectangular Landing Approach and Overshoot below 10 feet.

Note that this is a ‘baulked landing’ and not a low pass

Good control of height essential

From BMFA Handbook and Local Club Rules

Minimum of 5 for A and 8 for B

Emphasis on Safety

No prescribed list.  Each Examiner may ask different questions.

Typical subjects on which questions might be asked are:

The Air Navigation Order – Articles 63, 64 and 98

CAP658 – Small Model Aircraft – A Guide to Safe Flying (Relevant parts are summarised in the BMFA Handbook)

1990 DoE Noise Code (Relevant parts are summarised in the BMFA Handbook)

Frequency Control

Tethering and engine adjustment

The ‘SMART ‘ checklist

Battery charging and black wire corrosion

And for the B test:

·         What’s special about models weighing over 7kg and 20 kg

·         Special rules pertaining to public display flying – crowd line distances, wind speed limits, visibility limits, turning procedures etc

BMFA Members Handbook Latest Edition – with special emphasis on those sections relating to safety

TMFC Club Rules – Latest Edition

Trimming can make any model much easier to fly.  The subject is covered in depth in a 5 page article “Get in Trim” published in the August 2008 Edition of RCM&E Magazine.  Back copies are available from: MyHobbyStore Customer Services

 – E Mail
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,  Tel: 08456 848 8822

The main steps involved in trimming are:

1.    Setting Throws and Exponential

2.    Bench Setting of initial incidences and thrust lines

3.    Fine tuning the CG

4.    Adjusting Power On Trim – Fine Tuning of wing incidence/engine down thrust

5.    Adjusting Power Off Trim – Fine Tuning of tail plane incidence

6.    Setting engine side thrust

7.    Fine tuning lateral balance

8.    Setting aileron differential

9.    Adjusting knife edge trim including the use of linear electronic mixes

10.  Beneficial use of non-linear (point) mixes

11.  Other tricks of the trade

Unfortunately there was not enough time to cover these points during the talk on 20^th January.  Assuming sufficient demand, it was agreed that a further talk would be arranged. Members who would find this helpful should register their interest with a Member of the Club Committee.