Practice, practice, practice ... - 201209

In early April, at 3:30 in the morning, I met my friend, Lorin Finney, and drove
300 miles to the District VIII 2012 judging seminar. The material that was
In early April, at 3:30 in the morning,Given the opportunity, I recommend anybody with even a passing interest in
Pattern attend a judging seminar. It will potentially make you a better pilot. Reading
the rulebook and judges’ guide is boring—actually, it’s beyond boring; discussing
maneuvers and downgrades with others is engaging.
It was a long, 18-hour day, which included 600 miles of driving, but the
knowledge I gained was worth every mile driven.
Mother’s Day
After two practice flights in the early morning air, I sat alone in the desert,
gathering thoughts for this column. The only sound was that of whistle pigs
scurrying about and gunfire in the distance. Looking forward to the season opener, I
was excited and apprehensive.
One more flight and it was time to go home and celebrate Mother’s Day with the
family. Although it is sometimes a solitary experience, practice is a must. There is no
substitute.
My flying isn’t the greatest.
Usually it is only slightly better
than the illusion of being in
control.
The Baby-O, my 47-inch
Osiris, has served me well
despite abuse such as the fullstall
landing incident using
the left wheel pant and cowl
as landing gear. Another time,
my cold hand
slipped when I
was unplugging the battery connector,
breaking the center bulkhead and
splitting the fuselage side. Nothing a
new propeller and a little Bob Smith CA
couldn’t fix, but two practice sessions
were cut short. Learning opportunities
passed by.
Baby-O has made roughly 40 flights—
not a lot, but it was the best I could
muster between winter/spring weather
and a busy schedule. I have learned
much flying the aircraft. Rough air
bounces Baby-O around a lot. It isn’t
a stable, self-correcting trainer, thus it
provides an excellent opportunity to
practice corrections.
I never get in all needed corrections.
Sometimes I even make the situation
worse with the wrong correction, but
hey, nobody I know has ever flown a
perfect flight. “When the belly is up,
rudder input moves the inside wingtip.”
I can never seem to remember that little
tidbit told to me long ago.
After watching me fly, people
sometimes ask, “What was that
maneuver you did (pointing) over there
where you went (fill in the blank)?”
To which I reply, “That was a botched
(maneuver name) bailout.” The nice
thing about aerobatics is that bailing
out—altitude permitting—is an option.
Do you practice a mistake or two high? I
do.
With the 2012 season upon us, it is
time to hang Baby-O on the wall and
get the Insight down from the rafters.
Intermediate, it is time!
2012 Season Opener
The Red Apple Flyers of Wenatchee,
Washington, hosted the first contest of
the National Society of Radio Control
Aerobatics (NSRCA) District VIII
season during Memorial Day weekend.
In typical early-season fashion, the
conditions were challenging: sunny and
warm, but windy. All day Saturday, a
brisk wind blew in our faces. Sunday, the
wind rotated down the runway out of
the west with even more velocity.
Intermediate was hotly contested with
a mere 30 (raw) points separating first
place from third place. Each of the top
three finishers had won two rounds, with
yours truly on the short end of the points
stick. After managing to win Intermediate
rounds four and five, I fell apart in round
six and finished in third place.
Sunday, after winning round five in
nearly the same wind, I didn’t want to
fly in the 20-plus mph winds round six
presented and I received the scores to
prove it. I had too much time between
rounds to think about the wind, but that
was my problem and I needed to fix it.
Congratulations go to Scott Stebbins
in first place and Nathan Wingert who
placed second in Intermediate.
Seeing Jeff Bellinger’s Black Magic
up close was a real treat. Jeff flew his
aircraft in Advanced and I had a frontrow
seat in the judge’s chair. Someday
I will finish my Black Magic; life keeps
getting in the way of my hobby.
Another treat was flying and
socializing with a great group of
Canadians. These men are a first-class
act with immaculate airplanes and flying
abilities. The biggest pleasure of all was
watching Michi Akimoto fly.
This is Michi’s third year flying Pattern
and he won FAI in Wenatchee. Way to
go, Michi! That is a remarkable feat. At
the awards ceremony, fellow Canadian
Dave Reaville commented that Michi
had practiced flying FAI all winter. Michi
showed he is a master of his craft.
Sunday morning, while watching
Dave Reaville fly an F-13 practice flight,
I saw a knife-edge loop and integrated
full roll top 90° for the first time. I didn’t
know an airplane could do that. The
maneuver was a thing of beauty. If you
haven’t done so already, check out the
F-13 sequence. It’s a ballet in the sky.
Why I Fly in Contests
In my July column, I asked readers
why they do not fly in contests. Because
of publishing schedules, I haven’t
received any feedback yet, but thought
I’d share the reason why I do.
It’s simple: nothing I know of will
make you a better pilot than entering a
contest. No matter
the discipline—
Pattern, Scale,
Pylon, Soaring,
helicopters, or
fun-flys—entering
contests of any
kind will make
you a better pilot.
The camaraderie,
travel, excitement,
and agony are just
icing on the cake.
The reason I go to
contests is to fly
better.
Contests are the
ultimate yardstick
of piloting ability.
There are no
excuses for placing poorly other than
being ill prepared. Whether it is because
of your fingers or your equipment, being
unprepared will earn you a spot on the
wrong end of the standings.
Do you think you have mastered a
maneuver? Fly it in front of judges with
shaky hands and knocking knees at a
strange field.
When I say, “Judges ready?” I stand
proud, prepared to be judged by my
peers. Regardless of the outcome,
stepping in front of judges is an
accomplishment in itself. It takes a
certain amount of courage to step up and
fly to be judged. Are you courageous?
I used to think that straight-andlevel
flight was easy—until I entered
my first Pattern contest. Eight was my
high score for Straight Flight Out at
my first contest and that didn’t happen
until the last round. I remember being
elated for receiving Straight Flight
scores of eights and nines at that year’s
district championship. Like all Pattern
maneuvers, Straight Flight is fairly
easy; the devil is in the details of flying
precisely.
How good of a pilot are you? Enter a
contest and find out!
Senior Pattern Association
Before becoming involved in NSRCA,
I belonged to the Senior Pattern
Association (SPA). I built and flew a few
SPA-legal airplanes.
At the time, most SPA activity took
place in the Southeast, making it hard
for me to attend contests.
At one time, a few SPA members
discussed purchasing a corporate jet
to shuttle geographically challenged
competitors to and from contests. In the
end, SPA president Bruce Underwood
kindly brought sanity to the conversation
and stated the budget would not allow
the purchase of a corporate jet, not
even one powered by 500 donated O.S.
.91 four-strokes, as suggested by an
economically minded member.
To this day, I still consider SPA
members my friends. They were my
grassroots encouragement to pursue
Pattern. SPA is an interesting niche
within the larger discipline of Pattern
competition, offering an economical,
non-turnaround alternative to
turnaround-style NSRCA Pattern.
The members are a great bunch
of people whom I encourage to send
photographs of airplanes as Bruce did for
this month’s column.
I will never forget Bruce referring to
my Daddy Rabbit as a Redneck in a
Tuxedo, after I asked him if it was legal
to use wheel pants.
Flight complete.