Three IAC Sequences

whifferdill

Line Up and Wait
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whifferdill
It was one helluva day to be in the air here. Grabbed some video of this year's IAC Primary, Sportsman, and Intermediate Known sequences. Still waiting on my new Catto prop so I can provide some laughs for everybody in the Advanced Category. I feel like it's just too hard on my light crank flange with the metal prop I've got right now.

So can any of you roll? If you can do a loop, roll, and spin without killing yourself, you can enter a contest. :) We always need more folks in Primary.

Intermediate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z06cC7lH9QA&context=C4ed4f12ADvjVQa1PpcFNs7_geYKStax02P9dQTj_TsG7qhEA46p0=

Sportsman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg16eaYPuNI&context=C47e9dddADvjVQa1PpcFNs7_geYKSta07xTjjTd2Bm-FyGMelssHA=

Primary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZCtMn3cjgQ&context=C46120a8ADvjVQa1PpcFNs7_geYKSta3dBCu_va5jYhagyc-R4pa0=

Eric
 
I've been practicing a fair amount lately and am going to try for the non competition patches at least. Don't know if I want to compete really.
Been working on slow rolls and am working up the nerve to practice hammers solo. I'll probably just fly over the top for a while till I have a feel for airspeed changes etc. Don't want to get behind the entry dissipation and accidentally start a tail slide in the SD.
 
Jeanie, the best way to learn the timing of the hammer pivot is to have someone knowledgeable on the ground with a radio tell you when it's time to apply rudder. Then you'll know how the airplane is supposed to feel without kicking too early or late. Do you have a sight gauge? If not, tie an 8" piece of yarn to your jury strut. You can at least use this to prevent tailsliding. Pivot as the yarn starts to flicker. Don't let it go limp or start to reverse direction. Also, on the upline, wiggle the ailerons back and forth to get a feel for the ailerons becoming dead. You can use this "deadness" to gauge when it's time to pivot. When it's time, the ailerons will be almost completely ineffective. I do the same in the Pitts, if you notice in the video. Although, the Pitts will torque roll a little on the upline near the top if you don't progressively apply right aileron. But I'm also feeling for aileron deadness as I described. I don't think the Super D has much problem with torque rolling like the Pitts does.

Yep, figure 5 in Sportsman is a humpty with a 1/4 roll down.
 
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Been working on slow rolls and am working up the nerve to practice hammers solo. I'll probably just fly over the top for a while till I have a feel for airspeed changes etc. Don't want to get behind the entry dissipation and accidentally start a tail slide in the SD.

I'm learning in a Super D. For the hammer, I was taught to listen for the fabric rumble (same rumble you briefly hear during the float at the top of a loop). Kick as soon as you hear it.
 
I'm learning in a Super D. For the hammer, I was taught to listen for the fabric rumble (same rumble you briefly hear during the float at the top of a loop). Kick as soon as you hear it.

Yeah, there are several different ways to time the pivot, and most of them are aircraft-specific and have to be learned in each type. Some airplanes buffet a certain way at the top due to propwash on the airframe...that's the "rumble" you're referring to. Some slow pivoting, low HP airplanes can actually use the airspeed indicator due to the fact that these airplanes require more vertical speed as you start the pivot in order to do it without falling through the second half of the pivot. ASI is pretty much useless in high-powered, fast pivoting planes like the Pitts or high HP monoplanes. I've never looked at it during a hammer. Some folks look for a certain flicker of the string on their sight gauge to time the pivot. I use right aileron and right rudder deflection in the Pitts. When I've reached near full right aileron with no roll reaction, and a certain amount of right rudder to control slipstream yaw, I know it's time to hammer.
 
I want to learn so badly. Tail wheel and some basic acro! I think it would be neat to compete some day! But I'm far from owning an airplane, and I won't be able to afford too much extra flying for awhile probably.

I love your videos though whiff, it was especially neat to see the actual IAC sequences.
 
Hmmm, the rumble. I'll listen for it.
Thanks for the advice y'all ! I'll let you know how it goes.
 
Also in the SuperD... if you're looking out at the wing during the hammer, look at the fabric near the wing root. It will start to "flap" more when it's time to kick the rudder. (Hence the rumbling sound).
 
cool vids... I just watched the Primary Known. How will that go with no inverted fuel-oil systems? Like in a certain piper cub..It seems there are a few moments where you go negative.
 
cool vids... I just watched the Primary Known. How will that go with no inverted fuel-oil systems? Like in a certain piper cub..It seems there are a few moments where you go negative.

The Cub's mostly gonna struggle with the level roll. The engine will quit after about 90 degrees of roll, and it rolls so slow that the wood prop (no intertia) might actually stop before it gets all the way around! And all the while gas will be pouring out of the gas cap over the windshield. That's why I just do positive G rolls in the Cub. :) You should be able to get through the half cuban before the prop stops, but you're still dumping gas out of the cap, and oil onto the belly. An actual round loop will take more airspeed and a harder pull than I usually put on it. It is a 70 year old plane after all. :) There are a couple folks who have modified these Clipped Cubs with inverted fuel/oil and a different gas cap, and done pretty well in Primary. My buddy's Clipped T-craft does fine in Sportsman without inverted systems because it rolls faster, and has a metal prop that keeps turning for the couple seconds it takes for the engine to regain power. Also, you don't see the fuel spraying out of the vents on top of the wing.
 
I've been practicing a fair amount lately and am going to try for the non competition patches at least. Don't know if I want to compete really.
Been working on slow rolls and am working up the nerve to practice hammers solo. I'll probably just fly over the top for a while till I have a feel for airspeed changes etc. Don't want to get behind the entry dissipation and accidentally start a tail slide in the SD.

Wow, you have balls. So cool you do all that stuff solo. I would never have the nerve.
 
Wow, you have balls. So cool you do all that stuff solo. I would never have the nerve.

Before you started flight training, I'll bet you thought the same thing about folks who fly in little airplanes, period. :) It doesn't take balls or nerve to do aerobatics, just some basic competence and confidence...no different from any other aspect of flying. Aerobatics is not about adrenaline and death-defiance, or simply getting your kicks watching the horizon flip around. It's about control and the challenge of making the airplane do exactly what you want it to do. Yeah, there will be some adrenline at first, but this fades. Don't take this to mean it becomes less enjoyable. It becomes more so, as you see your skills improve. I love the art of flying, and aerobatics is just an extension of that...a big extension. It opens up a world of maneuvering that goes way beyond what can be achieved in the straight-and-level world. For us acro nuts, airplanes were MADE to do aerobatics...and not doing it seems like waste of the potential in flying.

I could probably get you comfortably and safely able to do a loop, roll, and spin on your own in 3 hours. It might not be pretty, but you would be safe. Doing basic aerobatics without killing yourself takes only minimal training, and is fairly easy. The work and challenge is in learning to fly with precision on a consistent basis...again no different from flying in general. Aerobatics provides infinite opportunity for continually stepping up the complexity and precision of your flying. Lots of acro operators in CA. Take some intro acro instruction. I bet you'll be surprised with how much more "nerve" you walk away with. :)
 
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The Cub's mostly gonna struggle with the level roll.

Yeah, it would be nice if they had a category which offered maneuvers better suited to airplanes with no inverted systems. I remember watching the taylorcraft, and hearing it cut out and seeing trails of fuel coming out the wing. Understand its not damaging, but not the most elegant thing.

Although, I guess most folks participating in competitions do have airplanes like citabria's with at least basic inverted systems.
 
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Yeah, it would be nice if they had a category which offered maneuvers better suited to airplanes with no inverted systems. ...Although, I guess most folks participating in competitions do have airplanes like citabria's with at least basic inverted systems.

There are a few folks who would like to see a category designed for non-inverted aircraft. Vans RV's would be the reason for doing this, due to their high numbers - around 7,000 completed now. I'm not against a category for non-inverted a/c, but there are a number of issues with doing this. IMO, participation would not increase nearly enough to make it worthwhile to add to the logistical challenges of already running 5 standard categories at a contest. There's also the issue of trying to define judging standards for what is generelly non-precise positive G maneuvering - especially with rolling elements. RVers, in general, just aren't serious enough into aerobatics to get involved in competition. They're mostly the type of pilot who may only do the occasional lazy loop or roll. Nothing wrong with that, but out of 7,000 RVs, only about 3 per year compete, and they don't even really need inverted systems to fly up to Sportsman, which is all they're really suited for anyway.

So besides RVs, non-inverted system aerobatic airplanes would be the Citabrias and a few homebuilt (non-Pitts) biplanes out there - Acro Sport, Skybolt, etc. I recently looked up the percentage of all U.S.-registered inverted-system Citabrias, Decathlons, and Extras that participated in competition acro last year. Most Citabrias do not have inverted systems, but one model that does. Of these, only 2.3% competed. All Decathlons have inverted systems, and of all registered Decathlons, only 4.6% competed. Even with the Unlimited-capable Extra 300, 17% competed...which turned out to be higher than I expected. So even among inverted system planes, a very small percentage get involved.

So unless the RV guys start getting into contest flying, there's no reason to believe that we'd get more than a handful of non-inverted system Citabrias and other experimentals across the country to participate. The number of Clipped Cubs out there is really tiny. But if we got only 5% of RV's involved, that would make a non-inverted category worthwhile, and help sustain the sport.
 
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IMO, participation would not increase nearly enough to make it worthwhile to add to the logistical challenges of already running 5 standard categories at a contest.

RVers, in general, just aren't serious enough into aerobatics to get involved in competition. They're mostly the type of pilot who may only do the occasional lazy loop or roll. Nothing wrong with that, but out of 7,000 RVs, only about 3 per year compete, and they don't even really need inverted systems to fly up to Sportsman, which is all they're really suited for anyway.

An existing category could be modified, and its quite possible that, even though the RV and citabrias are capable of flying up to the sportsman level of competition, many prefer not to fly maneuvers that include their motor cutting out, and fuel/oil dumping out the vents / breather. That stuff's expensive. Get back in there!

I know the amount lost is negligible, but it does seem that it would be a turn off
 
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So can any of you roll? If you can do a loop, roll, and spin without killing yourself, you can enter a contest. :) We always need more folks in Primary.

I'd love to, but I feel so sloppy. I need to get practicing more if I want to do a job I'll be proud of. But doing the primary sequence at a contest is one of my long term goals that I hope isn't too long term.
 
Before you started flight training, I'll bet you thought the same thing about folks who fly in little airplanes, period. :) It doesn't take balls or nerve to do aerobatics, just some basic competence and confidence...no different from any other aspect of flying. Aerobatics is not about adrenaline and death-defiance, or simply getting your kicks watching the horizon flip around. It's about control and the challenge of making the airplane do exactly what you want it to do. Yeah, there will be some adrenline at first, but this fades. Don't take this to mean it becomes less enjoyable. It becomes more so, as you see your skills improve. I love the art of flying, and aerobatics is just an extension of that...a big extension. It opens up a world of maneuvering that goes way beyond what can be achieved in the straight-and-level world. For us acro nuts, airplanes were MADE to do aerobatics...and not doing it seems like waste of the potential in flying.

I could probably get you comfortably and safely able to do a loop, roll, and spin on your own in 3 hours. It might not be pretty, but you would be safe. Doing basic aerobatics without killing yourself takes only minimal training, and is fairly easy. The work and challenge is in learning to fly with precision on a consistent basis...again no different from flying in general. Aerobatics provides infinite opportunity for continually stepping up the complexity and precision of your flying. Lots of acro operators in CA. Take some intro acro instruction. I bet you'll be surprised with how much more "nerve" you walk away with. :)
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:D. Yeah that! what has taken some nerve for me is to practice some of the things solo at first. I'm getting better at it and have had a good friend fly with me a lot working on unusual attitude botched maneuver recovery so I know that if I blow it on the top of a loop or go into an inverted spin in a hammerhead that I can see the problem and correct it. That has made a big difference in my willingness to try. And I am finding that now I am beginning to work on the precision and control which adds an interesting level to the flight mind wise
But, Whiff is correct, you could easily learn to do a loop, roll and spin in a short time and would have fun. I took my first acro lessons with only 30hrs and it did me a world of good, even if I hadn't gotten hooked I am sure that it was beneficial for me as a pilot.
 
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:D. Yeah that! what has taken some nerve for me is to practice some of the things solo at first. I'm getting better at it and have had a good friend fly with me a lot working on unusual attitude botched maneuver recovery so I know that if I blow it on the top of a loop or go into an inverted spin in a hammerhead that I can see the problem and correct it. That has made a big difference in my willingness to try. And I am finding that now I am beginning to work on the precision and control which adds an interesting level to the flight mind wise
But, Whiff is correct, you could easily learn to do a loop, roll and spin in a short time and would have fun. I took my first acro lessons with only 30hrs and it did me a world of good, even if I hadn't gotten hooked I am sure that it was beneficial for me as a pilot.

Thanks, funny thing is, I was never scared from the moment I got inside the airplane the very first time. Nor was I scared when I'd never ridden a motorcycle and took the MSF course and turned the throttle of the training motos for the first time (a way to pass your motorcycle test without the DMV). I don't get scared, just worried / nervous. Oh wait maybe that is scared.
 
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