RC Combat Group

The primary objective of RC Combat is to recreate the excitement of actual fighter aircraft combat in an enjoyable, safe competition that is both interesting for spectators, and challenging for the pilots. Essentially RC Combat is flying multiple similar performance model airplanes, each towing a 25 foot crepe-paper streamer behind them. Basically, the main objective is to cut an opponent’s streamer while protecting your own. Mid-air collisions are not encouraged or welcome, although they do happen.

RC Combat is an inexpensive sport using RC model aircraft that are made from a variety of materials. There are several classes of RC Combat flown in the US. Currently the official AMA events are Scale, Open, and Slow Survivable Combat (SSC), but quickly becoming popular is the provisional (unofficial) Class B event. Witnessing an RC Combat event allows you to experience the excitement as between five and eight aircraft battle one another. Of course, the biggest thrill is to be one of the pilots facing 5 minutes of pure exhilaration in the air as you compete with at least four other pilots. RC Combat, similar to RC pylon racing, is a true head to head event, and is quite addicting! Something that everyone should at least try at one time or another.

There are many sources you can explore on the web for all kinds of information about RC Combat. The "Radio Controlled Combat Association (RCCA)" is a special interest group with the AMA for RC Combat. Or you might want to join the RC Combat Facebook group, which is also a great source of information. There is a wealth of information on the "Crash Test Hobby" website, including suggested parts list, many videos of construction, flying and combat flight. Take some time and check these out. 

One of our club members, David H., was the mastermind of the TAI RC Combat group. The only guideline established was that all planes would be built and powered for equal performance. Kinda like Formula 1 and NASCAR racers. The assumption was that nobody would push those guidelines, and the hope was by getting everyone to configure their planes the same way there would not be any screaming about one pilot being unfair. He picked a model that has a 57-inch symmetrical wing because it is large enough for some of us old folks to see at a distance and it flies great. The Crash Test Hobby 57-inch Bandit is for those flyers who want a faster and more aerobatic long wing. This plane is a lot of fun to fly, is built to take abuse and survive, and the symmetrical airfoil helps this plane fly the same upside down as it flies right side up. Inside and outside loops are easy and predictable. The Bandit can be fast but remains very controllable with an easy flair on landing. Its wings are capable of 80+ mph as configured. Listed below are the components David recommended everyone use to configure their TAI RC Combat plane.

• BANDIT 57. Available here with a video of the model flying."Crash Test Hobby" 
• Prop Savers / Prop Adapters. 4 mm. $5 with plane purchase.
• Surpass 3530-2808 Brushless Outrunner Motor 2S-4S 1700KV.  $30
• APC 7X6 electric prop.  $3
• 40 amp Electronic Speed Control (ESC).  $22
• Two standard servos, 2.4GHz receiver, and 3S 1800-3000mah LiPo battery of your choice.
• Estimated total cost (approx.):  $250

 Using this excellent guidance from David, ten members of TAI placed orders for the components needed to build their TAI RC Combat Fighter. Now each of them are off to build their fighter using the instructions that you can download here.  RC Combat Fighter Build Instructions

So last Tuesday, Fred and Rob were attempting to duel each other with their TAI Combat fighters, which is not easy with only two in the sky. It was twilight after hot dog evening, and Rob just can't see worth a darn in low light conditions. He completely lost orientation and spun his combat wing into the ground across the runway and into the drainage ditch next to the runway. Fortunately, the ditch was not full of water, but still relatively soft earth. His wing went in very hard, making a bad sound when it hit. The picture below is the wing crack as Rob found it.

Well, the wing wasn't merely cracked, it had literally twisted 180 degrees in the crash so the top of servo made an imprint on the leading edge! Seems impossible, but the shock cord that runs around the perimeter of the wing did not break, and Rob thinks it was all that stopped the wing from a complete amputation.

So, what to do? Rob spent a whopping half hour and fixed it! Hot-melt glue, carbon fiber rods, filament, tape, and a little bit more UV resistant film… She’s now ready to fly again! Below are some pictures Rob provided of his repairs.

The results are now in: you can't possibly have more fun with you clothes on than combat wing competition! On 18 June 2023, Mark, Jake and Rob all maiden their TAI Combat Fighters, and all were successful. Later, Jake and Rob flew 2 combat sorties. The results? Quoting Rob - “It was Father’s Day and I did clip his streamer!”

Here are a few things learned during the day:

The Crash Test Hobby instructions warn against increasing elevon throws too much past 3/8″ because of snap stalls. They found this to be hogwash. Both Jake and Robs wings were set up as identical as possible, with the control rod in the inboard servo horn hole and the top elevon horn hole per the instructions. They used triple rates on Spektrum Tx's. By far the best performance was high rates set to 110% at 35% expo, with expo of course a personal feel type of setting. Rob thinks you could easily move the control rod to the next hole out at the servo for additional throw.

When setting the elevon low, mid, and high rates, with a Spektrum Tx, absolutely remember to set your aileron and elevator to the same number for each rate. And the wings do like a little up reflex set in the elevons.

Using Mark’s balancer, each of their fighters needed 1/4 ounce of lead in the nose. Rather than doing it as shown in the instructions, Mark advised a better way to use less weight closer to the nose than the battery box. Just cut a small pocket between the battery and the nose and push the weight in there, cover with a little piece of packing tape.

Hand launching by yourself takes a little getting used to. Rob did it left handed, pushing the throttle full on with his right hand and then immediately pulling full up elevon. You don't need to throw it hard at all, but do need to throw it at an up angle. Throwing it level did result in one broken prop for Rob, even with the prop saver. Having the elevon throws on 110% high rates made launching a lot easier.

They all used two crepe streamers, packing taped to the leading edge on top of wing, about 5″ in from the wingtips. They made the steamers the length of our picnic tables, which are 8 feet. After their combat sorties, all concluded they should be 50% or more longer. You do have to be careful when launching with streamers on that you are not stepping on them. The fighters fly and look great in the air with the streamers on. They slow it down a bit with no other adverse effect, other than acting like you added a little more expo.

Jake used red streamers and Rob used black. Rob HIGHLY recommends each pilot try to have different color streamers. It makes it much easier to see who is winning or losing in the sky!

As advertised, these planes are nearly indestructible. During their first sortie pretty high up with both planes close to each other, Jake lost orientation. It is very important to keep your eyes on your own plane and use peripheral vision on your enemy. Jake literally pile drover his wing straight into the grass runway at speed. He was able to cut power which helped a little maybe, but it hit VERY hard right on the nose. The impact would have destroyed any balsa or traditional foamy. Both winglets came off but were undamaged. You could see how the EPP foam absorbed the impact by some of the painted graphics flaking off. One servo linkage was bent a little and undone, the ESC and Rx were partially out of their slots. Five minutes later his fighter was back flying again without the winglets, which it did just fine.

When only flying a 2 plane combat sortie, they found it much easier to set themselves up helping each other either slowing down or speeding up to get in close proximity before going into full combat mode. With few planes in the air, full throttling around you would rarely make contact. They tried to keep the fighters mostly over the flying field to avoid any contact or crashes in the surrounding wooded areas.

 It was an amazing Father’s Day. We needed to get some videos going, but all were too busy combat flying. The pictures below were after the last sortie where you can see Rob clipped Jakes red streamer!

 I know we have several members who bought kits, but later decided not to build them due to the unconventional build method or the thought of intentionally crashing planes and dealing with constant repairs. Jake proved just how tough these planes really are. The build techniques are different but not hard. Taking his time Rob built his fighter in only four days, and they are inexpensive.

We need more TAI Aces in the sky! You won't believe how much fun it is until you try it!

We had four club members who brought their TAI RC Combat fighters to the flying field today. You can view some of the action (including a mid-air) in the video which you can download here:  RC Combat Fighter Video. 
Or watch the video below:

As a result of the mid-air you saw in the video above, Mark had to replace the motor in his TAI fighter, and all the other fighters came out of the air combat session with only some ribbons lost. But Mark is back up and ready for another round of air combat with his "Big Red" fighter as seen in the picture below. All the TAI RC Combat Group is in prep for more action on the 4th of July!!

Below you will finds various links to RC Combat related articles which you might find helpful and/or interesting. We will try and add more as we run across them on the web.

See a post about our TAI RC Combat Group on RCGroup.com with a plug for our web page. Thanks Rob!!

• AMA Safety Code for Radio Control Combat
• 2-Stroke Glow to Electric Conversion Guide
• How to Paint EPP Foam Before Laminating
• How to Repair a Damaged RC Plane
• Simple Flying Wing Bomb Drop
• RC Combat Tactics and Techniques

Another club member, Rob W., has taken the time to provide us with some tips and pictures on building two Bandit 57 fighters. Below are some of Robs tips:

Hot-melt glue works great to join the wings, and I plan to use it in other places where the video See Build Videos Here shows it also. One thing I would recommend, particularly joining the wings where there’s a large area to cover with hot glue, is to get yourself a low temperature gun that has interchangeable tips. I started using the tip that came with it, stopped, wiped off the glue, and then switched out to a larger size tip. It works much easier! Hot melt is easy to wipe off if you get some in a place you don't want it, and there’s plenty of work time. It’s pretty slick actually. The joint seems extremely strong, with some flexibility, kind of like FoamTac.

Cleaning the “chaff” off the Styrofoam. This material is different than most foamies I have worked on. It has plastic like fibers on its surface. I tried one of the methods shown on the video using a razor. It takes very light pressure, going over it several times, then I used fine sandpaper and an old very fine 3M sanding pad I had. Don't use black wet or dry sandpaper, it leaves a black residue. As you get most of it off one way or another, you can easily pick the remaining stray fibers off with your fingernails.

I got two wings joined together (mine and Jake’s) in the time it took to drink a Budweiser Red! … a good start!

I suggest you print the Titan building instructions that you can download here. RC Combat Fighter Build Instructions The Bandit 57 is built using the same instructions as the Titan except:

Reflex is almost not needed on the Bandit 57 because of the symmetrical airfoil shape. Bend the motor mount so the motor is set at 0 degrees to the thrust line of the wing.

Here are some more tips provided by David H.

• The center of gravity (CG) is 8.5 inches (21.5 cm) back from nose of plane. This plane will not fly well, nose or tail heavy.
• The Bandit 57 tends to build nose heavy so double check your CG before cutting the battery hole and installing the radio.
• Front spars are 1.5 inches back from the leading edge of wing on both right/left and top/bottom of the wing.
• Center spars are 7 inches (17.5 cm) back from nose of plane on both the top and bottom of the wing.
• Spars are tied together with wire joiners and reinforced Scotch Extreme Tape over the top to prevent separation.
• Set the elevon throws 3/8 inch (1 cm) up/down. Use a hole close to center of servo horn and a hole at the top of elevons horn for best leverage.
• Target all up weight 26-32 oz. (790-960 gm). Lighter always flies better.
• A 3530-1700 KV motor recommended with 7x6 propeller. (Some flyers are using the 3530-1400 KV with a 9x6 prop)
• Use a 40-60 amp ESC (Electronic Speed Control). Install it so there is airflow around it.
• Use a 1300-3000 mah 3S LiPo batteries mounted with the side facing forward to absorb impact.
• Standard sized servos recommended for any motor capable of over 20 amps.

Build Update as of 5/26/2023

 Shown below the wings are marked for the spars and motor mounts. Just waiting on Amazon for some different soldering iron tips to make the spar groves.

Rob has been busy working on his two combat fighters, and again he has taken the time and effort to provide us with some more tips and lots of pictures on building his combat fighters. Below are Robs' inputs and tips:

I am building two combat Bandits. One for my son Jake, and one for me. I have built and restored many planes, balsa, and foam. I have never put together a plane with the techniques employed for the Bandit 57.
You can surely use different glues and approaches than what Crash Test Hobby suggests, perhaps some you are more comfortable with. I decided to pretty much go with their recommendations.
There are no specific Bandit instructions provided in the kit, nor on their website. They say follow the Titan videos and PDF instructions with exceptions noted for CG, center spar location, and motor mount thrust. Sounds simple, but it’s easy to get confused, especially because the Titan PDF and Titan video instructions vary somewhat between the two.

Motor/shaft/prop saver/prop situation:

David H. and I identified a couple issues that need to be resolved to set up the Bandit Surpass Motor pusher propulsion. The motor needs to have its shaft reversed, so that the long part that the prop saver and pusher prop goes on is sticking out the other side of the motor, compared to the way it comes new in the box. There's a video provided on how to go about this if you have not done it before. Maybe this  video  will make it easier for everybody to convert their Surpass motor. Basically, you loosen a set screw on the shaft, remove a very small C clip, then push the shaft through the motor.

Because the C clip is so small, 99% of the time when you take it off one or two things will happen. It will go flying off into the abyss never to be found again, or you will bend the crap out of it rendering it useless. The normal solution is to put a wheel collar on the end of the shaft, where the C clip was. Then re-tighten the set screw on the shaft, and you should be good to go. Typically, you grind a small flat in the end of the shaft and tighten it so the collar is flush with the shaft end.

However, in our case, and when the shaft is pushed through to the other side, it is just barely long enough to hold the prop saver and the APC prop. Inadequate in my view. The prop saver acts as a 1/4 inch spacer between the motor and prop. The prop saver and prop hub together are 9/16 of an inch. If you position the collar flush to the end of the shaft, it will not go all the way through the entire prop hub on the other side. Got both motor shafts reversed without issue. Did it on a vice using a small socket on one end. Shaft is tight!

So, in our application, it is very important when you put the wheel collar on, place it so the set screw of the collar is right at the end of the shaft. That is, the shaft would be just a tad below being flush with the end of the wheel collar, maybe 1/8 inch or so. This works great:

David H. came up with a better solution. He sourced some 3.5mm C clips on Amazon to eliminate using a wheel collar. These fit like a glove and allows for the most shaft to go through the prop and saver on the other side. This is the best solution. You can buy the C clips here: Amazon link.

Note the positioning of two 0 rings, not just one. Keep in mind, if you grind a flat on the shaft for a wheel collar, like I did, a new C clip will not stay in place. If I were to do it again I would forget the wheel collar idea, don't grind your motor shaft, and use a new C clip.

This motor shaft position challenge is exasperated by the way the APC prop uses a hub insert that is only a third of the width of the prop hub. Also, none of the APC inserts provided fits the Surpass motor shaft, requiring the closest size to be drilled out. This is difficult to do precisely because the insert is so small. See pictures below.

With the drilled out APC insert that only goes about a third of the prop hub depth, the shaft is essentially flush with the prop hub, or possibly a bit less than flush depending how far you pushed the shaft through. This makes for a bit of a loosey goosie prop to shaft connection. With the strength of the prop saver 0 rings, this set up will work, but it’s less than optimal. Seems to me the bore of the prop hub fitting the shaft should be more than a third of the hub depth. The best solution I found, was to CA glue the supplied closest shaft size insert into the prop hub. Before inserting and gluing it, add a bit of masking tape on the internal part of the insert to prevent epoxy from coming out the insert hole. Then fill the hub with JB Weld Epoxy, flush to the other side. Use a Q-tip with acetone to clean any uncured epoxy you get on the prop.

Next using a drill press, drill out the solid epoxy hub from the insert side, using its hole as a drill guide. Be careful to position the prop so the drill goes straight through the other side. If you it get a little crooked, don't freak out, just take a small round file to the other side and open it up a little bit. Then balance the prop. It should be very close. When I tried to do this without CA gluing the insert in place, my hole was off enough I had to sand one end of the prop quite a bit to get it to balance. Use the insert to guide you drill bit. Or, don't bother with all this. Just drill out the insert to fit the shaft and let the 0 rings hold it.

The motor mount provided in the kit requires the two horizontal holes to be Dremel'ed out closer to edge of the mount to match where the threaded holes are in the Surpass motor. Due to the center airfoil angle of the Formica plates, it also had to be bent more than I expected to get the 0 degrees vertical thrust. Be careful when you drill your mount holes through the wing so that you get 0 degrees right to left thrust. I ended up using 3mm bolt-though with lock nuts. This gave me some play to work with positioning the metal mount. See pictures below.

Mark the CG 8.5 inches back from the tip of the nose. CG has very little leeway on Delta shaped and flying wings. Test your electronics for the best positioning before cutting holes for them!

Laminating the Elevons:

The guy in the video makes this look easy. It was not for me at first. He suggested using a big old clothing iron, indicating it held temperature more consistent than a MonoKote sealing iron. The instructions say set the iron at 185 degrees for the elevons. My old iron will only get up to 160, and my new one won't go below 220! I did try my old iron, but it actually seemed too hot. I used my old sealing iron combined with an IR heat gun. It does not hold a consistent temperature very well. I found it can be hotter or cooler than the recommended temps and work just fine, if you vary the pressure applied accordingly.

The Titan PDF directions say to do two wraps of film on the elevons, and the video says use three. I used three, thinking they would be stiffer that way. I found doing this to be a bit challenging to get a smooth result on the film. Depending on the angle looking at the finished product, it appears fairly good maybe a little stippled, but at another angle it looks textured, almost wrinkly. The elevon is plenty stiff with three layers of film. If you look really close at the video, his turned out the same way. It all depends how the light hits it. Because the elevons are so thin and flimsy before applying the film, they tend to warp as you apply the iron to one side, kind of like staining one side of a board. The trick to get them to lay flat is to go over both sides fairly quickly to get them hot, and then put weights on top of the elevon, resting on a flat surface. Let it cool this way. I also put a straight edge along the edge to be taped to the wing to be sure it did not warp in that direction either.

Spars

Doing the spars takes a bit of getting used to, especially getting the soldering iron trench just right. Hot melt is an interesting animal. It can work well to set quickly just hand holding pieces together. But it can also be a frustrating PIA too! I got better as I went. One thing to note, it's not worth being an OCD perfectionist doing the spars and putting the filament tape on. Sound like someone you know?… that would be me! Whatever looks crappy, tends to blend out smoother when you put the clear UV resistant film on. I went from being modestly happy with my work before I put the film on, to pretty darn happy with the way it turned out!.

The plane's build technique does not suit itself to a perfect looking finish... but it looks decent. If you watch the videos carefully, and some close-ups of the planes flying, the finish is not smooth. It is just what it is. What you're getting is a super strong airframe, without a perfect finish.

Do not store your glued together Styrofoam wing before it has spars installed without filament tape and film on it, in anyway other than on a flat surface, preferably with some weights on it. If you store it on a plane or wing rack for example, like I did with one of mine, it will warp. Same with the elevons, before and after wrapping with the film, before attaching to the wing keep them on a flat surface with weights on them. They can actually warp in two directions, i.e., at the hinge line, and up and down. If they do warp, just weight them down using a straight edge at the hinge line. Any warps can be easily fixed.

If you slip with your soldering iron making a hole, don't worry. Just fill it with hot melt. Get some Popsicle sticks on  Amazon  to squeegee the excess hot melt off that you put over the spars. You can use a putty knife or something else, but it’s easier to use a disposable Popsicle stick rather than cleaning off the stuck hot glue.

It’s easier to use less hot glue under the spar to hold it down, and more applied over it, smoothing it off by squeegeeing it with the Popsicle stick. If you put too much glue in the trench you made with the soldering iron, it burns you fingers holding it in place and makes a mess because you can't hold it and smooth it at the same time. This isn't that hard, it just takes a few tries to figure it out. I also found using the high heat setting on my hot melt gun worked better than the recommended low setting. The glue flows better on high and you have a longer work time smoothing the finish and wiping off excess. If you get a rough or high spot with hot glue that got hard before you could wipe it off, it will not sand off well. Instead, very carefully with a light touch use you soldering iron to smooth it out. Just don't touch it to the foam or you will melt it. If do that by accident, no worries. Fill it with hot melt. You will not see it after the filament tape and film is applied.

Today I will finish one of our planes adding the electronics. This has been a fun and interesting learning curve. Don't be deterred by my long write up and advice. It’s not all that hard. I know I would have benefited knowing some of these points, that you can only learn by experience. Hope this helps you.

Rob has finished his TAI RC Combat fighter and provided us with more tips and a very nice video which you can see at the end of this section.

Installing the electronics:If you glued your Formica mounts with aft edge at the CG (8.5 inches from the nose), and mounted your Surpass motor mount at that position, using the Crash Test Hobby prop saver and a 3S 2200mah LiPo, then start by making your battery compartment as far forward as possible. It's front corners should be touching the cross spar. Mount the rest of your components, the Rx, ESC and 2 standard size servos as in the video. Your CG will turn out perfect, not requiring any additional weight.

My plane finished at a total weight of 32 oz. That's right at the max weight specified. Since the recommended battery has a wide range of sizes (and weight), I was happy with that. I might have been able to use a little less hot melt to save an ounce or so. Note that you can not mount the servos as shown in the video. Remember, the Crash Test Hobby video is the Grim Reaper build. The PDF written instructions for the Titan show somewhat better where I mounted mine.

I mounted my servos horizontal lengthwise parallel to the elevon, as far outward toward the wing tip as the servo wire would permit not using extensions. This proved just about ideal without running into spars and having the wing cord wide enough to fit the depth of the servo, but just barely. This servo location did require making a small tunnel under the spar at the corner of the servo to push the servo plug and wire under it. I made it with the soldering iron, just big enough to get the servo plug through. Then you can make a slit with a razor blade or X-Acto knife to tuck to wire all the way to the Rx. I covered the slit with a narrow piece of filament tape, then a slightly wider piece of UV resistant film. I put a dab of hot glue where I made the small tunnel under the spar before the filament tape was added.

I did not have the Velcro battery holder go up around the ESC/Rx as shown in the instructions. That would have put it right over my receiver plugs. Instead, I had the Velcro come out in front of the ESC/Rx compartment. I held down the Rx and Esc with small strips of the UV resistant film. I was a bit concerned about no air getting to the ESC causing overheating. I also held down the three motor wires with some UV resistant film, such that there was still enough room to tuck the battery connectors under the motor wires. This way when connected in flight the battery wires won't flap around or stick up too much. I did a static test at mostly high throttle while moving the control surfaces. I got 3.5 minutes on a not totally topped up 3S 2200mah LiPo. The battery and motor were not too hot. The ESC was hot, but not enough to melt the foam. Static tests create more heat and shorter run times than flying in the air. I suspect it will get 5 minutes or more flight time without the ESC overheating.

The Bandit 57 build took a lot of patience because of the learning curve with new techniques for me. I think the Crash Test Hobby video is misleading that it’s very easy and a super fast process. It took me about four days to build… still much faster than the month(s) or more it takes me to build a conventional balsa kit! I enjoyed the learning process, solving challenges as they came up without any catastrophic errors. I can't wait to fly it and knock Doc and Jake out of the sky again! Maybe my other ‘Mid-Air Crash Club’ buddy Fletch will build one too. It will be great fun that my son and I will each have Bandits as well!

My final comments are in my video which you can download here:  Robs RC Combat Fighter Build Video 
Or watch the video below: