Originally Posted by P-Diddy

Guys, I like the replies!

I will say that the OP is correct for one method of doing the blender, although you may do it differently.

Starting with aileron, then slowly adding some rudder, gives it a twirling effect that makes it look like it's in a blender just prior to the inverted flat spin portion. Just my method, and I like it.

It also smoothes out the maneuver so it is not quite so violent.

My apologies. Didn't intend to offend. You are correct in your inputs. Just different ways to do it

Originally Posted by Huckin Chuck

My apologies. Didn't intend to offend. You are correct in your inputs. Just different ways to do it

I'm not offended at all, my friend, so no apologies necessary.

Quique is obviously not wrong when he describes how to do the blender. He just has a little different style. I like the wind-up twirl that my method produces, and it gets the "wow" factor without really beating up the plane too bad.
Guys, I don't do maneuvers that are likely to break my planes. I try to make some of my maneuvers look more intense than they really are.

I have a method for a high-speed, 3D snap roll that looks and sounds like it's going to break something, but I kill the throttle just before the snap so that the plane doesn't carry as much inertia through it. Same with the pop top.

Have fun with the blender, but start out slow, high, and careful...

Ahh ok gotcha. I don't like beating up on my planes either but I sure give it to em. Ill do some throttle blipping blenders or nearly full throttle KE spins.

Hey Bobzilla, will be spending the winter in Bullhead City, AZ would like to get up with your gang and do alittle flying this winter with ya. Do yall have a flying site address and days that you particularly fly on?

Originally Posted by P-Diddy

Guys, I like the replies!

I will say that the OP is correct for one method of doing the blender, although you may do it differently.

Starting with aileron, then slowly adding some rudder, gives it a twirling effect that makes it look like it's in a blender just prior to the inverted flat spin portion. Just my method, and I like it.

It also smoothes out the maneuver so it is not quite so violent. Maybe that is why I've never broken an airplane doing this maneuver, even at higher speeds with some throttle added.

Here's a video we shot of me doing it my way. Totally stress-free:

Patto's 3D School: 3D Blender and Inverted Flat Spin - YouTube

that is how I have been doing it,after a few broken tails, I call it a pussy Blender.

WOOT!

Well, that was fun............completed five Blenders over two quickie flights with an *paranoid* cursory landing and airframe inspection after the first two.

lol the first attempt was so high I had problems with the inverted spin portion with regard to orientation (now that is high), but it all worked out the charm. Thanks to all the input here.

I guess the model did all the work as I really can't say I was truly flying the plane, I was just putting in rote stick inputs as per the vids and from my sim attempts but it looked like I knew what I was doing.

Now just need to work on points for style.

I did the last try @ half throttle and it really didn't seem to make the maneuver all that more impressive, unless you consider a high rate of descent 'impressive'. That's personal tho'. I seem to be more drawn to the lower energy 3D stuff like rolling Harriers, rolling circles and spins.

One word of caution to the noobs like me, don't get too focused on the inverted spin portion. It can get mezmerizing once you get it in the groove and it will eat up altitude even tho' it's falling slowly. If you get too low the inverted Harrier may be the only way out. For the first two I decided I would just break the spin in the traditional manner and my pull out was WAY too low. For the last three tries I flew out in the Harrier and believe it or not that was MUCH more comfortable than breaking the stall by pulling the nose over and using opposite rudder to stop the spin.

One last observation, and this might be 'model specific', unless I carried some good throttle through the inverted spin it would just fizzle into an unstable Harrier and fall out. If you try the maneuver with low throttle through the Blender portion, you may want to pick up some throttle to get good airflow over the flight surfaces in the spin portion. Maybe.

MmmmK, had actually intended to try a KE spin as well, but bailed on that. Maybe next week. It seems the Blender is the easier of the two.

Originally Posted by FoamieAirfarce

WOOT!

Well, that was fun............completed five Blenders over two quickie flights with an *paranoid* cursory landing and airframe inspection after the first two.

lol the first attempt was so high I had problems with the inverted spin portion with regard to orientation (now that is high), but it all worked out the charm. Thanks to all the input here.

I guess the model did all the work as I really can't say I was truly flying the plane, I was just putting in rote stick inputs as per the vids and from my sim attempts but it looked like I knew what I was doing.

Now just need to work on points for style.

I did the last try @ half throttle and it really didn't seem to make the maneuver all that more impressive, unless you consider a high rate of descent 'impressive'. That's personal tho'. I seem to be more drawn to the lower energy 3D stuff like rolling Harriers, rolling circles and spins.

One word of caution to the noobs like me, don't get too focused on the inverted spin portion. It can get mezmerizing once you get it in the groove and it will eat up altitude even tho' it's falling slowly. If you get too low the inverted Harrier may be the only way out. For the first two I decided I would just break the spin in the traditional manner and my pull out was WAY too low. For the last three tries I flew out in the Harrier and believe it or not that was MUCH more comfortable than breaking the stall by pulling the nose over and using opposite rudder to stop the spin.

One last observation, and this might be 'model specific', unless I carried some good throttle through the inverted spin it would just fizzle into an unstable Harrier and fall out. If you try the maneuver with low throttle through the Blender portion, you may want to pick up some throttle to get good airflow over the flight surfaces in the spin portion. Maybe.

MmmmK, had actually intended to try a KE spin as well, but bailed on that. Maybe next week. It seems the Blender is the easier of the two.

Great Job. I cannot harrier yet but I am very comfortable with the inverted FS. My extra will usually rotate another half turn or so but I just neutralize the sticks, apply more power and a little down elevator. You brought up a good point about airflow over the tail. In my case I will have to remember to back off the elevator once it transitions to inverted FS. If I use high rates for inverted FS it just tries to waterfall and tumble. I can back off the throttle but then there is not enough airflow over the rudder and it stops spinning. I will def have to keep that in mind. Glad you feel KE spin is easier.

Foamie, if you do it with some throttle and want to make it look more wild, do the I puts quicker.
You're flying the 88" edge right? I do mine with throttle and pretty quick inputs. Makes it along violently around

Originally Posted by Muttdog

Great Job. I cannot harrier yet but I am very comfortable with the inverted FS. My extra will usually rotate another half turn or so but I just neutralize the sticks, apply more power and a little down elevator. You brought up a good point about airflow over the tail. In my case I will have to remember to back off the elevator once it transitions to inverted FS. If I use high rates for inverted FS it just tries to waterfall and tumble. I can back off the throttle but then there is not enough airflow over the rudder and it stops spinning. I will def have to keep that in mind. Glad you feel KE spin is easier.

Originally Posted by Huckin Chuck

Foamie, if you do it with some throttle and want to make it look more wild, do the I puts quicker.
You're flying the 88" edge right? I do mine with throttle and pretty quick inputs. Makes it along violently around

Thanks guys!

Yup, when I get more comfortable, I'll start experimenting with the finer points

Right now I'm kinda like 'deer in the headlights'. As soon as I can start applying more technique I'm sure I'll develop some style to it.

One thing about making a concerted effort to learn some basic 3D now is that I'm finding I've experimented with elements of different maneuvers already but didn't know it. Shoot, I never tried to dissect what a Blender was until last week, but, I had aileron rolled a down line, and snap rolled a down line, and maybe once or twice I rolled into a snap on a down line, so if anyone has been just banging sticks experimenting? And thought something looked neat and was able to repeat the maneuver? Heck, I came across some of BoneDoc's vids and never knew, for a bout a year I have been flying 'Waterfalls' with my profile foamy. Oh, who knew? Coo'.

BoneDoc's vids have been a Godsend. I can't remember how many times I have replayed them. Thanks to Josh (and his lovely wife Inn) for doing it. The free advertising 3DHS gets from those vids is priceless.

I did 2 attempts at the blender and both were non eventful. Both downlines were at idle with plenty of altitude. The plane landed into the flat spin with ease. I had family from out of town there and was a little hung over from the night before so I decided best to wait until next week to really work on it. So far so good though and I understand the stick movements now

Awesome.

Yup, it's nice to be slowly getting a little bag of tricks together outside the envelope of the standard aerobatic maneuvers.

The neat thing tho' is that people who don't fly aerobatics assign degrees of 'difficulty' with abnormal aircraft attitude(s). Like coming out of the Blender inverted. Sure, it could quite possibly take hours and hours to get any real technique to it, but right off the bat the airplane does some whacky stuff, and will come out inverted that just looks like 'something' and the uninitiated go; "Wow".

Like 'Tumbles' or 'Lomcevak'. I just fly a 45 up line @ 1/2-3/4 throttle and just jam full right aileron, full right rudder (or maybe left to snap) and push the elevator over to the stop. Then do it inverted on the 45 up line, or from a KE on the up line, or from a straight vertical up line. The plane does, or 'looks' like it's doing something completely different from each entry, but basically just gyrations, endo's and a lot of prop barking and recover off the cuff, but try to make it look like a 'recovery' and not what it really is; a 'save' You know, total BSing, but it's fun.

I had a friend standing next to me in the box and as I did that same maneuver from different entries he kept asking me what the inputs were for each attempt. The same. Oh. Wow. Huh.

And I feel for your head after partying Mutt! I gave up drinking for no real good reason, just over it, about the same time I came back into RC. Every once in a while I'll see a guy purdy 'green' putting a model together on a Saturday or Sunday morning. I think; 'Man there is just no way I could wrap my head around this hungover. Just no way.'

Good Comments. We had a family BBQ the day before and I had a few beers. Nothing crazy but I don't usually drink that much so my head was a little cloudy. I can totally relate to what you were saying about doing the maneuvers. The KE spin really has me thinking. I can get it sometimes but others not. Seems like I'm doing the same inputs but not getting the same result. Regardless people still came up and asked me how to do it and what it was so I guess it looked cool to them. I sometimes forget how others see your flight. Of 4 attempts on the KE spin only 1 of them locked in and looked right. I may have invented the KE waterfall but don't ask me to do it again!!!

Originally Posted by Muttdog

Good Comments. We had a family BBQ the day before and I had a few beers. Nothing crazy but I don't usually drink that much so my head was a little cloudy. I can totally relate to what you were saying about doing the maneuvers. The KE spin really has me thinking. I can get it sometimes but others not. Seems like I'm doing the same inputs but not getting the same result. Regardless people still came up and asked me how to do it and what it was so I guess it looked cool to them. I sometimes forget how others see your flight. Of 4 attempts on the KE spin only 1 of them locked in and looked right. I may have invented the KE waterfall but don't ask me to do it again!!!

lol, one of the best 3D guys at our field, who since moved away (bummer because he was a great instructor), used to see us guys do something completely whacky with a small electric aerobat and he'd say; "Cool maneuver! If you can copy it and fly it three times in a row, you can name it!" Uh, nope!

Looks like I'm not naming anything anytime soon!