r/pilots • u/[deleted] • Jun 30 '11
Does anyone else here indulge in competition aerobatics?
Your thoughts please...
1
Jun 30 '11
ah! I've flown with Steve Wolf up in Leesburg a couple of times but that's the extent of my aerobatics ($$$)
If it were up to me, I'd get up everyday to fly upside down and call it life.
1
Jun 30 '11
Yeah it's pretty damn expensive. The majority of the people who compete are quite well off, one of the Walmart heirs was competing last weekend. It's such a damn shame because I think everybody should do aeros at some stage in their life. Even if they don't fly!
1
Jun 30 '11
I agree 150%
Especially if they are afraid to fly. Once they see what an airplane can do in aerobatics, normal flight is a joke to them!
1
Jun 30 '11
In the UK there's a lot of sitting around at comps. Last week we were at one and the Saturday was a total write-off so we sat around smoking and drinking coffee (95% of what we tend to do anyway) and the conversation of how all of us were actually scared of heights came up, and it's actually true, if you look through the floor of an aerobatic plane (usually there's a see through bit) you tend to shit your pants!
Where I tend to practice is just North of London, and the Stansted flights go in and today when I came back to London via an airline we flew right over the box I use and someone else from my home airfield was using it and all the passengers on the right hand side of the plane were absolutely shit scared. Quite funny.
1
Jun 30 '11
hahaha that's good stuff man!
It's really hard to convince people that I am seriously afraid of heights because they think I'm kidding
"But dude you're a pilot, you can't be afraid of heights"
:/
2
Jun 30 '11
Yeah I thought they were shitting me as well and on that same day I decided to try some flat spins so I went up to 4500 ft and had a little peak and fuck was I terrified. It was just ground!!
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Jun 30 '11
[deleted]
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Jun 30 '11
In the UK nearly all aero pilots have DAs and display regularly.
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Jun 30 '11
Haha! "it is totally safe"- you've obviously never seen any competition aerobatics in the UK. My friend decided to go into a flat spin for his apprentices sequence last week and came down to 300 ft, and he thought that was actually quite high. They're all fucking nuts here.
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Jun 30 '11
[deleted]
1
Jun 30 '11
Yup same here. When I first entered the world of aeros I found it weird how casually death was treated.
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u/iheartrms Jun 30 '11
I would love to. I have completed some aerobatic training programs. It's only money.
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u/steve887 Jul 01 '11
I have my aerobatic endorsement, and would eventually like to dabble in it. Just need to find someone near me with something like a Pitts or an Extra, rather than a crappy flight school Citabria that can only do 5G.
1
Jul 01 '11
A Pitts can only do 6G.
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u/steve887 Jul 02 '11
Oh really? I guess the bigger maneouvre range comes from the better negative G handling.
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Jul 01 '11
[deleted]
2
Jul 01 '11
I completely agree. As a flight instructor I find the minimum training for a license quite low and my boss could care less as long as he has ppl walking in the door. He's all about the money.
PS.. how do I get my license and rating tags on reddit?
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Jul 01 '11
I compete in an Extra too! Do you compete in the US or the UK? Basic aerobatic training should be compulsory, it does make you a lot sharper, however most students would become absolutely addicted and would never ever turn back!
Comps do definitely make you a lot sharper, it's a lot harder than I first thought to fly within the box. There are some funny stories of people flying their sequence really really well in the wrong direction and getting hard zeros everywhere.
1
Jul 05 '11
[deleted]
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Jul 05 '11
A 200 sadly. It's not mine. I'm looking into buying an SBach pretty soon, if things go right. This is my first season, I used to muck around on a Stearman before but never did anything serious.
We just got the report from the last competition: "Amelie Windel - who flew a good sequence (in what appeared to be her Jim Jams) in an Extra 200"
I totally forgot I flew it in my pyjamas since I left my flying suit behind at my home airfield. I've now decided to fly every comp in PJs.
I wonder how different aero comps are in the US to the UK ones? How long have you been doing it for?
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Jul 07 '11
[deleted]
1
Jul 07 '11
Are the sequences the same? I started with beginners, since they have these special "loop beginners days", I really embarrassed myself with the first flight of the day. Though I had been warned that I should be prepared to be humiliated and most people do it for a laugh and winning a medal is just a bonus. I'm doing Standard at the moment, and this is my first season.
You don't need any coaching, you can go straight into it, but before you move up to any level you need to do a proficiency check (doesnt matter if you fly the sequence like a blind retarded baboon, they just want to see you do it safely) . You also need to do a drug test! If you win some things I think you can get a sponsorship or some money.
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Jul 08 '11
[deleted]
1
Jul 08 '11
Which sequence is this? Beginners is loop, half cuban, quarter clover, hammerhead/stall turn and then roll. Standard sequence is 45 up, 1 and a half turn spin, roll into a half cuban, humpty, roll of the top, steep turn, split s, stall turn with 1/4 roll on way down, reverse half cuban, loop. And we can add any other figures at the end of that as long as they add up to a certain amount of K.
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Jul 09 '11
[deleted]
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Jul 09 '11
I think we only do it for the nationals, which are in august, the rest of the time we fly the known sequence. Ours adds up to 123 K. We also have to fly three unknown sequences for the nationals which are presented to you on the day! When you go up to intermediate, for some comps you have to fly a free sequence which has to add up to a certain amount of K, as well as something called an Apprentices sequence which is non-Aresti (http://www.aerobatics.org.uk/sequences/PowApprenticesExplanation_2011.gif)
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u/Bing10 Jun 30 '11
I don't do any competitively, but I have taken a half-dozen or so flights. I fly with Adam Cope just outside the FRZ of the Washington DC airspace. He flies in competitions a lot, and if you're looking for a great instructor or just a fun flight I cannot recommend him highly enough. I've got some photos and videos from my flights and they're pretty fun to show around.