Interesting to note that most of the 'tips' you are referring to are not
in any books. To give you an example, I spent ages trying to get Hammer Heads
to work properly to competition standards in my S-1T. I would always wind up
torqued off 20 degrees or so. I asked Patty Wagstaff, Mike Goulian and
a few other less notable folks with little in the way of 'tips' that worked
for me. Then somebody said, to watch the point off your wingtip as it scribes
a 1/2 circle around your cockpit. Don't take your eye off that point as it
goes from one wing tip to the other. Now, just move the controls as necessary
to keep that point in the proper plane. Its a perfectly obvious tip but one
I was not doing.

Another one that was very helpful had to do with the avalanche. A snap at
the top of a loop. I was always having problems with them stopping on me half
way around. Nowhere in the books did anybody mention that if you accellerate
a snap in an avalanche that you must stop or reduce your forward stick as you
come through upright because the nose is dropping anyway and all you will do
is unstall the wing. I asked that on the IAC list and only the president of
the IAC Rob Dorsey had the answer for me.

Anyway, there are two 'tips' that I found useful.

As far as keeping wings level in a vertical pull, a sighting device and
proper rudder application are essential. I find that 80% of the time I am
flying my eye is on the center of my sighting device or down the nose.

Cheers,

Peter


> Actually reading Peter Ashwoods comments
> about long practice prompted me to post but I
> wanted a separate thread focused on tips and
> tricks for various maneuvers.
>
> Peter's post is absolutely correct, we are not
> going to become immediately able to do world
> class aerobatics, juggle, play the violin, or a myriad
> of other skills without long and careful practice.
>
> But there is a way to short circuit some of that
> practice: If you can find a person, coach, book,
> or any other way to figure out what to pay ATTENTION
> to and what precisely to DO with that INFORMATION.
>
> There is a simple little book on juggling available in
> the books stores (Klutz's Guide...) that will NOT make
> you ready to join Cirque de Soleil or Barnum Bailey
> but it WILL teach you the two or three key points to
> "three ball juggling" in a few minutes and with just a
> few more minutes of practice.
>
> [Off topic: The two keys are throwing each ball the
> SAME height/place each time AND -- the big secret --
> knowing WHERE to LOOK to know WHEN to throw
> the next ball. Look at the spot in the center-top where
> the current top ball is "hanging" in mid-air.]
>
> Having read now four books on aerobatics and taken
> about 6-7 hours of aerobatic training and cannot find
> many of these tricks.
>
> Kirshner comes closest and my CFI offers a few but
> I will bet there is a WHOLE arsenal of these.
>
> C-152
> Example: (This may be wrong but it represents what
> I have so far been taught or perceived so the point is
> not so much is this correct, but rather does it work and
> do you have something better....]
>
> First half of a cuban eight, dive-airspeed-level, reduce
> power, pull up--add power, climb, relax pressure-float slowly
> across top, watch for horizon then 2 count, roll-left-right-pull.
>
> Now that is not 'aerobatics' but if it keeps me focused on
> the right steps and leads to the NEXT step smoothly then
> it might speed my improvement.
>
> Another, 1/4 turn out of the loop for a Cloverleaf....
> Similar except not so much speed or early power settings,
> ---after float across top, see ground, reduce power-left roll--
> right straight--pull almost as ONE manipulation.
>
> Can you offer others?
>
> Do you know how to KEEP wings 'level' in the climb past
> vertical? Do you know how to roll a precise quarter turn
> from a descending LOOP?
>
> What to watch for? How to do it/time it?
>
> Herb Martin, PP-SEL
> (...and aerobatic student)
> Try ADDS for great Weather too:
> http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/projects/adds

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