[NSRCA-dist1] D1 at the NATs

Mon Aug 10 21:03:38 AKDT 2009

Reality check: Lots of good ideas here but for me, my biggest problem is that I lose touch with the airplane between practice sessions and it takes me a while to get back in the groove. When I was flying Intermediate I only flew my Pattern plane at contests and I still did OK. Now that I'm flying Advanced - about to make the move into Masters, it's a different game. I don't get enough out of practice sessions it seems. I actually find that flying foamies on lunch hour helps me more than hearing all the "mistakes" I make when flying in front of you guys and listening to your feedback. It's great to hear about all the things that I miss but the fact is, sometimes I just don't have the level of control that you guys think I do. :( How do I fix that? I have a day job and I can only practice on the weekends. Should I start building scale airplanes? LOL

John Pavlick
http://www.idseng.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dave 
  To: 'CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI,VT' 
  Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 12:28 AM
  Subject: Re: [NSRCA-dist1] D1 at the NATs

  Again responding to my own email after reading all the responses..

  My main point was about not having the "A" game at the NATs..however good/bad the A game is with practicing alone, short season in D1 etc, how do we get the A game to the NATs??

  Reiterating some points, and adding some others -

  - coaching/critiquing sessions on the way to NATs may not the best time - likely not enough time to do anything more than make some very minor tweaks.

  - practice is definitely what you make of it...having goals each flight, each session, each week, each contest, etc is a good thing.

  - coaching/critiquing at contests is difficult and limited without slowing down the contest.

  - the outcome of a contest (local or the NATs) is not determined by a single judge, so it makes sense to get coaching/critique/feedback from as many different people as possible.

  - calling, coaching, critiquing, judging, trimming, setup, etc are all separate (but related and overlapping at times) items, and the "best" practice regiment will recognize/accommodate these different aspects.

  - different people have different routines, comfort zones, etc - if the favored routine is dramatically different than what is possible at the NATs, then it is understandable why the A game might not show at the NATs.

  - serious practicing requires a box - guessing where the center and end poles are does not cut it - for the pilot or any coaches/judges.

  - I think having D1 show up in mass numbers at the NATs helps...more familiar faces to chat and relax with, to have as callers/helpers, etc.

  Probably 80% of my practice flights are by myself.  When coaching/judging is available, my priority is not to have someone call for me, or critique during the flight, but watch the flight (better yet, several flights) to see what errors are present, and how frequently they are present.  Exceptions being maneuvers where a caller can provide feedback during a maneuver to help the maneuver (ie, 3, 2, 1, center..).   I often have some very specific requests of the audience - ie, check for roll centers, roll rates, length of lines, baseline, box use, etc - and often I will fly the same maneuver several times and ask which looks best (I may or may not be making small changes to see what appears better or scores better with the audience).

  When I practice alone, I can usually focus for 5 - 10 flights.  When practicing with a group, I rarely can focus for more than 5-7 flights, as I think I expend about as much mental energy when I call a flight and provide guidance during the flight (ie, bank in, bank out, roll right/left, left/right rudder, etc).

  Assume Pilot #1 has a caller (Pilot #2), and 2 observers (Pilots 3 and 4), and there is a 5 minute preflight discussion (goals for the flight, particular items to look for, etc), 10 minute flight, and then a 5 minute post flight discussion.  That would be 4 guys spending 20 minutes for a single flight, and none of these pilots can be part of the prior or subsequent flight.  It would take 3 groups of 4 pilots to keep 1 plane in the air continuously.  Given an 8 hour day, 48 flights, 4 flights each pilot.  Additional specific flights for specific trimming/testing..could likely be done concurrently, but outside of the practice airspace.

  When / where???  Something to evaluate/assess at the WRAM show meeting in February?  Try to add this to the contest calendar.fill in gaps.try to avoid having events scheduled 3 weekends in a row (and 2 weekends in a row if possible).  Practice sessions best before the NATs are likely better, but after the NATs could be good as well, to get a head start on new schedules/classes for the next year.

  Further thoughts?

  Regards,

  Dave

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  From: nsrca-dist1-bounces at lists.nsrca.org [mailto:nsrca-dist1-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of Dave
  Sent: Friday, August 07, 2009 10:06 PM
  To: 'CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI,VT'
  Subject: [NSRCA-dist1] D1 at the NATs

  Ok..just stirring the pot a bit...after talking with some guys after the NATs this year.

  D1 has some good pilots and close competition in multiple classes at multiple contests within the District.  However..many years at the NATs it seems D1 does not bring the "A" game?  Why not?  How can we improve?  Different practice routine at home?  Different practice routine at NATs?  Different mindset?  Anything we can do different at D1 contests, practice days, seminars, etc?

  Just stirring the pot, and looking to bump up D1!!!

  Regards,

  Dave Lockhart

  DaveL322 at comcast.net

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