A Grand Champion Clip T •2016 Sportsman Sequence •Grassroots? •Cure for the Flying Doldrums the Bold 2016 Ford Edge Commands Your Attention

MARCH 2016

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Edge – Nothing’s more attractive than conﬁdence! OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB

Vol. 45 No.3 March 2016 A PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB

CONTENTSOFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB After talking for a while he oﬀered me a ride in T Clips! I was hooked! Erik said, “Well, why don’t you just build one?” So that’s what I began to do. —Trevor Niemyjski

FEATURES

5 A Grand Champion Clip T by Trevor Niemyjski

12 Flying It by Gordon Penner

20 Grassroots? by Giles Henderson EMILY JOHNSON 22 The Cure for the Flying Doldrums by Ed Miller COVER

Former air show pilot Tom Henry DEPARTMENTS ﬂies the Pitts home to Alabama. 2 Letter From the Editor Reggie Paulk 3 President’s Column Mike Heuer 4 Lines & Angles 28 Contest Calendar 30 Meet a Member Gary DeBaun 32 FlyMart & Classiﬁed Ads

www.iac.org 1 OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB

EDITOR’S LOG

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB BY REGGIE PAULK

PUBLISHER: Mike Heuer Is It Worth It? IAC MANAGER: Trish Deimer-Steineke EDITOR: ReggieOFFICIAL PaulkMAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB Flying when you shouldn’t

CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: Gary DeBaun Trevor Niemyjski I was recently reading my lo- accident at all is because it shouldn’t Mike Heuer Reggie Paulk Giles Henderson Gordon Penner cal newspaper when I came across have happened in the frst place, in Ed Miller OFFICIAL MAGAZINE of the INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB a report of fatal crash of a Beech- my opinion. Barring major fndings craft V-tail Bonanza. I was sad- from the NTSB, I think what hap- IAC CORRESPONDENCE International Aerobatic Club, P.O. Box 3086 dened to read that the pilot was pened here was a classic case of get- Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086 an acquaintance I knew through a home-itis. Te pilot had mentioned Tel: 920.426.6574 • Fax: 920.426.6579 local EAA chapter and, as is usual to my friend that he was in a hurry E-mail: [email protected] with such an accident, wanted to to get home. Contributing factors fnd out the cause. were the fact that he’d gotten away ADVERTISING Vice President of Business Development: Te article didn’t mention the N with similar incidents in the past. Dave Chaimson [email protected] number of his airplane, and it was As a former fight instructor, it

Advertising Manager: too badly damaged to make out pains me to read about these types Sue Anderson [email protected] on the tail from photographs, so of accidents. Tere is just no logical I couldn’t fnd the accident on the reason for them to occur. Te next MAILING: Change of address, lost or damaged magazines, back issues. NTSB database right away. A call time you just have to be somewhere, EAA-IAC Membership Services from a mutual friend helped me get consider this—what will your friends Tel: 800.843.3612 Fax: 920.426.6761 more information. and loved ones think if they never E-mail: [email protected] Te friend who called me told me see you again? Will other pilots read he spoke to the pilot a couple hours your accident report and shake their The International Aerobatic Club is a division of the EAA. before the accident, and advised heads? My friend who’d spoken to him not to fy that afternoon— the pilot prior to his crash was devas- EAA® and SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are the weather in Utah and western tated. Please listen to those nagging registered trademarks and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without Colorado was deteriorating, and it doubts the next time you just have to the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly was getting late. I knew he wasn’t be somewhere—they just might be prohibited. Copyright © 2015 by the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. instrument rated, and the airplane the voice of reason. IAC All rights reserved. was a 1950s-era V-tail with min- The International Aerobatic Club, Inc. is a division of EAA and of the imal instrumentation. My friend NAA. advised me to look up the fight on FlightAware, and I was deeply A STATEMENT OF POLICY The International Aerobatic Club, Inc. cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy of the material disappointed to read the radar data presented by the authors of the articles in the magazine. The pages leading up to the accident. of Sport Aerobatics are offered as a clearing house of information Using FlightAware, I was able to and a forum for the exchange of opinions and ideas. The individual reader must evaluate this material for himself and use it as he sees determine that he had taken his fit. Every effort is made to present materials of wide interest that will Bonanza up to nearly 19,000 feet, be of help to the majority. Likewise we cannot guarantee nor endorse under visual fight rules, at night, any product offered through our advertising. We invite constructive fying single-pilot over the Colo- criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken. rado Rockies. His friend informed Sport Aerobatics (USPS 953-560) is owned by the International me that he did not have oxygen Aerobatic Club, Inc., and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, on board. It doesn’t take much to Editorial Department, P.O. Box 3086, 3000 Poberezny Rd., Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Periodical Postage is paid at Oshkosh Post Office, fgure out what may have led to Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and other post offices. Membership rate for this crash. the International Aerobatic Club, Inc., is $45.00 per 12-month period of Te reason I’m writing about this which $18.00 is for the subscription to Sport Aerobatics. Manuscripts submitted for publication become the property of the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Photographs will be returned upon request of the author. High-resolution images are requested to assure the best quality reproduction. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Sport Aerobatics, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC 40612608 Please submit news, comments, articles or suggestions to: [email protected] 2 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

BY MIKE HEUER, IAC PRESIDENT, IAC 4 Awards, Nominations, Elections

Your call to action

One of the most enjoyable aspects of my job to stand for re-election. That said, we are always as IAC president is to play a part in the presenta- looking for new blood, and the board has had some tion of the various awards and trophies we give significant changes in the last couple of years. This away every year. All of the recipients have come a is all to the good. How they do their jobs is import- long way to achieve what they have in aerobatics ant to each and every one of you. and richly deserve our recognition. Our busiest and most complex meeting of the Some of the most important awards we present board of directors is held each November. This one are what we call the “Non-Flying Awards.” More is the most difficult as we deal with rules changes information on these awards can be found on the for the following year, choose Known sequences for IAC website (www.IAC.org), and nominations can all categories of competition, receive and review be submitted there with online forms. They go the reports of all our program chairs, hear from directly to our new awards chair, Patty Anderson our U.S. National Aerobatic Championships offi- of New Jersey, who collects them and submits a cials, plan for an ever-expanding presence at EAA ballot to the board of directors for them to vote AirVenture, and approve a budget for the next fis- for the winners. Deadline this year for submission cal year. All of our directors must bring their skills, of nominations is June 15, 2016. I urge you to go talents, and aerobatic experience to bear to make it to the website, look at the five different awards all work, and they do so in a positive, friendly, con- and their criteria, and submit your nominations to structive, and open atmosphere. We disagree on Patty so we can recognize their accomplishments. many issues, but in the end, we sort out our issues Only those nominated will be considered. We do and problems, come to consensus, and support the not meet somewhere and come up with a list—it is final decisions. The IAC is very lucky to have such up to you, the members, to provide us those names a fine leadership team—one of the best in my 46 along with a summary of their achievements. years as a member. What I really enjoy about the five non-flying Finally, I come to the subject of bringing new awards is the fact they are all named after people people into the sport and the importance of who made a mark of their own in the sport and mentoring and role models. For this, I always turn have now passed on. I had the pleasure to know all to my own experience, as I described last month of them. We will present the Frank Price trophy to about my first shot at being a volunteer. But it the person who contributed the most to the sport came to mind again when I received the Febru- in 2015; the Robert L. Heuer trophy to an out- ary issue of Sport Aviation magazine and saw that standing judge; the Kathy Jaffe trophy to a note- beautiful Clipped Wing Cub owned by Todd Crist worthy volunteer; the Harold Neumann trophy to of Clearwater, Kansas (N70137). The wonderful an accomplished chief judge; and the Curtis Pitts article that appeared inside, supplemented by trophy to a person or company who has developed a great selection of photos, was written by Jim outstanding products for sport aerobatics. I am Busha, EAA’s director of publications. The airplane quite certain that the people who had trophies was owned by Harold Krier at one time, before he named after them would be proud of those who re- moved on to his famous Great Lakes. Todd has the ceive them. It also lets us remember them for what airplane in its original colors and also pays tribute they did. Once again, please visit the website and to Harold on the side of the airplane. There is a look over those awards and nominate an outstand- National Air Shows logo on the cowling, the air ing individual you know who qualifies. show group run by Bill Sweet that featured some of In this very political year in the United States, the finest aerobatic pilots in the country, including we also will turn our attention soon to an elec- continued on page 27 tion within the IAC. I cannot overemphasize how important this is to our future. The president, Please send your comments, questions, or sugges- secretary, and three director positions are open tions to [email protected]. this year, and I do expect most of the incumbents www.iac.org 3 LINES & ANGLES

IAC TO CREATE MEMBERSHIP ALBUM WITH HARRIS CONNECT Don’t Miss Out on An As a result of requests from IAC Content members, the International Aer- obatic Club has partnered again Get it delivered to your inbox! with Harris Connect to create a If the IAC doesn’t yet have your e-mail address, you’re 2016 membership album, a show- missing out on a valuable part of your membership. In The case of member stories and the sport’s history. Te last member- Loop, our e-newsletter packed full of essential informa- ship album was produced in 2000. tion and interesting stories, will be e-mailed to you every Te album will list current IAC month. You also can update your address, phone number, members and feature a member and more, all in one convenient place. Do it all right here: profle section in which folks can https://secure.eaa.org/apps/joinrenew/address.aspx contribute stories and photographs to celebrate our sport and the impact it has had on their lives. Members will receive a post- card in the mail and/or an e-mail requesting a brief telephone call, which will ensure their listings are accurate and current. To be included in the 2016 membership Join us today and begin enjoying album, members may call 1-866- 216-4150, Monday through Friday exclusive member beneﬁts, including a between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET. subscription to Sport Aerobatics No purchase is necessary to be magazine. Call 800.564.6322 or included, and members are not re- visit www.IAC.org quired to provide any information they would prefer not to share. Te information included in the book makes it possible for members to NOMINATIONS AND ELECTION 2016 see who of their peers has similar The Nominating Committee for the 2016 IAC election interests, aviation careers, geogra- has been named and consists of chair Lynne Stoltenberg, phy, etc., as part of a networking Doug McConnell, Bob Hart, Tim Just, Bruce Ballew, Michael opportunity. Steveson, and Mike Rinker. All books are custom-ordered Nominations for oﬃcer and board positions can be and not mass-produced. Sale prices begin at $79.99 for soft submitted at any time. Forms and requirements can be bound and $99.99 for hard bound, found on the IAC website at https://www.iac.org/legacy/ plus applicable shipping, handling, iac-leadership. Membership sign-in is required. Import- and state tax may apply. Book ant dates for the 2016 election are as follows: orders must be placed by May 2, 2016. Members can order the •IAC Annual Membership Meeting, Oshkosh, Wisconsin – book through the Harris Connect 0830 CDT, Friday, July 29, 2016 call center (1-866-216-4150). Nominations Close – April 5, 2016 All books will be shipped in late • August 2016. •Balloting Begins – No later than June 29, 2016 If you have questions, please •Balloting Closes – 1800 CDT, Monday, July 25, 2016 e-mail [email protected]. The method of voting in 2016 will be electronic only.

4 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 EMILY JOHNSON A Grand Champion Clip T Building a fun aerobat by Trevor Niemyjski

was on downwind, climbing research and dreaming had paid as I started fying I began to want as I circled the airport on of. It was a great feeling, and I to do aerobatics. I loved going up the frst fight of the Clip T thank the Lord everything went and doing rolls with him in his when it sank in that I was well that day. Jacobs-powered Starduster. Te actually fying it. All those Now to back up a few years. problem with the big radial is that long nights in the shop the Growing up fying with my dad it’s limited in aerobatic capabilities. previous year and many hours of is a highlight of my life. As soon As I was nearing the completion I www.iac.org 5 of my Aeronca Chief project a clip- performing Duane Cole-style aer- plans. I had the wing basically wing Taylorcraft came up for sale, obatics paired with a great com- framed up, but then it got set aside and it was just what I wanted, an edy act. After talking for a while he for a while. I later found a proj- afordable-to-fy aerobatic plane ofered me a ride in T Clips! I was ect that was close to being com- with an antique feel. I was in high hooked! Erik said, “Well, why don’t plete with an engine so I purchased school at the time, scraping to- you just build one?” So that’s what I that plane and got to work on it. It gether money to fnish the Chief, began to do. I picked his brain a lot turned out to be a lot bigger project so I couldn’t aford it. Tat’s where and read all I could. I got in touch than I thought, as I wasn’t happy the dreaming started. with Eric Minnis of Bully Aero. He with how some of the modifca- A few years later at the Antique helped me through a lot with de- tions were done. Airplane Association I met Erik sign ideas and plans. With that I I would like to start the story of Edgren. Erik fies a beautiful clip- was on to building. the build as being a team project. wing, T Clips, around the Midwest, I started to build wings to Cole Tere is no way I could have done it 6 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 JACK FLEETWOOD

EMILY JOHNSON www.iac.org 7 plane but not for my intentions. A new seat was constructed using a tube frame and 1/4-inch plywood, absolutely solid. Te stick is in the middle allowing it to be fown from the middle or side by side. I almost always fy in the middle, but occasionally give some rides. It did have the horizontal stabilizer angle changed already, which is done when clipping wings and adding a larger engine. Along with that was solid landing gear, which was nicely done. Eric Minnis supplied the fuselage tank that uses a fop tube, eliminating the need for a header tank. Te struts were built, which was a huge bonus for me as I was hesitant to build a set. With clipping the wings, the strut’s angle increases, causing the attach ftting on the fuselage to be wrong. Tere- fore, the attach fttings needed to be modifed. Te wings needed some work. I had new drag/anti-drag wires made and made compression tubes. It is a 27-foot wingspan, which is shorter than the Cole at 30 feet or the Swick at 28, although a few have been clipped to 24 feet! A stock T-craft is 36 feet. Te wing was built using wood ribs, unlike the typical aluminum T-craft rib. Tis allowed the use of a plywood leading edge. I molded them using two layers of 1/32-inch, 3-ply plywood—a time-consuming job but very rewarding because it makes the wing so solid. Te ailerons had been shortened one bay from stock and most clip wings. I decided to make new ailerons and go one bay on my own. From friends and fam- pull to elevator and aileron. Te longer than stock, resulting in 3/4- ily helping to countless phone calls aileron bell cranks were a bit of a span ailerons. Swick conversion to others, it really is a blessing to be challenge, as space was limited and uses servo tabs, but I opted to go surrounded by some great people. needing to be behind the rear spar. with spades instead. Two wing Te project I started with was a We eventually got the correct geom- tanks were added, one for fuel and new trim system borrowing from etry, although the scrap pile grew the other for smoke. Pitts and Skybolt designs, a servo during this process. Te builder Te engine, a Continental C-90, trim tab. Te control system is I got it from had no intentions of was fresh with a lot of new parts what I liked the least so I rebuilt it aerobatics, so that is why many of but had been sitting a while, so using a Skybolt torque tube-and- these things had to be changed. An my friend and inspection autho- elevator push-pull system, which example is the seat had too much rized mechanic (IA) Tom Guntly ft with minor modifcation thanks fex because it was made of thin ply- went through it. We installed Ly- to David Guntly. wood with nylon strap carrying the con 9-to-1 pistons, a Rotec TBI, Te airplane now has all push- weight. Not a bad design for a sport and machined the accessory case 8 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 EMILY JOHNSON to accept an inverted oil system. making the windshield trim piece ing began. I have good memories of It’s estimated to be about 110 and new instrument panel. I don’t rib stitching with my brother Col- hp now. A homemade smoke sys- weld aluminum, so a friend helped ton late at night, after he was done tem was also installed. Te plane weld the doors up. with school and I was done with came with a beautiful cowling, so Everything being built, the fuse- work. It couldn’t have been done that was one less thing to build. lage was prepped and painted, the without all the help. I did get to do some metal work, wings were varnished, and cover- When it came time to paint

Everything looks different from inside a Pitts. Maybe it’s the new perspective a snap roll provides. Or the fresh outlook a series of loops gives you. Whatever it is, one thing is for sure, with 260 hp and a +6, -5 design, the Pitts will do just about anything you want it to. So, if you want to take one for a spin, a loop or a roll, call us. CALL 307.885.3151 OR VISIT AVIATAIRCRAFT.COM

www.iac.org 9 EMILY JOHNSON all those checkers, I’m glad I had After some taxiing, I decided to Te Clip T’s frst fy-in was EAA help masking! My dad, mom, and go for it one clear, calm evening. AirVenture Oshkosh 2015. It was Colton all helped mask the wings. It went great and felt so good to a great fight up. A group of guys It still took us eight hours. Te fu- fy—just what I was looking for! I from the biplane forum (yes, it’s selage was another story. I decided did some rigging adjustments and missing a wing) few up together to start masking one night after started fying the test period of. (Starduster, Acro Sport II, Mar- work. Once you start masking, it’s I really enjoy fying it. Te con- quart Charger, Pitts, and Super recommend to not leave it sit for trols are light, the roll rate is about Chipmunk). We also did a few local long. Well, I fnished painting one what I expected, it’s somewhat fast fy-ins. We made it to the Antique hour before work the next day— (110-115 mph), and it’s relaxing to Airplane Association’s Blakesburg probably not the best choice, but it fy. It doesn’t have any bad habits: fy-in. Tis is where I got my frst turned out good and is a fond mem- stalls easy, comes out of a spin in- ride in Erik’s T Clips. We made a ory I guess. It was fun to see it all stantly, and is super easy on the few “smoke on” laps together. It come together once painted, seeing ground. I fy aerobatics for fun but was a great time! Blakesburg, in the paint scheme I had drawn and would like to get into competition my opinion, is how a fy-in should hung on the shop wall come to life. in the future. After a summer of be. Te atmosphere is like nothing Again Dad, Mom, and Colton learning basics of aerobatics and else, and people are great. It was an helped hang the wings. Ten the getting comfortable in the plane, honor to receive Grand Champion “90-percent-done, 25-percent-to-go” I feel ready for the next step. I en- Homebuilt there. part came. Around this time is joy going up in the late afternoon As I mentioned before, I’m so when I started dating my now f- for some Sportsman-type aerobat- thankful for those who have helped ancé, Emily, who loves to fy. She ics: rolls, loops, hammerheads, Cu- make this happen—many who ha- really enjoyed time in the hangar bans, etc. My favorite is probably ven’t been mentioned. Tere were with Colton and me, and was a slow rolls or hammerheads. Like a lot of hours helping and many great help. Eventually it was ready most projects, they’re never done. phone calls. I also want to thank for its airworthiness inspection. I think I can get the ailerons a bit my Lord Jesus for the opportunity Te designated airworthiness rep- lighter with spade adjustment and to build and fy. Tank you, as well, resentative passed the inspection, little projects like that, but overall, to the IAC and Sport Aerobatics for and we were ready to fy! I’m just enjoying fying it. this opportunity. IAC 10 Sport Aerobatics March 2016

Flying It Te 2016 Sportsman sequence by Gordon Penner Master CFI-Aerobatic, FAA Gold Seal CFI

I see aerobatics, especially Sportsman aerobatics, a short period of time. If the airplane begins to do in two ways. First and foremost, aerobatics is fun. We something you did not expect, abandon the maneu- must not forget that as we hunker down to wrangle ver immediately. Aggressively centering the rudders with maneuvers and sequences. Remember to pay at- and the stick and getting the power back will normally tention to the delicious feeling of slicing through the keep the airplane from departing. As they said in the air in all attitudes while you are also trying to fy each movie Top Gun, don’t push a bad position. Extend and maneuver “just so.” escape. We are competing in aerobatics, which is a Te second thing is that aerobatics is about stretch- hobby. We are not curing cancer or bombing Berlin. ing personally and striving to be the best you can be. It Come back and try again. is just one of many vehicles that can be used for self-dis- Lastly, as I’ve said before, the Sportsman pilot must covery, and for self-expansion beyond this activity. mentally prepare him or herself to “take the out” or In that vein, the Sportsman category is also about “take a break” during a sequence. By this I mean that education. It is where most of us begin to hone our it is better, mathematically, to take a break, with its piloting ability to allow us to smoothly and crisply fy penalty, or take the “out” penalty than it is to fy a the airplane within its limits, and to slowly expand our tightened, truncated maneuver that scores badly. In own limits. We all endeavor to fy like Bob Hoover, the Sportsman, the “out” or “interruption” penalties are master of Smooth. Te Sportsman Known sequence quite low on purpose, to keep the pain of taking a this year will be an educational and aircraft challenge, safety break small for those who are still getting “ed-u- so let’s dig in! mah-caaaa-ted” to our sport. Maneuvers 7, 8, and 9 will probably demand a break Safety in low-horsepower/high-drag airplanes, or those with One of the best books ever written about fying is a safety pilot on board. More importantly, the fying still Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche. He has of a chopped-up maneuver by new (and not-so-new) always said that just as a horse has “gaits,” like the walk, pilots, in an attempt to stay in bounds, is what fre- trot, canter, and gallop, so does an airplane. When rid- quently causes unsafe fying. Beware of this, take the ing a horse, the gaits each have a diferent feel. So it is out, or take a break. Your fying will not only be safer, with the airplane, especially the high angle of attack/ but you will also score higher. mushy/pre-stall “gait.” Te rider and pilot must be sen- sitive to the feel of their mounts in each gait. Overview If a horse isn’t able to descend down a hill because it Te key to aerobatics, as stated by 1972 World is too steep, it will refuse to go. If the rider is trying to Champion Charlie Hillard, is “where to look and when.” jump a fence that is too high, the horse won’t go. Te As you think about the sequence, I want you to also horse may send the rider over the fence (!), but the think about when you are looking over the nose, and horse won’t go. Te horse knows if it can’t do a maneu- when you are looking past your sight gauge or wingtip ver. Listen to the horse. to the horizon. As you mentally walk through the se- Te airplane is the same way. If you are trying to do quence, using your hands as you go, think about where a maneuver but the airplane has a “mushy” feel, if the you are looking and tie that in with the control move- stick or yoke is in your gut (no matter what the airspeed), ments you will be making at each moment. and if the tip of the nose is not responding to pitch com- Also try to maintain what aerobatic coach John mands, the airplane (the horse) is telling you it can’t do Morrissey calls “deep focus,” in which a “clear and what you are asking. It is talking to you through the reins distinct focus to the farthest point ahead of the air- and through the saddle. Listen to the horse. craft’s fight path must be maintained.” In level fight Te airplane has natural stability and will initially he wants pilots to focus on a spot 20 miles away. When resist departing from controlled fight, but only for pilots are on a downline, “I want them to pick out 12 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 www.iac.org 13 blades of grass,” he says. Keep these things in mind speed redline is not a limit—it’s a goal! throughout the sequence. Te Pull-Pull-Pull Humpty—Te rule book says I similarly tell my students that the farther away that the length of the lines in a humpty bump do not they look from the aircraft the better their fying will need to be equal. Te rule book also says, “Te radii be, which is true in regular as well as aerobatic fying. of the frst and last partial loops (meaning the partial Your eyes naturally go to an “at-rest” focus about 30 loops at the entry and exit) must be equal. However, to 60 feet away in what is called “infnity focus.” You the half-loop in the middle of the fgure can be of a must consciously refocus on something farther away diferent radius. Tese half-loops must still have a con- from the aircraft. stant radius from the time they depart the vertical… line. Tis requires a change in angular velocity during Maneuvers the half-loop.” Box Entry—Yes, the box entry and the wing-wags Tose last two sentences illuminate the main prob- constitute a maneuver. Call it Maneuver 1A, and it must lem of fying the humpty bump. Te half-loop in the be practiced like any other. Te frst impression you are middle of the maneuver must be a perfect half circle, giving to the fawed human judges involves the entry and the half-loop must be completed directly across and the wing-wags, so come in fast, loud, strong, and from the point where it began. If the half-loop fnishes snappy! Announce to the world that you are here to fy after, or lower, than that beginning point it is called and here to win! “fnishing late,” which is a downgrade. Make your wing-wags at least 45 degrees of bank, In the frst part of the half-loop, your speed is slow with a pause between each “wag.” Tat takes time and as you are still going uphill. As a result, the pitch rate, distance. Also, set up your box entry in such a way that or speed of pitch change, is slow and you must fy a your aircraft is exactly at the speed and altitude desired widened arc across the top. In the second part of the for the initial pull-up into the frst printed maneuver, half-loop you’re going downhill and the airspeed is in- which I’ll call Maneuver 1B. Tat takes some practice. creasing, so the pitch rate must be increased with it to For low-powered/high-drag airplanes, the speed should continue to draw a constant radius and to avoid fn- be close to the airspeed redline, but watch your prop/ ishing late. engine redlines. Instructor Emerson Stewart from Ohio, As you pull on the stick faster and faster, the gyro- who fies a Citabria in his air show act, jokes that the air- scopic forces of the propeller induce a right yaw force. 14 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 Te yaw then induces a right roll. Tere won’t be much With the nose attitude that high while inverted, yaw initially when the pitch rate is low. When on the some students have a hard time judging whether their down side of the half-loop with an American engine, pitch is right. Some instructors have found that put- more and more left rudder will be required on an inside ting a dot about a third to two-thirds of the way up the half-loop as the pilot pulls faster and faster on the stick. windshield from the glare shield (usually with a dry erase marker or a piece of masking tape), for use as Te Aileron Roll a pitch reference against the horizon while inverted, Let’s talk about all the aileron rolls in one place be- seems to help in some cases. cause their elements and techniques apply to the half- When rolling counterclockwise past 3 o’clock on the rolls in maneuvers 2, 3, 6, and 8, as well as the full sacred circle on the way to 12 o’clock, enough push roll in Maneuver 7 and the 2-point roll in Maneuver must be added to smoothly get the nose up to the cor- 9. Competition aileron rolls, which are really slow rolls rect inverted attitude. Tis will keep you from sinking in technique, are among the hardest things to teach in as you transition from knife-edge to inverted. Blend the basic aerobatics course. You must not pitch up frst this push in. Don’t try to put the push in all at once before initiating the roll, as you would in a true Bob at 12 o’clock or you may get an inverted mush or stall, Hoover-Smooth, coordinated aileron or primary roll. especially in the Citabria. Pilots must maintain a straight path before, during, Enough knife-edge practice must be fown to de- and after the roll. Te straight path of the aircraft’s CG termine how much top rudder is needed to maintain “dot” is the judging standard. Sinking during the roll is altitude at the expected speeds. As you see in both di- quite common, especially in the inverted and knife-edge agrams above, the nose will be above the horizon in portions of the roll. Sinking means the pilot didn’t use both knife-edges. enough top rudder in the knife edges, or enough push For low-horsepower airplanes, a lot of top rudder when inverted. will be required in both knife-edges, which adds a You see in the illustration above the attitudes lot of drag and will slow the airplane down a lot. I’ve needed to fy a straight line when inverted or when in found that, at about 130 mph entry speed, the 150-hp knife-edge fight, especially in a slow, low-horsepower Decathlon requires about two-thirds of right rudder in airplane. Another problem is failing to maintain a con- the frst knife-edge and about three-quarters left rud- stant roll rate. Lastly, people usually end up heading to der in the second knife-edge. At slower speeds, nearly the right in a left roll. full rudder is required. Te keys to a good competition aileron roll (slow roll) A good trick taught to me by Emerson Stewart here are picking a spot on the horizon, then drawing British in Ohio was to not switch the rudders (when switch- champion Alan Cassidy’s “sacred circle” with the tip of ing to the “other” top rudder) when passing through the nose around that spot and maintaining John Mor- 12 o’clock, but to wait until about the 10:30 position. rissey’s “deep focus” on that spot throughout. Additionally, as it says in Alan Cassidy’s book Bet- In earlier Sport Aerobatics articles Morrissey has ter Aerobatics, a little push toward your feet about the stated, “If pilots were having any difculty with their same time as the feet are switched on the rudders rolls during the years I was team trainer, all I asked (10:30) will also keep the nose pointed in the right di- them to do was to remember their ‘deep focus.’ Without rection as the rolling motion continues, rounding out fail, that small reminder immediately cleared up any the second half of the “sacred circle.” Tis gentle push problem they were having with their rolls.” will fx the problem of ending of heading to the right all If we consider a left roll, the tip of the nose starts the time. at the 6 o’clock position on the sacred circle, rotates Also, once the rudder pedals are switched, the roll counterclockwise up to 3 o’clock for the frst knife edge, rate will increase, which is a downgrade. Ease of the continues up to 12 o’clock when inverted, down to 9 aileron defection a bit when the rudder pedals are o’clock for the second knife edge, then back to 6 o’clock. switched so the roll rate stays the same. Te controls must be manipulated in such a way to fy Former IAC President Rob Dorsey used to say re- that “sacred circle” with the tip of the nose around that peatedly in his Stick and Rudder columns that you point, or “deep focus” target, on the horizon. could tell who the new people were by the fact that Airplanes with wings mounted at a high angle of in- they pulled the throttle to idle on the downlines and cidence, like the Decathlon or Citabria, need a higher that they rushed their point rolls. In maneuvers 3 and nose attitude when inverted at the 12 o’clock position 9, the points must look distinct and crisp. Tere must on the sacred circle. Tat makes the 12 o’clock position be enough of a pause at the points that the judges can tall, turning the “sacred circle” into the “sacred egg.” see them. To fnd the required 12 o’clock attitude, the pilot must frst fy inverted at the expected speeds and see how Te Loop high the nose has to be above the horizon while holding We fy the loop in three parts, but we must analyze an altitude. and judge it in quarters. Quarter 1 is free and sets the www.iac.org 15 standard. Whatever radius is drawn during the initial pull-up in Quarter 1 must be re-created in quarters 2, 3, and 4. Quarters 2 and 3 are the hardest to draw over the top of the loop as the airplane’s energy state is at its lowest, with 3 being the dreaded “downgrade zone.” Te partial loops in maneuvers 1, 3, and 8 must also follow this model. Maneuver 1 has quarters 2 and 3. Maneuver 3 has quarters 1, 2, and half of 3. Maneuver 8 has quarters 1 and 2. Make sure all the quarters, or parts of quarters, available have the same radius. Te f rst key, especially in a low-performance airplane, is to make Quarter 1 small. Keep Quarter 1 small enough that you can duplicate it three more times. You don’t have the horsepower to drive around a bigger loop. It is very important to pull enough g in the frst quarter (at least 3g to 4g for you Decathlon/Citabria drivers) along with the proper entry speed, or you won’t have enough energy left over to make quarters 2 and 3 look good. Te third quarter is where the pilot must fy “out” to round out the quarter so it is equal to Quarter 1. Tis quarter, because of its low energy, must be rounded out with a smooth, tiny, gentle push, and only ground coaching can tell you when and how much. As a starting point, put the gentle push in (smoothly) before you hit the middle of Quarter 3. Te middle is too late. Also, if you don’t have the en- upline and the rotation. ergy, the push here won’t help. First, the more vertical the upline is the better the As you are fnishing the loop, pull just a little less g rotation is. Once the vertical line has been set, the at the end of the fourth quarter than you did at the be- stick cannot be frozen in position. Te Decathlon, for ginning of the frst. Te aircraft is going a little slower instance, will slowly creep on its back (negative) as it in the fourth quarter, and it is very common for peo- goes uphill. Te stick must be moved in pitch (head to ple to fnish the loop “high.” Tis means the exit al- foot) as necessary to maintain a perfect vertical atti- titude was higher than the entry altitude, which is a tude until the time of the pivot, or “kick.” Keep your downgrade. Watch your fnish altitude at the end of eyes on the sight gauge or wingtip against the horizon your loops in practice if you don’t have a ground coach. and don’t let it stray from vertical. Loops are hard to do well and usually sufer under the In this discussion we’re in a left hammerhead with judges’ pens. I highly recommend that all Sportsman pi- an American (clockwise-turning) engine. Te engine lots fy a Freestyle, even if they borrow it from someone at full power will “torque” the aircraft as it slows else. And the frst thing I do on my Freestyles is get rid while going uphill. Tis will cause the aircraft to roll of the loop! Te loop is not required in the Freestyle. left, which is a downgrade. Put in right aileron as Te Hammerhead—Te hammerhead is fun to do. necessary to prevent any rolling on the upline. From It is also a maneuver that can induce an inverted spin a sight gauge or wingtip perspective, put in enough if mishandled. Te important points to discuss are the right aileron to keep the sight gauge or wingtip from

16 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 “walking across” the horizon. your job is not to fy perfectly. Your job is to present the Te “kick,” or pivot, is really not a kick but a rapid and illusion of fying perfectly. smooth push of the rudder to the stop, followed a split So how do you know if you are on a 45-degree upline? second later by opposite aileron and forward stick. Tese Tis will vary from airplane to airplane and from pilot movements are not to be done simultaneously, but se- to pilot. Everything depends on the pilot’s eye position. quentially. Te aircraft type will determine the timing. Whatever sighting system is used, it is very important Te rudder and elevator are efective immediately that the pilot be absolutely anal about seating position. because they are in the propeller’s energized slip- Always use the same seat position and the same cush- stream. Te aileron only becomes efective once the ions so that the eye position, and its relation to the wingtip is moving in yaw and has some relative wind sighting system or airplane structure, is the same every over it. Enough additional aileron must be added so fight. that the aircraft yaws “in plane” with no rolling mo- Also, when it comes to 45-degree lines, most new tion present. Any roll is a downgrade. people are shallow. Getting ground coaching would be Now here is where we enter the possible inverted the best, but if you can’t get it, being a little steep is spin zone. Te left yaw motion causes gyroscopic better than being a little shallow. forces in the propeller to pitch the airplane on its back. When rolling on the 45-degree lines, just like in the Pushing the stick forward cancels out this pitching to level rolls, the aircraft CG dot must follow the same keep the aircraft yawing “in plane.” Preventing an in- line throughout the roll. Again, the greatest problems verted spin entry is all about not overdoing the forward are in maintaining that straight line in the inverted stick input. and knife-edge portions of the roll. See the above sec- EMT instructor Rich Stowell taught me a neat vi- tion on aileron rolls for more information about this. sual trick that helps the pilot use the correct amount On the 45-degree downlines, pick that spot on the of forward stick. It is natural for the eye to want to fol- ground for your deep focus and do your sacred circle low the wingtip or sight gauge down across the ground around that point. On the 45-degree uplines, I pick a as the pivot begins, but you must resist it. Instead, spot in the sky ahead of me and roll around that. keep the eyes on that spot on the horizon where the As for centering the half-roll, until ground coach- wingtip or sight gauge was and let the wingtip or sight ing helps you make a proper adjustment, you’ll need to gauge drop away out of sight. Ten, as the airplane yaws left, apply just enough forward stick to put the tip of the nose through the same spot on the horizon the wingtip or sight gauge just vacated. Once the nose is on the horizon you can look elsewhere for establish- ing a downline. When the nose reaches straight down, just neutral- izing the rudder pedals will bring about a “pendulum” efect, which is a downgrade. To avoid this, put in full opposite (right) rudder when about 30 degrees away from straight down, then quickly go to neutral. Tat will stop the nose quite smartly, and it will point straight down. Once the rotation stops, you don’t need as much forward stick, so ease of. Avoid pushing negative on the downline. Te Wedges—First, maneuvers 2 and 6 are Family 1 fgures, which means that the three radii do not have to be the same size. Tat being said, you can’t just fop over the tops of these fgures. AEROBATICS MAINTENANCE You must have enough energy to draw a constant Basic through Unlimited FACILITIES radius across the top, even though that radius can be Competition & Sport We specialize in a lot smaller than the other two. Remember to fy that Safety & Proficiency Fabric top radius, with the changes in angular velocity, just Basic & Advanced Spins Tailwheel as we discussed with regard to the middle half-loop in Aerobatic Aircraft Repair the humpty. Pitts S-2B Second, the lines within the fgure do not have to be Super Decathlon the same length. Citabria 45-Degree Lines—Forty-fve-degree uplines and downlines are hard to execute without ground coach- Owned and operated by Debbie Rihn-Harvey ing. You are fying for fawed human judges. Remember,

www.iac.org 17

AC_HarveyRihn.indd 1 1/4/05 7:28:28 AM spend a slightly longer time on the slower line than on show us a perfect Immelmann. the faster line to make them equal in distance. Again, with Maneuver 8 as the key, I might sug- In Extras and other low-drag airplanes, the time on gest holding the downline at the end of Maneuver the fast line is usually half of that spent on the slow 6 until you can begin Maneuver 7 close to your air- line. In high-drag/low-horsepower airplanes, the tim- speed redline. After you get through Maneuver 7 ing diference is smaller, however, and is not as great you may have enough speed for the Immelmann. as the 2-to-1 ratio. Also, don’t bust the bottom of the box when finish- 270-Degree Aerobatic Turn—Most new people ing Maneuver 6! don’t hold enough bank angle in aerobatic turns. Te Once you know how much altitude you are going to judging criteria require that the turn be 60 degrees of lose in Maneuver 6 you can work your way backward bank at a minimum. Since you are fying for fawed hu- through the sequence to determine your starting alti- mans, they better not think you are shallow. tude for Maneuver 1. Tere must also be an observable pause between the roll, the turn, and the roll out. Also, the roll in and the Final Toughts roll out must be at the same roll rate. Te rookie mis- Te Sportsman category is unique in that the pilot take is to roll in fast and roll out slowly. can pick his or her level of participation. First of all, Te Immelmann—Tere must not be a line drawn there is no Unknown. between the fnish of the looping segment and the be- How well a pilot does is directly proportional to how ginning of the roll. Tey must not, however, be blended much fuel goes through his or her fuel injectors. If a together. To quote “the good book,” “Tis criterion (no pilot has meager resources, he or she might elect to line) is not meant to imply that one element (roll or fy the Known three times, which would require less loop) must start before the preceding element is com- practice time than fying the Known and a Freestyle. pletely fnished. A brief hesitation between elements In Sportsman, whatever sequence is flown on the (similar to opposite rolls) must not be downgraded.” second flight is also flown on the third flight. That Be careful when initiating the half-roll. Here is the takes the place of the Unknown. If you fly a Free- other place where one could get into an inverted spin style, your order of flights would be Known, Free- entry. Te normal recommendation in all of the aero- style, Freestyle. batic books is that the Immelmann should be started I always highly recommend fying a Freestyle seat 5 to 10 mph above normal looping speed, and that quence if time and resources permit. First and fore- the looping segment should be fown with 1/2g more most, in a Freestyle you can leave out the loop—that than normal for a loop in your particular aircraft. bane of the new pilot’s existence! Tese two actions should feed enough energy into Te pilot can use this category as a springboard to the half-roll segment. Don’t begin the Immelmann higher categories, or stay there for a lifetime. I support too slowly. the lifetimers and resist anything that edges the Cita- Practice this maneuver up high, over and over, to bria and 150-hp Decathlons out. fnd what entry speed and technique you need to safely I am in agreement with Giles Henderson, who get through it, then practice some more to fnd what stated, “Energy management is something the entry speed you need for it to score well. Remember pilot does with the right hand, not the left.” from the safety section above that you lose far fewer We want to discern and reward pilot ability, not points by taking a break than you do by fying a ma- horsepower. I agree with the conclusions of Giles’ neuver badly due to not having enough energy, or by article about that statement elsewhere in this edi- getting a zero by falling out of it. Since the Immelmann tion, and I also hope that we adapt the Primary is also at the bottom of the box, you won’t have a lot of sequence that he proposes. recovery altitude. Back to the 2016 Sportsman Known sequence: Whether a pilot is staying in Sportsman forever or Sequence Planning trying to move up, a Freestyle is challenging and fun. Tis sequence has a great high-energy fow until Ma- In this Known sequence, there are many pieces, or neuver 7. Maneuvers 7, 8, and 9 are energy killers for strings of maneuvers, that would ft nicely in a Free- low-horsepower/high-drag airplanes and may also be style, like maneuvers 1, 2, and 3, or 5 and 6. On the difcult for a Decathlon or Pitts S-2A with an instruc- other hand, maneuvers 7, 8, and 9 will be hard on tor/safety pilot on board. Tese aircraft need to dive to low-horsepower/high-drag aircraft. get the required energy for maneuvering. If a Freestyle is well-designed to show of your air- Maneuver 8 is the key. Know exactly what entry plane’s attributes (and to hide what it doesn’t do well, speed you need to safely do the Immelmann in your like the loop!), it can earn you higher scores, and also aircraft. Ten, if you do not have that required min- be a lot of fun. And you get to fy the Freestyle twice! imum entry speed at the end of Maneuver 7, take a Watch your redlines, watch your altitudes, wear break, climb, come back around, dive, resume, and your parachute, and have fun! IAC 18 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 I have just taken delivery of another Ford Fusion under the The Privilege of Partnership Ford Partner Recognition Vehicle Purchase Plan. My thanks to EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor EAA and to Ford for their innovative thinking in developing and Company vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition maintaining this unique benefit plan for EAA members. Program. To learn more about this exclusive opportunity for This was my third Fusion in nine years. I have saved thousands EAA members to save on a new Ford vehicle, please visit of dollars in the process, and Ford has gained a loyal and very www.eaa.org/ford. happy customer for life. My sales consultant, Dean, was a true professional. That, coupled with the outstanding afer-sales Tell Us Your Story service at Formula Ford, makes it easy for me to buy a new Ford Motor Company is proud of our long-standing partnership Fusion every few years. with EAA and wants to hear from you! Feedback from those who have participated in Ford’s Partner Recognition Program I’ve been a happy EAA member for more than twenty- is appreciated and owners are occasionally featured in EAA five years. Ford driving and EAA flying - what a winning publications. Send us your story and photos to Kevin at combination! Allan G. EAA# 377919 [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you! Grassroots? BY GILES HENDERSON, IAC 159

Te IAC was founded in 1970 formance rather than airmanship. fow, let’s not also poison the Pri- to promote grassroots aerobatics. An Immelmann (Figure 8) follow- mary sequence with performance Our contests are intended to pro- ing a slow roll (Figure 7) excludes hurdles. Low-horsepower Cita- vide pilots the opportunity to have virtually all the classic entry-level brias, Clipped Wing Cubs, and oth- their skills evaluated by certifed aircraft, as does a 2-point roll (Fig- er low-powered aerobatics planes judges and to compete against fel- ure 9) following an Immelmann are not able to fy a competitive ai- low pilots. During our early years (Figure 8). Moreover, putting an leron roll from level fight without IAC contests attracted large num- Immelmann with inadequate ener- diving for additional energy. bers of participants. Tere were gy at the bottom of the box should 135 competitors at the IAC Cham- provoke safety concerns. pionships in Fond du Lac, Wiscon- Over most of the past 15 years a sin, in 1975. Fifty-one of the 1975 high-performance aircraft has been competitors were in Sportsman. required to be competitive in Sports- Many of us that were and are limit- man. Competitors who fy classic ed by fnances, family obligations, entry-level trick planes have been or time found a home in a lower relegated to taking “energy breaks” category. and forfeiting their potential competition by standing or moving down Sportsman to Primary or, as most have done, Te most fundamental consid- dropping out of IAC. eration for a well-designed, en- “We continue to see category The energy lost in a 180- try-level sequence that will encour- creep in Advanced/Unlimited be- degree turn followed by a 270- age and retain new participants cause we have been tied to CIVA, degree turn (figures 4 and 5) in and provide a home for the classic but we should not be making it these aircraft precludes a com- aircraft is energy fow, the opportu- harder for new pilots in the sport petitive slow roll (Figure 6). It is nity to exchange potential for ki- by increasing the difculty of not in the interest of recruiting netic energy, altitude for airspeed. Sportsman and Intermediate. Tat IAC participation to make 180 Te 2016 Sportsman Known has is exactly what proposal 2016-05 hp a requirement to be competi- good energy fow all the way to (and last year’s change) does since tive at the entry level. Moreover, Figure 7. it substantially increases the skill the current Primary is dumbed level required to be competitive down to a humiliating level that’s and/or win. If we make all the low not fun to fly and certainly not API airplanes nothing more than serving its intended function. It feld fllers and worker bees for the is indeed ironic that on the one other categories, low API airplane hand this sequence has been de- drivers will simply start staying liberately lowered in difficulty, home.”—Paul Tomson and on the other, sets an energy “We cannot have rules which requirement that excludes low shrink our sport rather than grow API aircraft from a competitive it. It is our policy that the legacy flight. Surely we can design a fun, airplanes, indeed the ones that six-figure sequence that does not built the sport, not be chased away require a Citabria to take an “en- from competition by ever increas- ergy break.” ing difculty. Tat is a recipe for organizational suicide.”—Mike Spin Heuer Tere isn’t much we can do in de- signing a Primary sequence if there However, fgures 8, 9, and 10 de- Primary are only three diferent fgures al- grade this sequence to yet another If we design Sportsman sequenc- lowed. A one-turn spin was a part example that measures aircraft per- es that fail to provide good energy of every ACA and IAC entry-level 20 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 The Winner‘s Propeller! Fly the Champions‘ Choice! like Patty Wagstaff as shown here with her Extra 300S!! sequence for more than 30 years. Primary Sequence Proposal A spin puts a Piper Cub on a lev- Te Primary fgure base des- el playing feld with an Edge 540. perately needs some turn-around It’s perhaps the only Aresti fgure fgures that don’t kill energy. In in the entire catalog that is truly addition to the hammerhead, a re- an equalizer. Te Basic/Primary verse wedge (starting with a half- Super Decathlon category went for years with just roll on a 45 upline) is a reasonable a spin, loop, and a roll. After a candidate and should be of less great deal of turmoil, we got the controversy than a hammerhead. Pitts Model 12 half-Cuban in the door while Vicki Te following sequence proposal Available for almost every aerobatic was president with some hope that is a fun ride with carefully consid- aircraft, for custom built airplanes like the hammerhead and Immelmann ered energy fow that can be fown Lancair, Velocity, Glasair or RV and for more than 100 certiﬁ ed aircraft types. would follow. competitively with low-powered, Order your custom designed However, in recent years the high-drag aircraft. propeller today! one-turn spin has been omitted MT-Propeller USA, Inc., Florida from entry-level sequences even Phone: (386) 736-7762 Fax: (386) 736-7696 though a spin was traditional- e-mail: [email protected] ly and continues to be the first MT-Propeller “aerobatic” figure most students Headquarters Germany Phone: +49-9429-94090 were/are taught. A significant Fax.: +49-9429-8432 number of IAC newbies inter- e-mail: [email protected] viewed in Gary DeBaun’s Meet a www.mt-propeller.com Member column have said they became involved with IAC competition as a consequence of their experience in a stall/spin/ Power upset course. Fig 1 1.1.2.1 7 7 In a recent article Mike Heuer TM recalled, “When I strapped into Fig 2 1.1.6.3 10 15 the front seat, I knew aerobatics 9.11.1.4 5 was on the plate, and I had never 8.5.6.1 10 done anything other than a steep Fig 3 14 turn and a spin. After we did that 9.1.4.2 4 frst roll and loop, I was hooked 1.2.3.1 12 for life.” Fig 4 18 9.1.2.2 6 Duane Cole: “Teaching spins Stay connected may be the most worthy accom- Fig 5 7.4.1.1 10 10 plishment of an aerobatic course.” with IAC’s With digital automation replac- Fig 6 1.1.1.1 2 10 member beneﬁts, ing stick and rudder skills, the 9.1.3.4 8 aviation industry has turned its and the world of attention to loss of control as an Total K = 74 important issue. Te IAC would aerobatics on do the NTSB and the entire avia- If you are in agreement with the the web, tion community a great favor if we ideas presented here and endorse put the spin back in Primary and this proposal, let me suggest you in our Sportsman and provided pilots the convey your thoughts/support to e-newsletter! opportunity to learn how to actu- your regional director: www.IAC. To subscribe: ally do fully developed stalls and at org/yellow-pages. Hopefully our ad- www.EAA.org/newsletters least a one-turn spin. ministrators will listen. IAC www.iac.org 21 Te Cure for the Flying Doldrums An aerobatic course, just the ticket

by Ed Miller [email protected]

Tere are a lot of ways for a middle-aged pilot to act GA feet has resulted in a much reduced occurrence of out. Most commonly, a seaplane rating in Florida is stall/spin accidents since the day when Cubs and Stea- good for a weekend of chasing alligators from the back rmans ruled the skies. Tey are great means of getting seat of a Cub on foats. Coupled with a winter-time trip to all the Point B’s in a quiet, comfortable manner. But for the family to Disney World, you have as close to a what if you simply don’t have that many Point B’s? win-win situation as possible for the modern, multi-di- What if, and I know this is sacrilege, you are simply mensional family. Te rating is fun, but unless you live bored with fying around, not exceeding 30 degrees of on a lake or call Alaska home, it has serious limitations. bank? An aerobatic course might be just the ticket. And Floatplanes are expensive, limited in their usefulness, guess what? Tere are several schools close to family-re- and ones that can be rented solo are almost as rare as lated vacation spots. A fve-hour course in a two-place $4 a gallon avgas. Pitts or Extra can peg the fun meter on just about any- Most pilots agree that the pedestrian nature of the one willing to risk a touch of nausea, and even that usu- 22 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 ally goes away after a couple fights. But after a few days Club (IAC) and regional and national contests popped up of rolls and loops, you are once again left with only the everywhere. trip home and a logbook of memories. Or are you? Unfortunately, with few formal schools, the accident What if there was a way to continue your acro excite- rate also skyrocketed. Te 27 accidents attributed to aer- ment for a fraction of the cost of renting a 172? I’m not obatics in 1971 were more than all those in the previous advocating fnding a tired Citabria either. To me there fve years. And most of those were due to spins. Two pi- is no aerobatic airplane even close to the cost/perfor- lots, Gene Beggs, a Texan, and Eric Muller, a Swiss, from mance capability of a Pitts S-1. I admit to lusting for opposite corners of the acro world joined forces in an alone since watching the Red Devils at Oshkosh as a kid. most evangelical crusade to teach what would become After reading Budd Davisson’s articles on the subject, I known as the “Beggs-Muller emergency spin recovery was hooked. method.” By simply chopping the power, letting go of But shouldn’t it be a two-seater you might ask? Isn’t the stick, and pushing opposite rudder the spin would it a selfsh act to buy a single-place anything? Up to this stop. Te accidents, attributable usually to an inability time, I had begged and borrowed acro time in other peo- to tell whether the spin was upright or inverted, stopped ple’s airplanes. I believe this is how acro has gotten some- almost overnight. But some would say the damage was thing of a bad rap. For two people to ride in an aerobatic done, and the Pitts craze slowed dramatically. Te fber- plane doing aerobatics, someone is going to have to be glass revolution of the 1980s, combined with a new crop riding while the other is fying. I believe I represent a of nosewheel-only drivers, and the sprightly little air- fairly large group of pilots who have a fair tolerance for plane disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. doing their own acro but will get sick as the proverbial In the 1990s, a subset of these planes found their dog, riding through someone else’s. In addition to not way back into shops where their cotton coverings were having control, you have no way of knowing what’s com- replaced with either the Ceconite or Stits synthetic fab- ing next. Besides, one seat eliminates any guilt of not rics. Te Pitts factory had also started building a hand- taking a passenger on a practice fight. Insurance for the ful of S-1S and, later, the 200-hp S-1T models during the S-1 is a small fraction of the cost of a two-place, since it same period. Compared to homebuilts, there are rela- is less likely that anyone other than the owner is at risk. tively few examples that ft these later categories. Pok- Fuel burn and maintenance is less on a four-cylinder Ly- ing around and asking IAC members are a couple ways to coming, especially considering aerobatic fights rarely fnd them. Tough, to some they might be worth more, last more than a half-hour. Te plane is so small it will usually ft under the wing of a Cessna in a shared T-hangar—further shrinking expenses. And most importantly, almost any S-1 can be had for $35,000 or less. A little history: the Pitts Special was designed by self- taught engineer, Curtis Pitts, and frst few shortly after World War II. Low-powered variants were built on a very small scale until the early 1960s, when it was dis- covered that with a Bendix PS-5C pressure carbure- tor from an old Navion, combined with an ingenious system of oil check valves, the airplane suddenly had full inverted capability. Its instantaneous, feather- like controls and head-swimming snap roll made the airplane suddenly on a par with the best acro mounts of the time. Te airplane was incredibly strong, simple, and guess what? You could build it in your garage for about the same money as a new Impala. Suddenly world-class acro was no longer the sole domain of Eastern bloc Zlins and Yaks. By 1965, the Pitts was the RV-6/7/8/9 of its time. Hundreds were popping out of garages, and the cottage industry of semi-professionally built homebuilts was born. Te early ’70s brought the diminutive airplane to the world stage when the U.S. Aerobatic Team loaded its com- plement of Pitts on a USAF C-5 and won the 1972 World Aerobatic Championships in France. Te aerial equiva- lent of a Formula One race car was now available to the common man. Te acro scene in the United States ex- ploded with the formation of the International Aerobatic www.iac.org 23 perfect S-1S was located in Atlanta. Te plane had been mostly sitting for several years while its builder fnished a hot rod Pitts S-1-11B. With only one hangar and two planes, he reluctantly gave up the old S-1S, but only after a very extensive annual and top overhaul. A few weeks later, with the help of a friend, it was delivered to Alabama. Te next month was devoted to learning how to fy and, more pre- cisely, land the little beast. As I was to fnd out, being able to confdently Tom Henry (left) with builders Tyler Gresham and Ted Williams. land a Pitts puts one in a very exclusive club. It’s not that it’s particularly tricky; it’s just that it has a challenging and unique combination of qual- ities. First, there is absolutely no forward visibility once in the fare; all alignment is by use of peripheral vision. Secondly, the airplane responds immediately and exactly to control inputs. It’s not squirrelly, just instantaneous. Tere are a handful of Pitts transition instructors around the country, and Michael, my partner, and I ended up on the doorstep of Johnny White in Abingdon, Vir- ginia, on a brisk October Saturday morning. Located in the beautiful Virginia New owners Ed Miller and Michael Gerhardt. hill country just across the Ten- it’s not necessarily a guarantee of a gan talking the project up at the lo- nessee border, Johnny operates a better airplane. cal airport until I was able to fnd a one-stop training shop for the tail- I always loved the aesthetics of like-minded partner, which made it wheel and aerobatic inclined. John- the round wings, round tail, and all the more doable. It took a year ny’s feet included a Cub and a Pitts sunburst paint schemes and be- of on-and-of searching, but a near S-2B (and now an Extra 300 has been added). Some would say these are the perfect fight-training vehi- WORLD’S GREATEST AVIATION CELEBRATION® Tom Henry’s ﬁrst cles for all aviators. Over the next JULY 25-31 Pitts ﬂight in 20 two days, Michael and I tag-teamed years, ferrying it Johnny into submission. Te front home to Alabama. pit of the S-2 can only be described BUY NOW AND SAVE! as completely blind and subse- Visit EAA.org/Tickets quently very similar to the S-1. Muscle memory from years of tail- draggers helped keep the tail behind the front wheels after touchdown, but nothing prepared me for the complete lack of forward visibility. To add to the excitement, all landings were power-of, which showed of the Pitts glide ratio, which is close to that of a kitchen knife shoved of a counter. Each approach would start with an absurdly high turn to fnal 24 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 WORLD’S GREATEST AVIATION CELEBRATION® JULY 25-31

BUY NOW AND SAVE! Visit EAA.org/Tickets while holding a slip in order to the grass, it rocketed of in what see the airport. Just before what seemed like half the distance seemed would be sudden impact, of the two-place. Te polished the slip was straightened, the air- Sensenich prop dug in hard, re- plane was fared, and an attempt sulting in a ridiculous climb angle was made to keep the plane in the just to keep the rpm even close to middle of the runway based on redline. In less than three min- the equal distance of the runway utes, I was level at 5,000 feet, lights whizzing by. By holding turning 2700 rpm, indicating 150 the stick back, the little biplane mph, and grinning from ear to ear. would settle on with a small skip. In its original 1975 cotton and dope form. Straight up, straight down, right After touchdown, the technique side up, upside down, the little air- was to bury the stick full aft so the seemed afected by the mile-high plane didn’t care. Turning left was a weight on the tail acted like an an- Denver elevation. Our three days of matter of thinking left. Climbing an- chor, and as long as it was pointed fying included narrow runway op- other thousand feet was as simple as down the runway, it just rolled erations and even fying in 20 knots pulling back for a few seconds. And straight down the runway. Once of wind. John spent a bit of time on yet at straight and level, it was easy the speed slowed below 30 miles basic acro and, of course, inverted to drive around with only the ped- per hour or so, the brakes could be spins. At the end of the training, I als and trim lever. A couple rolls and gingerly eased on for the taxi back won’t say I learned to like them, but loops and I knew we had made a great to repeat the whole process. my apprehension over the dreaded choice. Now I just had to get it back Te takeof, even though equally spin was gone. on the ground in a reusable form. blind, felt like a cruise missile launch Te next week found me back Entering the pattern, I found that and actually became great fun in home in Alabama where a friend gra- the much lighter one-holer didn’t fairly short order. After a couple ciously hangared us at his grass strip seem to have quite the dramatics fights, I knew that the part of all so we could ease into the whole solo of the S-2. Te lighter controls and Pitts checkouts that I was dreading Pitts thing. Te immaculate grass slightly better visibility made the was coming soon. Even though it’s runway was more than 4,000 feet frst landing an almost pleasant af- fairly easy to tear up one of these long and at least 100 feet wide, the fair. Over the fence at 100, the lit- cute little monsters while trying to perfect training base. A single-hole tle wings foated an easy 300 or 400 reattach it to the ground, it is rare for Pitts provides so many frsts. Te feet till it said, “I’m done.” And with that to result in anything but a very smallest airplane, highest perfor- that, it unceremoniously plopped somber phone conversation with an mance, shortest coupled, blindest down on all three wheels rolling insurance company. Te real buga- and, oh yeah, your frst fight is all right down the middle of the Ber- boo is its incredible spin capabilities. by yourself. It’s not like it was that muda grass runway. Now, I’m certain To prevent the aforementioned much diferent than the two-place, this was thanks to all the training of spin-related confusion, every check- but this much unknown in aviation the last few weeks, but I was still sur- out includes the full spin bufet. is something few of us get to expe- prised. Apparently, this wasn’t go- Spins not being my favorite maneu- rience on our own for the frst time. ing to be as difcult as I had feared. ver, I was particularly unenthusiastic Te long taxi to the runway end pro- A check of the fuel after the fight about the inverted variety. Johnny vided time for refection, and my showed I had burned about 4 gallons was empathetic and fed the spin frst solo in a Piper Colt nearly 40 over a 30-minute fight. I was aston- series slowly to us. He taught us how years ago came to mind. With only a ished. In fun-per-dollars, this was a little forward stick accelerated the mag and controls check for a run-up, unsurpassed. spin, turning the ground into an im- the excuses to delay this true leap of Over the next couple months, I pressionistic blur. He then showed faith quickly ran out. read Neil Williams Aerobatics and us both the Beggs emergency recov- Lining up on the runway, looking Alan Cassidy’s Better Aerobatics. ery technique as well as his “power out at the impossibly short wings, Starting slowly, I followed the cur- of, controls neutralized” solution. I sucked the stick back hard and riculum set forth in both books Both ways stopped the spin easily. shoved in the go lever. I had been easing into the maneuvers that Time constraints and work told once that an S-1S doesn’t expe- I had fown with my instructors. schedules had me out in Colorado rience a takeof roll; it just scratches Rolls and loops at frst, then grad- the next week, where I was able to of in a furry of noise and air- ually exploring inverted fight, the continue training with John Blum speed. Te roar was deafening, even little plane always responding in- in his S-2B. Although John claimed though I was wearing David Clarks stantly and without complaint. it’s the highest-time Pitts still fying, with ear plugs. By the end of November, we both it was in great condition and hardly With the tail wheel lifted just of felt comfortable enough to move 26 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 the little plane to its new home south of Birmingham. PRESIDENT’S COLUMN contintued from page 3 Shelby County, Alabama, is a 5,000-foot long, smooth asphalt runway with a great pilot community. Even BY MIKE HEUER, IAC PRESIDENT, IAC 4 though we are the only Pitts, a number of other aer- obats occupy the feld. Help with starting (it has no Harold Krier and Charlie Hillard. starter) is always available, as is moral support when In the same year I was an assistant judge for the we show our beginner’s status during landings. first time (1968), I also attended an air show in Dod- I know that it’s not for everyone, but with about 20 geville, Wisconsin, that featured Harold in his Chip- fights so far, it has been fairly straightforward to expand munk and my father in his Ryan ST-A. That evening on the basic maneuvers taught in the two-place. Ham- in the hotel bar, I sat with Harold for a couple of merheads, humpty-bumps, and inverted turns are the hours as he talked to me about aerobatics, competi- fgures I’m learning lately. Snap rolls, gyroscopics, out- tion, and flying. He had all the time in the world for side maneuvers come next and are all easily handled by me and never blew me off. It was an experience for a the Pitts. I know it’s not as efcient, and some would young man of 18 I will never forget. That conversa- argue not as safe, as going to a big school in California. tion was one of many experiences during that time We are staying up around 5,000 feet, giving us plenty of that changed the course of my life. It was also the room for falling out of maneuvers. Because of our train- first year I flew competition. A couple of years after ing, we have a good feel about the inevitable, inadvertent that, I won the L. Paul Soucy Trophy—another of spin. Best of all, we are guaranteed, for less than a 5-gal- the flying awards we present each year—and in four lon can of avgas, to completely forget about the world. years, was in U.S. Air Force pilot training. I’m still not sure if either of us will compete with our Like Sean D. Tucker, our Hall of Fame inductee new toy, but I can already tell how it makes me more this past year who also chairs the EAA Young Eagles attentive in my corporate jet day job. I no longer fear program, take young people under your wing. It strange attitudes and am even learning to enjoy com- doesn’t have to be as a part of some organized pro- petition spins. Te littlest Pitts has to be the single, gram, but just talk to them and show them around. least expensive, most exhilarating solution to fying It is a great thing that you can do for aviation, your IAC doldrums. Spread the word. IAC community, and your country.

www.iac.org 27 CONTEST CALENDAR

Mark your calendars for these upcoming contests. For a complete list of contests and for the most up-to-date calendar, visit www.IAC.org. If your chapter is hosting a contest, be sure to let the world know by posting your event on the IAC website.

Hammerhead Roundup (Southwest) Salem Regional Aerobatic Contest (Mid-America) Friday, April 8 - Saturday, April 9, 2016 Friday, June 3 - Sunday, June 5, 2016 Practice/Registration: Thursday, April 7 Practice/Registration: Friday, June 3 Power: Primary through Unlimited Power: Primary through Unlimited Location: Borrego Valley Airport (L08): Borrego Springs, CA Location: Salem-Leckrone (SLO): Salem, IL Contest Director: Kevin Elizondo Contest Director: Joe Overman Phone: 5625775776 Phone: 314-452-6049 E-Mail: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.iac36.org Coalinga Western Open Championship (Southwest) Carolina Boogie (Northeast) Friday, June 3 - Saturday, June 4, 2016 Friday, April 22 - Saturday, April 23, 2016 Practice/Registration: Thursday, June 2 Practice/Registration: Thursday, April 21 - Friday, April 22 Power: Primary through Unlimited Power: Primary through Unlimited Location: New Coalinga (C80): Coalinga, CA Location: Wilson Industrial Airport (W03): Wilson, NC Contest Director: Tom Myers Contest Director: Eric Sandifer Phone: 650-799-6854 Phone: 919-605-9585 E-Mail: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.iac38.org Website: www.facebook.com/IAC-Chapter-19-153761934665242/ Lone Star Aerobatic Championships (South Central) Sebring Spring (Southeast) Friday, June 10 - Saturday, June 11, 2016 Practice/Registration: Thursday, June 9 Thursday, May 5 - Saturday, May 7, 2016 Practice/Registration: Saturday, April 30 - Wednesday, May 4 Rain/Weather: Sunday, June 12 Glider Categories: Sportsman through Unlimited Power: Primary through Unlimited Power: Primary through Unlimited Location: TBD (NA): TBD Location: Sebring Regional Airport (SEF): Sebring, FL Contest Director: J. J. Humphreys Contest Director: Don Hartmann Phone: 940-564-6673 Phone: 561-644-1312 E-Mail: [email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.iac24.org

Ohio Aerobatic Open (Mid-America) Gulf Coast Regional (South Central) Friday, June 17 - Saturday, June 18, 2016 Friday, May 13 - Saturday, May 14, 2016 Practice/Registration: Thursday, June 16 Power: Primary through Unlimited Power: Primary through Unlimited Location: Jackson County (26R): Edna, Tx Location: Bellefontaine Regional Airport (KEDJ): Bellefontaine, OH Contest Director: Samuel Weaver Duel In The Desert (Southwest) Phone: 937-681-2680 Friday, May 13 - Saturday, May 14, 2016 E-Mail: [email protected] Practice/Registration: Thursday, May 12 Website: www.iac34.eaachapter.org/ Power: Primary through Unlimited Location: Apple Valley Airport (APV): Apple Valley, CA Killam-Flagstaff Aerobatic Contest (International) Contest Director: Chris Olmsted Saturday, June 18 - Saturday, June 18, 2016 Phone: 831 334 7232 Practice/Registration: Friday, June 17 E-Mail: [email protected] Power: Primary through Unlimited Location: Killam-Sedgwich/Flagstaff Regional (CEK6): Killam,Alberta, Ben Lowell Aerial Confrontation (South Central) Canada Saturday, May 21 - Sunday, May 22, 2016 Contest Director: Randy Skiba Practice/Registration: Friday, May 20 Phone: 403-504-7788 Power: Primary through Unlimited E-Mail: [email protected] Location: Sterling Municipal Airport (tentative) (STK): Sterling, CO Website: www.aerobaticscanada.org

(tentative) Contest Director: Bob Freeman Apple Cup (Northwest) Phone: 303-709-6465 Friday, June 24 - Saturday, June 25, 2016 E-Mail: [email protected] Practice/Registration: Thursday, June 23 Website: www.iac12.org Power: Primary through Unlimited Location: Ephrata Municipal Airport (EPH): Ephrata, WA Contest Director: Jerry Riedinger Hoosier Hoedown (Mid-America) Phone: 425-985-9469 Saturday, May 21 - Sunday, May 22, 2016 E-Mail: [email protected] Practice/Registration: Friday, May 20 Power: Primary through Unlimited U.S. National Aerobatic Aerobatic Championships 2016 (South Central) Location: Kokomo Municipal Airport (OKK): Kokomo, Indiana Friday, September 23 - Friday, September 30, 2016 Contest Director: Mike Wild Practice/Registration: Friday, September 23 - Saturday, September 24 Phone: 765-860-3231 Glider Categories: Sportsman through Unlimited E-Mail: [email protected] Power: Primary through Unlimited Website: www.hoosierhammerheads.com Location: North Texas Regional Airport/Perrin Field (KGYI): Denison, TX Contest Director: Gary DeBaun Armed Forces Memorial (South Central) Phone: 612-810-6783 Friday, May 27 - Sunday, May 29, 2016 E-Mail: [email protected] Location: Grenada Municipal (GNF): Grenada, MS Website: www.iac.org/us-national-aerobatic-championships-2016 28 Sport Aerobatics March 2016

MEET A MEMBER

BY GARY DEBAUN IAC #4145 IAC 437939 Occupation: Evangelist Chapter aﬃliation: 3 Cody Zorn Age: 31

GD: Standard frst question, Cody, how did you GD: Do you have any pre-aerobatics routine, like frst become involved in aerobatics? stretching, yoga, or listening to music? CZ: Basically I grew up in the cockpit of an airplane. CZ: [laughs] Yoga? No, generally I like to be alone a few Soloed when I was 16 and got my license shortly there- minutes before I saddle up and, as my dad says, “get my after. At the time Dad was highly involved in competi- head in the game”! I have a word of prayer in the plane for tion and had a Giles 202. I should’ve taken advantage of safety, and then it’s go time! It seems to me like the mental the opportunity then to get involved. But life happened, preparation in Intermediate is a little greater than what I got married, kids, occupation, and kind of lost interest was doing in Primary/Sportsman. Whereas in those cate- and touch with fying in general. Last year I decided I gories I would fy the same exact sequence three straight wanted to get involved, not just fying but also in com- times, now in Intermediate we fy the Known, Free, and petition. I went and got checked out by Danny Bond in Unknown. So there’s a little more coming at you. an S-2C back in July ’15. And from there I was hooked! GD: You are relatively new to the International GD: I know you are currently fying a DR-107. Aerobatic Club (IAC). Anything you would like Did you help your dad (Tony) build it? to see changed? CZ: No, we didn’t build it. Dad kind of left the CZ: I think President Heuer made a good move by sport for a few years, and when he got back in some keeping our IAC regional contests and what CIVA is years ago, he found the 1D. It has proven to be a fun doing on a world level separate. While I am 100 percent and competitive little plane. behind those who dedicate so much time and efort to fy at the Advanced/Unlimited level in world competition GD: When and where was your frst contest? and represent the United States, most of us have neither How did it go? the time, desire, or money to throw at competing at that CZ: My frst contest was at Warrenton, Virginia, in level. So I think keeping the regional contests simple yet September 2015. I few Primary and ended up coming challenging in the air was a good move. My two cents. away with frst place! Te frst day basically weathered us out, but the experience of just meeting and hangar GD: Who in the sport has been an inspiration fying with some amazing people really is what makes to you? this sport so rewarding and enjoyable to me. CZ: Well, obviously I have to say my dad is my mentor/biggest inspiration! His love not only for the GD: Have you fown any other aerobatic aircraft? sport but for fying in general is infectious! One of the CZ: Well, I got some dual time in the Giles years greatest enjoyments of getting involved in competi- ago. Got checked out in the S-2C last year, and have tion has been just getting to spend time with him. I also fown the RV-4 of a friend of ours. get Advanced-level coaching every time I go up for a practice fight, which most guys don’t get, or they have GD: If money were no object, what aerobatic to pay for. Others have been very helpful and friendly aircraft would you have? to impart their knowledge and make a newbie like me CZ: Wow, I guess one of those single-seat MXs feel like I belong. Guys like Danny Bond, Ron Schreck, would be pretty cool. Or one of the new Extra SCs! Mark Fullerton, and Marty Flournoy.

GD: What is your favorite fgure to fy? GD: Do you have any interests outside of fying? CZ: Figure 5 in Intermediate this year is pretty CZ: My family and I are on the road holding revivals, fun. It’s a goldfsh, push down to a 45, snap roll, loop conferences, and youth camps around 45 weeks out of around, and 2x4 on the back side 45. Also with mov- the year, so there’s not a whole lot of time for anything ing up to Intermediate, I’ve been practicing 90-degree else. I am a huge Georgia Bulldogs football fan! My wife inside rolling turns. Tose are challenging and fun. and I are season-ticket holders, and we try to make most of the home games in the fall. GO, DAWGS! IAC 30 Sport Aerobatics March 2016 www.iac.org 31 FLYMART

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