Flying Lessons: Funnels/Tornadoes

One of the more popular 3D maneuvers today, and one that really isn’t too hard is the funnel.

As with all maneuvers, the important thing is to break it down into simple parts and concentrate on those. This will become more and more important as we progress into the more complex maneuvers.

BASICS:
A funnel is really just a derivative of backwards inverted flight. Therefore, you’d want to be comfortable flying inverted backwards. If you’re not comfortable with that, put the funnel practice on hold and work on backwards inverted.

It’s important you do this because it will make the chances of you successfully doing a funnel much higher and you’ll be less of a stick banger!

Once you’re comfortable with backwards inverted, it’s time to move on to the funnel itself.

There’s many ways to enter a funnel. I’m going to discuss perhaps the easiest and safest way, entering via a backwards inverted circuit.

BACKWARDS INVERTED CIRCUIT:
We’re going to discuss doing a clockwise funnel. We’ll enter the maneuver from a slow backwards inverted circle and gradually move the rudder so the tail drops towards the center of the circle.

Set yourself up for the maneuver by doing some slow clockwise backwards inverted circles at a safe height (by now you’ll know what a safe height is!).

Gradually give some left rudder to move the tail towards the center of the circle you’re flying until the helicopter is fully tail in to the center of the circle. Keep the attitude of the helicopter fairly flat so that it doesn’t fall.

By now, the heli should be doing an inverted tail in circle going sideways. In order to do a proper funnel, we have to lift the nose towards the center of the circle so the heli is standing on it’s tail more.

To do that we’ll use some forward elevator, however in doing so, we’ll need to use some more negative pitch to keep the helicopter from falling. You’ll also have to reduce the amount of rudder you’re inputting in order to keep the boom straight up and down (ie directly inline with the nose). If you don’t get the rudder correct, the tail will lag behind the nose (too much rudder), or lead in front (not enough). All the while you’re continuing to hold in left aileron to keep the motion of the helicopter going clockwise.

CONTROLLING THE MANUEVER
Aileron control dictates how big the maneuver will be (ie the size of the circle), less aileron will open the circle up and make it bigger. Conversely, more aileron will close the circle up and make it tighter.

The amount of pitch you use will determine how fast the helicopter travels around the circle, more pitch will increase the speed. As well as speed, in conjunction with elevator, pitch will control the altitude of the maneuver. For instance, if you add a little back elevator while increasing pitch, the helicopter will increase in height, conversely, if you add a little forward elevator but don’t increase the pitch, the helicopter will fall. As you make changes to the elevator, you will need to make chances to the amount of rudder to ensure the boom remains straight up and down (in line with the nose).

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

• Loading the helicopter up too much.
  When first learning, it’s common to use a lot of negative pitch thinking that this will stop the helicopter falling. Lots of negative combined with too much aileron and rudder will load up the helicopter and make it all messy.
  In reality, a funnel doesn’t use much negative pitch at all. Ofcourse the more vertical you have the helicopter the more pitch you need to maintain the height. Start off with the helicopter not too vertical while you experiment.
• Missed Rudder Timing.
  If the tail of the helicopter is not straight up and down (ie lagging or leading the nose), the helicopter won’t rotate around the circle of the funnel and instead will ‘roll up and down’.

POINTS TO PERFECT:

• Controlling the diameter of the maneuver.
  Manipulate the aileron and rudder to make the circle larger and smaller during the maneuver.
• Altitude Control.
  Work on making the helicopter climb or descend during the maneuver using a combination of elevator and pitch.