Originally Posted by Flybye Steve

Something else that kind of relates to the "calling" questions.
If you are new to IMAC, you can create an enormous advantage over your competitors if you can do three things.
1. Get competent help in setting up and trimming you plane. Get it trimmed out down to the inth
degree with the help of someone who really knows what they're doing. It could take you 100
flights to get your plane to the point where you don't have to compensate for faults in the
performance of the plane.
2. Go to judging school and learn what you are being judge for. What you think might look like
a good maneuver may not be that good at all.
3. Memorize the sequence you are flying to the degree where your total concentration is on flying
the plane through the maneuvers.
I have a friend who flies in the Advance Class and does very well at it. The first thing he tells
his caller as they are going to the flight line; don't say a word while I'm flying unless I'm in
immanent danger of a mid air collision.
His total concentration is on flying the plane.

I agree 100%, trimming is everything. I spend a fair amount of time trimming on the bench. I can not believe how many people come out with just a basic CG setting, and the throws so aggressive the plane is all over the sky! Not to mention with today's radios, it is very easy to program out unwanted tendencies.
I use the triangulation trimming guide by Bryan Hebert. Granted, it is for aircraft with more adjustability (F3A), but the setup and basics are the same.
Before the first contest I/we will know the maneuvers, and my wife will know the symbols. As I said earlier, IMAC is a bit different. We are used to a written narrative in F3A.
Now to figure out what class to fly.....

Know the sequence from memory and practice. Write out the sequence in English so that any caller can read it exactly as you wrote it. Make sure your caller can read.

Originally Posted by Diablo

Know the sequence from memory and practice. Write out the sequence in English so that any caller can read it exactly as you wrote it. Make sure your caller can read.

LOL!! that there is some funny stuff!

EDIT:

I see now, yes, I have had that happen.

One of my friends cannot read the font or the print size. so yes, write with big letters and numbers or print it out with Microsoft Word. large letters

It’s funny until you discover your caller has dyslexia in the middle of your sequence. Or he goes “What the hell was that?” After one of your maneuvers.

I like it when my caller helps the judges by saying “beautiful or perfect” after each maneuver, even if he’s lying thru his teeth.

I know this is an old discussion but I found it interesting.

I am considering giving IMAC a try. I have a F3A background and I am used to the caller simply calling the next maneuver by the Aresti name! I am not sure how I would cope with the caller telling me how/what to fly!

For me the caller has always been there simply to remind me what the next maneuver is so I do not miss one or mix them up in the heat of the moment. For practice sessions I often use sequential voice prompts setup on a toggle switch on the radio, works well for me.

Flying an unknown sequence I would still be happy with just the Aresti name.

Maybe I have been missing out? The F3A pilots I know do calling the same way I do.

Very few figures have a name that are universally understood. In IMAC some pilots take a base figure and modify it fit their sequence. Reading Aresti and being able to convert that into a recognizable figure is critical piece of IMAC, just like in full size.

Originally Posted by FGNewbie

Very few figures have a name that are universally understood. In IMAC some pilots take a base figure and modify it fit their sequence. Reading Aresti and being able to convert that into a recognizable figure is critical piece of IMAC, just like in full size.

I agree that reading Aresti is important and it is not difficult. I first started flying Aresti around 1983 and it was just natural to read the actual Aresti and not the explanation. The words need to be assembled into the maneuver, the Aresti pattern allows you to see it immediately as a entity.

I have always managed to find a name that describes the maneuver well enough that I know what to do so when my caller says the "name" I know what to do as I have practiced that. Even for unknown maneuvers I will have a look at the Aresti and then fly it from a few words long description.

Flying with the caller describing every step feels like "painting by numbers" and I will struggle with that. I need a mental picture (Aresti) in my mind of what I need to do before starting. Fortunately I am blessed with a photographic memory so I can "see" the Aresti diagram as I fly.

But we are not all the same so everyone must do what works for them.

One of the best things i found, is to have a consistent caller, and discuss exactly what you as the pilot want to hear while flying.
some pilots like all corrections, and as much information as possible, others like just the basics, and detail after the flight, etc.
It is important to know the pilot / caller and have enough information about each other to be successful.

As Jason T suggested, I put a great emphasis on try to have the same caller or a good caller that can call the elements within the maneuver at an appropriate time.
This becomes more and more important as you move up in the classes and the sequences become more complex.
Everyone has their own way of having the sequence and the maneuvers called but unless you have your own caller for every event, I would keep it as close to conventional calling as posible.

Yes, I can see the importance of having the same caller all the time. I have done that in other classes in the past and it made quite a difference! Guess my dear wife will be back on duty if I decide to give IMAC a go, fortunately she enjoys it!

Hi, I think that's a good idea, thanks for the tip.

Having your wife involved in calling for you is a tremendous advantage. It will also be a huge help if she scribes for you when you're called upon to judge some of the more complex sequences.
By the time we retired from IMAC my wife could pick up an Unlimited Unknown and call every detail.
It's a shame I couldn't match my flying skills with her calling skills.