Radio Control Aerobatics - 2011/03

98 MODEL AVIATION
IT WAS LATE morning
when I pointed my truck
down the highway toward
home. Rain had allowed my
early departure from the
National Society of Radio
Controlled Aerobatics
(NSRCA) District 8
Championship in Richland,
Washington.
Not that my wife and kids
relish attending RC
Aerobatics (Pattern) contests.
School had begun in Boise,
Idaho, several weeks earlier;
homework trumps Pattern
contests, and my family had
not accompanied me.
The long 300-mile drive
home provided me with a lot
of time to reflect on my first
season flying Pattern.
Emotions had run from
extreme frustration to
ultimate gratification. At this
point I was reflecting on how
I had become the NSRCA
District 8 Sportsman Champion of 2010.
Several years ago I had become bored with
the RC hobby and hadn’t flown for a couple
of years. Two years ago I decided to try
Pattern in an effort to revive my lifelong
hobby.
Pylon Racing had dried up in my area
years ago; since then I had tried a variety of
disciplines. Nothing seemed to give me the
rush of competition.
My Pattern career began with a cheap 2-
meter Sword ARF that I had converted to
electric power. As I drove I remembered all
of my struggles the year before to get my
model into the air, only to prang it the
weekend before what I had planned to be
my first contest.
Waiting another year to enter my first
contest was brutal. Thank goodness I met
NSRCA District 8 Vice President Rex
Lesher through the Internet. Besides being a
great guy, he was primarily responsible for
bringing a Pattern contest (with contestants)
to my home field; I am a member of the
Boise Area Radio Kontrol Society
(BARKS).
Dubbing it the “Treasure Valley Pattern
Contest,” we scheduled the event for mid-
May. Before seeing NSRCA District 8 pilots
practice the Friday before our competition, I
had never seen a modern 2-meter Pattern
airplane fly in person. Sure, I had practiced
flying the Sportsman sequence prior to their
arrival, but my mouth hung open as I
watched in awe of experienced pilots flying
with such grace and precision.
Three fellow club members and I had a
hoot flying in our first Pattern contest the next
day. Five rounds later we were veterans. We
had been given almost every downgrade in the
rule book and then some, but we all survived,
models intact, with smiles on our faces and
years worth of tall tales in our heads.
Two weeks after finishing second at that
event, it was time hit the road to Wenatchee,
Washington, for my second contest.
Weather had prohibited any useful practice
in the meantime. Nonetheless, we rolled
northwest with travel trailer in tow, kids in
the backseat, and our poodle riding up front
on my wife’s lap.
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Aerobatics Mike Riggs
Reflections from a first-year competitor
Left: Jim Hiller shows
of f his Option 160
design in Redmond OR.
Above: Linda Sterling,
NSRCA District 8 judge
and 2010 District 8 Most
Valuable Person, at the
Red Apple Flyers Pattern
contest in Wenatchee
WA.
Sportsman pilots at the 2010 Treasure Valley Pattern Contest in Boise ID
(L-R): Robert, Jerry, Nathan, Mike Riggs.
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March 2011 99
Mike Riggs disassembles his Sword while
his wife, Karen, provides supervision.
Above: The author’s Sword before it was
lost in a crash.
Left: The author brings his Insight in for a
landing after a practice flight at BARKS
Field. Practice is an important part of
preparing for competition.
The Wenatchee Red Apple Flyers’
facilities are immaculate. They reminded me
more of a country club than a model airplane
flying field, including RV hookups,
observation deck, and showers among the
many amenities.
On Saturday, battling nerves and 20+
mph winds, I flew horribly. That night I
wondered if I could do this Pattern thing.
Then on Sunday morning I put up a couple
of decent flights in light winds and managed
to finish three out of four.
As I’ve told many people, the reason to
pursue Pattern is that it forces you to do
things you wouldn’t normally do. Before
this competition those windy conditions
would have meant no flying for me. During
this contest I focused on learning to hold a
line 150 yards out in a strong quartering
wind.
After Wenatchee I had a few weeks to
practice, and I did. I flew back and forth
across the sky with a turnaround on each
end.
I performed Stall Turns, Half Reverse
Cuban Eights, Split “S,”s Immelmann
Turns, and Half Cuban Eights. I never did
put anything in the middle; I just flew end to
end, over and over. Try it; it’s surprising
how hard it is.
My next contest was in Redmond,
Oregon, which is conveniently located
roughly 100 miles north of Crater Lake
National Park. The family plan was to rent a
cabin on Diamond Lake and spend a few
days after the event exploring the Crater
Lake area.
Because the sun was in the box, contest
flying didn’t start until 10:30 a.m. I was the
third up in the sacrificial order of three
Sportsman pilots.
During my first-round flight my body
decided to get nervous for some reason.
With shaking hands and butterflies in my
stomach, I managed a fairly good flight.
After the first round I was only a point or
two behind my friend, Wayne. Rex called
for me during the third round. He coached
me in the use of rudder the entire flight. His
instruction taught me a number of things.
1. If you’re discombobulated, with no
idea how to straighten things out, level the
wings and try right rudder.
2. If the nose isn’t pointed slightly to the
right of the flight path after a pull, add right
rudder and put it there.
3. Severe downgrades will be levied if
your model is right-side-up after the loop
segment of the Half Cuban Eight. I thought
bonus points were deserved for performing a
half rolling loop, but the judges didn’t see it
that way and zeroed the maneuver, costing
me the round.
Sunday was more of the same. I finished
a close second. The only person to beat me
in Redmond was me. Maybe I would
practice the centered maneuvers. More
important, after three contests I had gained
enough confidence to say to myself “I can
do this.”
The Redmond event was the first one I
thoroughly enjoyed. Competitions had been
a bit of a chore up to that point, but I
enjoyed that entire weekend.
Shortly after the Treasure Valley Pattern
Contest in May, BARKS membership had
voted to hold a more relaxed contest in
August that would allow club members to
fly the Sportsman sequence in a (monthly)
fun-fly format. With eight entrants, the Fun
Pattern Fly was a great success.
Unfortunately my Sword had crashed the
week before, and I did not enter.
However, as CD, scorekeeper, and chief
bottle washer for three rounds, I came away
with an appreciation of how much work it
takes to run a contest. This was a great way
to show club pilots that you don’t need a
Pattern airplane to fly Sportsman.
The Tri-City Radio Control Modelers has
held the Fun in the Sun Pattern contest at its
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field, just west of Richland, Washington, for
the last 33 years. The 2010 edition was also
the District 8 Championship.
The flying site is acreage of green grass
in the middle of what we out West call “high
desert.” It’s a great facility surrounded by
wide-open spaces.
The District 8 Championship was
bittersweet. Several weeks earlier my Sword
did the “ashes to ashes” thing and was no
more. I took the Insight that I had built the
previous winter to this event. The
bittersweet part was that I had only four
flights on it, but I loved the way it flew.
I get nervous when I arrive at a new—to
me—flying field. A quick flight usually
calms me. But this time my anxiety led to
my hitting the metal flightline fence post
with the elevator, leaving a nice souvenir
gash in my airplane.
After determining that it was still
airworthy, my Insight promptly nosed over
while attempting to take off. I had mounted
the wheels too far up in the wheel pants to
fly off of the short grass. I guess I thought
that everyone flew from asphalt.
For the first flight my friend, Tim, held
the tail while I revved up the engine, leading
to an uneventful practice flight. After that
the wheel pants came off, and then I got
another practice flight with “Right Rudder”
Rex yelling in my ear.
For the first round Saturday morning I
was well down in the sacrificial order of
seven Sportsman pilots. My first flight went
well; I even managed to pay attention long
enough to nail the landing. There’s a first
time for everything.
Getting to know a new aircraft is a bit
tedious. Will it do this? Will it do that?
I really like my Insight. From the first
takeoff, there’s something special about
flying a model you have built. Mark Hunt
deserves a lot of credit for designing a goodflying
Pattern airplane that a novice such as
myself can build and fly successfully.
My second-round attempt was one of the
best, most enjoyable flights I had made all
year. My caller Nathan’s voice faded into
the background as the aircraft flowed
through the pattern. It was a fairy tale until
the landing.
Many times I have heard Gordon say,
“You cannot blip the throttle on an electric;
it will torque roll because of the big
propeller.” In an effort to touchdown on box
center, I forgot his wise words and tickled
the throttle to stretch the approach a few
feet. While adding power and slight back
pressure, the Insight snapped out of the air.
There was no harm—it was only a
couple inches off of the ground—but both
judges gave me 6s for a botched landing. It
was the lowest scores of any maneuver in
the flight. I learned that when you have a
good round going, don’t do something
stupid and lose points.
Looking at the scoresheet after the
second round made me feel good about my
flying and my new airplane—a bit too good.
100 MODEL AVIATION
My third round was a gut check, showing
how humbling Pattern can be. I had better
flights at my first contest in May.
After flopping the Stall Turn, I was glad
that I had gotten the bad maneuver for the
flight out of the way. Then I continued to
fly terribly, ending with a very low score.
Lesson learned: If you get cocky, you will
be humbled.
I scored well in the fourth round—so
well that I won my first round of the
season. I had come close before, but this
was the first time that there was a “1,000”
beside my name on the scoresheet.
Saturday night at our traditional District
8 dinner at the flying field we feasted on
salmon, steak, baked potatoes, salads, and
desserts. Thanks to Steve, Linda, and all of
their helpers for a delicious feast.
Sunday morning I awoke with great
anticipation of flying rounds five and six.
After all, I was in the hunt for first place at
the district championship.
As I looked out the hotel window at the
pouring rain, my heart sank and I knew that
my rookie Pattern season was finished. I
wouldn’t get my chance to challenge
Garett for first place; he was ahead of me
by only a little.
Jim had once talked about flying
Pattern as “fixing things”—about repairing
maneuvers after making a mistake. I
wished there was a fix for rainy weather.
All of this brings me back to the long ride
home. Life is about choices, generally, but
model airplanes haven’t entered too much
into my life’s decisions.
I will probably never be able to devote
the time and resources required to become
a world-class Pattern pilot, assuming that I
have the talent to become one in the first
place. During the summer months, between
swim meets, camping trips, and other
family activities, I’m lucky to get out to the
flying field twice a week.
Where does that leave me with Pattern
flying and contests?
I had started my first season with two
goals: fly better and have fun. My
scoresheets show I that am flying better; a
bonus is that I have had a lot of fun. I
thoroughly enjoyed flying with, laughing
with, and meeting friends. This makes my
Pattern expectations elementary.
I will continue to devote time and
resources to pursuing Pattern as family
allows, with the goal of having fun,
meeting people, and becoming a better
pilot. Watch out, Intermediate; here I
come!
Flight complete. MA
Sources:
National Society of Radio Controlled
Aerobatics
http://nsrca.us
Boise Area Radio Kontrol Society
http://barks.us
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