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http://youtu.be/WN3h7FNs67U
My latest practice session in the Extra 300L. I am new to aerobatics, now having about 4-4.5 hrs of acro, and 7 hrs in the Extra. Still working to get it all to click at the same time. Registered for Redlands and Delano later this year.
Absolutely love it.
Cool video. Good luck in your first contest at Delano! Looks like you're doing great for only a few hours in. I might offer a few suggestions regarding where to look and when, while flying the figures. This is something that is not always stressed, but can make a huge difference as you're developing habits that will stay with you for a long time, and will be hard to change once ingrained. Developing a good pattern of looking in the right places at the right time is something that will provide a good foundation for precision as you increase the level of difficulty and complexity.
Pulling to vertical - On your level lines before pulling up, you're looking at the left wingtip before you start your pull. I would suggest looking straight ahead before pullling, and only looking at the wingtip after the horizon disappears under the nose. IMO, when looking foward, you can better monitor the squareness of your pull (on heading and not dragging a wing or applying aileron in one direction). IMO, you're more likely to pull a little crooked when looking at the wingtip before pulling. Use your peripheral vision to make sure the wings are level with the horizon just before the horizon disappears. Then transition to the wingtip to pick up your pitch attitude. Also learn where the wingtip must be placed on the horizon to ensure the fuselage is perfectly vertical in yaw as you approach the vertical attitude. Getting in the habit of being precise with your pulls to vertical will really help you when you progress to doing vertical rolls.
Especially during the 1-1/4 spin in this year's Sportsman sequence, I would recommend making a quick glance at your wingtip immediately as the spin stops to check your pitch and yaw attitude. Upon recovery, the 1-1/4 spin requires a pitch over to vertical down attitude, as well as a rudder correction to bring the wings level in yaw. The wingtip will tell you everything you need to know about both. It's hard to know if you're precisely vertical in pitch and yaw simply by looking over the nose at the ground.
During the cuban/reverse cubans, I would also make a quick glance at your wingtip after completing the half roll to check your attitude, to monitor the quality of the roll. You're not doing this to FIX the attitude after the roll if you happen to be off a little - you're doing it so that next time you can fly the roll so that you've got your attitude nailed on a 45 as soon as you center the stick and stop the roll. A great exercise is to fly a bunch of 45 up and downlines with half rolls - as in pull to 45, half roll to inverted, drawn equal length line, pull to 45 inverted down, roll upright, draw an equal length line, and repeat for as long as is worthwhile during a practice session. Just don't burnout, and know when to knock it off if you start getting worse. Time to give the brain a rest, land, and let things "gell" before going back up.
There's a thread on this forum called "Three IAC Sequences". Just some videos I shot with a head cam. Gives an idea of when and where I'm looking during each figure. This is not necessarily the "right" way (no such thing), but just a way that works well for me. Point being that you should think about where and when to look during each figure that will best allow you to monitor the precision of all the attitudes you need to nail. There are a lot of different ways to do this. Just find what works well for you. Discuss this with your instructor. Good luck, and most importantly have fun!
Eric
Thanks Eric!
I am aware of some of the where-to-look issues you bring up. Transitioning from straight and level IFR type flying to acro has been a lot like learning to fly all over again, especially from the front pit of an Extra 300L where all I have is airspeed, altitude, ball and G-meter.
We spent two flights working on basic maneuvers then my instructor suggested we try the Primary sequence and that went really well so he recommended Sportsman instead and we have been flying the full sequence since.
Now that I am getting over the initial task saturation from going back to flying almost exclusively by outside visual reference, I am starting to add in the very things you mention in terms of checking the vertical on downlines, etc. The early look left on vertical pulls is something I am working on as well because I do end up off-heading occasionally as a result.
Your videos are great by the way, very helpful.
On the sequence in this video, we stayed inside the box which we have made with basic airport and road references, and we are flying from 5,000-6,500' MSL, which is about 2200' AGL - the Extra will actually be harder to keep in the box at Redlands and Delano - at 180 KIAS it can cross the entire box in like 13 seconds with no wind. Practicing in the heavy winds at MHV is a bit rough but I learned to fly in KS, so I believe flying in the wind makes me better.
I am supporting The Spaceship Company every other week on-site at MHV, and that is when I get to fly the Extra. I have been practicing the sequence in MS Flight Simulator X on the weeks I am not at MHV - have been flying it at KREI to begin to get a feel for the airport area and major geographic landmarks using the sim.
I felt pretty good after my 3rd practice flight last week, we are targetting 3 or 4 full sequences, then some pattern work, and usually shut down right around .8 hrs - I try and fly 2 or 3 times when I am up there.
Funny thing about having fun, on my first flight I was all smiles, now I am straining and working hard, never smile while I am flying. I only 'enjoy' it after the fact when I debrief and see what I did right and what I still need to work on.
Really enjoying it though, acro is the best!