Training yourself to win
by John Glezellis [email protected]
Scale aerobatic competition pushes a pilot to strive for the best aircraft setup and to search for the ideal mental and physical preparation practices to improve flying abilities. Throughout the years my goal has been to share my knowledge, and this month is no different. I want to devote this column to the Unknown sequence.
If you are starting to participate in International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competition, you may be unfamiliar with the term "Unknown." The Unknown program is only for the Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited classes, and is given to each contestant the night before or the day of the contest.
It cannot be practiced by any means. Each competitor is given one opportunity to fly this routine in front of the judges. Most pilots feel that it is the most challenging program to fly during any contest.
First, I will discuss how you, as the pilot, can better prepare yourself for an Unknown flight. Then I will add a little twist and take a look at an Unknown sequence with respect to wind. After all, flying in heavy wind can have a great impact on your flight if you don't correct for it and plan ahead.
As Hanno Prettner once said, to become a successful pilot you need to fly in all types of weather, because you never know what will occur on competition day. Without further hesitation, let's begin!
Exploring the Unknown
Whenever you receive your Unknown program, take a breath and carefully examine each individual maneuver. Many Unknowns are given without a formal text description; instead they are in Aresti, which is the language of aerobatics. In the past I have covered a brief tutorial about reading Aresti maneuvers. If this is a new concept to you, I recommend that you attend a judging seminar, search the official IMAC website (listed in Sources), or talk to fellow aerobatic competitors. Many people in this hobby are willing to help!
I glance over the routine and take note of which maneuvers are the most important. These maneuvers will have the highest difficulty and the highest K-Factor.
K-Factor is a numerical value by which the judges' score for that given maneuver will be multiplied — the higher the difficulty, the higher the K-Factor. Excelling at these maneuvers will result in higher scores.
I then go through the routine and take notes on the Aresti sheet of any direction-specific maneuvers. I look for anything that results in a cross-box exit or entry (occurs on the Z axis).
Suppose that there is a 1 3/4-turn positive spin in your flight and the pilot must pull to exit the maneuver cross-box. When performed one direction, the airplane will exit coming toward the pilot, and when performed the other direction the airplane will exit traveling away from the pilot. You want to give yourself time after completing one maneuver and before the start of another. If a crosswind is blowing in, you don't want to exit the spin coming toward yourself because it will rush your next maneuver.
After I have become familiar with maneuvers and their placements, I write a complete description of each maneuver, but leave space to insert directions for certain maneuver elements.
When competition day comes, winds may change. As a result, the direction may change not only the sequence that will be performed, but also the direction of certain elements such as the spin from the earlier example. I'll usually fill out these critical components roughly one to one-and-a-half hours before I am expected to fly.
Because I began my competitive career flying precision aerobatics, I prefer my sequences to be read a certain way. For instance, if performing a simple Humpty Bump with a half roll up, I want my caller to say, "Perform a Humpty Bump. Pull to a vertical upline and perform a half roll. Pull half of a loop over the top and perform nothing on the downline. Pull to an upright exit."
In the lower categories, Unknown programs will be fairly straightforward. As you progress to the higher classes, much attention will be given to the aircraft's orientation. Many snapping elements will be combined throughout a given maneuver.
To make this easier for myself, I sometimes write the maneuver description accordingly. Let's say that on my center — which is directly in front of me — I am to perform 2 1/4 positive snap rolls on a vertical upline. If I am flying from left to right, I will pull to a vertical. Snapping to the left will result in seeing the bottom of the airplane, and snapping to the right will reveal the top of the aircraft. On my description, which my caller will read, I may write something such as, "Pull to a vertical upline and perform 2 1/4 positive snap rolls left, see bottom. Pull to inverted cross-box exit." In the heat of the moment you may forget to call out left or right, so be explicit. Practice visualizing the snap direction and the aircraft's attitude as you fly practice snippets of the Unknown you have rehearsed. At that moment the maneuver will happen quickly and the orientation of the airplane is important to set yourself up for the next maneuver.
Whenever you are unsure how many rotations you have performed (maybe because of nervousness), it is best to exit in the correct manner so that you will not zero the following maneuver. I have seen instances in which a pilot will exit a maneuver in the wrong attitude and will have to perform an added element to the following maneuver. As a result, both maneuvers will receive a score of zero. Don't give away easy points!
Each caller has his or her own style of calling individual maneuvers. I cannot stress enough the importance of a pilot having a caller he or she is familiar with for the Unknown sequence. However, if you are unsure of who your caller may be on competition day — maybe because you are just starting out in the competition circuit — write out the sequence as you would like it to be read with some of the pointers I mentioned earlier.
Let's Talk Wind!
There is no doubt that flying with a fair amount of wind will have an impact on the geometrical appearance of the various maneuvers if the pilot does not correct for the effect it has on the airplane. When preparing to fly an Unknown program, the pilot must be flexible.
I have seen many people receive the Unknown program the day before they fly it and write the sequence from one direction, as if they expect the winds to favor the direction they chose. Then competition day comes and the winds are reversed!
It is not a good idea to practice the sequence mentally from only one direction, because strong wind conditions may prevail. Although the pilot can choose the direction he or she wishes to fly the sequence, a tailwind will have a major impact on maneuvers such as the spin because the entry will appear forced.
Performing a Hammerhead that is not into the wind can have consequences because the airplane may "flop" over the top if done incorrectly. The wind will have an impact on all maneuvers that occur when the aircraft is at a stalled state.
Keep in mind that you will have to correct for the wind. This means that you will need to establish a crab angle so that the airplane's flight path is perfectly vertical for vertical maneuvers, and so on.
To highlight this notion, let's say that there is a constant headwind and you must perform a vertical upline. If you pull 90°, the airplane will drift with the wind, which will result in a downgrade.
Rather, you may have to only pull the aircraft 85°, and the airplane's path will be perfectly vertical, which is the factor that is being judged. The entry radius may also need to appear sharp when compared to the exit radius because the wind may push the airplane.
When you fly an Unknown program, you must remember all that you have learned throughout the years. It is easy to forget some of these elements when you are constantly trying to remember the next maneuver to perform.
Focus on the entire flight. As soon as you enter the box, take it one maneuver at a time. Listen to your caller's description and focus on each individual element rather than the entire program.
Final Thoughts
In closing, you have now learned a few techniques that should help you prepare for your Unknown flight.
The pilot who wins is the one who is best prepared for that given competition. This includes having the best airplane setup possible, being mentally prepared, and knowing how and when to adjust certain elements in a sequence for the best presentation — no matter how windy it may become!
Although competition may occasionally be frustrating because of its difficulty, never become discouraged. Take each step as a learning experience and see how you can benefit from it.
Enjoy the friends you have and make new ones; after all, the best memories in life will come from that!
Until next time, fly hard!
Sources
- FAI — www.fai.org
- International Aerobatic Club (IAC) — [email protected], www.iac.org
- IMAC — www.mini-imac.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
