[NSRCA-discussion] What is you goal in pattern?

[Jas]

What do we look to accomplish when we (you the individual) choose to fly and/or compete in pattern?

For me it's to see if I will ever be able to fly a perfect pattern. While I know that it is far fetched to believe that I can, I will continue to set my goals against the perfect pattern. If there is a maneuver that is giving me fits, I will break it down into segments and work on different parts of it until I can get the whole correct. I don't want to believe that there is a pattern maneuver I can't do, and if there is one, then I'll work harder to make it possible. If I go out 7 days a week or 1 day a week, there's always a way to learn.

Babble alert... I received my first TOC invitation in 1993 for the 1994 TOC. I had a great Team Trials and a good Nats which qualified me for the '94 TOC. At that point in my flying I had only done rolling circles by pinning the ailerons over (to the right) and using the elevator when needed. Well the TOC required rollers with 1-4 rolls only. So not only did I have to learn to roll left, and also use aileron management to dictate 1-4 rolls... I also had to figure out how to use the rudder! I didn't have the chance to go flying everyday so I had to 'learn' a lot with a stick plane so I knew where to put what inputs. I went as far as writing out charts for every roller combination I would come across (15 or so) and what elevator and rudder inputs would be needed in order I had to input them. Then I would stick fly each one imagining the inputs as I went through the roller. By the week before the TOC started I had finally figured it out. I finished 6th that TOC and did the finals demo flights. Since then I don't worry about rollers (even if I screw them up on occasion), just the 4 and 8 roll rolling 8's now lol.

That worked for me for learning hard maneuvers. I guess it comes down to how can you best learn a new difficult maneuver. Don't shy away from the challenge of a new maneuver or pattern, embrace it and figure out the best way for you to conquer it. 
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