All,

While I have a fair amount of aerobatic competition experience (about 8 years of IMAC), I have never flown a pattern plane or competed in a pattern contest. I have just recently aquired a competitive pattern plane and am thinking I would like to come out to a local contest next weekend and enter in the intermediate class.

I have a few questions to ask about the sequence:

- is there any kind of time limit to get in the air? Is there any limitation on the number of trim passes before entering the first manuever after takeoff?

- "Humpty Bump with Options". What does "with options" mean? I assume this means I can choose any kind of humpty I want? I can, for example, pull, push, half roll on down line and pull to level or I could pull, half roll on up line, pull top and pull bottom, etc.? Whatever I want as long as it's a humpty and I come out upright and heading back toward the center of the box?

- "Non Rolling Triangle Loop" I assume this is just a plane 'ol triangle loop, yes?

- Manuever 11: "Split S". Is there any criteria about how quickly the half loop must start after the half roll? For example, can you do the half roll, draw a line and then enter the half loop? If so, is there a minimum or maximum length of time for the time between the half roll and the half loop? Or, should the half loop begin immediately after the half roll ends?

- Manuever 12 "Straight Inverted Flight". I believe I am exiting the preceding manuever upright- and entering the following manuever upright. If I am correct, does this mean for manuever 12 I enter, do a half roll to inverted, fly inverted (assume I am centering the inverted portion of the manuver) then do a half roll to upright at the end, yes or no? Is there any kind of criteria as to the length of the inverted flight?

- Maunver 16 "Two half rolls in opposite directions, pause in center": Is there any criteria about the minimum period of time the pause should be? Conversely, is there any kind of maximum length for the pause?

- Finally, after the manuever preceding landing, what is the requirement regarding what you can do - do you have to immediately land or can you fly a couple of passes, do a turnaround manuever, etc., before landing?


Thanks in Advance,

Dave

-