IAC Contest Report
 

I just got back from the IAC East Coast Aerobatic Contest, held at Warrenton (KHWY), VA. IAC chapter 11 put on a great contest that was unfortunately cut short due to rain and low ceilings on Saturday. The Sun came out long enough on Sunday to get in two flights in primary and sportsman but intermediate and advanced only got one flight in all weekend. All five primary contestants were first-time competitors and they all did quite well with Cody Zorn taking first in his dad?s One Design. Cody?s overall score was 87.25%. That?s impressive!

David Taylor of chapter 11 took first place in sportsman in a Studacher S600.



I was in third after the first round but did well enough with my free program in the second round and ended up in second place. My 84.8% score for the free program got me a Grass Roots Achievement medal for highest score in a plane with 180 or less horsepower. I was surprised that my free program got such nice scores as I designed the program to be challenging, not to score well. I put an avalanche (loop with a snap roll at the apex) in the program just to prove to myself and the skeptics that the RV can indeed do snap rolls. I got scores of 7.5, 8.5 and 8.5 from the three judges for the avalanche.



Pete Muntean took home third place with his Super Decathlon. This was the most diverse field I have ever seen in the sportsman category. Usually you see lots of Decathlons, a few Pitts and a sprinkling of Extras or Giles. This field of eight included my RV-8, two Decathlons, two Extra 300L?s, a Bucker Jungmann fitted with a Lycoming IO-360 and a highly modified open cockpit Dehavilland DHC-1 Super Chipmunk!



The Super Chipmunk is really a unique airplane. It started life in 1951 as a trainer in Australia and was converted to a crop duster with an open cockpit behind the hopper. It made its way to the States and went through several owners until Mark Meredith got hold of it and did a complete restoration, maintaining the dual open cockpits and mounting a Lycoming IO-540 engine. It is a work of art!



During the down time on Saturday I poked around all the airplanes and talked shop with fellow pilots as we watched clouds and rain go by. I noticed that some of the low wing airplanes like the One Design have sighting devices that are mounted well below the eye level of the pilot and discovered that being at eye level is not necessarily necessary. Who knew? So I have decided to try and fashion a sighting device for the RV-8. I?ll let you know how that turns out. I have also decided to try taping the aileron gap and see if that will increase the RV roll rate. I?ll report back on that as well.

I?ll be at the Blue Ridge Hammerfest in Morganton (KMRN), NC during the first weekend in October. Hope to see another RV or two there.

Congratulations
 

Congratulations Ron,
We've had 5 RVs participate in contests so far this year. For those that enjoy the sport but haven't competed yet, I wonder how many have attended an aerobatic contest? They are all over the US.
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower AL:)

Ron, that snap alone was about a 10. The hardest part is making the whole figure appear perfectly round. We were impressed by how well the airplane (in your hands of course) snapped. Definite break loose, fast rotation, and crisp stop. I have heard many pilots say RVs don't snap well. Well neither do Pitts', Extras, etc. without good technique. Few may appreciate the technique involved in a good snap. You sure can't just yank the stick all the way back, stomp the rudder, and then deem the airplane incapable of snapping well. Great job, and glad you're showing what the RV can really do!

Always the modest one; Eric wouldn't mention that he took first place in the Intermediate category in his Pitts S1S. So I'll mention it for him. Nice job, once again Eric! :)

Thanks Ron, but that was Danny's S-1S that won Intermediate. :) I flew Advanced and totally blew and zero'd an inverted spin for the first time at a contest. The other pilots simply made more costly mistakes than me on that flight.

Oops, my bad. So you won "advanced" and nobody cares how much the others screwed up. :rolleyes: I watched your flight and I am still in awe! On to Morgantown.

Way to fly Smokey !!!! I didn't know anyone was snapping an -8. My hat is off to you.
I just moved into Intermediate this year with my Super Decathlon and have not done a "good" snap yet. They are more difficult that expected and I'm still behind the airplane.
Congrats again to you !!

I don't know why folks are so afraid to snap the RV. I stay well below maneuvering speed and done properly is really a lazy snap; quicker than an aileron roll but definitely not something that would put undue stress on any part of the airframe. I know Van is very conservative when it comes to aerobatics and I'm doing my best to try and change his attitude toward the sport. It's hard to argue with success so I hope more and more RV pilots will see some success at competitive aerobatics.

Thanks!
 

Thanks Ron, We are in the N.C. area most of the time now and I have been trying to seek out groups such as Formation or other in order to work on being a better pilot, (as always). I will be looking to find you and your hobby as well. With a good clean, light and well powered "8" it is nice to see you guys working to make it better and safer at the same time.
Good show old been. Yours as always, R.E.A. III #80888

More RV success
 

Ron has a 1st and a 2nd place so far this year, and I just heard Dennis Parks in his RV-4 was 2nd in Sportsman at the Apple Turn Over this last weekend. There is an RV grin, and an aerobatic RV grin too. Congratulations fellows.
Bill McLean
RV-4 slider
lower AL:D