I may be missing something, but I've seen these mentioned several times and I don't know what the hell y'all are talkin' about....

Pattern, SA, IMAC, 3D and also the thing about big planes, IM-something.

Is there a FAQ somewhere that explains these?

Pattern: Everyone fly these shapes within this area with no deviations.

SA: I don't know.

IMAC: International Miniature Aerobatic Club - see Pattern.

3D: Take a 2D (flat profile) aeroplane and fly stuff no real plane could or would, mostly on edge or hanging on your propeller.

Pattern - oldest form of acrobatic competition. No rules on airplane appearance, depending on what years you are talking about, various rules on airplane size, engine displacement, and noise. Every plane in a given skill class flys the same routine in front of judges and is scored.

SA - Scale acrobatics. Same kind of flight rules as pattern (give or take a bunch), but the airplane can usually be any AMA legal size, but must be a roughly scale model of a real acrobatic airplane, like an Extra 300, Sukhoi, etc.

IMAC - International Miniture Acrobatics Club (I hope I got that right). The SIG (special interest group) of the AMA that is in charge of SA competition.

3D - A term (IMHO misnomer) for high-alpha post-stall maneuvers. In these moves, the wing isn't really lifting like in level flight, the plane is partly or entirely being held up by the engine, and controlled by prop blast on the control surfaces. The most obvious of these is a Torque Roll, where the plane is hovered stationary, nose pointed straight up, and rotates though a roll.

I'm sure there is a FAQ, but I don't know where

You can get more info on the kinds of competition on the AMA website or by checking out the forums dedicated to them, or even flipping though a print magazine.

cute one. Actually, the funny thing is that the full scale competition acrobatic guys are paying a lot of attetion these days to what RC guys are doing with their 33+% SA aircraft. The full scale guys are starting to modify their planes to be more like the models, and there ARE full scale guys doing some of the model "3D" maneuvers. Not many though, most full scale planes don't have the power-to-weight ratio or the control surfaces to handle it. So, while SA started out as models trying to do a better job of doing what the full scale guys do, the situation is coming full circle a little..

Quite right. There have been one or two manuevers added to full scale aerobatics that started with RC. Power to weight ration is probably the ONLY thing keeping them from doing more.
Dennis-

By the way, I think the other acronym you were looking for was IMAA. International Miniature Aircraft Association I think. Anyway, unlike it's name, they strictly limit to a minimum of 80" wingspan monoplanes, 60" wingspan Bipes, or 1/4 scale. (Some 1/4 scale planes are smaller than the numbers above.)

They also do not compete. They're strictly for fun meets.
Dennis-

These are not the defenitions you are looking for, but I thought you might like them...

http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...hreadid=529538
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...hreadid=318074

There used to be a thread which explained the common RC acronyms, but I can't seem to find it..

those were pretty funny strato, some of em made me fall outa the chair, but anyways ive got a few questions
1. does CA = CYANOACRYLATE? and if so, is that what its callled when you buy it?
2. what part of the airplane exatly is "the cowl"?
I know you guys prolly think im some newb idiot,(which is basically acurate) but and clarification would be helpfull

Yes, CA = CYANOACRYLATE. That is the chemical name for it. It is sold under many names (krazy glue), but in the hobby it is simply known as CA.

Cowl = an enclosure around the engine. A plane's equivilant to a car's hood. Typically trainers don't have one, only the more advanced planes (it's just for show).