Go Diana!

Congratulations, and thanks for the PIX.
It sounds like a lot of intense time, punctuated by moderately intense times.
 
Thanks again everyone. You guys are great! :yes:

Dave Krall CFII said:
It sounds like a lot of intense time, punctuated by moderately intense times.
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Sometimes it was just downright intense! :D

Oh, and ladies of the forum here, we are starting to get some AOPA ladies interested in competing next year at KC. Wouldn't it be cool if a bunch of us women showed up to compete! B) You men can come too, if you want. :D
 
Hey! You are awesome! Congratulations! I can just imagine how intense it must have been at times, but what a neat experience for you!
 
yep the girls can fly and us boys will sit on the bleachers and cheer!
 
Diana said:
You were right about a person's brain turning to mush and the stress level. Next year it won't be as bad, right? :fcross: Your advice to practice going both ways was good too! It was helpful hearing about how everyone forgets maneuvers and does them backwards and zeros maneuvers sometime or other. Knowing that takes some of the pressure off.
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Naa, next year it'll be just as bad :)

At my first Sportsman contest at Sebring, Bob Stark (unlimited) gave me some advice that I've found to be true: "If you want to fly better, fly more. If you want to fly better at contests, you have to fly more contests." As you can attest, it's an entirely different experience being in that contest box in front of judges focused on your every mistake. I've found it to be a challenge much greater than just going out and flying safe aerobatic maneuvers. For improving your control and situational awareness of where you are in relation to the ground, it's like nothing else!

Welcome to competitive aerobatics!

Wes
 
Curtis Pitts
Pitts Special
Pitts Specials

Plural or Singular, the name is Pitts.

aka; Life is Great now I'm in the Pitts...

Again Diana, Good Show!!!:target:

Chris
 
Here are some more contest pictures that just came out. The Cassutt looks pretty easy to maneuver on the ground. :D
 

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Great video Diana! I recognize that sequence. :yes:

I'm still trying to take a lesson every week or two depending on my schedule. We have been incredibly lucky with the weather. I have had something like 10 lessons without a scrub. I'm sure I've jinxed myself now, and it coming on winter here. KBJC tends to get a lot of high winds.

Recently we have been working on some of the Sportsman sequences in both the Decathlon and the Pitts. Since I can't possibly do the whole thing all the way through myself, we have been alternating maneuvers (I do the first one, he does the second one, etc.). That has been helpful to me because it gives me time to think about what my next move is supposed to be, plus I can see how the whole thing flows together. It also is good to see what some of these maneuvers are supposed to look like when done correctly, not my ham-fisted version of them. :redface:

As far as the comparison between the two airplanes, the Pitts is easier to fly in a lot of ways once it's in the air. I tend to overcontrol, though, because it seems so sensitive. On the other hand there is the taxiing, taking off and (especially) landing part which are definitely more difficult.
 
Everskyward said:
Great video Diana! I recognize that sequence. :yes:
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Thanks Mari! I bet you could even do it well enough now to compete. Oh, and one of the Colorado pilots was in the video. Jamie Treat, but all you could see was the back of his head in the video. :)

Everskyward said:
I'm still trying to take a lesson every week or two depending on my schedule. We have been incredibly lucky with the weather. I have had something like 10 lessons without a scrub.
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You are SO fortunate to have access to good and consistent aerobatic instruction. I REALLY envy you that.

Everskyward said:
Recently we have been working on some of the Sportsman sequences in both the Decathlon and the Pitts. Since I can't possibly do the whole thing all the way through myself, we have been alternating maneuvers (I do the first one, he does the second one, etc.). That has been helpful to me because it gives me time to think about what my next move is supposed to be, plus I can see how the whole thing flows together. It also is good to see what some of these maneuvers are supposed to look like when done correctly, not my ham-fisted version of them. :redface:
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That's really a good idea for him to do it that way.

Everskyward said:
As far as the comparison between the two airplanes, the Pitts is easier to fly in a lot of ways once it's in the air. I tend to overcontrol, though, because it seems so sensitive. On the other hand there is the taxiing, taking off and (especially) landing part which are definitely more difficult.
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I hope you keep us posted on how your lessons are going. :yes:
 
Diana said:
You are SO fortunate to have access to good and consistent aerobatic instruction. I REALLY envy you that.
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Yeah but you have your own plane... in your barn! I have to drive an hour to get to my lessons. I'm glad that I was able to find John, though. I know that good aerobatic instructors are fairly scarce.
 
Everskyward said:
I'm glad that I was able to find John, though. I know that good aerobatic instructors are fairly scarce.
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Yea, they really are. Especially one that can actually teach, and has a decent personality that is conducive to learning. And has an aerobatic airplane. A tall order. :)

Does John rent out the Decathlon for solo flight?
 
Diana said:
Does John rent out the Decathlon for solo flight?
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Unfortunately not. He said he did previously but the insurance became too much. He told me that the difference was something like $2000/year and he didn't have enough people wanting to solo to justify it.
 
Just watched (and saved) your video, Diana! Good show! (British accent, there)

Thank you for being such a fine example of an ambassador of general aviation.

Jim
 
jshawley said:
Just watched (and saved) your video, Diana! Good show! (British accent, there)

Thank you for being such a fine example of an ambassador of general aviation.

Jim
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Awwww. How sweet Jim. :redface:

Hey, the forecast for this coming weekend looks really good. How bout flying over to Lamar and I come get you and we do some aerobatics? :)
 
It looks like the article that I wrote about the contest will come out in the January issue of Sport Aerobatics. In order to send the editor the photos, I had to unhook most of our stuff from the generator to get the satellite hooked up to send the larger resolution files.

Chip, are you still a member of IAC? If not, I'll save an extra copy for you, especially since your name will be in the article (unless they edit it some more).
 
Diana said:
Chip, are you still a member of IAC? If not, I'll save an extra copy for you, especially since your name will be in the article (unless they edit it some more).
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Doesn't Sport Aerobatics run stuff uncut to get more free copy into the pages?

:rolleyes:
 
Ken Ibold said:
Doesn't Sport Aerobatics run stuff uncut to get more free copy into the pages?

:rolleyes:
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Ken, you're funny. :D Isn't getting published payment enough? ;) OH, wait, it's a good thing you don't operate under that premise. :)
 
Nice work Diana. Looks like you had heaps of fun which is priority number 1! Roll on next season for you folks I guess! Its summer here so airshow/comp season yay.
Are ya gonna hav a crack at US Nationals? You did an amazing job especially in the limited aircraft ya have but what fun! :) While on the subject good luck to teh US Advanced team at AWAC 08. :blueplane:
 
NZflyer said:
Nice work Diana. Looks like you had heaps of fun which is priority number 1! Roll on next season for you folks I guess! Its summer here so airshow/comp season yay.
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Thanks! So, are you competing right now? Is there a web site for aerobatics in New Zealand? I've looked at the web site for Australian acro and their competition schedules and competition results.

NZflyer said:
Are ya gonna have a crack at US Nationals? You did an amazing job especially in the limited aircraft ya have but what fun! :)
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It's hard for me to find the fun in getting beat so badly. :D I might compete in Kansas City again next year and will try not to take it so seriously. It was fun meeting some of the cool people at the contest. There were a few aerobatic pilots there who wouldn't give me the time of day, but there is always the chance of running in to a few inflated egos in aerobatic competition.
 
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