Pendulum??

Well, I pressed the insert, etc., but no picture - I'll try again
Mike

Just realised the file is 7 MB! Presumably too big. Haven't got time to rescan at teh moment - breakfast calls - but will try scannng to lower resolution later
Mike

I managed to post the sketches on the 'maximum attachment' thread, but all being well, here they are as well
Mike

About as useful as magnet steering

Although, properly handled, magnet steering does actually work. What I cannot understand about pendulum control is how it actually works once in flight on a rudder or ailerons. When an a/c enters a turn there are surely centrifugal forces involved which will try to move loose objects inside the a/c towards the outside of the turn . With the linkages shown, in say a RH turn, the pendulum would apply right rudder, increasing teh turn, not correcting it (which I am sure is was happening with the Dart Kitten I mentioned earlier).
Mike

My understanding is that one of the problems with pendulums for rudder and particularly ailerons is that in a balanced turn the pendulum doesn't in fact move when the aircraft is banked. In a passenger aircraft during a turn you feel gravity through the line of your seat.

For the pendulum to swing the aircraft needs to be in an unbalanced turn which means to the observer on the ground the model will look wrong in the air ...which sort of defeats the point in a scale model

....On the other hand magnet steering actually works very well

It can be argued that a model free flight plane actually does not and never can make a fully coordinated turn. To do so requires a control input to be made and then taken off again once the correct attitude has been achieved.

My own view is that a pendulum system can help to maintain fully coordinated flight but it will not necessarily react correctly to a significant flight disturbance unlike a 'gyro' which will. .

Thanks for that - fascinating
Mike

I did try pendulums without much success. The only way I could stop it spiraling in was to have so little movement it wasn't very effective. It flew better without. PE Norman mainly used them on elevators to give an aerobatic flight. I have found it achievable by just using an over elevated trim without the hassle of fitting a pendulum. Still these wonderful diversions and distractions are what have kept me interested in this hobby for so long.

Doug

Yes magnet steering does work but I would not call it useful if the model flies further and further away..Very likely O.O.S.