[NSRCA-discussion] WC '07

[Doug Cronkhite]

Heh.. yep. Things that like need to be figured out well ahead of time so 
the pilot isn't expecting something other than what's being delivered.

Two different years at the TOC I wound up calling for 3 different 
pilots, and they ALL wanted to be told different things in different 
ways. Jason just wanted the maneuvers called with roll directions to 
keep him on track in the sequence. More often than not, he'd already 
memorized the entire thing INCLUDING unknowns. Jason could commit a 
sequence to memory quicker than anyone I've ever flown with. Mike 
McConville wanted more verbage but was pretty much the same except I 
called out all points of a point roll, roll directions and talked a 
little more on position and such, and then Kirk Gray liked me talking to 
him the whole time.

For me, the hardest thing about being a caller at that level was the 
preparation. Every sequence was written out and rehearsed 4 different 
ways (left to right, right to left, with both versions to move the 
flight line in or out depending upon wind conditions). This sort of 
thing also emphasized how much trust the pilot has to have in their 
caller, such that when the caller says to do something, the pilot does 
it without hesitation or question.

-Doug



Ken Thompson wrote:
> Let me tell you one thing Doug,
>
> I went to the TAS this year to be the caller for a friend of mine.  When it 
> came time to call the unknowns, one of the guys gave me a little flack for 
> not giving out things like rudder correction...I said, "Are you kidding?  I 
> spent all my time making sure I didn't get one of the maneuvers wrong and 
> cost him points in that manner, the rest is up to him". :-)
>
>