Mark - I too commend you for your comments. By the way - I have been noticing the practice you put forth on the tailslides. We had a discussion about them last year - when an unfavorable FLOP came your way.

Though I have been out of competition for years, I am getting back into the swing. When I first flew pattern and SA - back in the late 70's / early 80's, there was no such thing as 3D. We never even entertained the thought. I was also flying full scale Advanced in the 80's so R/C aerobatics just seemed a natural past time - though it was far more than a "past time".

Precision aerobatics are far more challenging than 3D flying. It took me 5 flights and lots of setup adjustments to learn how to hover and torque roll. Took me a whole day to get good at high alpha - harrier - rolls (inside, outside, alternating roll direction, changing circle direction, etc.). STILL (after almost 30 years) haven't found the perfect one roll rolling circle - full scale or model. Oh, I can make them pretty but they are never perfect.

By the way - look at the difference in a freestyle routine from say QuiQue or Mark to a "dedicated" 3D'er. If you know precision aerobatics, you will see that the rolling circles or loops of these two guys - You to Showtime - still make every attempt to fit the 90deg positions, stay round, and stay continuous. 3D'er just want to make sure it doesn't hit the ground. The freesytle routines of IMAC pilots tend to be smoother and more put together. Then again, the good one's are always thinking about placement and presentation as well as entry and exit speeds. Flying a good sequence makes you respect energy management. Even with a 2:1 thrust to weight ratio, aerobatics should be flown on the wing - not the engine. Full scale pilots know this and show it when flying RC.

After all this talk - the most important thing about flying IMAC or pattern (or even sport flying for that matter) is the one thing you won't hear most of these people say - STRAIGHT and LEVEL.

Good luck and good flying to all.
Aresti (2004) - I knew you were kidding. One question though, why are you still flying last years sequences - LOL.