GAMA-Clinic

Flight box:          Description, size and limits. (60 degrees left, right

                and up, F/L out to 150-175 meters)

Maneuvers:       Description and sizes.

Maneuvers:       Presentation, geometry, wind effects and

                corrections.

                Center and T/A maneuvers; Center must be parallel       and level.

                T/A are used to adjust altitude and position.

Maneuvers elements: Straight lines, loops and partial loops, rolls.

Judging Points

When judging, each maneuvers starts with a 10 and it’s downgraded as flaws are observed.

Optimum distance is 150-175 meters, downgrade if flying farther.

All maneuvers start and end with a straight line flown parallel to the runway with wings level.

                -As long there is a visible straight line between maneuvers (regardless of length), a judge will not downgrade

All maneuvers must be wind corrected to preserve their geometry.

                -You should have a very clear idea of which way the wind is blowing when you take off, and keep that in mind for the first few maneuvers. Correct based on what you THINK the wind should be doing then adjust from there throughout your flight.  The better you get at reading the wind before you take off the better this technique works.

                -Roll through a radius to preserve heading

                -Use wind to your advantage (if blowing in strong, try to start sequence farther out to give yourself some wiggle room and vice versa)

                -You must be very attentive on power off 45’s/verticals, or 45/verticals at center.  This is when you get blown around the most because you are often focused on some element of the line, wind becomes “stronger” with power off, and it is much harder to see the plane drift in/out at center.  All of these factors add up.

                -You usually want to snap into the wind.

                -ALWAYS stall turn into the wind, but remember that wind direction can change at altitude.  Listen to what the plane is telling you. 

                -If flying into headwind, remember to pull/push less for same radius you would fly in calm conditions and vice versa for downwind.  This is especially important when flying loops because the effect the wind has on the airplane is constantly changing.  Don’t be mechanical.  Fly the plane, not your thumbs. 

All radii (portion of a loop) in a maneuver must be the same.

                -Maneuvers where this is easy to forget:

                                -Reverse and ½ Reverse Cuban 8’s (don’t make the first radius too small! It is a very common mistake and made by some of the best pilots in the world)

                                -Any time you pull/push to a 45/vertical down line (very easy to “drop” into it and make entry radius very small)

                                -End box top hats (EVERYONE! in the lower classes make the radii at the top too small because they are trying to shorten that in/out line. If done correctly you will be handsomely rewarded).  

                                -Any time pushing/pulling after vertical up line (pilots generally make these radii too small).  It is hard to do correctly, especially with underpowered airplane and/or flying into the wind, but make sure to make these radii nice and “full”.

All rolls are centered on the line and roll rates are the same.

                -Avoid “roll and pull” on ½ reverse Cuban 8’s. Make a nicely defined and equal length line after the roll and you will set yourself apart in the lower classes.  On ALL 45 up lines remember that you should have to push a little bit to keep the plane on track after a ½ roll.  If you don’t have to, your extremely tail heavy!

Point rolls must hesitate equal time on each point.

                -Pay attention to the duration of your hesitations.  It is better to make your hesitations longer and to roll a little bit quicker.  Define those points!  The better you get the slower and more graceful you can make the roll while keeping definition in the points.  This is why you see all the best pilots flying this way.

All center maneuvers should start and finish at the same altitude.

                -If the maneuver takes a long time to get through, a Cuban 8 for example, it is easy to forget what altitude you started at by the end of the maneuver.  Remember to try and take a snapshot in your mind at the beginning of the maneuver for reference at the end.  If it’s cloudy, pick a reference point in the sky.

T/A maneuvers are altitude and/or position adjusting and they are not required to begin and finish at the same altitude.

                -But do it anyways!  Unless you find yourself too low and you need to adjust your baseline, you should always fly as consistently as possible.  This presents better and shows the judge that you are 100% in control. 

Lines in a maneuver that have a defined relationship should be the same length, e.g. in a square loop.

                -Some pilots like to count out the length of their lines (“1, 2, pull… 1, 2, pull...” etc.).  This technique can be helpful but remember that different groundspeeds will make this ineffective.  It’s the length of the lines you’re worried about not the time it takes to fly them.  Pay close attention to this on the down leg of stall turns because the airplane is always accelerating.

Top Hats must have an inverted flight on the cross leg.

Stall Turns should have a maximum pivot radius of ½ wing span for maximum score.

                -However, in practice you should strive to pivot around the CG of the airplane.  Assuming the airplane is setup well enough, it’s possible to rotate around the CG even in dead calm conditions.  In competition you may want to give yourself more room for error, because a flopped stall turn is always worse than a one or two point downgrade.

                -Unless there is a decent crosswind, remember to keep the motor 2-4 clicks above idle to get the pivot started.  Once the plane starts to pivot pull back to idle and take out most of your rudder input.  To prevent the tail wag at the end of the stall, hold a tiny amount of rudder in until you know the airplane is stable.  In a crosswind, it’s usually better to use opposite rudder to do this and in calm conditions it’s usually better to use same direction rudder (relative to the rudder you used to do the stall turn).  Experiment with this and see what you find.

Final notes and tips for beginners who want to advance through the classes:

                Learn to use the left side of the transmitter now, not later.  Rudder and throttle are without a doubt the two most important control inputs past advanced.  Pay close attention to the throttle management and smooth rudder inputs of the best masters and F3A pilots and try to do the same.  I could write a book about this, but I seriously cannot stress the importance of learning these things early on enough. 

                Learn to roll correctly, which means blending rudder and elevator in and out throughout the roll.  This is something that a simulator can be especially helpful with.  Some people will tell you that it is ok to just use elevator, but they’re wrong.  It might feel like a pain in the butt now, but try getting through the masters or F3A sequence without rolling with your rudder and you’ll face a much bigger headache than you can handle!  Remember that you should ALWAYS!!! use rudder when you roll (this includes half, quarter, etc. rolls as well) even if you just have to breathe on it on a 45 down line.  The best way to practice this is to start with a 4 point roll.  Get comfortable with the amount and direction you have to move the stick for each attitude of the airplane.  Go to a 2 point roll next and try to blend the rudder and elevator so the altitude and heading of the airplane remains constant (remembering to make your pauses long and defined).  Eventually bring it all together and you’ll be a slow rolling machine. 

                Remember that now is the time to build the basics of your pattern flying.  Small annoyances like fixing wrong rudder inputs, learning to roll with rudder, long hesitations on points, etc. will pay huge dividends when you start flying the really challenging sequences.  I’ve seen so many pilots become frustrated after being in pattern for a couple years because they didn’t engrain the basics in their head and thumbs in the beginning.  They hit a plateau in advanced or even intermediate and can’t advance because they’ve just been “getting by”.  While this may result in better scores for your first few contests it will come back to haunt you later.  Think of it like cheating your way through high school, being admitted to MIT, then failing miserably because you didn’t learn anything!  Do it right, and pattern is the most rewarding flying experience there is. That’s why the best pilots in the world will tell you they love pattern more than anything else; take it from someone who’s met them.

Written By:

Brett Wickizer