The San Diego Hammerheads IAC 36

Transcription

1 The Hammerhead Times An IAC 36 Publication Volume 2 Issue 2 CHAPTER OFFICERS August 2008 A Mid-Summer Recount Randy Owens President webmaster@iac36.org Joshua Muncie Vice-President jlmuncie@yahoo.com Gray Brandt Secretary graybrandt@yahoo.com Bill Hill Treasurer hillgroup@cox.net DIRECTORS Reinaldo Beyer rwbeyer@pacbell.net Jenner Knight jknight1@san.rr.com Heather Ogas prynsesheather@yahoo.com In this Issue Malcolm Pond malpond@earthlink.net * Minifest 2008 PRESIDENT EMERITUS *A note from the President Bob Branch n69tw@cox.net WEBMASTER Randy Owens webmaster@iac36.org * A Lesson from Bill Hill * FYI * And the Other Stuff * A Note From the Secretary NEWSLETTER EDITOR Yolandi Jooste yjooste@gmail.com The San Diego Hammerheads IAC 36 MINIFEST 2008 By: Michael Church Chapter 36 has always been fortunate in its choice of leaders, from Bob Branch through Bill Bancroft to its current crop, Bill Hill, Randy Owens and Gray Brandt. Together these three did a really nice job arranging and bringing off the April contest: from start to finish, the production was very well done. Here were some of the high points: A steady flow of competitors: 7.5 minutes per flight, good for a Sportsman/Primary contest with lots of shared airplanes.

2 Registration and paperwork without a gap Box markers the envy of all Nearly hitch-less starting (the occasional delays resisted every effort by the starters) Complete volunteer staffing (usually a problem at Minis) Scores out right on schedule Nice lunches Good breakfast It has always amused me to compare contest management to live theater. Both production types require similar cast and crew: Producer Randy Owens Directors--Gray Brandt and Randy Property Manager Bill Hill Casting Robin Lawhon Stage Manager Kate DeBraun Players Volunteer staff Ushers--Starters Patrons the pilots Of course, there are differences: I don t know where to stick the Scoring staff, there are no rehearsals, the patrons have do more than just sit on their butts, and at the end everybody get invited to the staff party. Special acknowledgment should be given to the three stalwarts who manned the distant outposts: Kyle Hankes, Cris McHugh and Daniel Wisehart. These three, all roped in by Sunrise, were the boundary judges, unsung and almost forgotten at the staff party. None had been to a contest before, an almost certain guarantee of boundary duties (it s characteristic that so many competitors gush how much they like the boundary job, but almost none volunteers). A Very Well Done to everybody who came out to work and fly. -Michael Church A NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT It started like so many Borrego Akrofest banquets before: people gathering to talk about the conclusion of a great contest with the expectation of great prime rib to come and, of course, the inevitable awards ceremony itself. It was a great banquet, October, 2007 greatness was expected by everyone. However, no one could have predicted the one turn The NEW IAC 36 Logo!! Oh.. Wait! Its the original one... You will see it on all the trophys, t-shirts and other stuff... President Owens of events that would make this banquet truly unique: I volunteered myself and Gray Brandt to co-direct the upcoming Minifest in April Gray and I discussed plans early on. This time around, the paperwork would be done early (with weeks to spare). We d have our t-shirt artwork ready long before the printing deadlines. Jenner Knight had already agreed to get sponsors lined up to help defray the costs. Josh Muncie and Heather Ogas agreed to procure trophies. Bill Hill had big plans for the box markers, and agreed to coordinated facilities. Gathering volunteers was pretty easy: Hal Raish, Reinaldo Beyer, Malcolm Pond, Josh Muncie, Ron Rapp, Bill Hill, and Dick Stonehouse agreed to judge. Mike Montgomery said he d come out and do whatever he could to help. Robyn Lawhon said she d love to be our Registrar (she d bring Derek along who is a very seasoned runner), and

3 Kate DeBaun accepted (with a little trepidation) the request to be our Volunteer Coordinator. Michael Church has been the Chief Judge at every Minifest I can remember and he wanted the job (thank goodness). Heather Ogas once told me it wasn t a contest if she wasn t scoring, and with the help of Barbara Hill, our computer scoring department was fully staffed. Gray and I figured we d split the starting duties among the other contest responsibilities. Corner Judges? We ll we d just hope for the best that we d have a few extra volunteers show up. Luckily Kyle, Chris, and Daniel showed up and were willing to help us there. Things went pretty smooth with all the pre-planning, actually. I handled paperwork (sanction, insurance, permits) and promoting the contest while Gray did all the hard stuff like designing and printing t-shirts, putting the programs together, working out the deals with the resort and restaurant, and buying the food for the BBQ. Bill Hill, Josh Muncie, and Gray worked hard readying the box putting in long, hot days in the desert to make sure everyone knew when they were in or out. The markers are fantastic! We had a small contingency of students show up at the airport late in the afternoon on Friday. They came at our invitation. The club is trying to be a positive part of the community in Borrego Springs, and in doing so, we extended an invitation to the schools to come out as a field-trip and listen to us speak about flying, aerobatics, and airplanes. In the end, the schools decided to forgo a field-trip and make the announcement that we d be out at the airport and anyone who wanted to come out after school was welcome. Several families came out and with the help of Pete Thompson and Casey Erickson, all the kids got an introduction to airplanes and flying. There were many smiles. The day of the contest rolled around and everything actually feel into place. Sixteen contestant vied for dominance of the skies (well, the little patch of sky 500 feet north of the runway that s 3,300 feet on a side between 1,500 and 3,500 AGL). We saw some great flying, we saw some less than great flying, we saw a lot of volunteers working hard for the 16 that flew. We had one of the best free lunches a contest ever had, and the wind never really picked up. The club came away without the need to replace a judge s or starter s awning. That s truly a Minifest miracle. We started just a little bit late (I think we had a plane starting around 8:20 AM) and our last competitor was done right around 2:00 PM. Not a bad run. Vicki Cole and her crew kept the gas flowing and generously allowed us to use her offices as our scoring and registration centers (thank you Vicki). There was an awards ceremony (with refreshments) at the restaurant on the field. We handed out trophies and awards just after 4:00 PM, and had a great time wrapping things up and saying see you soon to friends destined for more greatness at the Apple Valley contest. The Minifest is such a great contest. It s a great first contest and a great start to the season if you re a Sportsman competitor. The contest moves quickly, the pressure is low, and it s just a good group of people. Trust me that I wouldn t have volunteered if not for the friends I ve made over the years at these contests and the new friends I continue to make. My personal thanks go to everyone who showed up in Borrego for the contest. Everyone that came out was needed to put on the contest. If you weren t working, you were probably flying. But, really, no matter how you look at it, it s not really work work is never that much fun, is it? A LESSON FROM BILL HILL -Randy Owens Bill Hill is an Aerobatic Instructor at Sunrise Aviation, based out of John Wayne Airport, CA. He has 12 years experience flying competition aerobatics in a Super Decathlon and has logged over 2000 hours of aerobatic instruction. As an aerobatic instructor and competitor, he has encouraged a lot of pilots and got them interested in competition aerobatics. Some of these pilots have moved on to be National Competitors. If you missed Bill Hill s last article, you can read it at under the Club Newsletters. His first article starts on January 2007.

4 AEROBATICS INSTRUCTOR I prepared for this article by flying the 2008 Sportsman sequence in the SUNRISE AVIATION Super Decathlon, N161SA in the Blockhouse aerobatics practice area. Using a patch chord between the rear seat headphone jack and the microphone jack on my PANAOSNIC, RR-QR160, IC Recorder, I was able to narrate my flying over the voice activated intercom. I recorded airspeeds, altitudes, and G s while flying the sequence. Since there was no critique of the figures flown by judges on the ground, my commentary is based on how the figures felt in the cockpit. Based on my experience flying competition aerobatics; if a figure feels good in the cockpit using competition flying technique, it probably looks good to the judges on the ground. Future articles will discuss in detail the techniques for flying the individual figures. When I begin my dive into the aerobatic box I allow 1000 feet to set up my location in the box and my entry speed into the first figure. For the 2008 Sportsman sequence I want to be in level flight at 160+ mph when I enter the P- Loop over center box on the centerline if there is no crosswind or halfway between the centerline and the windward boundary line if there is a crosswind component. Judges will score a fast entry higher and have a better initial impression of your flying going into the next figure. The first figure sets the cadence for the sequence. On the day I flew to collect the numbers for this article the density altitude was 8,500 feet MSL at my starting altitude of 6,500 feet MSL. The Super Decathlon was trimmed for 140 mph at full throttle with the propeller set at 2600 rpm. This results in a 500 fpm descent hands-off which is ideally the zero angle of attack trim. An easy way to trim the airplane for zero angle of attack is to trim the airplane for 140 mph at full throttle, pitch 45-degree nose up and release the stick. As the airplane makes its ballistic pitch over adjust the trim to maintain a zero G meter reading on the instantaneous g-needle. I started the P-Loop at 160 mph and held a 4-second down line (4-counts) for a faster exit speed. Beginning the pull to level flight at 140 mph gave me a level flight 170 mph exit speed and 400 feet of altitude loss. Four hundred feet is too much altitude lost for the Decathlon in first figure of this sequence. In competition I would increase the P-Loop entry speed to 170 mph and hold a 2-second down line. Practice the P-Loop until you can exit at 170 mph with no more than 200 feet altitude lost. I entered the Sharks-tooth at 160 mph. Faster always feels better and a 4 G pitch up to a 3 -count vertical line gives a nice rhythm and radius-over the top to the 45-degree down line. Just don t forget to draw the mandatory level line between figures before entering the Sharks-tooth because you are focusing on the higher entry speed. It is important to fly to the 45-degree down line and to not get so slow on the pitch- over the top that the airplane falls to the 45-degree down line. I definitely want the 160 mph exit speed that the 2-counts before and after the ½ roll gave me for the Immelman entry. After the level line between figures, the entry into the Immelman was 150 mph with a 5 G pull-up into the half loop. The exit speed after the ½ roll on top was 70 mph. It is important during the half loop up not to relax the initial back stick position at all. This will only open the half loop radius and slow down the airplane. Adding more back stick as the elevator unloads during the half loop will close the half loop radius, pinching the top of the loop, and slow down the airplane. The slower the airplane is at the top of the Immelman, the more difficult it will be to complete the half-roll and maintain level flight and heading. I exited the Immelman at 70 mph with an altitude increase of 500 feet. In competition I would maintain my altitude and fly the length of the box at 70 mph. I closed the throttle and slowed down to my 60 mph spin entry speed while maintaining a 400 fpm climb on the vertical speed indicator. In order to get a clean stall break and spin entry, the Super Decathlon must not be settling when the pro-spin entry rudder and full back stick are applied. The most altitude gain I saw on the altimeter was 50 feet (which the judges will not ascertain) from throttle closed to spin entry. This is a 1 ½ Spin on the x-axis, so spin in the direction you are most confident about. I spin to the right because propeller precession pushes the nose down which makes for a steeper and consequently faster entry. Exiting the spin at 170 mph the airplane is over-flying the propeller, meaning that the propeller in addition to the airframe drag is slowing the airplane and a 3-count level line gave me 150 mph at the moment I began a 5 G pitch up to the 45-degree line entry into the Goldfish. A 2-count before and after the half roll to inverted gave me 500 feet altitude gain and 80 mph over the top of the loop. I gave back the 500 feet altitude gain down the backside of the loop, pitched up to the second 45-degree up line and capped-off by starting my push over to level flight at 80 mph and finishing at 70 mph. The exit altitude was 600 feet above the entry altitude.

5 I flew the level line to 100 mph which is my target entry speed for the Split-S. If I need to fly longer to get the far end of the aerobatic box, I will climb at several hundred per minute or reduce power in order to not exceed my 100 mph entry speed. If I am running out of box, I will descend at several hundred feet per minute to accelerate my airspeed pickup to 100 mph. The Split-S is a very consistent figure to fly. I enter the figure at 100 mph, point roll (2/4) to inverted without descending, wings level, no line, pull 4 G and hang on. My exit speed was 165 mph and my altitude loss 800 feet. Exiting the Split-S at 165 mph a 3-count put me at 145 mph to begin the reverse Sharks-tooth. I made a 4-G pitch-up to the 45-degree up-line for a 2-count, half roll, 2-count, and pitched down to the vertical. I held the vertical down line to 140 mph and pitched to level flight. My exit speed was 155 mph and altitude lost 300 feet. Three counts later I was at 140 mph and entering the loop with a 4 G pull-up. I freeze the stick position on the initial pull and hold it until the angle between the horizon and the inverted wing tip chord is 30-degrees. Then I relax all pitch pressure on the stick and wait for a degrees inverted dive angle, at which point I briskly bring the stick back to the initial pitch-up position. During the last 40 degrees of pitch change I will add back pressure to slow down or relax back pressure to speed up so that I exit the loop in level flight at my entry speed. This makes the loop round and insures the entry and exit altitudes are the same. After 3-counts my entry speed into the Hammerhead was 140 mph. I entered the Hammerhead with a 5 G pull-up to vertical. After 4-counts I felt the Decathlon shudder and pivoted. Starting my 4 G pull-out to level flight at 140 mph, I exited the Hammerhead at 160 mph in level flight and 400 feet below my entry altitude. This is to great an altitude loss at the end of the sequence. Practice 140 mph Hammerhead entries and exits with no altitude lost. An exit speed of 140 mph followed by a 3-count level line is sufficient for the 270-degree Turn. The last figure is the 270-degree Turn. I start the turn into the wind and finish the turn with the wind. If the crosswind has blown me across the x-axis centerline, I will be turning toward the far y-axis box boundary line markers and away from the near y-axis boundary line markers. The minimum bank angle is 60 degrees and the maximum bank angle is 90 degrees. However, a constant altitude knife-edge, 90 degrees of bank turn will not be sustainable for 270 degrees of heading change in a Super Decathlon. The minimum 60 degrees bank will register 2.0 G s on the meter. Finish the 270-degree Turn on the y-axis, 3-count, wing-wag, and depart the aerobatic box. A tally of my target altitude changes allows: -200 feet for the P-Loop; -400 feet for the Sharks-tooth; 500 feet for the Immelman; feet for the 1 ½ Spin; 600 feet for the Goldfish; -800 feet for the Split-S; -300 feet for the reverse Sharks-tooth; and, zero feet for the Loop, Hammerhead and 270-degree Turn. This adds up to -1,800 feet lost in the sequence and places you at 1,700 feet AGL. The figure that will preserve altitude without affecting the flow of the sequence is the 1 ½ Spin. Accelerate the spin rate (especially in a spin to the left) by easing the stick forward some after the first 90 degrees of rotation. As soon as you stop the spin rotation, add full power for the vertical down line and subsequent 4 G pull to level flight. Remember to use a minimum of 3-counts of level flight between figures. If you are below 2000 feet AGL when you finish the Split-S, take an interrupt with a wing wag and climb to altitude. Re-enter the aerobatic box with a wing wag at 2,500 feet AGL to finish the sequence starting with the reverse Sharks-tooth. THE FYI CONTEST DATES... *Some of these contest dates might not be firm just yet, but to aid with your planning for 2008 here they are... Pendleton, OR: Advanced World Aerobatic Championships August: 1st thru 10th -Bill Hill Delano, CA (DLO): August 30th and 31th Grayson, TX: US National Aerobatic Championships September 21st thru 26th Borrego Springs Akrofest, CA (L08): October 17th and 18th

6 Practice and Registration, of course, is the day prior to the contest dates listed above and the rain day is the day after the listed date. Please refer back to IAC36.org for up-to-date information on all contest dates* **The box in TNP is a valuable practice area... HOWEVER... You must open the box every time you go there!! How? Well, contact Dennis Foster who is just the person to do it.. Contact Dennis at dfoster8@earthlink.net. Check with Dennis frequently for information about the box and how to open it.** And The Other Stuff... History of Chapter 36 by Bob Branch The club started around The first meetings were held at Montgomery Airport in San Diego. Our first contest was in 1974 and was held at Ramona Airport the same day as an EAA Chapter fly in. As you might imagine, it was a disaster. The next year we started going to Borrego Springs, Ca. It was a small turn out but everyone loved it so much they said they would be back the next year. In the early days there was a small motel right across the street from Borrego Valley Airport. All the contestants and their families stayed there. We had registration, a judge s station, a scoring room and banquet, everything at that motel. It was torn down a few years ago. I sure wish it was still there. ** We are asking anyone who knows a little about the club to contact the editor at yjooste@gmail. com. Let s start learning our roots!!! The Next Four Weeks... EVERYONE IS INVITED!!! To where you ask? Well, practice days of course, or other special events!! Are you going to be alone? NO!!!! Your fellow pilots will join you in critiquing and helping you. This is YOUR club, so make use of it. If there is something you are dying to know about a hammerhead...there will be people to ask and questions to be answered... Kate DeBaun Photography Pictures of all the California Contests are taken by Kate. If you would like copies of them please contact her via kwdphoto@yahoo.com But how do we get information on all these events? Contact the person in the know...gray Brandt at graybrandt@ yahoo.com. He will tell you where, when, what time and what to bring. Here are the scheduled dates and events for your planning purposes.

7 Dear Editor, Can we fly in Borrego on Sundays? Dear Reader, NO!!!! But why? Because now we can fly EVERY Saturday!!! August 2008 Saturday L08...,...Practice and critiquing Saturday L Practice and critiquing Saturday L08...Practice and Critiquing Saturday L08...Practice and Critiquing Saturday L08...Practice and Critiquing US NATIONALS September 2008 Grayson County Airport (KGYI), Sherman/Denison, Texas Sat. 22nd & Sun. KGYI...Practice & Registration Sunday KGYI...Start of Competition Friday KGYI...End of Competition ATTENTION!!!!! The Waiver in Borrego has been changed... Due to the efforts of IAC 36 Board members and the Town of Borrego, the FAA has agreed to allow us to utilize the Box every Saturday, January through December. Leaving December our only blackout month of the year!!! Some restrictions apply on holidays, so please check the calendar at REMEMBER, times and dates are subject to change, as mother nature has a way of changing events, so contact Gray a few days in advance to know who is going and what time to get there. Check for updates and yearly calendar of events at Look under the events calender icon. Contest Results Minifest April 2008 Primary Chapter Percentage 1 Ronald Velkes % 2 Thomas Herrele % 3 Andrew Slatkin % 4 Scott Malherbe 82.11% 5 Kathleen Howell 80.84% Sportsman 1 Stephen De La Cruz % 2 Kirby Dotson % 3 Margo Chase % 4 Casey Erickson % 5 Chris Olmsted % 6 Barrett Hines %

8 Sportsman Chapter Percentage 8 Mitchell Robinson % 9 Cristian Williams % 10 Pete Thompson % 11 Perry Barlow % Grassroots: Ronald Velkes First Time Sportsman: Cristian Williams Apple Valley May 2008 Primary Chapter Percentage 1 Andrew Slatkin % 2 Scott Malherbe % 3 Kathleen Howell 80.85% Sportsman 1 Stephen De La Cruz % 2 Steve Packer % 3 Casey Erickson % 4 Mike Eggen % 5 John Howell % 6 Layne Lisser % 7 Barrett Hines % 8 Conrad Nordquist % 9 Chris Olmsted % 10 Joshua Muncie % 11 Madoka Takano 74.70% 12 Dan Franscioni % 13 Margo Chase % 14 Matthew Brill % 15 Timothy Brill % 16 Perry Barlow % Intermediate 1 Steve Madorsky % 2 Michael Hartenstine % 3 Thomas Franscioni % 4 Jason Wondolleck % 5 Michael Montgomery % 6 Bruce McGinnis 77.98% 7 Norman Manary % 8 Cory Lovell % 9 Judy Phelps % 10 Peter Poland % Advanced 1 Malcolm Pond % 2 Reinaldo Beyer % 3 Martin Kennedy % 4 Randy Owens % 5 Hans Bok % 6 Dave Watson % 7 Howard Kirker % Unlimited 1 Norman DeWitt % 2 Vicki Cruse % 3 Todd Whitmer % 4 Doug Jardine % Grassroots:Casey Erickson First Time Sportsman: John Howell Primary Paso Robles June 2008 Chapter Percentage 1 Kathleen Howell 80.55% 2 James Smet % 3 Kevin Cordes % 4 Tomoyoshi Sakomoto 40.13% Sportsman 1 Stephen De La Cruz % 2 Chris Olmsted % 3 Mike Eggen % 4 Steve Packer % 5 Brian Stout % 6 Martin Price % 7 Dan Franscioni % 8 Andrew Connolly % 9 Casey Erickson % 10 Ben Hochman % 11 John Howell 83.65% 12 Layne Lisser % 13 David Stoik % 14 Andrew Slatkin % 15 Rimas Viselga % 16 Michael Walker % 17 Daniel Hansen %

9 18 Dean Hickman-Smith % 19 Barrett Hines % 20 Edward Doerr 77.87% 21 Terry Middaugh % 22 Mitchell Robinson % 23 Hank Landman % 24 Tomohiro Yamazaki 76.14% 25 Conrad Nordquist % 26 Ronald Velkes % 27 Margo Chase % 28 Scott Malherbe % 29 Timothy Brill % 30 Perry Barlow % 31 Matthew Brill % Intermediate Grassroots: Chris Olmsted Earnst Belt: Scott Malherbe 1 Michael Montgomery % 2 Tom Applegate Paulz 83.70% 3 Jason Wondolleck % 4 Ron Rapp % 5 James McNamara % 6 Thomas Franscioni % 7 Bruce McGinnis % 8 Norman Manary % 9 Steve Madorsky % 10 Yuichi Takagi % 11 Justin Stout % 12 Judy Phelps % Advanced 1 Benjamin Freelove % 2 Reinaldo Beyer % 3 Randy Owens % 4 Malcolm Pond % 5 Douglas Sowder % 6 Rory Moore % 7 Dave Watson % 8 Martin Kennedy % 9 Victoria Benzing % 10 Norbert Werle 74.58% 11 Howard Kirker % 12 Eric Chasanoff % 13 Cory Lovell % 14 Tom Myers % 15 Patrick Dugan % Unlimited 1 Vicki Cruse % 2 Norman DeWitt % 3 Todd Whitmer % 4 Doug Jardine % A Note From the Editor What to expect in the next issue We have new box markers, a story chronicling the adventures of three brave souls with action photos. The tale of the changing of the waiver. Some words from Vicki Cole the Borrego Airport manager. And, as always, other stuff. Finally, we will fill you in on the big plans of the Akrofest. Have a good one. -Yolandi Jooste

10 You must read and abide by Borrego Box Rules published on the web at iac36.org Hey! Have you paid your dues for 2008? The Borrego box is reserved for current IAC 36 Members... Call Bill Hill at (949) renew on-line at or print and use the form below IAC Chapter Membership Application/Renewal Name Address City State Zip IAC# EAA# Home Phone ( ) Work Phone ( ) address Aircraft Type Referred By Dues (per calendar year) $30.00 Competition Experience: None Basic Sportsman Intermediate Advanced Unlimited Are you an IAC approved Aerobatic Judge? No Regional National Send your dues payment to: Bill Hill Care of: Sunrise Aviation Campus Drive, #7 Santa Ana, CA 92707