Flight Training - March/April 2025 - 38

After a few repetitions I was ready to try an actual competition spin, which is
technically an incipient spin that begins and ends with the aircraft on a specified
heading. Stick all the way back, and don't wait for the stall: Push the rudder to the
floor and the world will obediently start to rotate. My still-vivid memory of the first
is a greenish-brown blur of trees below a blue-white blur where the sky used to be,
but over time, with repetitions, my brain caught up, and I was able to pick out particular
trees or ridges below and judge precisely when to arrest the spin in order to exit
on the desired heading.
I had confidence in my instructor, who told me on that first flight, " There's nothing
you can get us into that I can't get us out of. " You'll want to find someone who inspires
that kind of confidence, too, because it will build your own without having to endure
as much anxiety, a natural reaction to aerobatic maneuvers that prompts some pilots to
stick more strictly to straight-and-level flight.
If you're anxious about G-force, rest assured there's no need to rush that. While
flying a perfectly round loop in a Super Decathlon requires about a 3-G pull, maybe
more, depending on entry speed, it's possible to loop with a little less than that.
Depending on how you feel in the airplane, it may be preferable to begin exploring
the inverted realm with a nice, slow aileron roll. One benefit of this maneuver is
that it focuses your attention on the horizon, specifically on keeping the nose of the
aircraft rotating around a particular point just above that horizon, which can mitigate
stress-and even motion sickness-to a degree. It is also how we learn to feel
how the rudder and elevator inputs both " reverse " when the aircraft is inverted,
while the aileron inputs and roll response do not.
It's common to roll the airplane inverted as soon as the aerobatic practice area is
reached and confirmed clear of traffic. This safety check will reveal any loose items
you may have missed when strapping in.
Whether or not yINTO THE BOXou choose to compete, most of your aerobatic flying will probably
be in some version of " the box, " an approximation of the compact area in which all
contest flights take place. The IAC (and, for international competition, the Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale) requires contest organizers to establish and visually designate
with markers or other visual references on the ground a block of airspace that
is 3,281 feet square (on the X and Y axis), with an upper vertical limit of 3,500 feet agl
for lower categories. The low limit, for the lower categories, is 1,500 feet, and it's easy
enough to maintain with margin to spare, provided you pay attention to each maneuver's
entry altitude.
Your instructor will have selected an appropriate area that could be larger than
contest regulations require and well away from airways and populated areas, where it
is safe to conduct aerobatic maneuvers. Staying off airways reduces the likelihood of
encountering other aircraft that are unaware of the kind of maneuvers you are flying,
although it does not guarantee any such thing. It is useful that aerobatic maneuvers are
generally flown with eyes outside, referencing wing-mounted sight gauges against the
horizon to judge pitch, because there's no absolution from the responsibility to see and
avoid other aircraft during aerobatic flight. Quite the contrary, in fact.
You can begin your familiarization even before your first appointment. Ask your
instructor specifically where you'll be practicing, and you can find the location on
Google Earth, and scope things out a bit. This is also the beginning of a detailed
plan for the flight, a sequence of known steps that can help keep nerves calm when
approaching the maneuvers that remain unknown.
In the end, this is the point of flying aerobatics: replacing unknowns with experience.
Gaining confidence in the airplane to respond as you expect, and confidence
in your ability to direct it, also usually comes with improved airmanship in the
bargain. Even an hour or two might be enough to make a lasting difference in your
rudder work, and if it turns into a hobby, you can expect to meet many like-minded
people and forge lasting friendships. FT
james.moore@aopa.org
38
FLIGHT TRAINING MARCH/APRIL 2025
DAVE HIRSCHMAN

Flight Training - March/April 2025

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