RC AEROBATICS
Eric Henderson
303 Shady Ln., Marlton NJ 08053 E-mail: [email protected]
THIS WILL BE the third time that I have followed in Rick Allison's footsteps: first as a National Society of Radio Control Aerobatics (NSRCA) District VP; then as president of NSRCA; and now I am writing the column that Rick has developed so well.
Rick is a large figure in personal stature and in the impact that he has had on Pattern in the US. He is an accomplished builder and flier, and a professional writer with excellent organizational skills. He has "made a difference" wherever he has been.
I wish him well in his pursuit of more competitions and having fun with our hobby. I thank him for his personal guidance, his contributions across Pattern, and to this column. I will work hard to maintain the standards that Rick has established.
I mention NSRCA because it is a key part of Pattern in the US. It is the AMA Special Interest Group (SIG) for Pattern. It is actually a society (as opposed to a ruling body) that is dedicated to developing and organizing Pattern in the US. It actually has a bit of a larger scope than "National"—it has members all around the globe. NSRCA is highly focused on the AMA Pattern classes 401 to 404, and provides strong support to the FAI contingent in the US.
You might be wondering why the AMA has a SIG or SIGs for competition and sport promotion; why does the AMA not do it all? It is simply too big a task for one organization to handle. AMA covers a wide range of modeling interests. It would require a very large number of people, and the associated expense, to do everything that each SIG does. SIGs are extremely complementary to the AMA and do not compete in any way with the governing body.
For the last few years, NSRCA has been responsible for the Pattern Nationals in Muncie, Indiana. AMA provides the site, site-support resources, and personnel; NSRCA organizes the contest, the contestants, and the judging/scoring, etc.
The Society does a very good job of reaching the AMA members who are already committed to or interested in Pattern flying. Where Pattern is currently struggling is the actual process of reaching out to all of the fliers who have not yet entered or experienced Pattern flying.
I mentioned the NSRCA to let you know where to go for more information and support. There is much more to tell than I can cram into this column.
What to expect in this column
- A series of explanations of more-complex subjects such as international competition, local and national competition, judging issues, judging techniques, etc.
- A regular section on a specific maneuver.
- News and technology segments of specific interest to Pattern.
- A series of segments specifically aimed at Pre-Pattern challenges, including exercises you can try.
There has been a great deal of focus on the alleged demise of Pattern flying.
My analysis might be a bit odd to some, but Pattern flying in the US is very healthy. We are knee-deep in world-class talent. We could have easily fielded three world teams last year. We have developed incredible equipment that defies gravity with greater than 1-1 vertical performance, in all of the very best ways. We lead in technological advances in noise suppression, radio developments, and building materials.
Last year the US team won the FAI world team championship in Pensacola, Florida. We had US pilots in the top 10 of almost 100 pilots from all over the world. If you look at the AMA Masters class, we have enough contestants to run our own mini-world championship every year in that class alone. (This year and in 2001 we also have the Canadians flying the same Masters schedule, so we could have an even bigger contest.)
Now, you might be asking, "where did he get those rose-colored glasses?"
As the president of NSRCA, I get to see the real and very comprehensive picture. Pattern is functioning very well indeed.
So if Pattern is healthy, then why is so much written about what is wrong?
It is the feeder system into Pattern that needs the work—big time!
Many identifiable problems can be viewed as insurmountable, or you can step back and take a much broader viewpoint and figure out new ways to attack them. Problems are just a matter of how you look at things. Every sport has a broad spectrum of aspects and issues. I find the problems that should be fixed first to be in the high and low end of the wavebands.
On the high end of the spectrum, you will always get dropoff. Experience exceeds interest, or there is no higher place to go, a glass ceiling is reached, or another aspect draws them to a different challenge.
At the other end of the spectrum, we have the entry-level issues. We have tended to focus on fixing the internal issues; this is time wasted on the wrong problem. Internal care needs to be done, but in Maslow's triangle-of-needs you do not worry about art if you have no food or water. The entry-level routines work, and if you show up at a contest, the "Rookie" support is as good as it will probably get.
What is wrong is the lack of focus on what we will call the "Pre-Pattern Class." Many years ago, multiple classes of competition were created to provide a skill ladder that pilots could climb; the alternative of the day was to go straight into FAI. This did not draw as many pilots as were needed. It was like beginning your car-racing career in Formula 1.
This new-at-the-time tiered system was very successful and led to the system that we employ today. Sure, there have been some big changes, like turnaround (short name for performing all of the maneuvers consecutively; at some point you had to keep turning the airplane around to come back to the middle—turnaround). Although this change caused quite a storm, it was not very radical as far as the "system" was concerned.
The system is still working today, as far as growing pilot skills and providing lots of competitions all over the US. Hence my earlier comment that the pattern system is healthy.
Before you reach for your pen and start telling me that I am completely out of touch, let me return to the Pre-Pattern Class. It is not new; it has always been there. It fed Pattern with pilot after pilot. It now needs our maximum attention.
Only a few short years ago club fliers saw Pattern fliers as "doing their thing," and many followed suit. Now they don't do so in anything like the numbers that the sport needs. What changed?
When you practiced in the "old" days, you did one maneuver after a "lining-up" run. You could always bail out and come in again if an errant model meandered into the path of your projectile.
Today you would be hard-pressed to find a Pattern guy at a busy local field. These creatures find secluded sites where they can practice the Turnaround. This type of aerobatic schedule requires that you fly in a predefined, invisible, 60°-either-side-of-center box. A Pattern pilot must fly in a straight line in this space, and taking evasive action to miss a Sunday flier is the last thing he or she wants to do.
The airplane that a club guy flew and the airplane that a Pattern flier used to fly were not that far apart. The price of the airplanes and engines also appears to have become prohibitive, and it is so easy to beg off with cost justifications that receive knowledgeable murmurs from your clubmates.
The Pre-Pattern Class is still out there in huge numbers, but we appear to have no easy way to reach it. You do see loops and rolls being performed that, with just a little bit of focus, would be competitive in Pattern.
Some say that all of the pilots are rapidly moving into IMAC (International Miniature Aircraft Club); I say that we have given them almost no choice.
We could not create a "system" change that makes Pattern as easy and attractive as it used to be. Attempts to change Pattern regulations and standards around the entry classes have given very little in the form of increased participation. A 55-pound Extra 300S in the hands of a terrified first-time contestant was not the most comfortable experience for the guys in the judges' chairs.
So what do we do?
We have our best people working on the problem.
Having said that in jest, there is also much truth to it. AMA and NSRCA have people who are dedicated to expanding the fun of Pattern flying to as many people as would like to join in. NSRCA and its newsletter tend to only reach those who have already taken the steps to become Pattern fliers; this column reaches the entire AMA membership. This is where we will tend to find all of the Pre-Pattern fliers.
This column will host a series of segments that are specifically aimed at Pre-Pattern challenges. Each month we will feature a maneuver and the challenge of what is required to fly that maneuver correctly. There will be a series of exercises that you can all try, to give you a taste of (and hopefully a path for) Precision Aerobatics. The emphasis will, of course, be on precision.
I will also feature some airplanes that I have personally tested or experienced that are good, Pattern-capable designs that would make a club flier competitive.
The Loop
How many pilots think that the loop is a piece of cake? Read on and see if you still think so when you have finished reading.
A loop is a round maneuver that is drawn by the center of your airplane. You have to use some part of the airplane as a reference point, and we have chosen what most folks would refer to as the airplane's center of gravity. (This imaginary point, or dot, will become very important as you deal with crosswinds and headwinds.)
If there was no such thing as gravity or wind, you could fly a perfect loop by setting the throttle and elevator at fixed positions, then just stand back and watch. However, seeing as nobody has found a way to remove gravity, we are forced to deal with it.
In a loop, gravity will change the radius of the maneuver unless we do something about it. Most pilots have figured out that you should throttle back on the way down, if only to keep the wings on! (In fact, what the pilot is doing is letting gravity take over the job of powering the airplane.)
If the speed of the loop is kept constant, the loop will stay reasonably round. The elevator does need some attention, because the airplane has been using it as a balance between the angle of attack of the wing and the elevator. As the airplane goes over into the inverted portion of the loop, you need less up-elevator to stay on the same circular track.
To do a loop you pull up with power on, reduce the elevator going over the top, reduce the power coming down, then begin to reapply the elevator, applying the power again as you fly level.
One goal is to enter and exit the loop at exactly the same point. Find a friend who can tell you if you are doing exactly this. Fly straight and level, pull a round loop, set the straight-and-level in exactly the same direction.
A perfect loop is so demanding that you could run a fun-fly centered around doing just that maneuver (I only said you could—not should).
At first, you should do the loop into the wind. Next time, I'll explain how to impress your clubmates by maintaining the position of a loop right in front of you in a strong crosswind. Work on the loop into wind and be ready for the next challenge. While they all blow out and away, you will be right where you want to be!
Takeoff, beginning now! MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
