Mental Block on wingover.

Thanks.
SCOTT

The only thing I can tell you is fly more until you are comfortable with it. No two humans react the same, and what works for me, won't necessarily for you. I just don't worry about it, ignore the airplane, pick a pull -out point in space ahead of the ship (you HAVE to stay ahead of the airplane, always), and fly it around that point when it is time. Eventually you aren't even aware of doing it, it becomes automatic. You are still too worried about crashing if you have this problem; it is the subconscious fear that causes your reaction. The only cure is more flying and trying. I am sure the PA guys will laugh at me on this, but that is what I learned from full-size fighter pilots and a great C/L Stunt master.

I would add one more thought: KNOW the turn radius of the aircraft you are flying by heart. In other words, don't pull it at 16 feet off the deck if your ship needs 17 or 18 to cut that corner... FLY your airplane a whole bunch more and get comfortable with it. Accept the fact you just MIGHT crash, and lose it all, it CAN happen. You HAVE to do this, otherwise as long as your subconscious mind is afraid of losing, you will never progress.

Best of fortune to you!

Anyway here's the pitch: During your practice flights get the aircraft inverted as you would for normal inverted flight, half inside loop to invert. Then lower you altitude to the required pull out point, for what would be your recovery from the dreaded "reverse wing over". Get nice and comfy here on your back, then just bang the most beautiful outside wing over in history! You can see the aircraft turn that corner back into wing-over, and know that it's capable of the move, .... it' just 90 degree's out of sync is all i.e.: vert to vertical when it should be vertical to vert right?

As you practice be telling yourself, "self if this was the reverse wing over pull out, * BANG*, it'd go just like that" This will help you to develop a feel and a sense of what the aircraft should be doing, and what you will be feeling as it is doing what comes natural to it. As they say at Marina Land; "These are natural behaviors that we ask the whales to do on command, they are not abnormal behaviors." Same goes for your "Stunt Whale".

Part two. Maintain this mind set: Now do the whole thing start to finish as per normal, but with a higher pull out to start, ...then work your way down. You know that it will pull out as required, ..you've already seen that it can right? ? "I put the handle "DOWN" the bird turns out of the dive, ..I easy up and there I am nicely on my back at 5 ft +/-, ...piece a cake right? Easier said then done for sure, but this may help convince you that the aircraft is capable. If it is not capable, you already know that before going here, ..and then the only block to be worked out is the square foot of dirt that the thing is now buried in. Guess it would follow that the following question needs to be answered first, "Will the aircraft pull out when required, ..no mental block in the picture?" If it will you've got her made. Let the aircraft convince you.

Background trees, etc. seem to have an infuence as I seem to be able to fly closer to 5 ft bottoms when there are no trees in my peripheral vision. Practice is, however, the key. Now if we could only get some weather that is not too hot, not too cold,not too windy, etc. I would be able to actually do some decent practice but I know this is just wishful thinking.

I assume from your post that the final pullout to level upright flight is no problem. For me this last pull out is so natural that I no longer think about it. You can verify your own arm and hand movement in the upright recovery. Do a little mental flying with your arm extended and close your eyes if it helps visualize the model in flight. For me there are two things that I notice about the maneuver:

First, it isn't a perfectly square corner. If I fly it hard and sharp because I think it should be so, it will be jerky and the recovery will be unstable (climbing, diving or both). The Maneuver is a smooth round change of direction. I like to think of it as a "turn" not a corner.

Second, if I concentrate on the corner, my mind and attention is fixed while the model proceeds until my attention is brought back to it. By this time the model is already on its back 20 feet past the corner heading somewhere other than level. If I concentrate on the turn my mind stays with the model. I turn the model until it's level and then continue to follow it.

Practice it this way: Track the imaginary model with your arm through the turn. Do this first without using your wrist or giving control input. Just track at a constant speed through a turn to level leading with your arm all the way. Once you see and feel the constant motion, add the controling wrist movement while continuing to track the model visually and with your arm.

This past weekend, while flying with Don McClave, he pointed out that I was flying past the starting point on the second wingover. As he explained, this is a common error caused by thinking of the turn as a corner starting where the first wingover began. By the time the model is vertical, it is past the original track. But if you visualize the turn, you can see that it has to start in advance of the original track. The same is true of any abrupt turn. Start it ahead of the corner then turn and recover smoothly. Practice with intentional pullouts above pattern height. The key is to turn the model intentionally to that height. See the turn! Feel the turn! Then gradually bring it down to pattern height.

Now if I can just follow what I think I understand

Bruce Hunt
Salem, OR

A lot of it has to do with both your comfort level with the manouver and with the plane. Once you really know a plane, it's not that hard (well, not tremendously hard, anyway). YOu just need to know how the plane turns and pick your spot.

At my last contest, I brought the plane down to pull out inverted and nailed it, but it was a couple of feet too low (maybe 2 and a half feet off the pavement). The trick is to hold it there on the deck and repeat the trick on the upright pull out, not necessarily hitting the right spot. Never let 'um see you sweat.

Randy (on his way to pick up his freshly laundered undergarments)