Author Topic: cross control (Read 521 times)

Clutz · « **on:** August 28, 2007, 05:51:42 PM »

Please help me understand cross control.

I think I know this much: If I am cutting some trees trying to shake a bad guy, I may bank hard to the right and use left rudder to keep my nose up and out of the dirt. Or, if I am flying and want to peek to see what is under my plane, I may bank hard to the left and use my right rudder to keep my nose up to avoid losing altitude. Also, I cross control to get my plane slowed down if I am coming in to fast for a landing or turning to get on somebody's 6 and am about to over shoot. This is all I know about it.

Recently, I have found myself using cross control in some close quarter combat situations, but I can't put my finger why I am doing this now. This is what bothers me. I don't know if I have developed a bad habit here or an instinct of practical use for my flight controls. What do you think?

My usual first merge is to reverse a faster plane than me to try to gain some angle on him. It may be my imagination, but I think in some situations my reverse is much tighter if I cross control. I don't know. It seems to me I have found some sort of way to make my plane "snap" around faster or something like that. It has just happened a few times and by accident at that, so I can't reproduce the move or even describe it very well. All I know is a very fast move and that it was left rudder and right stick, or vice versa. What could it be I am seeing here that I have never seen before? What do you think?

Maybe some sort of fancy move that uses cross control would help?
Rudder usage has always been a mystery to me.

Thank you very very much.

clutz

Blooz · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2007, 08:36:05 PM »

Rudder induces yaw (moves the nose left and right). When your plane yaws from the flight path it produces huge drag and you slow down very fast.

The game is to get on and stay on your opponents tail. Your ability to control your plane better than the other guy determines who wins and who dies.

Use this rudder yaw to 'brake' when behind a victim to maintain your position. If you don't, you'll end up in front of his guns and that's not good.

The condition you describe while cross controlling at high speed is a stall. Your plane is exceeding its flight envelope and the airflow over the wings is disruped to the point where you get a snap roll. This can be good or bad depending on how you end up when you regain control.

humble · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2007, 08:52:12 PM »

One other factor is that cross controling a plane can create an illusion...next time your on final lock your plane up and notice the crab as your plane is flying down the runway line but the nose is pointed significantly off to the side...so in a fight where a guy is close in he will see your nose swing to the side...and may...again MAY...react and take his nose in the direction of your "crab'. It's not a bad idea to combine throttle chop, "porpoising" and a crab or two as you get the guy in close enough for a rolling scissors or similiar move...

TequilaChaser · « **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2007, 10:16:14 PM »

Clutz, not sure if I would call it a fancy move, but when I am in the process of performing a spiral climb on my opponent, as I am using the rudder to turn left, I will use cross control ( or simple words right alieron stick deflection )
to keep more precise control of my turn
to help me watch my opponent
to to turn at a slower pace

with the left rudder for instance and turning left using right alieron, when I see my fish flounder, I have instant roll in/ roll over as soon as i go alieron left.....

is just a more finese control.......

maybe that is 1 of the answers you are looking for.....I would not say you are making bad habits, as long as you are doing it on purpose for a given result or outcome.....

hope this helps

Murdr · « **Reply #4 on:** August 28, 2007, 11:54:50 PM »

When you snap roll like that, you are stalling one wing, while the other is still producing lift. Hence that asemetrical lift force causes you to roll quickly toward the stalled wing. Rudder helps induce this condition. You do not need to counter rudder you aeliron input to make this happen, as it will work just as well with aelrion and rudder in the same direction, plus enough elevator to induce the single wing stall. It is useful to be able to perform this in a controlled fashion.

Using sustained opposite rudder in a sustained turn however is typically going to hurt your turn performance. Note that I said typically. If you are in a high banked turn, the high wing is usually the one that will stall first, and adding rudder toward the high wing only makes it more prone to stall.

The textbook use of rudder is to "fly to the ball" which means applying whatever rudder is needed to keep the ball at the top of your instrument panel centered in the vial.

Clutz · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2007, 10:21:22 PM »

OK, a few of things.

First off, I see I am getting some advice from my favorite AH hero's in this thread. I feel somewhat privileged right about now.

This is is really really cool.

Second is this: After reading the advice over and over I realized I couldn't understand it. I have been flying my plane like it is an automobile for over a year now. Everything I have read in this thread has brought me to a realization that I have never taken the time to understand how air pressure works around the surfaces of my airplane. So, I decided to go to flight school 101. To me, that pretty much means read the AH trainers page and take the time to understand some of it this time. duah! I still got a long way to go. I guess its a matter of heart.

Now, this is what kicks butt: I studied and and I have learned to stall a wing and this is totally awesome. I learned the theory of it (with the help of my AH hero's ) and then I applied that theory. This is a major leap for me. It's a whole new world now. It's what you fighter aces are made of I imagine.

Anyway, the end of the week means a short amount of time for me, but I am going to make a film of the move, (we will call it the clutz from now on ) JK. What sucks is that it looks like a frigging hi yoyo. But, I don't think that matters. What matters is I got some good honest flight theory going now. THIS, is what its all about.

and thank you very much.

clutz

StuB · « **Reply #6 on:** August 30, 2007, 09:39:55 AM »

I have always understood the term "cross control" to mean applying rudder with opposite aileron applied at the same time.

i.e. right rudder with left aileron applied....creating a "side-slip" condition.

The right rudder induces yaw and roll and the left aileron counteracts this, making the aircraft maintain a constant heading that is not aligned with the thrust vector.

Unless you are doing it on purpose it's considered to be a bad thing because the control inputs create alot of drag compared to normal, straight/level flight.