littlerotors.com Newsletter
29th June 2002

Not a hell of a lot has been happening lately thanks to the weather, I'm about sick of these winter conditions that we're being subjected to I can tell you. We're probably averaging about two flying weekends a month and of those, some of the weekends can be pretty marginal at that. Roll on summer I say, I want to break out with my night blades again (I'm not hard enough to be standing in the middle of a paddock in the frost at midnight during winter).

Lately I've been trying my hand at the FAI F3C maneuvers as I'm intending on competing at this level next season. Practicing that nose-in/tail-in hovering maneuver has been fairly interesting. More than once did I feel I was about to get a hair cut from 710 Carbon main blades followed closely by a shave from 105 carbon tail blades as they went past a little closer than I had planned. The inside loop with half rolls has also taken me a little while to get going properly. Most of my initial attempts ended up with the heli not quite making it up the other side and ending up in an inverted hover. However, as with all initial attempts practice makes perfect, and now I can execute the maneuvers in a controlled fashion, and while Curtis is probably not too worried just yet, is at least safe and presentable.

Curtis Youngblood is coming to New Zealand!
Speaking of Curtis, I'm honoured to announce that he'll be visiting New Zealand at the end of November. We have organized an event for the 22nd through to the 24th of November at which Curtis will be the guest of honour and will be doing demonstrations and generally hanging out.
This is a big thing for the heli scene in New Zealand, we don't get to see many of the 'top shelf' fliers down these parts so when a chap of Curtis' caliber arrives it's an event not to be missed.
For those of you who are interested in attending, keep an eye at www.littlerotors.com/curtis2002/ for details and updates.

Articles this issue are:

Raptor 60 V2
After decking his TSK Acrostar, Alton Rodgers decided it was more cost effective to buy a whole new Raptor 60 V2, this is what he thinks of it! Click here.

Low cost, high camera!
Malcolm Messiter writes about his aerial photography exploits with his Raptor 30. Click here.

UK 3D Masters
Organised 3D competitions are starting to become more popular, last weekend the Extreme Flight Championships were held in the States, in July, the 3D Masters will be held with some of the top 3D pilots in the world! Click here.

Basic Aerobatics: Rolls
Rolls are another basic aerobatic maneuver that can take a bit of courage to attempt, once you attempt them you wonder why you didn't try it sooner! Click here.