Earthstar Forums

Another question from Odyssey fliers.

How stable in pitch is it, and can it be trimmed (with power on) to be
stable for momentary "hands off" flight? The reason I ask is because I have
used Cessnas for aerial photography and they are pretty good about being
stable enough to take hands off the stick for a litle while to take photos.
The Luscombe I am using a lot now does not have as good stability in pitch
and will take pretty rapid pitch excursions if not guided almost constantly.
Another photographer friend who owns a Titan single seat says his is a
handful for taking photos. From what I have gathered on this forum the
Odyssey is a lot more stable. I'm wondering what those who actually fly the
Earthstar say about the probable outcome of this technique. Thanks.

Skot

Hi Skot
I fly most of the time with my hands off the stick.
Your results are related to the CG position in any airplane. It you are
behind the aft CG than it hunts, if you load the plane toward the forward CG
it is more stable.
There are other factors but the odyssey is good for taking pictures,
especially if you tos a water bottle in the nose ahead of the passengers rudder
pedals.
Happy flying
Mark

I take pic's all the time. Calm days are better, just like my photo excursions in the Cessna 150 used to be. The trim works really well for pitch, and just keep the nose straight or slight turn with your feet. When it's bumpy, like in the summer, you may have to take several shots to get a keeper. I use a good point-n-shoot for stills or video, and will be making a youtube video. I have some footage already I could upload.

kb