Dean Bird s IMAC Series Topic # 5 Practice
Topic #5 - Practice In a very short time we've gotten a LOT of information to prepare ourselves to be the most competitive we can be. 1. We've gotten the annual maintenance done on our plane if we're going to fly last year's plane. 2. We're working on the "setup" for our plane. 3. We're comfortable reading Aresti and finding any confusing maneuvers in the Aresti catalog. 4. We've learned the judging criteria and deductions so that we can fly the maneuvers in our sequence correctly and practice to remove the deductions. For the next several articles we're going to be discussing how we practice. There are many suggestions available on how to make the best use of the available practice time. Here is a link to an article on the IMAC website called "Focused Practice". http://www.mini-iac.com/editmodule.aspx?tabid=70&mid=476&def=news%20article%20view&itemid=7 It's a little long, but it basically suggests that we need to fly at least two days a week and only fly four flights on the days we fly. Each of the first three flights includes flying two sequences, then using the rest of the flight to work on any maneuvers we're having problems with. The fourth flight of the day is used for more work on any maneuvers we're having problems with. That has been pretty close to how much I've practiced over the last three years of competing. I fly both days on the weekends and get about 4 or 5 flights each day. The article does let us know that if we're learning a new sequence, we need to learn it in pieces.
Dan "dntmn" Powell from Gainesville, Texas, shares how he broke the 2006 IMAC Basic and Sportsman sequences into pieces to learn them. Here is the schedule he used for a day of practicing the maneuvers in the Basic sequence. The maneuver number from the sequence is listed. Basic Building Blocks Flight 1. 1st 5 Minutes - Humpty Bump (#2) both ends 2nd 5 Minutes - ½ Cuban Eight (#8) both ends Flight 2. 1st 5 Minutes - Hammerhead (#5) both ends 2nd 5 Minutes - ½ Reverse Cuban Eight (#3) both ends Flight 3. 1st 5 Minutes - Reverse Sharks Tooth (#6) both ends 2nd 5 Minutes - Immelman (#9) on Right; Split Ess (not in sequence) on Left Flight 4. 1st 5 Minutes - Immelman (#9) on Left; Split Ess (not in sequence) on Right 2nd 5 Minutes - Humpty Bump (#2) each end with a Roll (#1) at center Flight 5. 1st 5 Minutes - Reverse ½ Cuban Eight (#3) each end with a Loop (#4) at center 2nd 5 Minutes - Reverse Sharks Tooth (#6) each end with a Figure 9 (#7) at center Flight 6. 1st 5 Minutes - Immelman (#9) and 1.5 turn Spin (#10) (Immelman on Right, Spin at center) 2nd 5 Minutes - Immelman (#9) and 1.5 turn Spin (#10) (Immelman on Left, Spin at center) Flight 7. 1st 5 Minutes - Hammerhead (#5) at each end with a Loop at center 2nd 5 Minutes - ½ Cuban Eight (#8) at each end with a Figure 9 (#7) at center
"dntmn" also set up a flight schedule to learn the elements in the Sportsman sequence. Again, the maneuver number from the sequence is listed. Sportsman Building Blocks Flight 1. 1st 5 Minutes - ½ roll, Push 5/8 outside loop, Snap on the 45 degree downline (#2) - Both ends 2nd 5 Minutes - Upline with full roll, exit inverted (#6); 2 point roll, ½ Inside Loop (#7) (Left to Right) Flight 2. 1st 5 Minutes - Upline with full roll, exit inverted (#6); 2 point roll, ½ Inside Loop (#7) (Right to Left) 2nd 5 Minutes - 135 degree pull, 2 of 4 point roll on the 45 upline, exit positive (#9); ½ Roll, ½ Inside Loop (not in sequence) (Left to Right) Flight 3. 1st 5 Minutes - 135 degree pull, 2 of 4 point roll on the 45 upline, exit positive (#9); ½ Roll, ½ Inside Loop (not in sequence) (Right to Left) 2nd 5 Minutes - ½ roll, Push 5/8 outside loop, Snap on the 45 degree downline (#2); Hammerhead, 2 of 8 point roll on the upline, ¾ roll on the downline (#1) (Note: L-R ¾ roll is Right; R-L ¾ roll is Left) Flight 4. 10 Minutes - ½ Inside Loop, ½ Roll (#3); 1 ¼ spin (#4); Humpty 2 of 4 on the upline, Push top, ¼ roll on the downline (#5) (Note: L-R ¼ roll is Left; R-L ¼ roll is Right) Flight 5. 1st 5 Minutes - ½ roll, Push 5/8 outside loop, Snap on the 45 degree downline (#2); Loop with full roll at top (#8) 2nd 5 Minutes - ½ Roll, Pull 3/4 loop to upline, ¾ roll on upline, exit upright (#10) (Note: L-R ¾ roll is Right; R-L ¾ roll is Left)
A big "Thanks" to Dan "dtnmn" Powell for sharing this approach!! I really like this approach for learning it in pieces. A big advantage to this approach is that we'll be practicing the majority of maneuvers in both directions. That is a great skill to take into a contest!!! As you're practicing, also keep in mind two suggestions from Steve "shannah" Hannah. 1. Work on the basics (yes, flying straight and level, geometry, roll centering) 2. Fly the sequences both directions during each flight The IMAC article finishes up with a suggestion that the best practice we can get is to fly a contest. We really learn a lot by watching how others fly and seeing where we need improvement. The article suggests that to be competitive we need to fly in seven contests per year. That sounds about right. I flew nine contests in 2005, but that included an extra contest just to test a new airplane, and the Tucson Shootout. The first seven I flew were necessary to end up being the IMAC Southwest Region Intermediate class champion. With that said, though, fly whatever contests you want and have fun!!!! And finally, it suggests that we should be putting in around 500 flights per year!!! If we're following the four flights per day maximum, that's 125 days of flying. That's flying 10 or 11 days per month. In 2005, I flew nine contests and logged around 300 flights. Don't take the 500 flights per year too seriously. I was competitive enough with only 300 flights!! Just make sure you're having fun!! We'll continue with the practice theme over the next several articles. If you have questions on any of this information, we've got lots of experience waiting to help if you post a question in the "IMAC Cirkus Edition" forum on the www.teamflyingcirkus.com website. Here's to another weekend of "perfect practice" for everyone!!