Stability help!

I am having a problem with Stability; me, not the plane.
When doing the overhead eight it has become very hard for me to keep
my balance.
I have been doing the overhead eight since it was introduced as a part of the current pattern ,without this problem;until now.
If any of you old people have had this problem.and or found a possible cure, I would certainly like to know.
Advice from the east and west coast will accepted and appreciated.

Charlie Pate:'(

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-04 AT 10:08 PM (CDT)
 
I knew that mule cart incident would finally catch up to ya!! hahahaha
Maybe something as simple as turning a different way could help. If you are flying it while facing the pull up point, maybe you can turn 90 degrees one way or the other. A different orientation might help.

Or you can go to the Dr. and see if you have any inner ear problems.

C'ya at Huntersville?
Bill <><

P.S. I would go with the Dr. plan myself. The functiong of the fluid in our inner ear is our source of balance in very simplistic terms.

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-04 AT 11:17 PM (CDT)
 
What Eastcoast Bill said. Take the Dr. route, unless it's a moonshine issue. Westcoast Steve

I want more info on the "mule cart incident".

Always collecting useful evidence, er, data . . .

>Maybe something as simple as turning a different way could
>help. If you are flying it while facing the pull up point,
>maybe you can turn 90 degrees one way or the other. A
>different orientation might help.
Well said, Bill!

Instead of having the feet positioned tranversally fron the "up route" ya can put one foot ahead, the other behind and the line between them being kinda paralel to the climb line.

My friend and coach Eneias taught me also a good stance for wingovers.

Need some info....Please answer,
Back Problems?
Age?
Weight?
Neck OK?
Visa Card Number?.....OH SORRY

Why I ask is a simple one. LOTS of people say OH it's your inner ear. It can be lots of things.
If your 106... You might be a little out of balance
If your neck movement is limited... You might be a little out of balance.
If your 308 pound and 5 foot 2.....You might be a little out of balance.
If you stand up-right and look up. You might be a little out of balance.
If you don't widen your stance when you look up. You might be a little out of balance.
If you don't bend you knees when you look up. You might be a little out of balance.
If none of these things help you. You might be a little out of balance
CHECK YOU EARS.

Scott(not a Red Neck)Riese

>Need some info....Please answer,
>Back Problems?
>Age?
>Weight?
>Neck OK?
>Visa Card Number?.....OH SORRY
>
>Why I ask is a simple one. LOTS of people say OH it's your
>inner ear. It can be lots of things.
>If your 106... You might be a little out of balance
>If your neck movement is limited... You might be a little
>out of balance.
>If your 308 pound and 5 foot 2.....You might be a little out
>of balance.
>If you stand up-right and look up. You might be a little out
>of balance.
>If you don't widen your stance when you look up. You might
>be a little out of balance.
>If you don't bend you knees when you look up. You might be a
>little out of balance.
>If none of these things help you. You might be a little out
>of balance
>CHECK YOU EARS.
>
>Scott(not a Red Neck)Riese

All of the above!!

Hello Charlie, I am the guy that had a broken left femur and I had to use a wheel chair to fly I am much better now but when I started to fly with out the chair I had problems with the reverse wing over and the over head eights so I used a cane in my left hand to make a tripod to be more stable if you are having leg problems do to an accident the cane will help and if you are just getting older ( witch we are doing ) it will also help by the way flying from the wheel chair was not hard to do I could still use my right leg & left hand to turn and level flight was so easy. If you want to talk my #is 970-250-8047 Carl Shoup

Hi Charlie Are you coming to Huntersville? If so talk to me as I have the same problem and It's not the inner ear in my case. I will tell you what I do to try and stop the problem.See Ya
Ed Ruane

Happens to me every year now that I'm 68. Goes away with practice.

I guess you have to admit that if you fly control line stunt you must be a little bit unbalanced....

So, here's an exercise that should help. Please be careful doing it, so you don't add a broken arm or something else to what you already have...

Standing with your feet together and your back to a wall, hands and arms held to your chest, elbows bent and pointing straight down, with your hands closed into fists and held at your collarbones and under your chin (this is mostly just to keep your arms out of the way):
1) bend straight forward so your chest is pretty much horizontal (like you are bowing and make sure you have given yourself enough room so you don't bonk your head on a table of chair or wall),
2) rotate to your right from your waste, still bowing(your torso will be twisted - and yes, this will stretch the muscles, so be careful not to pull anything!),
3) straighten up, still facing to your right,
4) now, rotate your waste so you face forward.
5) repeat for the left side.
6) reverse direction, that is, turn to your right side, bow to your right side, rotate forward still bowing and then straighten up.
7) reverse direction to your left side.
8) try to stand perfectly still and maintain your balance

Again, please be careful where you do this so you don't fall onto something (including a cement floor!)and maim yourself! Do it in repetitions and then try to stand perfectly still without losing your balance.

Okay, practice it a couple of times a day until you can do it!

Got it? Great!

Now do it with your eyes closed!!! Please have someone "spot" you so you don't fall and kill yourself doing this!! As you get better at it, mix up the directions and the reversals and then try to stand perfectly still with your eyes closed.

If you can do this and still have balance problems at the field...well, I guess it is time to see the doctor.

Good luck and remember that this is a learned skill, so if there isn't anything wrong with your inner ear you should be able to do this and imnprove your balance. But again, it will take a small investment in time, but a big investment in consistancy as you need to do it regularly if you want to see improvement.

Scott

Gee guys!
This is what the stunt forum should be used for.
I guess if Al can get dizzy at 68 , I can get dizzy at 64.
I am going to give this advice serious attention.
I am 64
weight178
Reasonably good health except for a collestrol count that looks like the national debt and a ringing in my ears for the last 5 years.
The ear specialist could offer no cure or help except to offer medicine to make me sleep at night.
Charlie don,t do drugs , except in extreme cases.
I am eppileptic and have had no dialantin or Phenobarb in the last 25 years and have gotten along well.
If anything changes I will certainly let you fellows know
Thanks again.
As for you Little; You know what they say about paybacks .....

LAST EDITED ON Oct-11-04 AT 08:24 PM (CDT)
 
Charlie,

There has been much in the way of light hearted advice. I'll be more somber. If you have always been able to do it and now find you're having trouble, GET TO A DOCTOR! There's a myriad of things that could be affecting you. Most of which could be easily treated.

If something's changed, most likely something's changed!!

Take good care of yourself and go for a checkup. Doctors get lonely too.

Bruce (not a medical professional, just concerned)