Ive been studying the aresti symbols & for the most part can look at one now & pretty much know what is going on.

I hope to start this year in the Basic class & have a couple of questions.

When doing a roll does the arrow deplict the direction of the roll ( roll left or right) or does it matter and on the stall turns does it matter if you kick the noes left or right?

I know these are simple questions but no one in my area flys IMAC so I have no one to watch, pratice with, or quiz about this stuff.

Thanks!

welcome to scale aerobatics...

roll direction is always at the pilot's option, the symbol is there only to depict the roll, with no thought given to direction. there are times (in upper classes, not in basic) when a roll needs to be performed in a certain direction for the sequence to make sense (like a 1 1/4 spin) but the symbols simply identify a roll element (roll, snap, or spin)

stall turn direction, pilot's option, but if there is a crosswind, it is best to stall into the wind, as the stalling with the wind will tend to carry the aircraft and describe an arc, rather than a clean pivot.

draw straight lines....

Paul,

I see you on RCU a lot lately. Does this mean you are going to start flying contests again?

Thanks Paul,
Thats kinda what I thought & I have been praticing that way but hated to get some where & have to go against the grain if you know what I mean.

And now for some trivia:

For all the IMAC flying you will do, Paul's answer was correct.

But I learned something new from an IAC Aresti instructor at the Tucson Shootout - Julie Johnson. In PURE Aresti, the arrow does indicate direction of roll. I had never heard that before, but I have no reason to doubt Julie. She is Fred Johnson's wife and very active in the full size arena.

I don't think the full size pilots deal with roll elements any differently than we do - the arrow on the roll does not indicate the direction of the roll. But apparently this is different in what she called "pure Aresti."

In surfing the web on info I thought I read somewhere that it did indicate a direction but I wasnt sure & I cant find it again.

I'll keep looking & see what I come up with. Since it dosent matter for what we do no big deal but curiosity will get me till I find it!![&:]

The arrow will indicate direction during a rolling circle. Also, if you have one rolling element followed by another one during a maneuver (say, 2 of 4 then a snap roll on a vertical downline), the direction of the arrows will indicate whether the second rolling element needs to be opposite direction of the first one or not. Most of the time, the second rolling element will be opposite direction of the first one.

ryan:

the arrows on rolling figures refer to the roll direction relative to the radius of the circle, but they do not specify left or right. since cross box figures may be flown towards or away from the flightline, two pilots could fly the same figure with opposite entries, one rolling right, the other rolling left.

the direction of a second roll element is determined by the sequence writer, subject to the rules of the FAI catalog, which defines when we can and can't link rolls with the same or opposite direction. While it is true that in the lower classes the majority of unlinked rolls will be opposite, in the upper classes an entire sequence could have same (or opposite) direction unlinked rolls.

this is well beyond what anyone needs to know for Basic, but understanding the catalog is the foundation of understanding sequence construction.

P

What in the world is 'pure aresti' anyway? In every event I've ever seen including 2 World Aerobatic Championships, the arrow does not indicate specific roll direction and it is never described as such in any aerobatic catalog.

As I understand it, the original system as proposed and written by Jose Louis Aresti did in fact stipulate roll directions based on the direction of the arrow on a line. However, that convention was dropped by CIVA/FAI sometime in the 60's, and perhaps earlier.

Since that time the convention has been that the direction of the arrow does not indicate directionality with respect to a left or right roll.

Many people refer to the original Aresti system as written by the good Colonel as "pure" Aresti.

Thanks for all this info guys! I'm soak'in it up like a sponge!!!