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Waiting for a calm day to do the "day 2 maiden" wasn't working out so we shot it in 25+ mph gusts and had a ball doing it! Click image to enlarge

RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 – Maiden #2

Wind reveals solid handling and stability

Text by Tom Hintz

Flight video by Gihad Jawhar and Clark Ponthier

Posted – 5-13-2015

Since posting my original review of the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 the weather has been dominated by wind, rain and cold, sometimes altogether. I have been able to fly the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 since them but sparingly and always in less than perfect conditions. My persistence inadvertently paid off in that I began noticing that the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 was flying surprisingly well in terrible conditions. I suspect that you are much like me in that we have to make use of the available field time even when the weather is marginal – or worse. The fellow who taught me to fly had emphasized learning to fly in wind so I loaded up the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 and the camera and headed to the field on a gusty but warm spring day.

Since the original maiden I had moved the CG back about 3/8” on the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 and that did liven up the elevator a bit. It remains easy to fly but the elevator has more authority in things like snap rolls or “make-it-up-as-you-go” flips and home-grown aerobatics. All of the control throws were left in my normal “all-I-can-get” configuration.

As with any model plane the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 does get beat up some by gusty winds, particularly when they get over 20 mph as we had on the 2nd maiden day. However I was pleasantly surprised at how well the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 handled in those conditions and how easily it was corrected. The wings would get rocked somewhat but I never felt like it was going to flip over or that I would lose control. A dab of aileron or rudder put the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 back on line.

The RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 spins, flips and does all sorts of things in the air (left) that make it fun to fly, especially since it recovers from all of them so well. I do touch and go's a lot, (right) even in the big gusty winds we had when shooting this video. The STABILITY OF THE RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 makes that fun as well. Click images to enlarge

I do touch and go’s incessantly regardless of the conditions. In fact, I probably do more of them in heavy winds because I enjoy practicing the fine control movements necessary to get a plane on the ground safely in those conditions. The RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 proved to be exceptionally easy to fly in big wind because it does not stop listening to control surface inputs even at ridiculously low speeds.

I did find that adding a click or two of down elevator trim in very windy conditions helps keep the nose down. The RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 makes lots of lift and if you let the tail squat during an approach the plane can go into a gentle balloon or hover. With a little down trim added you have to hold just a touch of elevator which makes controlling the decent to the ground more predictable.

In aerobatics the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 really shines. The rudder has a surprising amount of authority and can generate a quick horizontal flat spin or two when I just aim it up, chop the power and cross the sticks up to see what happens. The RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 does good flips and spins going into them under power and power off, using the energy alone.

Getting the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 into a knife edge spin was difficult until I figured out that it likes a touch of left aileron and left rudder to be held along with full down elevator and full throttle. I suspect this will differ slightly depending on where you have the CG and throws so you might have to experiment some.

The final good news is that the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 recovers quickly from virtually any position. Note near the end of the video the completely sideways rolling harrier that demonstrates how much wind there actually was and how stable the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 can be in that kind of lumpy air.

Conclusions

While I still look forward to flying my RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 in calmer weather I can have a great time in the wind as well. The RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 has way more capabilities than I can make use of right now but I am confident that with the built-in stability I can learn more of the aerobatics this plane is capable of.

Some of the flips I like to do are admittedly rather violent but so far the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 has handled them without a whimper. I check my planes over for cracks and loose stuff every time I charge them up and the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 remains as structurally sound as when it emerged from the box.

Visit the RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 product page – Click Here

See my original RedwingRC 50cc Yak 55 Review – Click Here

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