Topic #11 - Contest Schedule
03-10-2006, 03:29 PM
#1
Topic #11 - Contest Schedule
Hello everyone and welcome back to the forum!!
Smokin' Joe McBride opened this forum January 12, 2006. Look at the topics we've covered in a very short time.
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3772719/tm.htm]Preparation for a new season[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3775092/tm.htm]Your "setup" is critical to success[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3801768/tm.htm]You MUST be fluent in Aresti[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3832418/tm.htm]You MUST know the judging criteria[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3852374/tm.htm]Mufflers... the need for quiet ones![/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3864639/tm.htm]Practice[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3867399/tm.htm]Practice for Unknowns[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3893809/tm.htm]Practice to remove zeroes on Spins[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3922404/tm.htm]Practice to remove zeroes on Hammerheads[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3954895/tm.htm]Practice to remove zeroes on Snap Rolls[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3986982/tm.htm]Get help with your practice[/link]
That's a LOT of information for the new pilots!!
We can be proud of what we've built so far. We've learned a lot. We're trying things to make our plane fly better. And we're practicing with a purpose. I can see each of you on the podium at your next contest!!
That's our next step. It's time to get some real experience and education at a contest. The topics I want to share over the next few weeks deal with what we can do at the contest to make ourselves more competitive.
The first thing I want to talk about is our schedule on contest weekend. I always arrive at the contest site on Friday. Arriving on Friday has a couple benefits that can help make us more competitive.
We're going to have a large group of experienced competitors at the field practicing on Friday. What a great opportunity to learn from successful pilots. We can ask for assistance on any of the topics we've discussed already. Maybe we've got setup questions. Maybe we need help with a flying technique. Maybe we want an opinion on whether something we're flying is correct or not. We'll have a large group of experienced, competitive pilots that we can ask questions. We will be more competitive if we get help improving just one thing on the Friday before a contest. Friday is especially important if you don't have any experienced pilots to help you on normal practice days.
Another benefit of arriving on Friday is the opportunity to fly at the contest field and get comfortable with whatever is unique about it. Each field has it's own issues. Asking the locals and getting comfortable with the field on Friday will help us be more relaxed on the weekend.
Flying on Friday also lets us fly our first round of the contest with very recent practice memory in our minds and thumbs. Starting strong on Saturday morning could make the difference at a contest. If we fly our first contest round on Saturday morning and we haven't flown in a week or two, we'll probably be a little rusty and not score as well.
The next thing that will help us be more competitive on the contest weekend is to arrive early. We want to have plenty of time to assemble our plane without being rushed. We want to ease into the Pilot's Meeting in the calmest state we can be in. Arriving at the last minute, throwing our plane together quickly, running to the Pilot's Meeting with the hatch still waiting to be put on our plane. All this does is get our pulse rate up and our nerves on end. We want to casually park, unload, carefully assemble our plane, check the batteries, fuel it up, and say a bunch of "Hellos" to everyone. By arriving early, we'll keep our blood pressure down, our plane will be assembled correctly with everything plugged in, and we've set the stage for the best morning round we can have.
The extreme case of not being on time is missing the Pilot's Meeting and not being allowed to fly in the contest. I have seen it happen once. It's VERY hard to be competitive if we don't get to fly in the contest!!
The last suggestion I have on the schedule is to try and eat at our normal times and get our normal rest on Friday and Saturday nights. We want our mind and body to think it's just another weekend of "perfect practice"!!
If you've got questions on the contest schedule, or anything else, let us know. The Cirkus Crew is full of experienced, successful, competitive pilots.
Next week, we'll continue with things we can do at the contest to be our most competitive.
Here's to another weekend of "perfect practice" for everyone!!
Dean
Smokin' Joe McBride opened this forum January 12, 2006. Look at the topics we've covered in a very short time.
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3772719/tm.htm]Preparation for a new season[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3775092/tm.htm]Your "setup" is critical to success[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3801768/tm.htm]You MUST be fluent in Aresti[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3832418/tm.htm]You MUST know the judging criteria[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3852374/tm.htm]Mufflers... the need for quiet ones![/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3864639/tm.htm]Practice[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3867399/tm.htm]Practice for Unknowns[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3893809/tm.htm]Practice to remove zeroes on Spins[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3922404/tm.htm]Practice to remove zeroes on Hammerheads[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3954895/tm.htm]Practice to remove zeroes on Snap Rolls[/link]
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3986982/tm.htm]Get help with your practice[/link]
That's a LOT of information for the new pilots!!
We can be proud of what we've built so far. We've learned a lot. We're trying things to make our plane fly better. And we're practicing with a purpose. I can see each of you on the podium at your next contest!!
That's our next step. It's time to get some real experience and education at a contest. The topics I want to share over the next few weeks deal with what we can do at the contest to make ourselves more competitive.
The first thing I want to talk about is our schedule on contest weekend. I always arrive at the contest site on Friday. Arriving on Friday has a couple benefits that can help make us more competitive.
We're going to have a large group of experienced competitors at the field practicing on Friday. What a great opportunity to learn from successful pilots. We can ask for assistance on any of the topics we've discussed already. Maybe we've got setup questions. Maybe we need help with a flying technique. Maybe we want an opinion on whether something we're flying is correct or not. We'll have a large group of experienced, competitive pilots that we can ask questions. We will be more competitive if we get help improving just one thing on the Friday before a contest. Friday is especially important if you don't have any experienced pilots to help you on normal practice days.
Another benefit of arriving on Friday is the opportunity to fly at the contest field and get comfortable with whatever is unique about it. Each field has it's own issues. Asking the locals and getting comfortable with the field on Friday will help us be more relaxed on the weekend.
Flying on Friday also lets us fly our first round of the contest with very recent practice memory in our minds and thumbs. Starting strong on Saturday morning could make the difference at a contest. If we fly our first contest round on Saturday morning and we haven't flown in a week or two, we'll probably be a little rusty and not score as well.
The next thing that will help us be more competitive on the contest weekend is to arrive early. We want to have plenty of time to assemble our plane without being rushed. We want to ease into the Pilot's Meeting in the calmest state we can be in. Arriving at the last minute, throwing our plane together quickly, running to the Pilot's Meeting with the hatch still waiting to be put on our plane. All this does is get our pulse rate up and our nerves on end. We want to casually park, unload, carefully assemble our plane, check the batteries, fuel it up, and say a bunch of "Hellos" to everyone. By arriving early, we'll keep our blood pressure down, our plane will be assembled correctly with everything plugged in, and we've set the stage for the best morning round we can have.
The extreme case of not being on time is missing the Pilot's Meeting and not being allowed to fly in the contest. I have seen it happen once. It's VERY hard to be competitive if we don't get to fly in the contest!!
The last suggestion I have on the schedule is to try and eat at our normal times and get our normal rest on Friday and Saturday nights. We want our mind and body to think it's just another weekend of "perfect practice"!!
If you've got questions on the contest schedule, or anything else, let us know. The Cirkus Crew is full of experienced, successful, competitive pilots.
Next week, we'll continue with things we can do at the contest to be our most competitive.
Here's to another weekend of "perfect practice" for everyone!!
Dean
03-11-2006, 11:31 PM
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RE: Topic #11 - Contest Schedule
Very nice series Dean. Thx for putting all that time and work into all these articles. I will be printing all these articles out and taking them to the competitions.
