Beginner's Guide to Pattern Aerobatics
Typical Pattern Aerobatics Plane
Written by Robert Clarke,
President of the Australian Pattern Association.
Beginner's Guide to Pattern Aerobatics.
This guide has been written
for the benefit of beginners to ‘pattern’ aerobatic
competition, to help them get started in the best way with an
appropriate kind of model, and to answer most of the questions that are
commonly asked about going to their first competition. As soon as you
can safely take off and land, fly straight lines and can do loops and
rolls, you probably are ready to start "practicing with a
purpose"!
The type of aerobatics run by the Australian
Pattern Association is known as F3A, and is often called
"pattern" because the pilots fly a prescribed set
of maneuvers, or "patterns" in the sky. While a
handful of flyers are truly world-class pilots, some people make the
mistake of thinking that pattern is only for the so-called elite
flyers. Not so at all! Most newcomers get into it simply as a means of
quickly improving their flying skills (maybe so they can fly their
scale model a lot better) or simply because flying pattern is fun!
There are four classes of pilots. These are
Sportsman, Advanced, Expert, and FAI - F3A (the top 10% of pilots in
F3A class are given the prestigious title of Masters). Beginners start
in Sportsman, and when
your skill level increases and you obtain the required scores, you will
be awarded a promotion point. Three promotion
points in a twelve-month period will gain your promotion to Advanced,
the next class up. Each class has its’ own set of maneuvers
(they get more challenging as you go up the classes!). Sportsman
maneuvers are designed so that new people can actually do them, while
still presenting a real challenge to do well.
This leads us to an important topic: What model, what engine and what
radio? The simple
answer is to start with what you already have. As with most sports, if
you enter at a level that is way over your head, you will get into more
strife than Ned Kelly! The last thing most new people should consider
is to start out by buying a current-model FAI - F3A style pattern model!
APA members with decades of experience have many times seen beginners
turn up at their first competitions with a near-new full-blown pattern
model, and get soundly trounced by others with similar skill level, but
who fly simple .46-powered "stick" type models that
they can fly with real control and accuracy, simply because they have
grown so used to them over many, many flights! While they look so
smooth and graceful in the right hands, pattern models fly deceptively
fast! A little mistake in a line/loop/roll that the beginner
doesn't notice and correct immediately, can quickly turn a
maneuver into an unrecognisable one and you get a very low score!
Another thing to keep in mind is that you need to actually finish the
event... it's all too easy in the excitement, to land a model
a bit hard on the runway (or miss it!) after a flight, and wire
undercarriages on "sticks" can take that, but
retracts won't!
There are many disadvantages for a new person
to fly a full-on pattern model, and very few advantages, if any. But on
the other hand, if you've been flying a pattern model for
years as a "sport" model and are quite used to it.
Use it by all means!
For an engine of around .46-size, a shoulder-wing
stick-type model, with no dihedral in the wing, and hopefully weighing
no more than four pounds without fuel, is quite suitable and is very
easy to build.
Shoulder-wing is by far the easiest to build and
maintain, while low-wing models do roll a bit better. In practical use,
it's hard to go past a light-weight shoulder-wing "stick"!
There are many models that are fine for aerobatic hot-dogging where
precision doesn't matter much, but remember the heavier they
weigh, the harder it is to do the pattern maneuvers well.
Putting a bigger engine in a heavyish model doesn't usually work very
well at all for Sportsman pattern; it just makes the model fly faster.
If you need help with model selection, you can talk to anyone on the
APA committee. There are plans available from different sources for
suitable models, too.
As far as radio goes, if you have a 4 channel
radio, that's all you need to start. Computer radios can
provide some useful conveniences, but you don't have to use
one to start with.
The bottom line is this: make it as easy for
yourself as possible while you are "learning the
ropes".
Use what you're already familiar with,
model and gear-wise, practice the maneuvers, and get to competitions!
Okay, you've got a model going, and you can fly it around, do
some loops, rolls and your straight lines look straight to you. Now
what? First, you need a "caller". And not just
someone who can read from your call-card what the next maneuver is, but
someone not shy in giving you some valuable feedback! If your loops are
not round (but you think they are!) they must tell you. If your
straight lines are twenty degrees skewed to the proper
line of flight, they must tell you. You can see here that
it's best to get the most experienced caller you can find! If
there is anyone at your club with pattern experience, ask them if they
could give you some help. But remember you will always find experienced
and willing callers at pattern competitions! What is meant here is that
you don't need to practice at your local field until you
reckon you're 100% perfect! If you practice enough that a
local club flier/caller can recognise the maneuvers you are flying (no
matter how many mistakes are made) get to a competition! As soon as you
can fly safely, nothing beats flying at a competition for experience!
Well, you're ready to go! What now?
Your APA newsletter lists the competitions you can go to in most
states. There will be a name and
phone number for the Contest Director for the competition you want to
enter, and you need to ring him at least 7 days before the event, to
enter. You will be asked for your name, probably your address and phone
numbers, your FAI number which is the AUS number on your club
membership card (everyone must belong to a club to get the necessary
insurance cover) and finally, the frequency of your radio.
It's best to avoid any confusion here by stating the
frequency in full, rather than the abbreviated way. For example, say
36.370 instead of 637. Some clubs don't allow the use of
10Khz frequencies, so be prepared to use a 20Khz frequency (with
certification) and a two-inch frequency-key with your name and
frequency clearly printed on it.
The CD will give you directions to
find the competition site if necessary. You could ask if
there's anyone going from near where you live, so you might
tag along etc. If it's a two-day competition as many are, you
might ask about the possibility of sharing a room with someone to save
on motel bills, but remember it's NOT up to the CD to find
you accommodation, so don't be offended if he's
unable to help you there.
When you arrive at the competition
it's polite to find the CD, tell him who you are, and ask if
there is anything you can do to help (heaps of brownie-points can be
gained here!) but usually you won't have much to do except
assemble your model, tune your engine, and maybe get a practice flight
in to help calm the nerves. But this is also the golden opportunity to
ask the CD who the best callers are! Some of them might be judging when
you will be flying (so they won't be available to help you)
but the CD will try to team you up with a good caller. Remember that if
you end up with the "Number One Flier in Australia" or the like as your
caller, don't get nervous!
They were
beginners once, themselves. The top fliers are usually only too pleased
to help new people when they are asked, especially if you are prepared
to listen and learn from them, and really try to fly your best, in
return. At competitions, apart from honing your flying skills, you will
also often get to "pencil" scores for one of the
judges, which will give you a bit of an introduction to judging, which
nearly everyone gets to do later on. Be prepared to sit in a chair for
about two hours... bring warm, windproof clothing, a hat and
sunblock.
There are usually two "flight lines" with
a group of judges and pencillers for each. This means that there will
be two models in the air together, flying along the same path. You soon
learn to not worry about the other model!
Pilots will be divided into
two groups, one for each flight line. As soon as the CD makes the
flying order lists available, you need to see when (and on which flight
line) your turn will be.
The pilot in front of you may have an early
deadstick, so you need to be fuelled up and ready to go at least two
pilots in front of you.
There will also be a
"rotation"; of pilots so if you're second
up for flight one, you might be fourth up for flight two.
Remember who
the two pilots are in front of you. Never be late getting yourself on
to the line when asked to go! When you arrive at a competition, make
yourself known to the other flyers. You'll find it quite easy
to fit in, because we have all been there
before, ourselves, as first-timers.
Also, at two-day
competitions, most of us go to dinner together as a group. We usually
decide the venue towards the end of day one. Ask the CD!
We hope this
is of some help to you as a newcomer. If you have any comments from
your experiences of starting out that you think we should include in
this guide to help others, please let the committee know.
Remember that
the reason we are on the committee is to help our fellow APA members
enjoy their flying!
Fly for fun, and make it fun for others, too!
For more information about
Pattern Flying, please visit the Web site of
the Victorian Pattern Association.
To visit the VPA website, click on this link: http://www.vicpattern.org.au/
