ORIGINAL: danamania

The Summer Olympics are on and an impressive record was set. I recall reading in an interview recently that he said he once practiced, was in the pool, everyday for a 5 year stretch! I was inspired by that and believe that the top pilots who win at the FAI level also practice everyday, or nearly daily. Perhaps the best motor is the one that is reliable to fly the schedule 6 times a day, 6 days a week? Just imagine trying to squeeze in a few flights after work with a motor that does not perform consistently, how is that going to work? Any time lost to tuning or trimming detracts from the practice and time cannot be gotten back. Consistent performance becomes basic at that level of effort, IC or electric. It's a man and machine thing and both have to work consistently to achieve that level of performance. The guys who get glow to that level of consistent performance amaze me.<div>
</div><div>That said, there have been hundreds of times that I have been at a flying field and completed 4 or more electric flights while a glow motor was either starting up or having mixtures set. This is not the case at the top, but clearly a challenge for many aspiring pilots who are losing flight time to tuning. We will all be tuning our set-ups as we progress in pattern skills, but I think the balance of time spent flying rather than tuning or trimming is also key.</div>