Something To Learn
by Bennett Petersen, IAC 435199
Growing up in aviation I always viewed flying as an expression of freedom. Unless I was going for a cross country or check ride, I would expect to meander around while making impromptu decisions in Cessnas and sailplanes until my time was up or the lift was gone. When I discovered aerobatics, I felt it was the ultimate form of freedom now I’d added more dimensions. Being able to dance through the sky I could choose to move through with unlimited possibilities. Though, while flying acro is a freeing experience during practice, can this freedom result in disappointing results flying a sequence in the box at a competition?
As I entered the world of airline flying, I learned a few things rapidly. Most importantly, very seldomly are airline pilots flying with any level of improvisation; and even surprise events still leave little need for impromptu action. Why? Well other than extensive Standard Operating Procedures required to be able to combine 17,000 individuals into consistent, predictable aviating partners, we brief.
We extensively brief departure and arrival procedures. We brief what we expect to happen, what we expect might go wrong, what we will do if something goes wrong, even what we will do if something we AREN’T expecting goes wrong. 99% of the time we’ve accurately flown the approach in our head and in our briefs just as it actually plays out. This way we can recognize if we’re “off script” and correct, or apply our Plan B, if an expected or unexpected change occurs.
This approach also allows us the flexibility to make decisions or handle contingencies should they arise, to allow our habits, plans, and procedures take over in muscle-memory type fashion while our heads are able to think and process in stressful environments. Airline flying is antithetical to the flying I knew growing up. It’s boring (and the customers pay for boring); but it’s still a challenge to manage it all well and that’s the fun of it. So how does this apply to competition flying?
Picture yourself at your first contest of the season, or first in the category you’re flying, or first contest ever, your heart is racing, you’re ruminating all the ways you could screw up, you’re predicting how you will negatively self-critique when you DO screw up. It’s hot, you didn’t sleep and are running full of adrenaline off coffee and Tim Horton’s “Tim Bits”.
When your brain is processing so many factors, it begins to significantly decline in its processing and decision-making abilities. In the middle of your flight in the box, while experiencing all these new thoughts and stressors might not be the best time to make impromptu decisions.
For Primary and Sportsman competitors, this could mean not having the sequence completely memorized and trying to reference your next maneuver off the sequence card. More importantly for all categories, it could mean not knowing which way you have to maneuver on the x-axis; or if you’ve been flying the y-axis, hoping you’ll have the situational awareness to make the correct decision on how to maneuver the aircraft on to the correct x-axis direction. Think of the consequences: lots of hard “0s,” and your personal pre-planned critiques of missed 45 lines would be a welcomed reprieve from whatever tradition the regional contest has in store for you!
So, how do you safeguard yourself from finding yourself wearing a red-nose and oversized shoes, or transporting home a trophy with a large, pointed index finger? I say plan your flight, fly your plan. Sounds simple (and it really is). First, and easiest of all, do the Aresti dance. Do all the funky moves we see the videos of accomplished pilots doing. As you do so, visualize what you’re experiencing in the plane: sights, smells, g-loads, sounds, and picture what it looks like to do it perfectly. Next level Aresti dancing: make sure you are aligned with how the box is oriented. If the ramp area is angled relative to the box, don’t parallel the edge of the ramp, parallel the box. Doing so adds in factors such as where the sun is, where clouds are, even some ground references may be. Next, and especially required for higher levels, do your homework on the sequence to reduce the number of decisions that need to be made.
Case in point: The 2023 Intermediate Known sequence had a series of figures (2,3,4) that included a vertical line up with a quarter roll to end upright on the y-axis, followed by a 1 ½ turn upright spin, followed by a pull-pull-pull Humpty Bump with a quarter roll on the downline requiring a roll in a direction to exit downwind on the x-axis. Seems straightforward enough, but there are a lot of factors individually to consider that could lead to some incorrect decisions.
First, which way are you going to roll on the vertical up? Do you want to fly towards or away from the judges? Are we flying winds from the left, or right? Because that obviously changes which way you roll and to decide that in the air is ANOTHER decision. Ok, now you’ve spun, have done the first half of the Humpty and now do another quarter roll. Which way do I have to exit? Which form are we on? Do I want judges on my left or right? Which way do I roll to make that correct exit? Lots of decisions!
So, what can you do? Look for the pattern connections. When looking at the example of these 3 figures, one can realize out of many decisions, there’s really only one decision, and that’s whether you roll left or right on the upline. It’s only one decision because when studied, you realize whichever way you roll on the upline is the SAME on the Humpty, those two rolls are “connected” regardless of wind form or any other factors. So even if you were to roll towards the judges when you actually wanted to roll away, you can still save yourself from ruining your flight by knowing if you rolled left going up, you’ll roll left on the humpty (or vise-versa). If you look for these connections, you will quickly find ways to significantly reduce the number of decisions.
Once I’ve discovered those decisions, now I make my plan (my brief) for each specific flight at a contest, factoring winds, clouds, etc. I make my decisions on the ground, so that I can stay aware and focused while flying and my body can be on autopilot a bit, and if needed, I also know at what points my Plan B audibles may be implemented (towards/away from judges, wind drift). Hopefully though, that’s all been thought through and I get to simply fly my plan. Most importantly though, with less decisions my situational awareness has expanded, and I can be more aware of non-normal events or even emergencies if they occur.
There’s an eastern philosophical tradition that teaches “non-attachment to the outcome.” I think a lot about that with regards to my own contest prep. I feel it is more consistent and less consequential to plan a routine and fly it how you planned, and whatever the outcome is will be.
There will always be improvements to be made, and they will happily find themselves implemented into future flights.
In Formula 1 racing, drivers go into a race with a specific plan to drive the “racing line” the best they can for the specific course and conditions. They call it “driving too hard” when drivers become agitated and feel they need to push harder to make up lost ground. Similarly, pilots often do the same thing when they try to “fly too hard” to eke out a few extra points, only to make some ugly figures or get turned around from overthinking and too much pressure.
Plan your flight, fly your plan and you may find a relaxed feeling of peace while in the box similar to the sensations of freedom you encountered the first time you experienced inverted flight.
BIO
Bennett Petersen is an Advanced category competitor flying an Extra 300. He is the president of IAC Chapter 34 Ohio and contest director of the Ohio Aerobatic Open (competitors and volunteers pictured above). He has earned the Primary, Sportsman and Intermediate IAC Achievement smooth awards. (Flown in front of a judge in a non-contest environment.)
