Helicopter 3D Glossary

This article gives advice, hints and tips from an experienced club modeller. Please note that the SRFC accepts no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage resulting from actions taken by anyone acting on advice given in these articles. If you have any questions or would like to contact the authors please contact us

I’m having trouble keeping up with young Charlie and his Helicopter manoeuvres so I found the following Glossary. Loops and Rolls have been excluded but does anybody know what these are: Coronet, Rainbow, or Twister (Bouncy Castle)? Now, who’s going to demonstrate each one and explain how it’s performed!!

  • Autorotation From a reasonable height, set engine to idle and land without any engine power increase. Variations include inverted flips, rolls and pirouettes.
  • Backwards Inverted Loop Moving backwards and exit inverted in the same direction.
  • Backwards Loop Moving backwards perform a backwards loop entering and exiting in the same direction. Also perform inverted.
  • Backwards Roll Moving backwards perform a roll from upright to inverted and back to upright.
  • Big Ben A series of metronomes starting tail down and rotating clockwise scribing the clock face with at least 12 points.
  • Chaos Fly a number of multiple pirouetting flips in a stationary position between upright and inverted.
  • Death Spiral Perform a knife edge fall from height whilst elevator rolling around it's axis. Pull out either inverted or upright.
  • Detonator A climbing skids-in pie-dish/funnel with an aileron roll at the top and a falling pie-dish/funnel with skids-out.
  • Flip Forwards/Backwards From stationary, flip forwards from upright to inverted and back to upright or flip backwards.
  • Funnel A remote circuit flown with the tail boom near vertical, skids in or out. The funnel shape starts with a small diameter circuit and climbs slowly upwards with a corresponding increasing diameter circuit. The funnel shape is repeated slowly descending.
  • Haymaker A backwards horizontal eight, with multiple consecutive 4- point hesitation rolls with knife-edge 360 pirouettes at every knife-edge, the pirouette direction reversing each time.
  • Inverted Circuit Perform an inverted circuit either forward or backwards at a constant height and speed.
  • Inverted Outside Loop Perform a forwards loop entered from the inverted position and exit inverted in the same direction.
  • Metronome (Tick-Tock) A series of opposite pitch and elevator reversals in a vertical stationary position.
  • Pie Dish A remote circuit flown with the nose or tail always pointing towards the middle of the circle, inverted or upright.
  • Pirouetting Circuit Continuous pirouettes at a constant speed whilst performing a circuit in either direction at constant height and speed.
  • Pirouetting Flip Perform one pirouette whilst flipping from upright to inverted and back to upright.
  • Pirouetting Globe A succession of Pirouetting Loops, but with the axis of the loop rotating by degrees for each loop until an imaginary globe in the sky has been prescribed. Exit to be the same as the point of entry, but moving in the opposite direction.
  • Pirouetting Loop Pirouette continuously whilst performing a loop.
  • Pirouetting Metronome (Tick-Tock) A stationary metronome with at least one complete pirouette during each traversal.
  • Pirouetting Outside Loop Pirouette continuously whilst performing an outside loop.
  • Ripper Pirouetting tail slide and exit at low level to either an upright or inverted position.
  • Rolling Loop Perform continuous aileron rolls whilst performing a loop.
  • Slapper Vertical metronomes with a half aileron roll between the metronome stop points.
  • Snake A minimum of 4 joined crescents, tail boom horizontal, switching skids-in to skids-out and vice-versa between crescents.
  • Tumbling Circuit Tumble either forwards or backwards whilst performing a circuit of constant height and speed.
  • Tumbling Loop Tumble either forwards or backwards whilst performing a loop.
  • Waltzer Continuous aileron rolling pie dish at constant height.

Pat Dubock

Last updated on 13-March-07