The aMa naTIonaLS is now in the history books. There was
a separate Nationals report last month, so I will not duplicate that
effort.
As the Pattern columnist, I normally could/would have
covered the event, but I was so heavily involved with competing,
judging, and evening meeting administration this year, it would
not have been practical.
As he often does, Tony Stillman stepped into the breach and,
as a veteran reporter and prior Nationals Pattern event director,
was a welcomed person for the job.
For those of you who have not been to a Nationals, it really
is worth the trip. We practically take over the whole site for a
week; the “site” being three runways running two flightlines
all day.
You meet competitors from across the country, and they all
have one major thing in common: they made the journey, and
are determined to have a good time. Despite the pressures of
competing, there are many smiling faces. Years of accumulated
acquaintances metamorphose into camaraderie and
cooperation.
You meet people you have only ever read about. This year, all
the major Pattern personalities were there, and it was educational
to see them fly.
To make this year more interesting, the US Team Selection
program was held as an overlay to the Federation Aeronautique
International (FAI) Championships. Therefore, the AMA
Nationals could address two issues at once.
One issue was why we do not use the top three pilots from the
Nationals as the US world team, which is continually asked. The
second issue is that we put far too much demand on the US team
pilots, by asking them to use two separate weeks of vacation time
to participate in both competitions.
The Nationals also suffered in attendance every second year—
directly in step with the team-selection process. You can’t blame
a pilot for wanting to make the world team, and using that
precious week’s vacation to do it.
I must mention Maureen Dunphy, the National Society of
Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) Secretary/Treasurer, who
served as Nationals Manager.
Eric Henderson, 303 Shady Ln., Marlton NJ 08053; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL AEROBATICS
Nik Middleton, with a smile and a highly visible Hydeout.
Chief line judge Terry Terrenoire feeds the masses at the
Beachless Barbecue in Muncie IN. Attendees had a great time!
Allan Eklund on final approach to the desserts at the “Beachless
Barbecue,” during the 2000 Pattern Nationals.
108 M ODEL AVIATION
Without Maureen, we would not have had a hospitality tent,
the board and general NSRCA meetings, or the “Beachless
Barbecue.” Everyone had a great time, and the party finished just
before flying began the next day.
I take my hat off to Bob Noll, who ran the mainstream Pattern
Nationals for the third year in a row and the US FAI F3A worldteam
selection trials. Bob pulled it off, with only minor concerns
for the FAI pilots.
This year, the FAI schedules and rules changed enough so that
it was impossible to use the top three American pilots from the
Nationals for the FAI team.
The Nationals FAI formula has three rounds of the preliminary
schedule P-01, from which approximately 15 pilots went through
to the AMA FAI class finals. Then the finalists flew four rounds
of the FAI finals schedule F-01. They did not fly Unknown
schedules. (This formula will be used in the 2001 World
Championships.)
A happy Bob Hartwick with a YS 1.40-powered model. Bob was a
finalist in the Nationals Masters class competition.
Great smiles from Mrs. and Mrs. Danserau, who ran the Intermediate
and Advanced Nats scoring for three days at Site Three.
Danny Landis poses with a heavily disguised Omen, smiling his
way to a third-place finish in Intermediate class.
Confused yet? It gets better.
The day after the AMA FAI class
finals, the team-selection contest was run.
The top eight US finalists were subjected
to two rounds of F-01 and two rounds of
Unknown schedules, to determine the top
three fliers and an alternate.
Notice that I said approximately 15 pilots
went through to the AMA FAI class finals;
this is because non-US finalists also went
through to the AMA finals, but would not be
in the subsequent team-selection contest.
Quique Somenzini finished a superb
second in the US FAI Nationals, but his
position did not factor into the US team
selection. This meant that a 16th US pilot
was included in the AMA finals.
Now you have an idea of why I take
my hat off to Bob. If you meet me, please
don’t ask me to go through it again; but
thanks to Bob for doing it!
Now we have new champions in all
AMA classes: Robert Mathews in 402
Intermediate; Dean Wilson in 403
Advanced; Peter Collinson in 404
Masters; and Chip Hyde in FAI.
It is great to see Chip focused and
tuning up for a run at the world title. It
was just as exciting to see Peter
Collinson win consecutive AMA titles in
Intermediate, Advanced, and now
Masters. Watch out Chip!
The youth of today really gives me
high hopes for our Pattern future.
The World Championships team
consists of Chip Hyde, Sean McMurtry,
and Jason Schulman, with Kirk Gray as the
alternate. I heard that only a handful of
points separated them. My thoughts go out
to Kirk, who has represented the US so
well in the past.
The US has a disproportionately low
representation for the FAI Championships,
when you consider how many world-class
FAI F3A Pattern fliers we have.
Is there a way to propose an FAI
rules change, to allow a country such as
the US to field a Team A and a Team B?
Something based on the percentage of
registered FAI pilots, maybe?
The US team needs your support. The
NSRCA (www.NSRCA.org) has nothing
to do with the FAI administratively, but
it is a very strong supporter of the US
team. This Pattern Special Interest
Group (SIG) does, and will, contribute
to the US team fund, but it is very
expensive to ship a group to Ireland.
The team needs donations. As
members of AMA, you outnumber
NSRCA members by a factor of 300.
Imagine how much money could be
raised for the team if each of you
contributed a few dollars.
Please give it some thought. Send
donations to the AMA, marked US
Pattern Team Fund.
Square Loops: A loop with four
straight lines can look very attractive,
if done well. This month I will take on
that maneuver.
New “Square Loop attemptees” tend
to pull the elevator hard, four times. It
may not look too difficult, but looks can
be deceiving.
You may have performed the perfect
Square Loop; to be sure, read the
following. I will begin with this
maneuver, because it is easier to
ascertain your success.
The Square Loop belongs to a family
of loops with lines; others are the threesided,
the six-sided, and the eightsided—
all of which can be performed
inverted or right-side up. They can also
have a whole range of rolls on the lines.
Have I scared you off yet? Good.
When judging the Square Loop, it is
obviously right or wrong. Humans seem
capable of spotting squareness more
readily than roundness.
The maneuver is comprised of four
90° corners, and four straight lines of
equal length.
Pull the airplane into 1⁄4-loop from
level flight, and climb a distance you
choose. Try three or four seconds of
vertical at first; if your model loses too
much speed, start again and climb for a
shorter height or time.
Do another 1⁄4-loop. Now the
airplane is inverted, and is required to
fly the same line length as the one in
the vertical climb.
Pull a third 1⁄4-loop, and let the model
head back toward the ground. Our old
amigo gravity is helping out.
Pull the fourth 1⁄4-loop and resume
level flight, with a straight line to
exactly where the Square Loop began.
Now do all that again, with some
control-input advice. Fly in a straight
line across in front of you,
approximately 100 yards away. This
may be uncomfortable at first, but it
presents the maneuver in a much more
viewable, and possibly favorable, light.
Select roughly 3⁄4 throttle and fly past
the imaginary centerline in front of you.
Pull the 1⁄4-loop, and apply full throttle
as you go vertical. This allows you to
pull a tighter corner without sliding too
far horizontally.
Concentrate on holding a vertical
line. Do not be surprised if your airplane
goes slightly to the side or to the canopy.
Hold a bit of corrective rudder or
elevator, or both.
Before you run out of vertical speed,
pull the second corner. (Release any
corrective inputs before pulling the
corner). Be careful not to pull as much
elevator displacement; gravity will be
helping, and will cause a pinched corner
if you let it.
Be ready with some down-elevator, to
prevent the airplane from diving while
inverted.
As the line is being established and
held, slowly come back on the throttle.
Some pilots throttle back too quickly,
which causes the model to slow down
and sink. Get too slow, and your model
will require too much down-elevator in a
hurry. It is much better to throttle back
slowly, up to the third corner.
By now, your throttle should be all
the way back. Pull the third corner as
you did the second. You are looking for
the same radius as the first and second
corners had. The model will gain speed
on the down-line, so take care to
reproduce the curve of the last corner.
Avoid stalling the elevator as you pull
out of the dive. The secret is to plan a
Square Loop backward. Learn what the
model is capable of on the last corner, and
start the Square Loop with that radius.
Try a few down-lines and pullouts, to
see what you and your airplane are
comfortable doing. Armed with this
information, you can plan a Square Loop
that uses this down-line radius as the
standard for the first, second, and third
corner.
There is a common, but very wrong
myth that Square Loops must have tight
corners. Please ignore any guidance
based on this misconception. Equal radii
and equal straight lines are the rule. It’s
even in writing in the AMA rule book!
Excessively tight corners are considered
downgrades.
The short form of the above is that
you are trying to achieve four equal
corners, four equal lines, all in the same
plane.
You definitely need a friend to tell
you if you are doing this one right. Time
and distance awareness play tricks on the
pilot as the airplane changes speed in the
four lines.
Some hard parts to get right in this
maneuver are the different radii that your
airplane will pull at different airspeeds.
You will need much less up-elevator
when pulling the top two corners than
when pulling the bottom two corners.
When dealing with wind correction, I
have two tips that might help you. First,
pull slightly less elevator for the upwind
corners, and give more when pulling into
the wind.
Second, try to lean the airplane into
the wind on the up-line and on the downline.
If you don’t, the model will drift
back as you climb, and it will not draw a
true vertical line. You will probably have
to hold some down-elevator in on the upline
and up-elevator on the down line.
The same rudder is held all the way
around in a crosswind, but it causes
problems when you pull the corners
because the airplane is leaning off the
vertical or horizontal.
The smart move is to straighten the
airplane with rudder before, or as, you
pull the 90° corner. Then put the rudder
back in, to deal with crosswind only
when on the straight lines.
I have had a lot of rewarding
feedback from people who have been
trying these maneuvers “with a bit more
intent,” as they say.
Flying with purpose, with a flight
plan, adds a new dimension to why you
fly, and even to what you build next.
“Landing, starting now.” MA
