Competing in IMAC next season. Please help me, what do I need to know, have do?

[sherman89]

I just did my first IMAC, observation#1- have a backup plane to the one you fly, I had a motor stop in the middle of round 2, the motor box was coming apart, the damage was too severe for an overnight fix, end of the event. Observation#2- fly very long horizontal lines, in my first round I flew my sequence inside most people's loops, I went second so I did not get a chance to see other flights to see what the judges are looking for. Practise straight long lines both horizontal and vertical correcting for wind drift (you must have excellent rudder control, practise any thing that will give you excellent rudder skills, KE is one) remember, wind correction is done with rudder control (are you getting the picture on rudder control). Observation#3- do not crowd the judges, keep your sequence well away from them, they call it ASC (air space control) Observation#4- be very smooth in the manuver change overs, jerky manuvers costs points bigtime. Obervation#5 find a good Spotter that knows how to present to the judges and will keep you calm, not rushed. Observation#6 listen to your Spotter, do not fly from memory, it will cost you points. Observation#6- try to have fun, get the first one behind you!

[dmichael]

	Quote: Originally Posted by sherman89
	I just did my first IMAC, observation#1- have a backup plane to the one you fly, I had a motor stop in the middle of round 2, the motor box was coming apart, the damage was too severe for an overnight fix, end of the event. Observation#2- fly very long horizontal lines, in my first round I flew my sequence inside most people's loops, I went second so I did not get a chance to see other flights to see what the judges are looking for. Practise straight long lines both horizontal and vertical correcting for wind drift (you must have excellent rudder control, practise any thing that will give you excellent rudder skills, KE is one) remember, wind correction is done with rudder control (are you getting the picture on rudder control). Observation#3- do not crowd the judges, keep your sequence well away from them, they call it ASC (air space control) Observation#4- be very smooth in the manuver change overs, jerky manuvers costs points bigtime. Obervation#5 find a good Spotter that knows how to present to the judges and will keep you calm, not rushed. Observation#6 listen to your Spotter, do not fly from memory, it will cost you points. Observation#6- try to have fun, get the first one behind you!

Sherm- good points except I'll differ with you on #2. No need to make long horizontal lines, in fact, it's just giving the judges more opportunity to give you downgrades and can hurt your ASC score.

[3D-Seth]

1 point deduction for every 10 degrees you are off. Ex: You have a half reverse cuban. You pull to a 45 deg upline, and are a hair shallow (5 deg or so) then you do your half roll, and overrotate an 1/8 of a roll, you already have a 4 on that figure (out of 10)(1/8 of a roll is 45 deg wing bank [4.5 point deduction], and the 5 deg off of line 45 [0.5 point deduction]), and you havent done the looping segment of your cuban yet. Precision is everything!

Like Sherman 89 said - RUDDER, RUDDER, and more RUDDER!!! I can't emphasize this enough!!! Leanr to wind correct for crosswinds, down the runway winds, 45 deg to runway winds ect.

First Day, you fly your known sequence. Twice per flight, and depending on how many people there are, 2 - 5 flights a day.

Second Day, Unknown first (it is a sequence handed out after all of the flying is done for that day to sportsman and up - basic doesnt have an unknown-they fly their known [twice in the unknown flight] when everyone else is flying unknowns). First flight of Sunday will be the first time you fly the unknown - ever! Fly a one sequence flight for the unknown flight (after you fly an unknown it is known then) then you will have 1-3 known rounds after that (two sequence flights), then the freestyle which is voluntary.

This is just a little bit of everything needed to know - so much more that will be learned, and needed. Next year will be my 3rd year of IMAC (I am moving up to Advanced this year), and I am still learning stuff!

Main thing - have fun! Its a HOBBY. Yes its a contest, but laugh, and have fun with all of the new friends you will meet.

Feel free to shoot me a pm with any questions you may have!

Seth

[Redneck Shaun]

Hey Nick,
Great to hear your going to give IMAC a try.
I'm pretty new to IMAC myself.
The best advice I could give is to go to a contest and fly. Ask as many questions as you can. Either at the contest, or before, find someone that will help you get started the correct way. You'll get a lot of great information on here but it's not a replacement to having someone there standing beside you to get you started the right way.
Find someone that's local that can help you get your plane set up correctly, a mentor if you will. Nothing is worst then fighting your plane through the whole time your flying.

This will help A LOT!! Print this out and read it . Then bring it to the field with you when you start doing trim flights for a quick reference.
http://www.mini-iac.com/Portals/57ad...20trimming.pdf

http://www.mini-iac.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=70

The most inportant thing to remember is to have fun. There will be people there that will bend over backwards to help you get started when you get to the contest to fly. Just don't forget to ASK QUESTIONS.....
Good luck,
Shaun

[OnTheEdge]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Redneck Shaun
	The best advice I could give is to go to a contest and fly. Ask as many questions as you can.

There's a ton of excellent advise in this entire thread here Nick. If you follow all the above you will be fine. Just remember, it's your first contest and you will be learning some stuff throughout the weekend. Have fun and again, don't be afraid to ask questions.

One more bit of advise I'd give is to scribe for a seasoned judge at your first contest. Scribe a class or two above yours for the first time (too much going on in Adv. and Unl. to learn while scribing). (FYI....a scribe simply sits next to the judge and writes down the scores that the judge whispers to you.....allows the judge to keep his eyes on the pilot the whole time)

Also, get intouch with the CD of the contest you intend to go fly at. Preferably several weeks before the contest (Contest Directors are always listed on the Imac site by region several weeks if not months before the event). He can answer a lot of questions and usually knows most of the regular guys that attend his contest, therefore probably knows someone that flies Imac close to you so might be able to get the two of you together to practice.

.........Mark

[niccolo98]

Wow,
Thanks for all the help guys. Its awesome that you take time out of your lives to post theses thing. It really means alot to me. I am taking in all your advice, and am really excited for my frist contest. Thanks again,
nick

[bubbagates]

Nick,

Where in MD do you live. I'm up close to HBG Pa and most places in MD are 1 to 2 hours away and would not mind getting together with you over a weekend and helping a bit if it's not too far away. I flew my first season this year after a long time awy from competition and everything above is very true. I learned a lot from everyone and made some great friends as well.

One other thing I did not see mentioned was getting your plane setup properly. A well setup plane (trim and such) takes a load of work off the pilot as the plane does most of the work. It takes a good amount of flights to get it done properly but Oh my is it nice to have

[niccolo98]

Hey, I pretty much live in washington dc. I would like to meet up though. Right now my plane is still in the bones, and not quite done yet. But once I get it completly done, it would be cool if we could meet up. Thanks.
nick

[bubbagates]

	Quote: Originally Posted by niccolo98
	Hey, I pretty much live in washington dc. I would like to meet up though. Right now my plane is still in the bones, and not quite done yet. But once I get it completly done, it would be cool if we could meet up. Thanks. nick

Just shoot me an email/PM when you are ready

[OnTheEdge]

How far are you from Bowie Md. Nick? Dave Michael flies there. I'm sure he'd be willing to help and might be close to where you live.

[bubbagates]

Bowie is a lot closer than I am and Dave could definitely help him better than I can

[niccolo98]

I dunno, Bowie is 25 minutes maybe 30. I would love any help that I can get. Right now, I am very busy in school, and with my acctaull pilots license. But once everything cools down, and my plane is done, I hope that I can get togethar with someone for trimming etc.Again, thanks for the help!
nick