SPORT FLYING THE 3D HOBBY SHOP VYPER

The Extra SHP Sport report was very successful in helping sport pilots move into a better and more capable class of plane without requiring them to fly something any more difficult than they already owned. Lots of guys who jumped from planes like the Mini Ultra Stick and Mini Pulse found themselves to be much more comfortable and confident literally the very moment they took the sticks.

We recently set a 46" Vyper up my friend Steve, who has only been flying for a few months. The plane was so sweet and easy to fly, and Steve's flying progressed so quickly that it was obvious the vyper would be just as good for aerobatic training and sport flying as the SHP is, and that's why we did this report.

Just so there is no confusion, we are not flying this plane with a 3D set up. We have custom developed a control and CG set up that turns the Vyper into a very docile, yet extremely capable sport plane. While the Vyper set up this way is not a basic trainer, anyone who can handle something like a Mini Pulse will find the Vyper to be very gentle and friendly, yet capable of all conventional aerobatics.

If you are sport flying now, the Vyper is perfect like this, and perfect for learning precision aerobatics. If you choose later to go into 3D, with a simple set up change the Vyper is also extremely capable of going there too.

As a 3D/Precision Hybrid, the 3DHS Vyper is a child of two worlds. She excels in the world of smooth high speed precision aerobatics, and with the flip of the rate switch is ready for the rough and tumble world of high intensity 3D. What I found most appealing about the Vyper is it's ability to deliver a shockingly well rounded flight featuring both worlds of precision and 3D.

But, what about the middle world, the one in between, the world of sport flying?

THE VYPER AS A SPORT PLANE

Good airplanes, no matter what type of flying they are intended for, share many of the same characteristics. Stability, of course, is essential for just about any kind of flying, and as a precision plane, the Vyper has plenty of that. Agility is another crucial trait, and as a 3D plane, the Vyper is definitely agile.

A good sport plane has to be rugged, and the Vyper features a very generous amount of carbon fiber in the landing gear area and fuselage sides, plus it's carbon wing tube and landing gear. 3DHS planes are well known for being exceptionally strong birds that can absorb a lot of abuse, and the Vyper is no different here.

As you can see, the Vyper has all the essential qualities for a great sport plane. The average sport pilot can very easily handle this plane, but it is more likely when he sees how capable the Vyper is, he will want to try some precision and 3D with it too.

Steve is a relatively new pilot. He's only been at it for 6 months or so, and has been flying foam planes and an Ultra Stick 25E. This is his first very serious airplane, and he was a bit nervous because it was his very first flight with it. It was also his first time on camera, and his wife was there watching too, so it would be hard to put a guy under more pressure. Still, he flew very well and liked the vyper right away. After Ken went home I had Steve doing stall turns almost on the deck with it, and it's a shame we didn't get that on video.

Here's Steve's first flight with his new Vyper:

SET UP

Control Movement
The sport setup was not that hard to figure out. It's a simple formula that we have used before on the Extra SHP Sport, Extra SR Sport and 40" Edge 540 Sport. Generally Scott likes to use precision throws for low rates, and that's what's in the manual. We use that for a high rate, and then dial the low rate back to something that's pretty gentle, which is usually 80-85% of high rate.

Aileron:
15 degrees .75”
30% Expo

Elevator:
13 degrees 1.25”
30% Expo

Rudder:
45 degrees 3.5”
75% Expo

This gives you a nice, gentle sport plane that will do all the conventional precision and sport aerobatics. Roll rate is about three rolls in five seconds, which is what used to be the standard for the old AMA pattern, and also very easy to keep up with when doing multiple rolls.

The best bet is to fly the plane a bit on high and low rates, leave the high rate alone, and dial the low rate into what you feel really comfortable with. That way the thing will be a dream on low rates, and you'll have high rates when you want to go a little crazy.

Center Of Gravity
The manual calls for the CG to be at 4.75" behind the leading edge of the wing, measured at the root, where the wing meets the fuselage. For sport and precision flying that's a bit too tail heavy. Moving the CG a bit forward makes the plane more stable, gentle, groovy, and precise. It just locks in better, especially at high speed.
We flew our Vyper at 4.5". This turned out to be just right, assuring rock solid tracking without compromising the plane's agility for maneuvers such as snaps and spins.

Mechanics

As far as how this translates out mechanically, we use 100% on the end point controls. Then, we use the standard arms that come with the Hi Tech HS65MG servos.

Aileron Set Up: We again use the inside hole, but instead use the double armed servo arms. Since a lot of new guys will be using this set up, we don't want to make radio programming any more complex than it has to be, so we use a y harness and run both servos off the aileron channel. If the servo arms don't center perfectly, generally you can flip them over 180 degrees and that takes care of it.

Elevator Set Up: We use the inside hole of the single arm servo arm, and if it doesn't center perfectly we use the sub trims.

Rudder Set Up: You can use either the double or single servo arms, but generally it is the outermost hole in the arm, and then get max deflection with the end point controls. Just make sure the rudder doesn't hit the elevator halves.

Since Steve will be flying this plane on Thunder Power 3s 2250 Pro Power batteries, we went with the pull-pull set up to help get the CG a bit forward for sport flying. You can see here how a little bit of heat shrink tubing hides those ugly crimp pieces and cleans up the look of the plane considerably.

Nail

The Vyper is a remarkable plane on many levels. For the experienced 3D pilot, the Vyper does everything his other 3D plane do, but also allows him to explore the world of precision aerobatics. The reverse is true of the precision pilot who would like to try 3D.

Somewhere in the middle of this is the sport pilot who wants an agile but easy plane to learn or practice aerobatics, or to just plain have fun with. The big bonus is that should he choose to move to another level, he can pursue either the 3D or precision disciplines...... or both.

While the Vyper is a child of two worlds, and excels in both so well, she has almost melded those into another, brave new world.

Steve admires his new Vyper

Thanks to my friend Steve for lending us his brand new Vyper for this project. Steve got this plane for Christmas from his wife, and if he wrecked it he'de be in big trouble, Worse still, if I wrecked it we'de all be dead, so it was a big leap of faith to let me fly it.

Thanks again, Steve!