How to best prepare for an unknown aerobatic sequence?

[It flies]

I've registered for my first Standard level competition. For the first time I will need to fly an unknown aerobatic sequence. Would anyone care to share what they do when they get handed the piece of paper with the sequence?

Start with a best guess of the wind direction? Plot the position of the figures in the box on a piece of paper. Tabulate the expected height gain or loss per figure and summarize to check to not bust the minimum altitude. Try to memorize the sequence.

Anything else I should do? Any clever tricks I should know about? I've read Better Aerobatics by Alan Cassidy and Aerobatics by Neil Williams but these don't really offer much on the subject.

Cheers.

[stiknruda]

First thing - look at the figures and reassure yourself that you've practiced them all recently! Nothing as scarey as seeing something you've never flown as that will screw up your calculations.

Then make sure you are happy flying the figures next to each other.....


Then start at the final figure, work out what height you want to exit it and plot backwards working out start and finish heights for each figure until you work out your start height for the final wing rock (which should be S&L) just before you start Fig1.

Then work out where you want to be laterally in the box to best show the a/c and to best disguise and fudging you may need to do....

Then go and learn the sequence by heart

Then go and walk it through - reciting gate data (speeds in and out,heights in and out).

Then go and try and screw up the competition by gamesmanship!

Good luck!

Stik

[stiknruda]

Your sequence will have the wind on it!

Therefore it will dictate which figures are flown into wind, downwind and across the wind.

At the briefing you will be told where the box is and what direction the COMPETITION wind is. It may bare scant reality to real wind and do be aware that in this hemisphere the wind at 2000 feet tends to veer by about 30degrees and be twice the surface speed.

High figures fly in the back of the box, lower figures nearer the judges - you don't want them craning their necks to see you as subconsciously they will lower your marks if your flight is uncomfortable to watch!

Make sure you can roll and stall turn in both directions as that will give you more options on ensuing positioning and keeping the judges in sight!

Stik

[It flies]

Thanks, Stik. Much appreciated.

It may bare scant reality to real wind and do be aware that in this hemisphere the wind at 2000 feet tends to veer by about 30degrees and be twice the surface speed.Do you spend much time in preparation on how to compensate for different wind strengths and directions? Or just make it up as you go along?

High figures fly in the back of the box, lower figures nearer the judges - you don't want them craning their necks to see you as subconsciously they will lower your marks if your flight is uncomfortable to watch!That makes a lot of sense.

Then go and try and screw up the competition by gamesmanship!This will never work. The chief judge is from the UK... :) Alan Cassidy's book has opened my eyes as to how beneficial some fudging can be. I'll leave this till next time though.


P.s. I can fully understand why Backpacker doesn't post on this thread. ;)

[BackPacker]

P.s. I can fully understand why Backpacker doesn't post on this thread.:D

I guess I'm a nice enough guy to give a few tips anyway.

1. Experience. Both the Dutch and the UK known and unknown sequences of the last years are available online. Print a random set, if necessary transcribe them on a suitable bit of paper but don't study them too hard. Go fly, pick a random sequence while in the air and see if you can fly it. This will give you confidence, will give you some insights in things that are "impossible" so you need to watch out for when flying one for real, but it will also give you experience in reading a sequence literally "on the fly". Because even when you have properly done the visualization and learned the sequence by heart, nervousness and circumstances will dictate that halfway through the sequence you draw a blank. So you need to be able to refer to the sequence on paper to see what's next. Even worse when you did something wrong, decided to break and then need to figure out in which direction to start again.

When flying any sequence it helps a lot to video yourself, and particularly the panel. Afterwards you can write down the actual entry and exit speeds and altitudes, so you build up a collection of speeds and altitudes for each figure that worked, or not. That knowledge is invaluable when you need to study a new unknown figure.

2. Visualize. Find a piece of grass, concrete or whatever that's about 4x4m in size. If possible make sure it is aligned with the actual box. Look where the wind is coming from and what the competition wind is. Visualize the judges position and any other reference points. Then go "fly" your sequence. Before and after each figure, stop and pause. What is my altitude, what is my heading, what is my head position, at what visual clue am I looking, what is my position in the box? You will want to do this visualization to be as realistically as possible, without actually getting into the aircraft. Just going through he motions of the sequence is not enough.

Oh, and if you haven't flown competitions all that often, the visualization starts where you start your engine. Not when you enter the box. Visualizing how you get to the runway and to the box will help you get into the proper frame of mind.

3. Plan your breaks. Of course you can break at any moment, but in certain sequences a break at a strategic point would be very beneficial. And at Standard they're free anyway. Furthermore, there are some figures that require specific entry altitudes or speeds for them to work. If you don't exit the previous figure with sufficient altitude or speed, you need to have planned in advance to break there.

4. At the site of VINK there's a list of all figures that are allowed in the Std. unknown. Write them down, group them and you'll see that it's a limited set of base figures, which may be complicated by having diagonals as entry or exits, and will have rolls inserted at various places. If you can fly the base figures, if you can accurately fly an up and down diagonal, and if you can fly the various rolls separately, including knowing what the minimum entry speed is for each component, you should be able to combine all those on the fly into the proper figure.

5. Don't let yourself get distracted by folks like me who will try to give you good advice or anything, after you've made your plan and done your mental preparation.:O

[It flies]

Thanks Backpacker. Some more good tips. Good luck with your training. :ok:

[BackPacker]

Not anytime soon. The November is down for maintenance and a new canopy, so I'm going to do another 5 days of gliding this coming week. I might just fly a loop and a wingover but that'll be it.