practicing the unknowns?
 

How do you practice the unknowns? Is there a place to download some sequences for the past years? I fly intermediate..
Daniel

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

you can get them at www.desertaircraft.com


as for practice.......that's up to you on how to do it. You can treat it like the contest or you can just have someone call manuvers off the sheet in no particular order. You do them then move to the next one.

Those are just 2 ways of many

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

Thanks, i have not checked DA's IMAC library!

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

Daniel.... A more up to date area is here http://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/f...-unknowns.html where Wayne Geffon is keeping track of what the IMAC Sequence Committee has put out for the National/International Unknowns.

For practicing...Firstly, Go here: http://www.mini-iac.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=90 and download the INTERMEDIATE UNKNOWN CATALOG. This download contains all the legal Unknown maneuvers allowed in the Intermediate Class and here you can select maneuvers that you have & have not flown before, for practice. The ones that are not allowed will be crossed out with a "red X".

Trying to "string" maneuvers together may not be the best way. Practicing the geometry of individual maneuvers first & then adding various elements to them is a good way of keeping your interest, and also breaking up the monotony of flying the Knowns. Try flying the maneuvers in both directions....This will make you less apprehensive when you do meet up on them in the Unknowns. Having a good caller will help tremendously. It's even better if both of you can practice together so that you both develop a "style" of calling which could keep you on track during the Unknown portion of a contest.

Lastly, ensure that you & your caller can read Aresti. Having a written "Epistle" for your caller to read during an Unknown is entertaining a disaster. One can easily lose a line of the written sentence & then you're SCR%$#ED!!!

Hope that helps...
Wayne Matthews
Chairman
IMAC Sequence Committee

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

Great info Wayne.

Usually, we do not have time to do the unknowns in 2 days IMAC competition here but sometime, we do. I lost the first position, 2 weeks ago because i did not have much experience flying the unknowns. Next time will be another story[>:]
Daniel

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

http://www.f l y i n g g i a n t s.com/forums/fg191/17043-2007-imac-unknowns.html

Take the spaces out and the link should work.

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

You for sure want to get you a stick plane. This helps a bunch..Also like the other guys said. Find you a good caller and writting out the sequence in text helps you remember it. I always try and have the unknown actually memorized before the round begans. If they hand the sequence out the evening before the day you fly it be sure to put as much time as you can on studying it, memorizing it, and flying it with the stick plane and in your head. Use your minds eye and fly the whole sequence over and over again.

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

For me, it's not about practicing the unknowns as much as it is preparing for them.

First off, know the aresti!

As soon as you get your unknowns start studying them. Look for any figures that are roll direction dependent. This is where you need a stick plane!

Next, start breaking each figure down into it's individual pieces and think how you want your caller to call them to you.

Write out a call sheet for the entire sequence exactly the way you want to hear it while flying. An example would be if you had a maneuver like in the advanced knowns, number 3...the shark's tooth. I would write the following:
"Sharks Tooth- Pull to 45 up, 1 1/4 roll, opposite 3/4. Pull to vertical down, one snap. Pull to exit upright." Notice I include the pull or push and the exit attitude. These are very important! This is how I expect the caller to read the maneuver. Make sure your caller can recognize the figure you're flying and he reads off each piece of the maneuver as you are flying it.....they shouldn't just read through it all in one piece.

After you've written your sequence, practice it with the stick plane until you can do it without looking at the sheet.

Finally, practice it with your caller. Have the caller sit behind you and call it as you fly through it with your stick plane.

When it comes time to fly them, take your time, remember to breath.....have your caller remind you to breath!

This is the process I go through every time I go to a contest. I've gotten to the point where I actually look forward to flying the unknowns! (How SICK is THAT?!!!!!) Normally, I will place 2 to 3 spots ahead in the unknowns than I do with the knowns. I look at Sunday morning as my day to gain a spot or two in the final standings!

Good Luck!
10's

Gary H.[>:]

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

Gary is absolutely correct.
The Unknowns can be a huge factor in a contest.

For me, I need to have it completely memorized.
I use the caller to verify what I think I am supposed to do next. Callers can be wrong and someone needs to know the sequence for sure. I make sure thats me.

RE: practicing the unknowns?
 

Here's a page we created with a lot of IMAC Resources. It includes links to the Unknown libraries and links to several different stick planes for practice.

http://www.TeamFlyingCirkus.com/Medi...5/Default.aspx

Hopefully the page has a lot of useful information for anyone considering IMAC competition, all the way up to experienced competitors that need to find one of the links.

Have fun!!

Dean