First Two Aero Lessons This Weekend (Long)

In the Decathlon, it depends on the airspeed. The Decathlon ailerons aren't
very powerful. At low airspeeds, the rudder is more powerful than the
ailerons because the rudder gets propwash and the ailerons don't. Using top
rudder on the first knife edge works against the ailerons. At very low
airspeeds, it can slow or almost stop the roll in the knife edge.

The only basic maneuver where this comes into play is the Split S, with an
entry speed of 85 mph. It is also a factor in any sequence that has a roll
immediately after a climbing maneuver, like the 2004 Sportsman.

At normal roll entry speed, it's not as big a deal. But it does slow down
the roll rate a bit, and it makes my rolls sloppy. I'm finding that kipping
the nose up about 5 degrees and not compensating for adverse yaw is enough
to keep the nose up until I get past the first knife edge. Works good at
any speed, so I just do all my rolls the same.

You do need quite a bit of rudder on the second knife edge, reducing it
somewhat as you finish the roll, but holding some rudder until you center
the stick.

All of the above taught me by Adam Cope, a very experienced and skilled
Decathlon driver. These comments ONLY apply to the Decathlon.



"Tom Parsons" wrote in message
...
Dave-

You mention not using top rudder for the first knife
edge but to use it during the second knife edge. Is this for the
aileron roll or slow roll?

I think the rudder advice should work for both. The reason for the
difference in rudder on the first vs. second knife edge is that adverse
yaw actually helps keep the nose up on the first knife edge, so less
rudder is required then. But on the second knife edge, adverse yaw is
working against you, pushing the nose down and requiring more top rudder
to keep it up.

Tom P.

Great news. I got my private with Azher about twelve years ago. I
recently bought my own citabria and Azher did my insurance checkout. We
also did about a half hour of acro. Shortly before I bought the
citabria we went up in the great lakes for some acro. Great fun. It's
a little strange the first time you're upside down hanging from your
straps in an open cockpit. Try to get some time in the Stearman and
Tigermoth when the weather warms up. I've been up for short hops in
both and they're a lot of fun. We didn't do any acro however in those
old birds.

Good luck with the training!

Dave
68 7ECA

David B. Cole wrote:
Well I just returned from my second acro lesson in as many days and
all I can say is that I'm wiped out. Having an opportunity to fly
with Rich Stowell on two occasions and performing a number of spins
and other maneuvers certainly helped with endurance.

The airport that I flew from is Van Sant in Erwinna PA, just across
the Delaware River from Frenchtown NJ and about 50 miles north of
Philly. This is a gorgeous area with numerous 18th and 19th century
homes and old mills dotting the riverside. The airport is inhabited
by a number of beautiful planes including a Great Lakes, Cub, Super
Cub, a couple of Stearmans, and a number of planes I didn't recognize.
I also witnessed my first glider tows, followed by another, then
another. The gliders are extremely graceful and it was almost
impossible to resist looking as they soared skyward following the tow
plane as it provided it with its precious source of energy.

I too wanted to go for a glider ride, but today my destiny was with
the Super Decathlon, a plane that I had flown before. I met Azar the
owner and after talking for a few we discussed my goals and he
reviewed my logbook and the maneuvers that I had already had flown.
After that we headed out to the plane and performed a preflight,
followed by a safety discussion regarding the chutes and other
matters. It wasn't long before we had the plane started and were
taxiing over the very rough and hilly field on the way to the runway,
which itself was as bumpy as the "taxiway" we had taken to get there.

After takeoff we headed out over the Delaware where Azar asked me to
perform a loop. No big deal, as I had performed one recently with
Rich and they were still fresh in my head. Just about 4G's and my
final altitude was within 100' of my starting altitude. Azar told me
that it felt right, so I didn't complain. He walked me through an
aileron roll, which I proceeded to botch. The problem was that I
wasn't giving it full aileron due to the cramped conditions and my
legs getting in the way, plus I wasn't pushing the stick gradually
forward near knife edge and therefore pushing too hard while inverted,
which isn't the most comfortable feeling. Azar demonstrated a few
after which I followed, and they started to improve. He also
performed a two point roll, stopping at inverted to show me where the
nose should be. I then realized that inverted flight would take some
getting used to.

After a few additional loops and steadily improving aileron rolls we
strung together a loop followed immediately by an aileron roll, which
was cool. That was followed by a half Cuban 8 which I managed to
execute without too much butchering. Before heading back he
demonstrated a couple of barrel rolls, which are a nice gentle
maneuver and a good way to start winding down the first lesson. On
the way back to the airport Azar asked me to demonstrate a few spins,
which I did with no problem. The first was only a one turn spin so on
the second he asked me to make it a two-turn so that I could really
see it spin up. Again I recovered with no problem and I think he was
pleased with the spins and the session overall. I made a good
three-point landing on the grass with 1 hour on the Hobbs.

Today we started with loops, but spent most of the time doing ailerons
rolls and two point rolls to really help me get used to being upside
down. Hanging by the straps is certainly something I will have to get
acclimated to, I'm just glad I listened and tightened the straps. To
help convince me that I wouldn't fall out of my seat Azar put the
plane on its back for a few seconds and then had me place my hands on
my head. Those straps really do work huh? As with the previous day
we combined a loop with an aileron roll, but instead of doing a half
Cuban 8 we combined two a did a full Cuban 8. Again, very nice.

He also introduced the Immelmann, which became the maneuver of choice
when we wanted to reverse direction. Yesterday we also performed a
hammerhead and while it was my second time doing one, it was much
worse than my first attempt. But today we worked on those as well and
I managed to get it under better control.

What I found most difficult with the Immelmann and the half Cuban was
determining when to push forward on the stick to arrest the loop
before rolling without some coaching. With regards to aileron rolls
it's a matter of not being timid with the aileron deflection and
getting the stick forward before reaching inverted in order to prevent
large negative G. In summary I had a great time and look forward to
continuing. Azar's plan was to introduce most of the maneuvers within
the first few lessons and then start to fine tune them. I've
therefore pulled Goulian's "Basic Aerobatics", Kershner's aerobatics
manual, and Rich's aerobatics tape from their respective storage units
and will chair fly given my experience from the last two days.


Thanks to Tom Parsons for his help and to Rich for helping start the
addiction.

Dave

Dave,

Congrats on purchasing the Citabria. It's already my intention to go
up in the Stearman this Spring. :-)

Dave

dave wrote in message ...
Great news. I got my private with Azher about twelve years ago. I
recently bought my own citabria and Azher did my insurance checkout. We
also did about a half hour of acro. Shortly before I bought the
citabria we went up in the great lakes for some acro. Great fun. It's
a little strange the first time you're upside down hanging from your
straps in an open cockpit. Try to get some time in the Stearman and
Tigermoth when the weather warms up. I've been up for short hops in
both and they're a lot of fun. We didn't do any acro however in those
old birds.

Good luck with the training!

Dave
68 7ECA