3D Clinic – Rolling Harrier 101: Part I and II

Hey guys, welcome to another 3D Clinic with Josh “BoneDoc” and my lovely wife, Inn. I’ve gotten many requests about rolling harriers, so I thought I would do a more in depth clinic about it. It’ll be broken in three sessions (at least), designed to cover the very beginner, all the way up to advanced rolling harrier. Some of the stuff in the beginning might be basic to some, but bear with me. There are some good nuggets of information still.

Before we start, let me remind folks that rolling harrier represents one of (if not the most) challenging maneuver to learn and master in 3D. Leseberg is quoted as saying that it took him 1000 hrs to learn and master this. If it took him 1000 hrs, it sure will take a while longer for me. THIS WILL TAKE TIME. Practice will shorten that time, but some things will click with you as time progresses. It took me 1 ½ years to get relatively comfortable with the rolling harrier, and another year to get good sense of direction. It wasn’t until recently that I can pull off a rolling harrier loop on command. Even now, my lack of practice time, and lack of repair time, prevents me from going DOD unless I’m with a crowd.

So given the breadth of the subject, I will divide this into several parts, and several sections. Here they are, in the order of learning progression:

I: The Stir
II: Keeping it in the Air
III: Keeping a consistent roll rate and AOA
IV: Directional Control
V: Bringing it Down on the Deck
VI: Advanced Maneuvers (loops, weeble wobble, hammerheads, etc).

Part I: The Stir
This series will be explained from the point of view of a left roller, because that’s my dominant roll. Everyone, pros included, have a dominant side that they would roll to. For you guys right rollers, it’s not a big deal, just reverse some of the control inputs and direction.

The Stir is simply the stick movements you need to create a smooth rolling maneuver. For left rollers it involves right rudder, down elevator, left rudder and up elevator, and repeat. You are “stirring” the stick, and you keep doing this as long as your plane is still in the rolling attitude. For Mode I fliers, you’re actually stirring your right stick, the same way heli pilots do when they perform the chaos maneuver.

Mastering the stir is paramount to learning rolling harriers, as this should be second nature to you. You should not have to think what stick input to give because your attention will be focused elsewhere (like trying to keep your plane from hitting the ground). Fortunately, getting a feel for the stir is not too difficult with some practice.

To practice the stir, I recommend doing the 4 point roll. For left rollers, fly from RIGHT to LEFT, and begin your left roll, inputting right rudder, down elevator, left rudder, up elevator. Once you have some feel of this, try doing a slow roll, and making your input meld together. Try to correct for directional changes as well as you get better. There are NO SHORTCUT to this. YOU NEED TO LEARN THIS FEEL. Once you’ve got some semblance of this feel, try then to do a continuous slow roll. Start with two, three rolls at a time, and as you progress, keep increasing the number of rolls that you do. The culmination of this skill is your ability to do a rolling circle in which you make a circle as you keep your plane in the rolling attitude. Again for left rollers, start your flight from RIGHT to LEFT, and make a RIGHT circle (clockwise).

Part II: Keeping it in the Air
One common misconception is that the rolling harrier is a rhythm thing. While it’s true that the good rollers have a definite rhythm to their rolls, one would be foolish to think that it’s the rhythm that keeps their planes in the air. Instead what they have learned is to control their rolls in such a way that makes it rhythmical. THE ONLY THING THAT SHOULD BE RHYTHMICAL IN YOUR ROLLERS IS YOUR STIR.

What do I mean by this? What I’m saying is that in a rolling harrier, you are ALWAYS looking at what your plane is doing and making adjustment with each roll. For sure, I’m not talented enough to make correction on EVERY aspect of the roll, so I pick a point of reference: CANOPY UP. I time my up elevator to the CANOPY UP position, and let my stir takes care of the rest of the timing (THIS IS WHY MASTERING THE FLOW OF THE STIR IS IMPORTANT!!)

Timing your Canopy Up: You want to time your up elevator as you see your canopy reaching the upright position. If timed early, you will bring the airplane up, and circling to the right. If you’re slightly late, then your airplane will travel straight and level.
Another tip that will help beginners get started is to us medium rate on elevator and aileron. This will bring the roll rate down enough where it is manageable, allowing you to time the stir appropriately.

Common Mistake #1: Nose Diving
Nose diving is the result of a mis-timing. Most often, it’s the result of being late on your timing. For left rollers, you’ll see your plane go from turning right, to straight, to turning left, followed by a nose-dive. The trick is to notice when your plane is starting to drift left, and then speed up your stir. You can also give a little bit MORE ELEVATOR, which will pick the nose up and slow down your roll rate. If you frequently do this, then you would need to turn down your aileron so that your brain has time to catch up.

Common Mistake #2: Inconsistent AOA
Inconsistent AOA is usually the result of inconsistencies in either elevator input, or throttle input. In general, when learning, you’re better served with a lower AOA since it helps to remove throttle management out of the equation. In the same way, harriers require less throttle management than hovering does. The inconsistent elevator input will improve with time as you get used to the stir. But if you find this a constant problem, then further limit the travel of your elevator, or increase your expo. In general, your stick travel for your elevator is half what it is for the rudder.

Common Mistake #3: Inconsistent roll rate
Inconsistent roll rate wreaks havoc on your timing. Assuming that you peg your aileron to the end of its travel, it’s usually the result of inconsistent angle of attack. That itself is the result of two common factors: 1. Nose diving, 2. Inconsistent elevator input. When you’re late on your timing, the nose dives. This in turn, speeds up the roll rate, which further exacerbate your timing problem.

Common Mistake #4: The Confidence Factor
Rolling harrier is the only maneuver where the airplane is actively trying to crash on you. Consequently, some might have difficulty learning this with their prized 40%. Personally, I would highly recommend getting a durable foamie trainer like the 3DHS 33” EPP Extra 330SC. Having something that flies well, and takes a licking inspires confidence, and allows you to try to roll yourself out of a tight situation instead of bailing out. This, in turn, pays great dividends when you’re in a pinch.

Ok, that’s all for now. Until the next session, FLY LOW!!!

Many Thanks to :
My Lovely Wife, Inn
3D Hobby Shop
Hitec
Castle Creations
Neu Motors
ADC Vinyl
Flying Giants

I Love You Josie & Gracie

Airframe Setup in the Videos
1. 3DHS 119” Extra 330SC (40%)
. DLE 111, Xoar 27x10 Laminated Aurora 9, Optima 9, Smart-Fly Power Expander Pro
. HS 7950, 2 per ailerons, 1 per elevator
. HS7980, 1 per rudder

2. 3DHS 89” AJ Slick
. Neu 1521 1.5Y P42 6.7:1 gearbox, APC 24x12
. Aurora 9, Optima 7
. HS 7955 on all surfaces

3. 3DHS 33” EPP Extra 330SC
. Hacker A10, GWS 8 x 4 slo-fly
. Aurora 9, Optima 7
. HS45 on all surfaces

BoneDoc's 3D Clinic: Rolling Harrier 101 (7 min 17 sec)

SWEET!!!!! Forgive me for my terrible avatar

Lol... we can all get along .

Originally Posted by BoneDoc

Lol... we can all get along .

My first 3D plane was the one in my avatar, and it wasn't a good plane. Sold it and bought a 3dhs airframe and havn't looked back since. Now I own 5

Nice job Josh.

Terribly Useful, Thanks a lot!

Originally Posted by BoneDoc

Rolling harrier is the only maneuver where the airplane is actively trying to crash on you.

Well said!!!

Perfect timing. Thanks for this. i just start learning this past weekend and almost got to being able to just do it with out thinking. But then i think, and it all goes to hell

Thanks

Originally Posted by parpar1

But then i think and it all goes to hell

Sounds like you and I are in the same boat!!!

Thanks Josh, this has been a great help, I just have to work on my rolling circles to the left.

Josh, you always bring nice videos together, thanks!

Great video!

Originally Posted by parpar1

Perfect timing. Thanks for this. i just start learning this past weekend and almost got to being able to just do it with out thinking. But then i think, and it all goes to hell

Thanks

You're in good company then . I find that your growth happens in spurts. You might get stuck for a while, and all of a sudden, after a little break, it clicks in your mind.

Thanks for the kind words guys. Please let me know if there are stuff you'd like to see / see revisited.

Josh I have a 119 extra with a da 150 and ks 95's I ordered a da 120 for it after seeing yours fly on the 111 please pm me I have a few questions for you about the set up your using to get the cg correct