Radio Control Combat
How would you like be to be able to fly without worrying about breaking your plane?
Welcome to Crashtesthobby.com. We specialize in low cost planes that can take abuse and keep on flying. Our planes are designed to fly in wind and are durable enough to be flown over rough ground. We offer club discounts and buy 5 get one free so you can set up your own sport, combat and pylon events with your club and friends.
R/C Combat is Addicting and Pulls a Club Together
In 2004 six of our local RC fliers started flying their EPP flying wings in formation and what we now call combat. It evolved and went from being a joke to being a sport. Whether there are two of us or a bunch we love to chase and fly together and try to make contact between the planes. Instead of avoiding each other we try to fly together. It is one of the friendliest flying events around. We have had more than 70 people participate in a local combat gathering. See our combat videos. We still have fun even when there is only two or three of us flying together. We have a variety of things we can do to make flying a social event rather than a solo act. See the games below.
There is no restriction on how many fliers are in the air. Some of the planes in the air are beat up, some look great. There are 26″ Scythes, 40″ wings like the Assassin, and many bigger wings like the Titan and the Grim Reaper. Notice the variety of planes in the picture above. Occasionally we have a designated target planes that someone wants to retire and we try to take them out. I don’t think there is an RC event that has more participation and enjoyment without anyone worrying about who is the winner or looser. Flying wings don't need a runway so it is easy to have many participants flying at once.
Flying wings are much safer than traditional designs because the prop is in the back and the EPP foam nose of the plane acts like a soft bumper on the front. They can land on rough ground and since they are hand launched don't need a runway. They will fly in wind that is too high for traditional designs. Everyone needs a flying wing for the bad weather days.
Misconceptions About Combat
1) “Faster is better.” This is absolutely false. You win by participating and having a good time, but if a score is kept at all, it is of how many hits you have in a day, not how fast you fly. Slower flying planes have more hits and are less likely to cause damage. We try to fly in formation and make contact. How many hits do we get? We’ve seen 30 hits in a single day. It is harder than you would think. Most of the time, hit counts are around 5-10 hits a day.
2) “Combat is a flying free-for-all.” There needs to be some order to the chaos. The pilot needs to remain responsible for his plane and where it is the entire flight, and make sure he isn’t putting others at risk. As a group, we try to circle the field together in a predictable circle or figure 8 pattern. The lead plane intentionally flies slow and may pull a streamer so he is easy to see. Those behind try to catch up and make plane to plane contact or cut the streamer. If the chaser passes the lead plane he becomes the lead plane and flies large slow oval pattern that is easy to follow and the other planes come after him. There is definitely technique to making a hit. You try to stay with the group by accelerating or decelerating or taking wide corners or cutting corners to stay as close as possible. We have also learned to come up under the front plane and try to hit him from the bottom pushing him up rather than from the top knocking him down so planes aren't knocked into the ground but we take anything we can get. The goal is both planes can fly out of the collision. Watch our combat videos and you will get the idea.
3) “Combat breaks your plane.” Not with CTH planes! EPP foam puts our wings in a class of their own. We build the planes to survive hits that will destroy most other planes. I have some that have been hit hundreds of times that are still flyable. Breaks do happen, but in most cases it takes longer to heat the glue gun and find the roll of tape than it takes to repair an EPP wing.
Rules of Engagement
Plane restrictions – The motor needs to be in the back. Occasionally planes get out of control, and we do not want anyone hurt. The planes should have a soft leading edge and not be glassed or have a hard spar on the leading edge. Try to keep your planes light. The 48″ wings are usually under 36 oz. and the 40″ wings are under 22 oz., including batteries. Fast planes cause too much damage to other planes and themselves. Combat should be flown 20-50 mph.
Safety first – The more people you get, the more important it is to enforce the flight line. In our large combat events, we will have everyone still in the air go to high altitude or land so that people can safely pick up their planes. Don’t fly over the crowd. Don’t do repairs past the flight line. Don’t participate with heavy or unsafe planes. Follow local rules designed to protect full-sized air traffic.
Combat Games
1. Fox and Hound - The group flies in a low circle or figure-8. Those at the front of the pack slow down, and those behind try to catch up for the hit. You score by making contact. You get a “Nudge” if you just make contact, and a “Hit” if a plane rolls over because of the impact. Have a lead plane pulling a streamer to lead the group and everyone falls into line behind them.
2. Streamers on Planes - This is more traditional combat where the planes have streamers off the back, and flyers try to cut the other planes’ streamers with their prop. One variation is to have one plane that has a streamer and so is marked as the “target” plane. Instead of trying to cut the streamer, everyone tries to knock them out.
3. Limbo - This is one of our club favorites. Your limbo poles can look like anything from a soccer goal without the net to a custom 2" PVC set up with banner flags at different levels. Watch our combat videos and you will see several variations of this game.
4. Competitive Skills - Everyone launches simultaneously, does 3 loops, then 3 rolls, then lands. The first flyer with plane in hand wins. We have even done this with a required catch at the end to win. We have also required 2 catches to win. By the way, when you realize you are losing, you can try to take out the other plane with a hit, so they can’t win either.
5. Pylon Racing - An old favorite, but it takes on new meaning when you aren’t afraid to collide during the race. Simple race around a “track” marked with pylons.
7. Horse shoes or Bull's Eye. Flyers get points for how close to a target they can land. You can have a landing post for all flying events and see who can hit it on landing. Put it on the grass not on the runway so you don't scuff up your planes.
8. Retirement Party - This is how we get rid of old planes. Put up the old plane and everyone chases them down and sees who can take them out. Everyone loves the chase and the kill. This is also a club favorite.
9. Bomb Drop - Set up a target and drop washers with streamers attached. Score by getting the closest to the target.
10. Streamer Drop - One plane carries and drops a roll of crepe paper or toilet paper, while the group tries to chop it up in the air while it is floating down. We cut a roll of toilet paper into thirds on a band saw making 3 streamers out of a roll.
11. Balloon Bust/Kick the Can - Take a dowel, and poke it in the lawn. Tape a balloon to the top, or place a pop can upside down on the tip. That’s your target. What makes this intense is that everyone is trying at the same time to pop the balloon and traffic gets low and heavy.
12. Parachute drop - The parachute drop is great for Scout groups or kids. Each kid brings a light parachute and they get dropped from the plane, 3 at a time. The flyers try to hit them as they fall. The Cub Scouts think this is great and love to chase. The boys have spent previous meetings making and coloring their parachutes out of white garbage bags and string.
13. Night Combat - Combat is also fun in the dark. Install LED lights, and have a great time chasing each other around with lighted planes. The danger comes when you collide in the dark and the lights go out. We haven't lost a plane yet!!!
14. Fly in Formation - It is harder to fly together than to fly combat. Fly in formation and do rolls and loops together. Have an announcer call the maneuver and everyone does it at the same time. A crazy announcer can make this your favorite game.
15. Paintball and Airsoft - The shooter should set the paintball and airsoft guns at a low power and the pilot should realize what is about to happen. Planes make low passes into the firing area, and watch the gauntlet begin. The paintballs will leave small dents in the planes but rarely will take a plane out.
Building for Combat
Remember your plane needs to stay as light as possible. Each of these methods for reinforcing the plane adds a little weight, and when all are combined, the plane my be as strong as a tank and fly like one too. Think light!
Make everything repairable at the flying field, including the quick changing of servos, battery, and rx. The deeper you bury the rx, the harder it is to fix.
Our flying wings have spars to make them rigid, but the spars alone are not enough to prevent damage in an accident. We use a bidirectional reinforced tape called Scotch Extreme Tape to add incredible strength to our planes. This tape is tested to 150 lbs per inch in strength, but it adds weight and has to be used in moderation in the most stressed parts of the plane.
The Shock Cord makes a difference in a head-on impacts where G-forces try to tear the plane in half between the elevons near the motor. The shock cord also protects the wingtips and keeps the plane intact when most planes would have major damage. We include a shock cord in all of the wing kits.
The EPP foam will help protect your battery and rx if you bury them in the EPP foam and secure them so they can’t eject in an accident. Design the cutouts in the EPP foam to protect your investment. We try to build with no empty spaces in the wing so the wing can’t collapse on the empty space.
To balance the flying wings, we have put the batteries and rx close to the front of the plane. We have learned to turn the lipo battery with the side facing forward, to protect the wire connections and the more fragile edges and end of the battery cells whenever possible. In some planes it is not practical to turn the battery sideways, but in combat planes it may save your battery.
We also include a UV-protectant laminate covering in all of our kits. This laminate adds a lot of strength and also protects the foam and the reinforced tape from the sun’s rays that yellow and dry out the tape. It is crystal clear when applied, so some decals or coloring are recommended so you can see your plane in the air. The foam does not need to be sprayed with a spray adhesive for the laminate to stick, like it does if you use Ultracoat or colored packing tape. The laminate is so strong you can build without the Extreme Tape if you are trying to save weight, but as you can guess, the plane can’t take as much abuse.
I like my servos and radio accessible and easy to inspect and change. I install them in cutouts in the EPP foam, usually on the top of the wing where they are less likely to get knocked out in combat or thrown out in ‘high G” maneuvers. Secure them with a small amount of hot glue on the surface that can be easily removed. Make the servo cutouts smaller than the servos, so they fit snugly. If they are loose, it will make your flight surfaces flutter. Do not leave the sevos half out of the wing; bury them deep enough that the servo arm is just above the surface of the wing.
I like my control rods and clevises exposed so they won’t bind. Internal rods look better but can lose leverage and bend, allowing the elevons to flutter at higher speeds and break servo gears in collisions. They also can put drag on the linkage, making it hard for the servo to center and using more battery power. You should be able to move the elevon with the radio off by moving the flap by hand, and have the servo move in both directions. The rods and hinges should not flex or have any free play. We have seen the hinges tear or pull loose when this is the case.
-Lee
Welcome to Crashtesthobby.com. We specialize in low cost planes that can take abuse and keep on flying. Our planes are designed to fly in wind and are durable enough to be flown over rough ground. We offer club discounts and buy 5 get one free so you can set up your own sport, combat and pylon events with your club and friends.
R/C Combat is Addicting and Pulls a Club Together
In 2004 six of our local RC fliers started flying their EPP flying wings in formation and what we now call combat. It evolved and went from being a joke to being a sport. Whether there are two of us or a bunch we love to chase and fly together and try to make contact between the planes. Instead of avoiding each other we try to fly together. It is one of the friendliest flying events around. We have had more than 70 people participate in a local combat gathering. See our combat videos. We still have fun even when there is only two or three of us flying together. We have a variety of things we can do to make flying a social event rather than a solo act. See the games below.
There is no restriction on how many fliers are in the air. Some of the planes in the air are beat up, some look great. There are 26″ Scythes, 40″ wings like the Assassin, and many bigger wings like the Titan and the Grim Reaper. Notice the variety of planes in the picture above. Occasionally we have a designated target planes that someone wants to retire and we try to take them out. I don’t think there is an RC event that has more participation and enjoyment without anyone worrying about who is the winner or looser. Flying wings don't need a runway so it is easy to have many participants flying at once.
Flying wings are much safer than traditional designs because the prop is in the back and the EPP foam nose of the plane acts like a soft bumper on the front. They can land on rough ground and since they are hand launched don't need a runway. They will fly in wind that is too high for traditional designs. Everyone needs a flying wing for the bad weather days.
Misconceptions About Combat
1) “Faster is better.” This is absolutely false. You win by participating and having a good time, but if a score is kept at all, it is of how many hits you have in a day, not how fast you fly. Slower flying planes have more hits and are less likely to cause damage. We try to fly in formation and make contact. How many hits do we get? We’ve seen 30 hits in a single day. It is harder than you would think. Most of the time, hit counts are around 5-10 hits a day.
2) “Combat is a flying free-for-all.” There needs to be some order to the chaos. The pilot needs to remain responsible for his plane and where it is the entire flight, and make sure he isn’t putting others at risk. As a group, we try to circle the field together in a predictable circle or figure 8 pattern. The lead plane intentionally flies slow and may pull a streamer so he is easy to see. Those behind try to catch up and make plane to plane contact or cut the streamer. If the chaser passes the lead plane he becomes the lead plane and flies large slow oval pattern that is easy to follow and the other planes come after him. There is definitely technique to making a hit. You try to stay with the group by accelerating or decelerating or taking wide corners or cutting corners to stay as close as possible. We have also learned to come up under the front plane and try to hit him from the bottom pushing him up rather than from the top knocking him down so planes aren't knocked into the ground but we take anything we can get. The goal is both planes can fly out of the collision. Watch our combat videos and you will get the idea.
3) “Combat breaks your plane.” Not with CTH planes! EPP foam puts our wings in a class of their own. We build the planes to survive hits that will destroy most other planes. I have some that have been hit hundreds of times that are still flyable. Breaks do happen, but in most cases it takes longer to heat the glue gun and find the roll of tape than it takes to repair an EPP wing.
Rules of Engagement
Plane restrictions – The motor needs to be in the back. Occasionally planes get out of control, and we do not want anyone hurt. The planes should have a soft leading edge and not be glassed or have a hard spar on the leading edge. Try to keep your planes light. The 48″ wings are usually under 36 oz. and the 40″ wings are under 22 oz., including batteries. Fast planes cause too much damage to other planes and themselves. Combat should be flown 20-50 mph.
Safety first – The more people you get, the more important it is to enforce the flight line. In our large combat events, we will have everyone still in the air go to high altitude or land so that people can safely pick up their planes. Don’t fly over the crowd. Don’t do repairs past the flight line. Don’t participate with heavy or unsafe planes. Follow local rules designed to protect full-sized air traffic.
Combat Games
1. Fox and Hound - The group flies in a low circle or figure-8. Those at the front of the pack slow down, and those behind try to catch up for the hit. You score by making contact. You get a “Nudge” if you just make contact, and a “Hit” if a plane rolls over because of the impact. Have a lead plane pulling a streamer to lead the group and everyone falls into line behind them.
2. Streamers on Planes - This is more traditional combat where the planes have streamers off the back, and flyers try to cut the other planes’ streamers with their prop. One variation is to have one plane that has a streamer and so is marked as the “target” plane. Instead of trying to cut the streamer, everyone tries to knock them out.
3. Limbo - This is one of our club favorites. Your limbo poles can look like anything from a soccer goal without the net to a custom 2" PVC set up with banner flags at different levels. Watch our combat videos and you will see several variations of this game.
4. Competitive Skills - Everyone launches simultaneously, does 3 loops, then 3 rolls, then lands. The first flyer with plane in hand wins. We have even done this with a required catch at the end to win. We have also required 2 catches to win. By the way, when you realize you are losing, you can try to take out the other plane with a hit, so they can’t win either.
5. Pylon Racing - An old favorite, but it takes on new meaning when you aren’t afraid to collide during the race. Simple race around a “track” marked with pylons.
7. Horse shoes or Bull's Eye. Flyers get points for how close to a target they can land. You can have a landing post for all flying events and see who can hit it on landing. Put it on the grass not on the runway so you don't scuff up your planes.
8. Retirement Party - This is how we get rid of old planes. Put up the old plane and everyone chases them down and sees who can take them out. Everyone loves the chase and the kill. This is also a club favorite.
9. Bomb Drop - Set up a target and drop washers with streamers attached. Score by getting the closest to the target.
10. Streamer Drop - One plane carries and drops a roll of crepe paper or toilet paper, while the group tries to chop it up in the air while it is floating down. We cut a roll of toilet paper into thirds on a band saw making 3 streamers out of a roll.
11. Balloon Bust/Kick the Can - Take a dowel, and poke it in the lawn. Tape a balloon to the top, or place a pop can upside down on the tip. That’s your target. What makes this intense is that everyone is trying at the same time to pop the balloon and traffic gets low and heavy.
12. Parachute drop - The parachute drop is great for Scout groups or kids. Each kid brings a light parachute and they get dropped from the plane, 3 at a time. The flyers try to hit them as they fall. The Cub Scouts think this is great and love to chase. The boys have spent previous meetings making and coloring their parachutes out of white garbage bags and string.
13. Night Combat - Combat is also fun in the dark. Install LED lights, and have a great time chasing each other around with lighted planes. The danger comes when you collide in the dark and the lights go out. We haven't lost a plane yet!!!
14. Fly in Formation - It is harder to fly together than to fly combat. Fly in formation and do rolls and loops together. Have an announcer call the maneuver and everyone does it at the same time. A crazy announcer can make this your favorite game.
15. Paintball and Airsoft - The shooter should set the paintball and airsoft guns at a low power and the pilot should realize what is about to happen. Planes make low passes into the firing area, and watch the gauntlet begin. The paintballs will leave small dents in the planes but rarely will take a plane out.
Building for Combat
Remember your plane needs to stay as light as possible. Each of these methods for reinforcing the plane adds a little weight, and when all are combined, the plane my be as strong as a tank and fly like one too. Think light!
Make everything repairable at the flying field, including the quick changing of servos, battery, and rx. The deeper you bury the rx, the harder it is to fix.
Our flying wings have spars to make them rigid, but the spars alone are not enough to prevent damage in an accident. We use a bidirectional reinforced tape called Scotch Extreme Tape to add incredible strength to our planes. This tape is tested to 150 lbs per inch in strength, but it adds weight and has to be used in moderation in the most stressed parts of the plane.
The Shock Cord makes a difference in a head-on impacts where G-forces try to tear the plane in half between the elevons near the motor. The shock cord also protects the wingtips and keeps the plane intact when most planes would have major damage. We include a shock cord in all of the wing kits.
The EPP foam will help protect your battery and rx if you bury them in the EPP foam and secure them so they can’t eject in an accident. Design the cutouts in the EPP foam to protect your investment. We try to build with no empty spaces in the wing so the wing can’t collapse on the empty space.
To balance the flying wings, we have put the batteries and rx close to the front of the plane. We have learned to turn the lipo battery with the side facing forward, to protect the wire connections and the more fragile edges and end of the battery cells whenever possible. In some planes it is not practical to turn the battery sideways, but in combat planes it may save your battery.
We also include a UV-protectant laminate covering in all of our kits. This laminate adds a lot of strength and also protects the foam and the reinforced tape from the sun’s rays that yellow and dry out the tape. It is crystal clear when applied, so some decals or coloring are recommended so you can see your plane in the air. The foam does not need to be sprayed with a spray adhesive for the laminate to stick, like it does if you use Ultracoat or colored packing tape. The laminate is so strong you can build without the Extreme Tape if you are trying to save weight, but as you can guess, the plane can’t take as much abuse.
I like my servos and radio accessible and easy to inspect and change. I install them in cutouts in the EPP foam, usually on the top of the wing where they are less likely to get knocked out in combat or thrown out in ‘high G” maneuvers. Secure them with a small amount of hot glue on the surface that can be easily removed. Make the servo cutouts smaller than the servos, so they fit snugly. If they are loose, it will make your flight surfaces flutter. Do not leave the sevos half out of the wing; bury them deep enough that the servo arm is just above the surface of the wing.
I like my control rods and clevises exposed so they won’t bind. Internal rods look better but can lose leverage and bend, allowing the elevons to flutter at higher speeds and break servo gears in collisions. They also can put drag on the linkage, making it hard for the servo to center and using more battery power. You should be able to move the elevon with the radio off by moving the flap by hand, and have the servo move in both directions. The rods and hinges should not flex or have any free play. We have seen the hinges tear or pull loose when this is the case.
-Lee
