Divesplat
Posts: 594
Joined: 1/25/2002
From: Lubbock, TX, USA
Status: offline
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Hey Adam.
Like Dean said, take a little time and while theweather is bad, read the RULES. There is absolutely no way, you can practice or fly the sequece correctly unless you know what is expected. This is a mistake many pilots make, then wonder why the zeroed or were scored badly on anything. Typically they get mad and quit because someone somewhere erroneously told them something that isn't true and they believed them. Here are some highlights but read through it from the IMAC website aswell. I print out the rules, put them in a binder and carry them with me to contests for reference and my own piece of mind.
1) 1 pt is deducted per 10degrees off (this means wings level, level flight, missing part or overrotating on any maneuver rolls, spins, snaps etc etc)
2) The entire flight is judged (if you come out of a manuever with wings canted 20 degrees heading out 20 degrees and pinch the bottom of the manuever by 20 degrees you have lost 6 pts on the end of that manuever regardless of how the rest looked. Now the interesting thing is if you don't correct the wings, and heading, you already start the next manuever minus 4 points because the wings aren't level and you are not flying parallel to the flight line.) Spend time, lots of it flying straight, wings level in any and all wind conditioins. Although boring, this will add many points to your score if you can fly wings level, add a little rudder and make it look like you're flying straight and level between maeuver.
3) All radii in a manuever are set by the first radii. Practice making all the loops, 1/2 loops, 1/4 loops the same size on each manuever
4) By making the radii a little bigger, you have more time as you exit any vertical manuever to exit level and straight.
5) Center the rolling/snap portions of any up line in the center. Many pilots, especially as they are learning, perform the rolling element way way too soon. For example, Hammer head with 1/2 roll up and down. Many pilots I saw this summer, even Intermediate pilots would pull to the upline, within 50 ft perform the 1/2 roll, then drive the hammer head up another 100 ft. They actually doubled the upline length after the roll, 1pt per 10 degrees means, if the judge is fair a 5 pt deduction redardless of how pretty it looked, then perform the hammer, then most will do the 1/2 roll early on the downline and let the plane come back down much farther after the 1/2 roll, again, major deduction. So the Hammer may have been pretty as peach but still get a 0-2 for not centering the rolling portion. To do this well you really need a second set of eyes behind you while you practice.
Lastly, don't get caught up in the high level really fun stuff for IMAC. As a beginner put the foundation to the building in first. Work on the basics. Straight and level flight, straight and wind corrected verticals, same radii, ROUND radii (not egg shaped), Round loops, keeping the plane parallel to the flight line with rudder only inverted and right side up, BREATHE WHILE YOU FLY, have other watch and give you feedback, show up to contests on Friday and ask one of the higher level pilots to watch your flight, call for you, ect and give you feedback (this is probably the most helpfull situation away from home)
IMAC and Pattern both (see my signature) are a blast and gives us a reason to practice and pretty soon other pilots at your club will be saying "How did he do that" or "WOW that was pretty" or "Those planes handle the wind better than ours(total crap but they haven't learned how to use the left hand yet 
Don's Hobbies also has a book about competing in aerobatics which is applicable to both IMAC and Pattern. Inexpensive and very insightful. Consider buying it and reading it.
Hope this helps
ed
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Pattern or IMAC, loops should be round, lines should be straight, and either props can send you to the hospital!:)
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> IMAC >> RE: Beginner To IMAC - I have some questions 
RE: Beginner To IMAC - I have some questions - 
I took Tomorrow till Next wednesday off to go flying since the wife would be out of town, but they are predicting almost a foot of snow at the field! Maybe I can talk to someone who drives a plow truck. 
I was thinking along the same lines as your explanation except for the spin and hammer. I guess without at least one of these it would be a pretty flat routine.