Modes of perception

-not Aldus Huxley kind.
Dan and I had a short but interesting conversation at the Regionals about ways to watch your model as you fly the pattern. It started with my innocent question (paraphrased): where do you look as you fly through the maneuvers? I mentioned that I have the tendency to "tunnel". I have been trying to train myself to look ahead, trusting the plane to fly from point A to point B while I mentally set up and visualize the upcoming maneuver.
We both had discovered the disillusioning trick of focusing on a point and watching the plane turn around it. Now I know the answer to the question: do pigs fly?
I'm still pretty new at PA, so I don't have any great insights here (pardon the pun). Most folks aren't conscious of how they observe things, but it seems crucial in our event. I'm interested to know if there are any visual techniques that will help fly the pattern better.
Thanks!
Derek Moran

I'm with you. Think I need to watch this thread closely!

Hi Derek!

Strangely, I've talked about this with others before, but not with Dan, I think. I thought he was just used to watching the other planes.

I generally watch the nose of the plane. I don't know why really. I only look ahead on maneuvers that have intersections. When the plane is flying well and not ridiculously fast, it's pretty eash to keep up with it and stay on the particular move. If it's going pretty fast, it's pretty easy to get behind the plane (as it were) and then things tend to go to heck.

Don't know if that's really an answer, but it's what I do.

Hey Randy!
I was going to admonish you for being on the forum so late, but looking around I see my children playing poker, my wife's in bed watching TV with her eyes closed and here *I* am replying to your post! Mea culpa.
I'm pretty certain that observing a flight, as when Brett looks for clues to trim problems, and visually tracking the plane as you fly are very different. Likewise, that trick of watching the plane fly around a point is entertaining, but I haven't found a use for it as I fly (maybe it's a tool I just don't know how to use).
As you fly you must integrate more information, though perhaps to a lesser degree of detail, than when observing. My step-dad, who was in the submarine service in WWII, told me they were trained to widen their focus and look as far as possible toward the horizon when on watch. From this I infer you *can* teach yourself to see in certain ways and you can see certain things overlooked in casual, untrained, observation.
Derek

Derek,

Obviously, there's a lot involved. Both visually and the feedback you get from the handle and even through audio. We were practicing at the Stunt-A-Thon today (the site is, ah, different). It was interesting as I had this thread in mind as I flew. I discovered that I don't look at the plane directly all that much (much to my surprise). I was generally focused on the center of the particular maneuver. With, say, Square Loops, I was focused on the center of the loop and just sort of tracking the plane, trying to insure that the sides were equal and such.On the Eights I was mostly focused on the intersection and just sort of tracking the plane peripherally.

This was interesting for me as I had not really thought about it before. I particularly noticed that when external factors intruded (like when I was flying the clover leaf and a full sized plane gunned his engines near the fuel pumps and turned the air in the circle into a whirlpool), it was something of a shock because I wasn't really looking directly at the plane.

Interesting stuff.

Derek,

With the contest last weekend and the ceremonies honoring Ronald Reagan I missed this entire thread.

I remember our conversation and was a little surprised that you had tried the technique of fixing on a point and then flying a model through this area in a hard corner. People can go nuts with slow-motion film and such if they want, but this simple approach graphically demonstrates what our models are actually doing in a corner at much less cost and hassle. Plus one can do it over and over again, assuming something got missed the first few times through.

As to where each of us looks while flying the pattern, I am a little surprised there has not been more input here. While there may be some common techniques in play, surely there are other ways to approach this, to get more performance, a better view of what trim changes to make.

If nothing else, and if Brett is right in saying that being able to accurately see what our models are doing in flight is a gift, some of us--I sure fall into this group!--need some help here.

I have tried a few different things. At one point in time I had taken to flying to a specific point on the circle in entering and exiting the wingover. At a Salem Expert PA contest I came around level, looked ahead to the judges, actually made eye contact with John Thompson, gave him a sly wink and banged it hard right in front of his face. Same deal on the return to the judging position, although by that time John was of course watching my model. Also, and while I have not done it for a year or so, back then I was letting the model run while overhead, picking a spot for the reverse, flying to it and then out inverted. Same deal with the exit to upright flight.

For some reason, a winter break likely, plus I taught myself to not pivot my body during the reverse wingover this year (not sure that's an improvement, by the way) I have quit using this eyes-off technique.

From using this technique in the wingover I went to flying to a spot at bottom of rounds, even picking a spot in (hoped for) centers of rounds and flying around this point in the sky. For squares I was again looking ahead and picking a spot to fly to and through, on to the next corner as model exited.

I actually liked these techniques, and in looking back think the primary reason I laid off them was simply not having practiced them often enough. Thus at contests I would revert to just watching the model as that thought was dominant.

As gleefully announced in many places, I now have 20FP-powered models which can rightfully be considered disposable, or at least suitable for high-risk use. I'm thinking of going back to working with eyes-off and look-ahead techniques.

Especially as, just like deal with using peripheral vision to watch a model struggle through a 90-degree rotation, shapes of maneuvers are frequently much easier to see...when not looking at them!

Hmmmm...

Why so little input to this thread? Surely there are some insights as to how the maneuvering model is best viewed, even if one method will not suit all of us.

I have to go along with Randy, I don't find myself looking directly at the plane during a maneuver. For me its sort of like watching TV, I take a screen shot to make sure the maneuver is shaped correctly.

Might not make sense, but that's what I do...or think I do...

I close my eyes and just form the maneuver in my head and fly it there . Especially the outside squares. Can't see the ground coming up so I don't over react and pull out too soon.

> I close my eyes and just form the maneuver in my head and
>fly it there . Especially the outside squares. Can't see
>the ground coming up so I don't over react and pull out too
>soon.
>
> Bigiron

Close you eyes???

Ok Master Yoda;)

Yeah--- Like KLOZE ie shut--- blink slowly--- then go pick up debris.

Some times I even grit my teeth. (dentist sez I shouldn't do that)