Last year I wrote about my experiences as I slowly entered the world of competition aerobatics with my RV-8. I participated in a couple "fun days" with IAC Chapter 52 at the end of the season and learned the RV could compete, at least at the Primary level. I vowed to give it a try.
The Primary routine is a simple one-- Forty-five degree up line, one turn spin, half cuban 8, loop, one-eighty turn and finish with a slow roll. Though there is no penalty for exceeding the lateral boundaries of the box in the primary category, leaving the box makes it difficult for the judges (as I will one day learn), and is essential in the higher categories of competition. Best to get in the habit now. I didn’t have a marked box to practice in but I spent much of the winter practicing the routine, trying my best to string the maneuvers together as closely as possible.
In mid June, Chapter 52 scheduled a practice and critique session to get ready for the upcoming year and the first area contest, The "Wildwoods Acroblast" in Southern, NJ. Doug Lovell is a National judge and his coaching soon had me flying the routine in a respectable manner. You may remember from last year that I was initially concerned about the ability to draw a down line following the spin. It turned out that this is not a problem. I did find that the aircraft accelerates much to quickly on the 45 down of a Cuban 8 if power is kept on. Practice showed that I need to bring the power back to idle as the nose drops below the horizon, establish the 45, count “one potato, two”, roll, count “one potato”, exiting the maneuver with plenty of speed for the loop, just add power. So much for my "keep it wide open except for the spin and landing" philosophy!
A week later, my goals at Wildwood were simple: Don’t scare myself or anyone else, earn respect from my fellow competitors and the judges and of course, have fun. I arrived late Friday morning and the organizers went all out to get me through tech inspection so that I would have time for a practice session in front of the judges before the competition began. This would be my first time in a marked box and the first time any of the judges had a chance to see an RV fly the routine. I flew the routine twice, keeping Doug’s voice in my head like I did with my instructors voice on my first solo so many years ago. The judges seemed pleased and offered advice. Everyone was excited about the prospects of having an RV in the competition, hoping this was the start of many more.
Only three competitors showed up to fly primary. Joe Flood came from Texas to fly the family S-2A, and Randol Webb in his 65HP, Clipped wing J-3 would be a force to be reckoned with. Randol flew several competitions in the Cub last year and reportedly "cleaned up" the Primary category. This is quite a mix and should be interesting for the participants as well as the judges. Randol is the ultimate gentleman, the class of the field in more than one way. We quickly formed a friendly rivalry that will last no matter what we fly or at what level.
As I prepared for my first flight, I felt as all eyes were on me. "Who is this guy competing in an RV? A former bomber pilot (snicker)?" Even the judging line was intimidating. IAC President Vicki Cruse and Bill Finagin would be scoring me! (Vicki would announce at the Saturday banquet that Bill had been selected for the IAC Hall Of Fame.)
A couple of seasoned competitors pulled me aside to welcome me and encouraged me to relax, have fun and play it conservative. No one ever gets penalized for going out the top of the box, going out the bottom (1500’AGL) at your first contest will likely get you sent home. I reminded myself how supportive everyone had been, took the aforementioned advice and explored the top of the box. I was awarded with a respectable 457.13 points (72.56%), ahead of Randol!
I flew the routine in my mind many times while reading the judges comments from my first flight and on Saturday morning scored 80.77% on my second flight, with no maneuver scored below an 8.0. Breaking 80% was an unspoken goal for me so I was elated with the flight, and I earned a "Proficiency Patch with Stars" for it. Joe Flood flew two solid flights and was handily in the lead but I had beat Randol once again. What’s up with that? After his second flight, Randol had figured out that the change from a wood prop to an aluminum one had changed the Cubs flight characteristics enough to throw him off. He hadn’t had time to practice with the new prop and didn’t anticipate such a significant change. Now that he had identified his problem, I knew I was in for a competition.
Sunday morning we flew for the third time. I was feeling the effects of two and a half days of the heat and humidity of coastal NJ, and was a bit off but still managed a 75.32%. An overall score of 76.22% completed my sweep over Randol. The winds had picked up and Randol took the opportunity to introduce a new maneuver to the primary sequence. As he floated over the top of his loop, flying into the stiff breeze, Randol brought his Cub to a stop, some observers even say he flew it backwards. I’m not sure how the judges scored what Randol later named the "inverted retreat," but everyone else gave him a 10! Joe ran away with first place with an 80.90% total score. Great job!
Springfield, VT was the site of the "Green Mountain Aerobatic Contest" a few weeks later. Summer also was making its first appearance of the year in Vermont with high temperatures and humidity. Eight primary competitors registered for the event in aircraft ranging from an Extra 300 to Randol and his Cub. I wanted to show improvement over my rookie contest and, of course, to continue beating Randol. The weekend was filled with highs and lows. I took first place in the first flight on Friday with 513.7 points (81.54%), this was going to be a great weekend! Randol was close behind with 491.2 points, he had found his rhythm again, this was going to be tough. It was all downhill from there. In the heat of early Saturday afternoon, I finished fifth in the second flight with 460.8 points, a 73.14% score, behind Randol and three solid competitors in Decathlons. I held on to second place with a total of 974.5 points but Randol was only 0.4 points behind!
Late in the day on Saturday, it was decided that there was enough time to give the primary category a third flight. After a long day in the sun, I was not 100% but it was time to tough it out. The wind had picked up, blowing towards the judges. As I waiting in the holding pattern for the competitor ahead to finish, I wondered what was taking him so long. Finally, I was cleared in. I knew I had to start at the middle to back side of the box because the wind would blow me over the judges but as I finished my wing wag signal to start the sequence, I noticed I was already near the front. I knew I was in a bad position but pressed on. As I came over the top of the half cuban, I could see the judges directly below. I made a small correction to get back into the box but it was over.
On the ground, those that saw my flight said I flew well. Unfortunately, the judges were not among those that saw the flight! The entire routine was flown almost directly overhead, making scoring extremely difficult. The exception was the half cuban eight that was flown behind the judges, earning a zero. The 55.40% score was at the bottom of the score sheet for that flight. From first to worst in an afternoon, I fell to fifth overall. I learned that what I should have done is waved off my start, circled back around to a more favorable entry location and restarted the sequence. In fact, the competitor before me did exactly that! Now I knew what had taken him so long to fly the routine. I knew the rules on breaks but never thought seriously about breaking before I started. Chock it up to a rookie mistake that I’m not likely to make again!
.JPG)
The Kathy Jaffe Challenge has been the premier event in the Northeast for the past nine years. At the beginning of the season, I had hopped to make my Sportsman debut at the KJC. My dismal showing at Springfield showed I was not ready to move up, I needed to redeem myself. Now, work would get in the way. The contest was to start, as most do, on Friday afternoon. I was scheduled to arrive home from business in Europe on Friday afternoon. I was told that if my category didn’t fly on Friday I could compete as long as I made the Saturday morning brief. I had the plane packed, pre-flighted and ready to be pushed out of the hangar before I left for Europe so that I would be able to get an early start when I returned.
Friday night, I learned that primary had not flown so I would be allowed to compete. The weather cooperated and I was airborne by sunrise for the 45 minute flight to Flying W airport, outside of Philly. I knew I wouldn’t be able to practice so I overflew the field to get a good look at the box and the landmarks that I would need later. Tech inspection, breakfast and brief, I was ready to go. I was disappointed to see that Randol was not there but soon learned he was en-route and would arrive in time to compete. Joe Flood was back as well as several of the Decathlon pilots that had put on a fine showing in Vermont.
The first flight started well but as I floated over the top of the half Cuban, I saw traffic flying right through the center of the box at my altitude. While I would be able to complete the half Cuban, I would temporarily lose sight of the traffic as the nose came down and I knew it would be a factor during my loop. I called “Breaking for traffic” on the box frequency as I gently rolled and pulled to exit the box away from the traffic. Steve Seidel called the traffic as I maneuvered out of the box. He asked if I had the traffic in sight before he called it, to which I answered "Yes, that’s why I’m 90 off heading!" Steve responded, "Looks like you had a good gun solution. Take the shot!" Once a fighter pilot… I circled back and completed the routine without further distraction and scored a personal best, 519 points for 82.38%, again with no maneuvers below 8.0. Joe Tesauro, in a Decathlon scored 532 points for first and Joe Flood was in third with 518.10 points. Only 0.9 points out of over 500 separated second and third! Randol, who hadn’t had a chance to relax after his long flight down from Connecticut, was close by in forth.
The rest of Saturday was spent helping out on the hot judging line as Primary would not fly again that day. We would be the last to fly on Sunday but a fitful nights sleep, a breakfast that didn’t agree with me and the heat were all taking their toll. I laid in the shade beneath my wing, trying to shake a headache, an upset stomach, close to heat exhaustion. I don’t handle heat well, why did I pick a sport that requires hours and days out in the heat of the sun? Can’t we build warming huts for the judges and compete in the winter? An hour before my flight I planned to withdraw when my turn came. Randol wanting to beat me fair and square, came through with some aspirin. When primaries were called to their planes, I miraculously felt better, I was ready to fly. Not my best showing but the 491.3 (77.98%) score was good enough for a second place for the round. Joe Flood scored 520.4, enough to put him ahead of me in the standings. Jay Tesauro fell to third for the round but managed to hold onto second overall due to total points. The end result of this tight competition is that even though I finished second in both flights, I finished third overall! To this day, when anyone asks how I did at "The Challenge," I don’t say I came in third, I tell them I came in second twice!
Chapter 52 finished the year with the popular "Blue Bowl" (don’t call it a contest!). One rule "Be Safe." Two categories. One "freestyle" flight to be judged by a random selection of pilots and friends that happened to be there. I came home with a coveted third place trophy. A nice ending to the season. My rookie year of competition aerobatics was over.
I plan to move to Sportsman next year. Randol is thinking the same. How about Joe Flood, will he make a return appearance from Texas to move up and beat me in Sportsman? Now Extra 300 pilot, Charles Cohen has told me I have a target on my back! Rivalries, new and old, and friendships, new and old make this a great sport. Stay tuned!