One of the most challenging individual maneuvers to fly cleanly is the snap roll. It also happens to be one of the most misunderstood of the different aerobatic elements. Also known as a “flick” roll in European aerobatic circles, the snap roll shares more with the traditional spin than the conventional aileron roll. Snap and spin maneuvers share an autorotation about the roll and yaw axis caused by a stalled wing and a yaw input. Both aileron and snap rolls rotate the aircraft through 360 degrees, but that is where the similarities end. The important difference is that conventional rolls are primarily an aileron maneuver flown at a relatively low angle of attack, while snap rolls are a rudder/elevator maneuver at a very high angle of attack.

In my 19 years of flying fullsize aircraft, I have flown three types of Cessna 182s: a squaretail model from 1958; a swept verticalfn model from the mid '70s and an R182 Skylane RG with retractable gear. All three were very stable and had a lot more get-up-and-go than the 172s I had flown. I always thought the 182 was a great airplane (even though it has a nosewheel) and would make a great RC model. Parkflyers.com has turned that thought into a reality with its nicely done, sport-scale Cessna 182 500-class brushless model.

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Download a tiled plan for Dereck Woodward's VSP as featured in the March issue of Fly RC magazine. The plan consists of 30 8.5x11-inch letter size pages designed to be taped together to form a single sheet plan measuring approximately 40x60 inches. A full size printed plan will also be available soon. Watch this page for additional details. Questions should be addressed to editors@flyrc.com.

Saito has a worldwide reputation for producing light, powerful, totally reliable 4-stroke engines ranging from a small .30 to a large 2.20 single (see November 2005 Fly RC review) as well as several multi-cylinder engines. The FG-36 reviewed here is essentially the FA-220A glow engine converted for gasoline. It is more economical to run, and the integrated spark ignition makes it docile and very userfriendly. The FG-36 incorporates Saito’s traditional one-piece head and cylinder and other family characteristics with a few innovative modifications required to run a gasoline and oil mix.

Setting up a new model involves many unique steps, each one with variations based on the individual project. One of the most common variations is when installing the servos. Some models are designed so no extension leads are necessary, while others may need several leads of different lengths. Your project may be delayed if your local hobby shop doesn’t have the right lengths in stock, and using leads that are longer than necessary adds unwanted clutter and weight to your model. Fortunately, there is another option: you can make your own custom extensions.

Like many modelers, I am always on the lookout for opportunities to add a little personal touch to help make a new project my own. Even with the latest ARF, there is usually a chance to finesse a little something here or there to satisfy this itch and exercise a little craftsmanship at the workbench. One of my favorite places to enhance a project is when mounting the cowl.