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IAC Contest Report

ronschreck

Well Known Member
I just got back from the IAC East Coast Aerobatic Contest, held at Warrenton (KHWY), VA. IAC chapter 11 put on a great contest that was unfortunately cut short due to rain and low ceilings on Saturday. The Sun came out long enough on Sunday to get in two flights in primary and sportsman but intermediate and advanced only got one flight in all weekend. All five primary contestants were first-time competitors and they all did quite well with Cody Zorn taking first in his dad?s One Design. Cody?s overall score was 87.25%. That?s impressive!

David Taylor of chapter 11 took first place in sportsman in a Studacher S600.



I was in third after the first round but did well enough with my free program in the second round and ended up in second place. My 84.8% score for the free program got me a Grass Roots Achievement medal for highest score in a plane with 180 or less horsepower. I was surprised that my free program got such nice scores as I designed the program to be challenging, not to score well. I put an avalanche (loop with a snap roll at the apex) in the program just to prove to myself and the skeptics that the RV can indeed do snap rolls. I got scores of 7.5, 8.5 and 8.5 from the three judges for the avalanche.



Pete Muntean took home third place with his Super Decathlon. This was the most diverse field I have ever seen in the sportsman category. Usually you see lots of Decathlons, a few Pitts and a sprinkling of Extras or Giles. This field of eight included my RV-8, two Decathlons, two Extra 300L?s, a Bucker Jungmann fitted with a Lycoming IO-360 and a highly modified open cockpit Dehavilland DHC-1 Super Chipmunk!



The Super Chipmunk is really a unique airplane. It started life in 1951 as a trainer in Australia and was converted to a crop duster with an open cockpit behind the hopper. It made its way to the States and went through several owners until Mark Meredith got hold of it and did a complete restoration, maintaining the dual open cockpits and mounting a Lycoming IO-540 engine. It is a work of art!



During the down time on Saturday I poked around all the airplanes and talked shop with fellow pilots as we watched clouds and rain go by. I noticed that some of the low wing airplanes like the One Design have sighting devices that are mounted well below the eye level of the pilot and discovered that being at eye level is not necessarily necessary. Who knew? So I have decided to try and fashion a sighting device for the RV-8. I?ll let you know how that turns out. I have also decided to try taping the aileron gap and see if that will increase the RV roll rate. I?ll report back on that as well.

I?ll be at the Blue Ridge Hammerfest in Morganton (KMRN), NC during the first weekend in October. Hope to see another RV or two there.
 
Congratulations

Congratulations Ron,
We've had 5 RVs participate in contests so far this year. For those that enjoy the sport but haven't competed yet, I wonder how many have attended an aerobatic contest? They are all over the US.
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower AL:)
 
I put an avalanche (loop with a snap roll at the apex) in the program just to prove to myself and the skeptics that the RV can indeed do snap rolls. I got scores of 7.5, 8.5 and 8.5 from the three judges for the avalanche.

Ron, that snap alone was about a 10. The hardest part is making the whole figure appear perfectly round. We were impressed by how well the airplane (in your hands of course) snapped. Definite break loose, fast rotation, and crisp stop. I have heard many pilots say RVs don't snap well. Well neither do Pitts', Extras, etc. without good technique. Few may appreciate the technique involved in a good snap. You sure can't just yank the stick all the way back, stomp the rudder, and then deem the airplane incapable of snapping well. Great job, and glad you're showing what the RV can really do!
 
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Always the modest one; Eric wouldn't mention that he took first place in the Intermediate category in his Pitts S1S. So I'll mention it for him. Nice job, once again Eric! :)
 
he took first place in the Intermediate category in his Pitts S1S.

Thanks Ron, but that was Danny's S-1S that won Intermediate. :) I flew Advanced and totally blew and zero'd an inverted spin for the first time at a contest. The other pilots simply made more costly mistakes than me on that flight.
 
Thanks Ron, but that was Danny's S-1S that won Intermediate. :) I flew Advanced and totally blew and zero'd an inverted spin for the first time at a contest. The other pilots simply made more costly mistakes than me on that flight.

Oops, my bad. So you won "advanced" and nobody cares how much the others screwed up. :rolleyes: I watched your flight and I am still in awe! On to Morgantown.
 
Way to fly Smokey !!!! I didn't know anyone was snapping an -8. My hat is off to you.
I just moved into Intermediate this year with my Super Decathlon and have not done a "good" snap yet. They are more difficult that expected and I'm still behind the airplane.
Congrats again to you !!
 
Way to fly Smokey !!!! I didn't know anyone was snapping an -8. My hat is off to you.
I just moved into Intermediate this year with my Super Decathlon and have not done a "good" snap yet. They are more difficult that expected and I'm still behind the airplane.
Congrats again to you !!

I don't know why folks are so afraid to snap the RV. I stay well below maneuvering speed and done properly is really a lazy snap; quicker than an aileron roll but definitely not something that would put undue stress on any part of the airframe. I know Van is very conservative when it comes to aerobatics and I'm doing my best to try and change his attitude toward the sport. It's hard to argue with success so I hope more and more RV pilots will see some success at competitive aerobatics.
 
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Thanks!

Thanks Ron, We are in the N.C. area most of the time now and I have been trying to seek out groups such as Formation or other in order to work on being a better pilot, (as always). I will be looking to find you and your hobby as well. With a good clean, light and well powered "8" it is nice to see you guys working to make it better and safer at the same time.
Good show old been. Yours as always, R.E.A. III #80888
 
More RV success

Ron has a 1st and a 2nd place so far this year, and I just heard Dennis Parks in his RV-4 was 2nd in Sportsman at the Apple Turn Over this last weekend. There is an RV grin, and an aerobatic RV grin too. Congratulations fellows.
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower AL:D
 
Congratulations, Smokey!!

Thanks for telling us about the Super Chipmunk. I saw it at Oshkosh as it taxied out, and all I could say was WOW, WHAT IS THAT?! :D
 
Smokey,
You are absolutely correct that a snap on the top of a loop (avalanche) is the most benign snap there is. Easy on the airplane and super fun. Huge kudos for working to dispel some of the myths about acro in general and acro in RV's in particular.
 
Ron: I'm the last one to ever take exception to any "more is better" argument, but I think I'm remembering it correctly when I invite you to investigate further your suggestion about aileron gap seals before you actually do it. As I remember it, a couple of RV owners have tried it and their airplanes were virtually unflyable as a result. This design of the aileron needs the air gap to function properly, I believe. Sealing the gaps on the elevator and rudder is okay, as I understand it, but not the ailerons.

Drop by and see us in Ridgeland next time you're in the area. Our all-new airport will be completed over the next three years.

Lee...
 
Ron: I'm the last one to ever take exception to any "more is better" argument, but I think I'm remembering it correctly when I invite you to investigate further your suggestion about aileron gap seals before you actually do it. As I remember it, a couple of RV owners have tried it and their airplanes were virtually unflyable as a result. This design of the aileron needs the air gap to function properly, I believe. Sealing the gaps on the elevator and rudder is okay, as I understand it, but not the ailerons.

Drop by and see us in Ridgeland next time you're in the area. Our all-new airport will be completed over the next three years.

Lee...

Thanks for the note Lee. I'll proceed with caution.
 
Ron: I'm the last one to ever take exception to any "more is better" argument, but I think I'm remembering it correctly when I invite you to investigate further your suggestion about aileron gap seals before you actually do it. As I remember it, a couple of RV owners have tried it and their airplanes were virtually unflyable as a result. This design of the aileron needs the air gap to function properly, I believe. Sealing the gaps on the elevator and rudder is okay, as I understand it, but not the ailerons.

Perhaps it might be wise to start with a gap seal that only covered a few inches of the aileron span, to minimize the effect. Fly it, then add a few more inches. Build up to a full span gap seal over several flights, rather than doing it in one big step.
 
Perhaps it might be wise to start with a gap seal that only covered a few inches of the aileron span, to minimize the effect. Fly it, then add a few more inches. Build up to a full span gap seal over several flights, rather than doing it in one big step.

Thank you all for your concern. Where were you when I jumped off the roof with the umbrella? :D
 
Sighting Device for the RV

In my first post I mentioned that I was going to fashion a sighting device for my RV-8. It's done!



Materials required:

3 feet 1 x 1/4 aluminum stock (Lowe's or Home Depot aircraft aisle)
3 feet 1/2 inch aluminum tube (same place)
3- carbon fiber arrow shafts (WalMart aircraft aisle)
1 ft threaded rod to fit arrow shaft thread (Lowes or Home Depot)
4- plastic or aluminum bushings, 1/4-inch ID (Lowes or Home Depot)
4 ea- AN4 bolts, fiber lock nuts, washers (bench stock)

Cut the 1 x 1/4 aluminum stock in half and mount to wing end rib with AN4 bolts at any angle you choose. These are the uprights to support the sighting device. Bushings are used to offset the uprights enough to clear the the end of the wing skin. Cut slots in the wing tip to accommodate the uprights.

Mount the round tube temporarily on the uprights parallel with the canopy rail with duct tape. Wrap a strip of black electrical tape around the rod approximately 6 inches behind the wing spar. Put another strip of tape on the opposite wing tip, 6 inches behind the spar.

Go fly! At 150 knots insure that the rod is parallel to the horizon. Zoom climb vertically and put the electrical tape on the rod on the horizon. Look at the other wing and see if the tape on the wing tip is also on the horizon. Land and adjust rod incidence and tape position. Fly again and again until you are satisfied that the rod is parallel to the horizon at 150 knots and the wings are parallel to the horizon in a vertical climb when the electrical tape is on the horizon.

Once you are satisfied cut the uprights even with the bottom of the rod. (Note: The rod does not need to be on the horizon, just parallel to it. The sighting device does not need to be at eye level. Mine is about 5 inches above the top of the wing.)

The vertical and 45-degree structure is made from the arrow shafts which can be tied together using the threaded rod. I heated and bent one section of threaded rod to 45-degrees and screwed two arrow shafts together at the top of the device. I drilled and filed holes in the aluminum rod to mount the arrow shafts then filled the aluminum rod with epoxy to secure. The short 45-degree rod has a stub of threaded rod in the upper end which secures it to the longer 45-degree rod. The other end is cut with a fish mouth to secure the lower end. All joints are secured with epoxy. The nose of the aluminum rod is fitted with a pointed wooden dowel shaped in my drill press. The aluminum rod is secured to the uprights with 8-32 screws into drilled and threaded holes in the uprights. Paint to suit. Done!
 
Let us know how it holds up and affects yaw.
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower AL:confused:

Bill,

I went up and flew the known and free sportsman sequences this morning and did a speed run to evaluate the effect that the sighting device has on aircraft performance. If there was any decrease in top speed or increase in yawing forces they were imperceptible to me. It flies just like it did before.

While the tape on the canopy has helped to maintain lines in competition, the sighting device is certainly more precise and less dependent on eye position. I like it!
 
I like it Ron! You might want to fly some vertical and 45 lines for someone on the ground to see how close your sighting device gets you and calibrate as required.

You're probably aware of this, but for the benefit of others I will mention that even having a sighting device doesn't mean your task is necessarily as simple as laying a side on the horizon and expecting the judges to score your line perfectly. Depending on aircraft fuselage shape, wing incidence, and whether you're upright or inverted, there may be one side of your device that when laid on the horizon doesn't give you an apparent perfect attitude. You may still need to make adjustments. For example, in the Pitts, my 45 upline (upright) edge is pretty good, but I need to be a touch shallow on my device for an inverted 45 upline or the judges will consistently call me steep. A little steep on my device and they'll say I look almost vertical.

Also, depending on wind conditions and/or box position, you may need to adjust slightly for parallax and optical illusions caused by the wind. It's an art, not a science, and you learn the nuances as you go.
 
Move Up

That's a FANTASTIC video and sequence, and really shows what the RVs can do with a good stick. See what you guys are missing? Thanks for posting Eric.
Bill McLean:cool:
RV-4 slider
lower AL
 
Here's a nice video of Ron's Freestyle flight, which was a close 2nd place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN9FwEQmFXU

Eric,

Thanks for the video. Who shot it? I have never seen my sequence on video and I see some places to improve! What may be very interesting to many is the snap roll at the top of the loop (it's called and avalanche maneuver) at 2:08. The snap is really a low energy maneuver and this shows it perfectly. I'm at about 110 knots at the entry to the snap; that's well below the 122 knot maneuver speed for the RV-8. You can see that it's nothing like a snap in a Pitts or a aerobatic monoplane with those huge flight control surfaces. Everybody tells me that the RV shows well in the box and now I see what they are talking about. It's big, compared to the Pitts and very graceful. Neat!
 
Ron, A lady in the area named Julie shot a bunch of videos of the contest. She's extremely prolific if you look at her channel. She also posts under 'horsemoney'.

110KTS is an impressive amount of speed to be able to retain on top of the loop. I'm a little under 100mph for an Avalanche snap, and when I have a choice of airspeed, I typically snap the Pitts between 100-120 mph depending on the type of line I'm on. If you've watched many Pitts and Extras snap, you might see that your RV snap rotation compares favorably to these airplanes. There's a lot of variation in snap quality between pilots, since it's such a technique intensive maneuver. Yours ended up with very nice rotation and a crisp stop, though it appeared the rotation rate sped up a little under halfway through the snap. I assume this may have to do with the timing of the unload of the stick after the snap breaks. But the judging rules don't explicitly state deductions are allowed for variations in snap roll rate, as long as the rotation is believed to be a snap and not aileron-driven. I picked up some things from her video of my flight as well.
 
Ron, A lady in the area named Julie shot a bunch of videos of the contest. She's extremely prolific if you look at her channel. She also posts under 'horsemoney'.

110KTS is an impressive amount of speed to be able to retain on top of the loop. I'm a little under 100mph for an Avalanche snap, and when I have a choice of airspeed, I typically snap the Pitts between 100-120 mph depending on the type of line I'm on. If you've watched many Pitts and Extras snap, you might see that your RV snap rotation compares favorably to these airplanes. There's a lot of variation in snap quality between pilots, since it's such a technique intensive maneuver. Yours ended up with very nice rotation and a crisp stop, though it appeared the rotation rate sped up a little under halfway through the snap. I assume this may have to do with the timing of the unload of the stick after the snap breaks. But the judging rules don't explicitly state deductions are allowed for variations in snap roll rate, as long as the rotation is believed to be a snap and not aileron-driven. I picked up some things from her video of my flight as well.

You have probably done at least ten times the number of snaps than I have done. It hasn't been long since I have been consistently able to enter cleanly and stop on point. My snaps do take a bit of time to fully develop rotation and that may just be due to the rate of stick unload. I'll keep working on it. That 10 sure is illusive!

I'm going to start having my wife video my practices. I tried to get her to critique my figures but she's a loyal and loving woman who can only say "that looked wonderful, sweety!" Hardly a helpful critique but always appreciated.
 
Nice showing.

Nice showing of the RV capabilities. I was working on a free when my competition budget ran dry. Can't wait to get back into it in a year or two.

Routine looks very slow and from this perspective but I know from my competition experience that this was a fast paced routine in the cockpit.

Scott A Jordan
N733JJ
Former and soon to be a Sportsman competitor
 
Nice showing of the RV capabilities. I was working on a free when my competition budget ran dry. Can't wait to get back into it in a year or two.

Routine looks very slow and from this perspective but I know from my competition experience that this was a fast paced routine in the cockpit.

Scott A Jordan
N733JJ
Former and soon to be a Sportsman competitor

It looks slow and relaxed to me as well. Maybe it's the fact that there is no frame of reference like the ground in the video. I can tell you that my indicated airspeed is as high as 185 knots and the G-meter always shows around 5.5 positive and 2.0 negative when I'm done with this routine. I was surprised to see that it lasts 2:45 minutes. Seem like about 60 seconds to me!

What can we do to help you get back into competition? There is a group of current and wanna-be RV competitors that swap information on a Yahoo Group. The top staff of IAC is there too. I'll PM the link. Come join us.
 
Concur!

I concur - I think we can start to build some momentum, especially if we pool techniques and ideas.

Cheers,
Balls

It looks slow and relaxed to me as well. Maybe it's the fact that there is no frame of reference like the ground in the video. I can tell you that my indicated airspeed is as high as 185 knots and the G-meter always shows around 5.5 positive and 2.0 negative when I'm done with this routine. I was surprised to see that it lasts 2:45 minutes. Seem like about 60 seconds to me!

What can we do to help you get back into competition? There is a group of current and wanna-be RV competitors that swap information on a Yahoo Group. The top staff of IAC is there too. I'll PM the link. Come join us.
 
This is a maneuver I feel that the RVs are not well
suited for because high G forces are needed to produce a brisk
snap roll. The low stall speed, and thus low maneuvering speed,
of the RVs limit the speed range in which snap rolls can be
performed....A careless approach to snap
rolls can overstress the airframe and cause structural failure.

This is probably a good recommendation for most RV pilots who have not studied and received training, since homegrown snap roll technique invariably leads to very rough technique, pulling too hard, and maybe even putting a good bit of rolling G on the airplane. There's a very well known and long-time aviation writer who describes a god-awful rough snap roll technique. What many don't realize is how small of a stick pull snaps can be done with if our technique is good. First problem is thinking of snaps as "horizontal spins". That will lead to rough technique. 3.5G's will do a good snap in the Pitts. I'd be curious what Ron sees in his RV-8. A snap on top of a loop is a very low G snap. Snaps do put torsional stress on the wings and tail section - the amount being a function of entry airspeed.
 
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