My friends that fly pattern fly about an hour from the field I now fly at. Whats the best way to improve when you are flying without a caller or partner? I like to practice by myself, I can think about what I'm trying to do without distractions but with noone else watching it is a 2 edged sword.
I am used to being by alone while practicing. I spent almost 2 yrs playing and practicing before try to get my Champions Tour card but I knew exactly what I was doign and didn't need anyone else with the help of video. So any ides would be appreciated.

Your message is a list of why you want to practice solo. The hard reality is you are not likely to get very good.

Show me a good figure skater that does it all on their own without coaching. Doesn't happen.

Show me a good boxer that learned how to box on their own. Doesn't happen.

Piano player, OK there are a few remarkable people out there that it just comes natural but for the vast majority they had lessons and critique.

When you are flying pattern, you are so focused on flying the airplane and working the sticks, there is just too much of the big picture, and little issues, that you miss. And then there are the really bad habits that always seem to creep in that you miss flying by yourself, that someone who isn't having to fly the plane and working the sticks will see. Even someone that is in a lower class will see stuff.

I've seen people improve more in a weekend than they improve in two years with some good coaching.

I fly mostly by myself, and rarely get coached, and it shows.

If you must practice by your lonesome...my 2cents...

Don't ever assume you are flying wings level. Don't ever assume you are flying parallel to the flightline.

Get as proficient as possible at each individual manuever with proper pace throughout (from entry to exit). Then practice them in groups of three (in their respective order). Only if you are confident with each manuever's geometry and pace (make the speed/pace as constant as possible among manuevers) can you then put them together in a sequence. The sequence should be presented as seperate manuevers connected with excellent quality level flight paths between. Practice the tee shot, practice the approach shots, practice the short game. Play it from the tee to leave a good look at the green, approach conservatively to the center of the green, then putt to lag it at the back of the cup. Now do this 18 times in a row and you have a good flight sequence.

Good luck.

thanks Mark, that is kinda what I was looking for, a method for the madness, I realize that to be a really good contest pilot you need other eyes, but in the absence of that for the most part, some sort of routine and/or way to get organized is what I was looking for
your golf analogy is right on, I used to practice short irons and short game one day then drives and long game stuff next, then play, so flying this stuff in bunches and then putting it together is a way I can relate
and having a good plane like an Insight wouldn't hurt either, right?

Also another good thing you could do about once a month is go to your friend's field and practice with them for a day just so you can get a report on whether you are doing something right or wrong. Then they can tell you what you need to work on, then practice that until you get it right. Kinda like having a test after each month is another way of looking at it.

I know with todays Gas prices its hard to drive an hour a week.

Hope this helps.

yep, I'd planned to do that

im 30 minutes farther away then your pattern friends. But I would be more than happy to help you out and practice together. we are having a pattern contest in Ocala this weekend I would suggest you come out and check it out or maybe even fly.

Thanks

I was going to come and fly, but this arf P.O.S. I bought to practice with is severely crooked and I can't get it trimmed, I will have to wait until the next one to fly or until I get my Insight built

There is also another way you can gain some benefit without a coach. Simply attend and compete in as many contests as you can. Use your first contest to base line your raw scores and to see how you stack up against your peers. Study your raw scores to see where you need the most improvement and observe your peers. In a competition it only takes 2 rounds to see who is in the top of the pack, middle of the pack and bottom of the pack. And then there will be you, somewhere in the mix. If you're in the top of the pack I beleive it would be much more difficult to improve by yourself & without a coach. If you're in the bottom or middle of the pack you can learn allot by analizing what the better guys are doing that you are not. Go home and try to emulate what you saw the better guys doing. Use your next contest to see how much you have improved.

Glen

good call shep, I do that and that is a good way to "self judge", I watch the only FAI flyer I know every chance I get too, Grotto2, he is a lot of help but he is 1 hr away
I'm going to try to get to Ocala this weekend but my plane isn't flyable as far as flying in a contest goes

My Two Cents:

$.01: flying a POS ARF at the contest will be more beneficial than flying nothing.

$.01: as a beginner (I think) myself, the one thing that seems to hurt me the most is when I let the plane get in too close during the sequence, so probably the most important thing I can practice is somehow finding a line and trying to stay on it. It is really difficult to fly gracefully when you've moved in too close and are rushing the maneuvers and have no time for corrections, as well as when you get too far out and can't really see what's going on.

on your first point, if the plane has to have as much trim as this thing does, you can't pull back on the stick and have it go anywhere near strait up, so therefore it won't do loops or the vertical lines, I have not been back flying long enough to compensate for that, the one thing I do know from my past contest experience is you need your plane to fly strait and level so you can concentrate on doing your manuvers and not worry about your verticals going off at a 45* angle and loops looking like a cork screw, I agree that I need to fly and fly in competition a lot, but I am not going to fly when I know I have NO CHANCE and all I would do is embarass myself, I am going to build a plane that will fly strait and then I will compete, my original question is how to improve once I have that part done,

You and I are in the same boat tph1. See my thread on a quest for an electronic caller. One piece of advise that is really valuable (imho) that has been given in this thread is where you practice only three figures at a time. Expanding on this, say you practice figures 2,3,&4 one week then the next week practice figures 4,5,&6 the next week 6,7,&8 etc. This way when it is time to fly the entire sequence it will flow as there has been continuity by practicing the last figure of one week with the next two figures for the present week. I am going to try this theory out. Now I only need a good critiquer as well as caller!! Anybody know of some good robots for this?

Cheers

MJ

I agree that is a great way to learn and practice. I also read your
thread and would also like to have a caller of some sort.
I may time it out and call it to myself on my Iphone so I
can pit the earbuds in a here myself.

Wow, didn't realize it was that bad. Hope you get into something a bit straighter soon!

If you get any clever ideas for an iphone caller, let me know!!

I could fix some of the problem with adding another elevator servo, the elevator halves don't line up so, the other thing is the plug in wings aren't the same either, one has 1/2* more pos. incidence, there are no adjusters just dowels, so with the ailerons not set the same and the ele. not lined up it is a mess, I got the plane for really cheap(and now I know why) to get back in practice but as I got me feel back and started to trim it I realized how out it was, I went and bought a digital incedence meter and really didn't like the readings, it's a 60 size Inspire (maybe that's why Fliton went under) so I may keep it and fly some 3D with it later but for what I got it for it is useless

It sounds repairable, though.
For one thing you can wallow out the wing peg holes in the fuselage and CA ply donuts inside the fuse in the right place. That would take care of the wing incidence problem.

I agree Ron it probably is fixable even though the wing is recessed into the fuse, but not in time for Ocalla, I may do the wing thing and see how that goes, I'm not sure I can add another servo for the elevator
my original purpose for this thread was to get a game plan for practice, I needed ideas on how to go about getting better, the crooked plane thing is a whole'nuther thang

Its not really about the plane flying straight, which does help ofcourse, its the pilot who is at the sticks. you may be surprised when you get a "straight" plane but it just doesn't give you the boost you were expecting.
i don't know the whole story, and may misjudge slightly. but your performance at a competition determines what you need to practice, be cause it puts you under stress and the weak links always break under these
circumstances.
If you ask me the best way to determine where you are going wrong with your flying it so get comments from judges and fellow competitors and that is really regardless of whether your practice with a caller or w/o one.
some one may say your plane is actually not that bad its the setup... or your wings are never level and thats why the upline is always off... or you are giving aileron input together with elevator and thats why your loops
are corkscrewed.

just my 2 cents

TPH1
I practise on my own as well. The one thing i did was to set-up good field with poles and lines. My flags are 2m long, same as the plane to judge the distance better (150m). I sometimes fly the box couple of times to get the direction and distance correct. I also ask some people at the field to look at my lines and loops to help make sure its straight-up or level or what ever.

I like the 2M flag idea, that is a good visual reference

Flying by your self can be done. It is a long slow process. The method of going to a contest and getting data on what are doing right and wrong is a good one. When you get the data it can be hard on you, as you will have worked on getting it right for months and still do something wrong.
I fly by myself, as in no else at the field. When there are others flyers there I have trained a few to watch for simple things straight line ,vertical pull ups, simple stuff, not the maneuvers or you will lose them. I have couple to trained to call but most will just watch.
For many years the closest pattern plane was 4.5 hours away. In the past few years had a pattern pilot move in the area about one hour away. We trade off and on over the year flying at each other’s field. John K can tell you the story about when I hugged him at the pattern contest in Columbia MO.

Work on straight and level flight first it is the heart of all Maneuvers.


I fly Masters. The competition is with me, the judge’s rate me on what I have done my fellow flyers that I trust tell what is going on. My biggest reward is having them say that there was improvement. That is my goal improve every year.

In years past the first pattern plane I would see beside my own was at the first contest of the year.

It is fun Mark (Flying Pattern in the neutral zone)

Once, I was advised to get a big board and to design with a pen the flight path. If you can draw a circle for a loop, you will get a nice round loop while flying... I did so and really worked for me.
Another think I was advise too, is to recreate the entire flight (or the most difficult part for you) with a small stick airplane in your hand...
Hope it helps
Guille

New news in the "Electronic Caller?" thread.

Cheers

MJ