Artistic Aerobatics

[Rcmaster199 at aol.com]

Eric,
Unless we are judging and have to watch the flights (or at least should watch 
the flights), we often don't look at the other pattern flying much. At least 
that's been my experience in nearly twenty five years of competitive pattern 
flying. 

It seems about the only time we carefully observe or even scrutinize a flight 
when we are NOT sitting in the JC, is when the fellow just above us in the 
standings is flying
 or when a name flier is flying. But even then, we seldom actually observe a 
complete flight

Is Pattern boring to watch
? Yeah, probably, to the uninitiated observer it probably is. If anyone of 
the Pattern people performed a perfect Cuban say, the observer could just as 
soon yawn. I doubt the observer would fall asleep if a plane was coming down to 
touch the rudder under full control, making all that racket, at the far edge of 
the runway. Lets be brutally blunt about danger appealing to many.

Are "they" having more fun? Sometimes I think they do, especially when we are 
having a problem with that alky burning, glow plug blowing, bearing chewing 
cantakerous bunch of metal parts. We get upset when our trim doesn't hold. They 
just fly or hover or whatever. We get right down anal about noise reduction 
and distance out and weight and 2x2 meters and "they" don't!!!

I did the IMAC thing for a short while but came back. The plane flew well 
enough even though it was a 10 lb overweight ARF(kinda reminded me of me 
actually). It was just too damned big and heavy and a real pain to haul around. Not my 
idea of "FUN"

BUT, I still love Pattern and all its self induced variables. That's my 
bottom line. It's irrational to feel this way but I just do. I guess it appeals to 
my desire for geometric precision and to the discipline it takes to strive for 
perfection.

IMHO

regards

Matt K


> Subj:Artistic Aerobatics 
> Date:1/23/2004 10:07:44 AM Eastern Standard Time
> From:Eric.Henderson at gartner.com
> Reply-to:discussion at nsrca.org
> To:discussion at nsrca.org
> Sent from the Internet 
> 
> 
> 
> As some of you may know I ran an FAI-FG1 event a couple of years ago at the 
> Nat's after the finals. Quique, Troy and Chad Northeast put on a really great 
> show for us while we waited for the Masters and FAI results.
>  
> I have not heard much about this event type since then. I was wondering if 
> the FAI adopted it or not.
>  
> Flying a pattern type plane to music is very attractive. It is one of the 
> few times where the plane does not drown-out the music! More correctly said, 
> the planes have to comply with size weight and sound FAI regulations. They do 
> not actually have to be what we fly in a pattern contest. Some guys use the 
> same planes and swap-in 3-D wings and stabs. They often change their props.
>  
> It is, of course, the rest-of-the-world's version of IMAC freestyle.
>  
> I have written, not without a shot or two across my bows, that the 
> delineator between precision aerobatics and scale aerobatics is that pattern is based 
> on practicing the routine, a lot! 
> I see IMAC pilots practicing tailslides and Harriers and torque rolls, but 
> rarely the routines they fly. In particular, wannabe IMAC pilots fly the hover 
> stuff for most of their flights. Once in a while I "push my luck" and I ask 
> them why they practice most, the thing that they will do least, in a contest. 
> (Maybe once in a freestyle routine at the end of an event). 
>  
> The answer always is, "Because I want to get better at it and it is fun".  
> Are they having more fun than us? I know that watching a loud plane hover over 
> the runway is fun for a while but it gets old pretty quick and even becomes 
> annoying. A bit like when we played our 45's on repeat. We coul listen to the 
> same song, that we had just purchased, but our allegedly tone-deaf fathers 
> were soon motivated to become "discus" throwers!!!!
>  
> The question is still out there however, "Are we boring?" and "Do we, 
> (pattern pilots), need be more watchable"???
>  
> Regards, it is still winter - Eric.
> 

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