I am gearing up to hit some fun fly competitions this year, and I was wandering what some of you guys do to prepare for your contests.

Hey jeff,

It depends on what type of plane i am flying(practicing with) at the time but, If i am flying a stick and boom type of plane i do bits and pieces of every type of combination i can think of. Sometimes i will zero in on one event and do only that one until i feel i have a handle on it. Example is the loop touch and gos.....I practiced the s**t out of that event last year and now i feel more comfortable with that event. Most all events you rely on timing between you and your plane so just fly as much as possible and get used to everything your plane can throw at you . The faster times and smoother flights will come naturally then.
This is just my two cents on this.....in summary i would just say to fly alot....burn up that fuel and have fun !!!!!

I agree with steve, just fly the snot out of your "practice" ship. I try not to fly the "good" one too much cause I will break it(explains why I am always monokoting on the way to a contest).
Find someone you take constructive criticism well from, doesn't matter if they are better than you are not. Its easier to see where you messed up if your not flying the plane(scott and I do it all the time). Why don't you come fly with us once in a while or we'll come fly with you, just tell us where.
But, again, Steve said it best, just practice maneuvers......in any order and get to know the planes limits and what you can get away with.
Something else that really helps me "learn a plane" is throw different props on and fly a whole tank of fuel with a prop you hate. You'll be surprised how much you learn about how the plane "flys".
Bomb drop is a good warm up too. No matter how much you nail this at home, you will screw it up and another field, but do it anyway just for the routine.
John Florio Touch and goes is a great rhythm builder if you have a prothero or other high wing .40-.60 size funfly plane. Which is important for most NCFFA events.....IMHO

Thanks Steve, I'll try to get as much practice as I can, so you don't embarrass me too much.

Thanks Skipp, You guy's can come fly with us any time, I'll e-mail you to let you know the particulars. BTW what are John Florio t&gs?

Hi Jeff, basically what sipp and steve said. Just run through the events over and over trying different placements. You don't have to practice them hard enough to the point of breaking the airplane just get real familiar with the routine and get comfortable doing it in any direction. Florio t&g's are 360 horizontally fast and tight.

Practice flying? I always seem to prepare for a contest by building!

The most important part of ANY flight is where you finish. If you are not a few feet up in position to land, keep on working. This means you need to practice all the events planned, and get a feel how to keep the plane "in range".

In that regard, I find Double Modified Dixie Death (3 rolls, 3 loops, touch, repeat), 5 roops (roll-loop x 5) and split roops (3 roops, touch, repeat) to all be good events to learn how to stay close (hint: throttle mgmnt during rolls). I find loop T&G's teach you to trust or to build. You learn a lot about your plane as you expliore the envelope during T&G's.

Go for it! Make sure your practice plane does not get too heavy, or it will fly real different from the contest bird. When it gets heavy, trash it (or give it to a kid), demote teh contest bird, and make a new Minus.

Chuck

Thanks guys, you guys rock. I aint just tryin to kiss a$% either I've seen these guys fly, ceandra is the king of fast loops, airwurthy and hezt1 are the most consistant flyers I've ever seen. This is the kind of responce you get from the NCFFA folks.

Fraid I lost my fast loop position last summer. Kevin and the Turners look hot. BUT, I'll have new planes this summer, hope to get the edge back. Removing weight big-time. To many little changes crept the weight up to over 2-1/2 pounds, need to get back down close to 2.

Bagged stuff last night, first experiment, we'll see how it goes.

WoW Nice weights.

With all the appendages?

What about the version i hear of called a comp Minus?

Whats the difference in Sport and Comp?

Whats the weight difference?

Anyone with any pictures of a comp and sport minus to post for us wannabes to see?


Later
GW

All up except fuel. I run a 2-oz tank, rather large for comp.

Around 1996 or so I was at 2 lbs 4 oz, the design has gained a bit each year. I am trying some experiments to get back the weight without giving up strength. I'll post some photos if it all works out. So far my tests have been 50%. One good idea, one bad.

Chuck