Sorry about that guys.......I couldn't resist!
My "Nemesis" is the reverse wingover. I always had good scores for my square eights and still find them to be the most fun to do. It's also a good test for your model's trim as well. This all comes back to the good stuff on the other thread about "Is it the plane or the pilot?". A lot of the errors from newcomers to stunt come from the model and its trim. Part of the thing is what Brett Buck and others mentioned and that is the power plant that needs to pump out solid, consistent power no matter what the maneuver shape is.
The wiggling of the handle part needs to become something in your subconscious, like driving a car. You don't think about pushing the clutch, changing gears etc. whilst trying to steer the vehicle. It becomes totally automatic. Once you are past trying to figure out how not to pull up when flying inverted over the dreaded tarmac, then your are getting there, and the actual maneuver shapes should not really make any difference. Of course, polishing these shapes to put you in the top 5 at the Nats is another story. Polishing in any sense takes elbow grease and there are few shortcuts. I said "few" instead of "no" shortcuts because the biggest shortcut you can take is to get close to one of the experts and ask for help. There are very few of the top pilots that will not help you. The first thing that they usually do is to check out your plane and once that situation has improved, then they can give you many pointers to go and practice. Always practice with a purpose so that you don't practice perfect mistakes, and here a well-trained observer or coach is a big help.
I said that my Nemesis is the reverse wingover, because not only is it a difficult thing to get right, it's also the first stunt in the pattern, so the nerves play a big part. If you crack a great wingover it is a big boost to your confidence. It also wakes up the judges to want to see more good stuff from you! A good feel for anything like this takes understanding of what you are trying to achieve, and Keith Trostle has (as always) explained the funnies of flying on a spherical surface. To simplify everything, just remember that your tethered model can only fly straight lines and curves, and the "straight" lines are also circles.
This sounds confusing but a straight line, or "great circle path" on a sphere is just a flight path with no change in direction. So to sum this all up. In perfect conditions with no wind, turbulence etc. if the elevator is neutral, then the model will fly straight lines. Any elevator off centre will fly curves, or loops. Once you have a good feeling for these shapes, and you can "fly" them with a finger as if you're really flying the model, getting all of the shapes and angles right, then you are halfway there. The rest is trying to get your model to fly like your finger. It is a good idea to do this in your home where nobody is watching you.........this could cause some damage to your overall reputation!
The sides of the square maneuvers are vertical, (in the true technical definition of vertical) and don't worry too much about the top lines being shorter, just try to keep those very short top lines level and parallel to the bottom level flight path. The biggest factors that the judges can see soooo easily are bottoms and intersections. If you get rock solid bottoms consistently at 5 foot, and dynamite intersections that do not shift, you will score good points. It's not easy to get the 45 degree line spot on, and many times judges do not see this easily, but the bottoms and intersections are dead give-aways.
Keith R
Topic: What's your nemesis? (Read 2688 times)