Hi
I have been flying I guess sport flying. Cessna, Rascal, take off, landing flying around. I see planes called pattern flying and wonder what it is.
Thanks
Snowball

Pattern=Precision Aerobatics

Check<http://www.nsrca.org>
and <http://www.seniorpattern.com>

It's tough and its great fun.

At the risk of being too basic, (and possibly innacurate--and being corrected by about 20 guys), "pattern" planes fly a prescribed "pattern" of maneuvers composed of loops, rolls, and snap rolls. Everybody in a certain class flies the same "pattern", and the maneuvers are judged from 0 to 10, (I am speaking of SPA, I'm not sure if that's still the case with AMA pattern which I haven't flown in 20 years). There is a "K" factor included depending on the difficulty of the maneuver.

Pattern planes are designed to go exactly where you point them, with little or no tendency to "recover" straight and level flight on their own. They are very smooth and graceful flyers, but they will also make a spectacular crater in the ground if that's where you point your ship.

There is something about the contest itself that helps pattern flyers find the discipline to practice maneuvers---striving for perfection, (the natural tendency for most sport fliers, meaning most of us, is to just "frog around", and do random maneuvers wherever the plane happens to be). In pattern flying, it is important to "fly the plane rather that it flying you"---you have to put it right where it should be, and do the maneuver "just so" to get a good score. It is surprisingly difficult at first to simply fly a straight parallel line to the flightline, make a 90 degree turn, then a 270 degree turn in the opposite direction, and exit on a straight path in the opposite direction, and at the same altitude----try it sometime.

There is the introductory Novice class with simpler, (but still challenging and graceful maneuvers like a simple Axial roll, 3 Loops, Immelman Turn, Short Inverted Flight, and Stall Turn. Takeoff and landing are also judged. If you get bitten by the "pattern bug", and place out of Novice, there are plenty of additional challenges in the higher classes.

One of the bonuses of flying Pattern is it will make you a much better, smoother, and more disciplined pilot faster than anything else.

If you live anywhere in the southeast, the most economical and low key way to try your hand at the "old style" pattern is to get involved with SPA, (flying in Novice does NOT require any special type of plane), or perhaps Vintage RC Society, which also flies pattern of vintage planes, (before 1970).

If you are bored with the normal "flying around", it is quite a challenge, (and a lot of fun), to take on flying the pattern.

Good information so far. Sometimes the word "pattern" can refer to a landing sequence. Flying around in a "racetrack" is often called flying the "pattern". At fun fly meets it can refer to the somewhat rectangular path taken around the field.

For the most part "pattern" refers to flying a sequence of manervers including rolls, loops, snap rolls and lines ~ horizontal, vertical and at 45 degree angles. Flying a sequence with a scale aircraft (Extra, Giles, Yak, CAP, Laser etc) is called IMAC which stands for International Miniature Aircraft Club (IAC is the full scale version). There is an IMAC forum here on RC Universe. Sometimes IMAC is confused with IMAA (International Miniature Aircraft Assoc) which promotes flying of giant scale aircraft of any type not for competetion. Check out the IMAC website at www.mini-iac.com for additional information.

EXCAP232

Gee, it makes me feel really old to see a question like that. The first definition given above is the most accurate and appropriate answer to the question asked here. The term "Pattern" seems to have faded away to words like IMAC and 3D or Free Style. I guess Pattern flying describes an era now that defines the way World Champions were measured through the 60s, 70, and 80s.

In fact it was (is) a discipline that is similar to figure skating that caused us to analyze the finer points of flight control inputs and aerodynamics as well as hand/eye coordination in order to convince three trained judges of our skills and presentation. Now-a-days, Free Style and 3D utilizes technology in the form of High Power-to-weight ratio and imagination to "impress" the viewer.

You don't often see someone practice three horizontal rolls perfectly straight with the 2nd roll positioned with the inverted part directly at center and exiting on the same heading and altitude as the entry. Or how about watching someone practice doing three loops perfectly round and centered in front of himself and superimposed on each other. Just try to get someone to explain how to do a Figure M.

It sure does beat boring holes in the sky.

The second definition above refers to a "Traffic Pattern" which is the path a full scale airplane takes when in the vicinity of an airport. A Traffic Pattern was also a Pattern maneuver which usually occurs prior to the Landing maneuver which is graded from 6' down to roll-out. It takes a certain amount of skill to fly a straight line downwind and pull off two 90 degree turns while managing your airspeed and rate of descent and end up lined up with the center of the runway with the glide slope aimed directly at the center of a circle right in front of you.

In the early days, Pattern flying use to include taxiing from a 3' box out to the runway and stopping prior to starting the roll for take-off. The end of the flight also included the "Proto Taxi" which required the pilot to taxi back after landing with the engine running and stop in that 3' box. Apparently the AMA has determined that these skills are no longer desirable. Only in Scale competition will you find a pilot fly a realistic traffic pattern and approach to landing.

Internationally, FAI is the governing body for aviation competitions. The FAI pattern aerobatic class is F3A and the rules and definitions can be found at.
http://www.fai.org/aeromodelling/documents/sc4

The F3A file (a .pdf file in a .zip file) contains, among other things, definitions for the manouvers.
ftp://www.fai.org/sporting_code/sc4/sc4.f3a.06.v2.zip

For mere mortals, there are easier sequences at national levels.