Radio Control Scale Aerobatics-2011/12

When aspiring to be a good aerobatic
pilot, know the criteria for a given flight
and build your flight skills in increments.
Be comfortable with your aircraft and its
flight characteristics.
THROUGHOUT the years, there has been
an increased interest in Giant Scale airplanes
and extreme aerobatic flight. Because I write
my columns with Scale Aerobatics
competitors in mind, I would like to give an
overview of the Freestyle category found in
International Miniature Aerobatic Club
(IMAC) competition.
The best aerobatic pilots—even if they’re
not competition pilots—fly with utmost
precision and control at all times. Extreme
aerobatic pilots combine these elements with
demanding moves to create dynamic flights
that appeal to both the pilot and spectators.
This month’s column will begin by first
performing an assessment of your flying.
Then I will give an overview of each of the
judged elements for an IMACchoreographed
Freestyle routine and I’ll
discuss a few flight tips to help you at the
field. Let’s make you a better pilot!
Performing a Self-Assessment: When you
design your personal Freestyle or flight
demonstration, familiarity is the key. It is
important to fly only maneuvers you are
Utilizing smoke during periods of a given maneuver adds icing to the cake
during any aerobatic flight.
Below: A giant Sbach 342 performs a
slow, high-alpha rolling flight at a local
event. A balance of high- and slow-speed
maneuvers makes for the best flights!
December 2011 117
execution with utmost perfection is a must.
In the past, I have conveyed my thoughts
on how flight modes and/or flight conditions
should be used. When performing a
hesitation roll, for example, use either your
low or medium rates because 45° of control
surface deflection is not needed and will
make the airplane appear unsafe, which will
result in points being taken from you.
When I develop my Freestyle routine, I
draw out my program using Aresti
maneuvers, and when a maneuver has yet to
be drawn in Aresti, I simply draw it up as it
is. I make sure that I have similar cross-box
speed flight, high and low G-loaded
maneuvers (gravitational), and both positive
and negative G-loaded flight segments.
Equally important, the pilot must show that
he or she is in complete control of the
airplane at all times; this is where your selfassessment
will come in handy!
Let’s discuss a common issue I’ve
found among some Giant Scale aerobatic
pilots. Often I see pilots perform precision
maneuvers during their Freestyle
programs while on their 3-D rates. This is
the wrong thing to do. Precision is
lacking, and in a Freestyle program,
comfortable performing; it is as important to
fly an aircraft with which you are familiar.
You should know its stall characteristics,
how it handles at higher speeds, and so on.
List all of the maneuvers in which you
are proficient, and after you read this
column, think about where you would like to
position these maneuvers to create an
exciting—yet safe—flight. If you want to
perform a rolling segment on takeoff during
your routine, make sure you can perform the
rolling segment in both directions. Be
realistic. Your takeoff direction will change
depending on the wind direction. You must
be comfortable so that you can focus on one
thing—your routine!
When I fly a routine, I am not thinking
about how to perform any particular
maneuver. All control inputs come naturally,
as they should. I am thinking about
maneuver placement and changing music
cues. If a specific maneuver is too difficult
to perform, do not put it in your routine until
you can perform it in your sleep! Think from
a different perspective about how to perform
your list of maneuvers. To do so, let’s take a
look at the judging criteria.
The 4-Minute Freestyle Program Defined!
Let’s cover the basics. In order to compete in
a Freestyle event at an IMAC competition,
you need to compete in one of the five
IMAC categories of precision-sequence
flying at the same event. Although this is a
spectator event, it is scored based on
technical merit, artistic impression, and
positioning.
Technical Merit: To satisfy this portion of
the program, focus on making complete use
of the flight envelope. Show high- and slow-
Even if you are not a Freestyle competitor,
you can take these principles and apply them
to your everyday aerobatic flights to result in
show-stopping routines.
Rolling to set up for another maneuver,
the wings of the aircraft should never
remain level for a long period of time.
Freestyle only lasts 4 minutes, and each
one counts.
maneuvers because I do maneuvers that are
both parallel and vertical to the runway,
equally distributed positive and negative Gloaded
maneuvers, and so on.
Your flight should include some high
angle-of-attack maneuvers; this is where
knowing your airplane’s habits is
mandatory! Try to be diverse.
This is a timed event, and you only have
4 minutes to impress the judges. If you
perform a slow roll inches off the ground at
one point during the routine, do not repeat
the same maneuver again! Although your
Freestyle program can comprise some
advanced maneuvers, if an equal dose of
gyroscopic maneuvers is not included, you
will not receive high marks for that given
area of the flight.
Artistic Impression: This is the section that
I find most appealing. During this segment
of the flight, it is important for a pilot to
show both dynamic and graceful figures.
Additionally, it is important to have a wellchoreographed
routine to music. After all,
this is a flight that is to be performed for
spectators and other pilots alike.
One maneuver should flow into another.
If you perform a low knife-edge pass over
the runway, you don’t want to simply roll
90° to upright level flight. Apply needed
rudder corrections to ensure that the airplane
is flying parallel to the runway, then perform
a half rolling loop. Rather, you should
perform the knife-edge pass and
immediately begin the half rolling loop. This
is what separates pilots from one another.
If an advanced pilot is flying the
airplane and the heading is not as
desired, he or she can bank the aircraft
slightly and apply corrections as needed
to exact heading while initiating the half
rolling loop.
This is one example; the same criterion
applies to the rest of the flight, but if a pilot
has to keep correcting the airplane, it isn’t
interesting, and a judged flight will not
receive high marks.
Let’s look at the knife-edge pass, but
build upon it to add both dynamic and
graceful figures. The airplane is flying from
right to left, parallel to the runway at a fairly
high speed. It rolls 90° to knife-edge flight.
The knife-edge should be the same distance
before it reaches the pilot as it is after it
passes the pilot.
Once complete, the pilot pushes to
perform a 270° knife-edge circle so the
airplane is flying cross-box, coming in
toward the pilot. Then, the airplane rolls 90°
to inverted flight and pushes to a vertical upline.
Slowly, power is pulled to idle and the
airplane enters a slow, flat spin.
This scenario offers diverse flight speeds,
transitioning from a powerful knife-edge pass
to a graceful flat spin. The airplane also flies
on the X, Y, and Z axes and is constantly
performing a given maneuver. It takes a short
amount of time to perform four maneuvers!
Positioning: Just as an aerobatic sequence
uses the left and right side of the box
equally, so should your Freestyle program.
Symmetry in the performance zone is a
must, and scores will reflect that.
It is important to have a Freestyle routine
that is designed in such a way that wind will
not heavily influence it. My typical routine
has a few slow segments such as a torquerolling
segment, spin segment, and so on,
but they are designed so that if it is
extremely windy, I will spin into the wind so
the airplane will not drift as it would
downwind; I will hover into the wind rather
than performing a torque roll so the airplane
will stay stationary. This is what separates
the men from the boys!
Closing Thoughts: It takes a great sequence
pilot to make an excellent Freestyle pilot.
Flying a particular IMAC routine well
teaches you about making constant
corrections to keep the aircraft exactly in a
specific position. As with most things in life,
with enough practice, these corrections will
become second nature.
These principles hold true to a Freestyle
program, of which you have just received an
overview. However, even if you are not a
Freestyle competitor, take some of the
information learned this month to improve
your flying.
For more information about IMAC
competition and rules, visit the official
IMAC website, listed in “Sources,” and feel
free to write to me with any questions
pertaining to the content, or seek the advice
of a fellow experienced modeler.
Until next time, fly hard! MA
Sources:
International Miniature Aerobatic Club
www.mini-iac.com