Folks:
East Coast Aero Club has acquired a new 2012 Super Decathlon aerobatic training airplane. Whenever the school gets a new plane I try to learn how to fly it. Currently I don’t have even a tailwheel endorsement and I tend to get motion sickness from extreme maneuvers if someone else is on the controls. So this will be a personal challenge and I’m wondering if readers who have Decathlon/aerobatic experience have any suggestions.
My current plan is to spend roughly 5 hours learning the airplane, maybe with the occasional aileron roll when bored with pattern work. This would include slow flight, commercial maneuvers such as chandelles and lazy-8s, short field landings, etc. Then try to spend another 5 hours doing some basic aerobatics. What are the best maneuvers for someone who hasn’t yet built up a good tolerance for motion/Gs? Any special tips regarding the Super Decathlon?
Thanks in advance.
[Separately, the club has a very experienced instructor who is a former U.S. Air Force jet fighter pilot, but he is not available every day so the school has posted a help wanted ad for an aerobatics instructor. If you know of someone good who is interested in living in the Boston area, please tell them about this job.]
I would start doing low G aerobatic maneuvers until you are comfortable with the plane and new sight view. This includes aileron rolls, spins, falling leaf.
In any case, the Decathalon can’t do the super aggressive G maneuvers like an Extra so you won’t be pulling negative 9 Gs anytime soon.
I’m a fan of Marc N.
Andrew Boyd, who flies Pitts S-2Bs as an airshow demonstration pilot, has written a couple of aerobatic articles at http://www.pittspecials.com/articles.html you might find of interest. http://www.pittspecials.com/articles/Aerobatics_intro.htm contains some answers to the question of how you increase your tolerance to both positive and negative Gs.
The short version seems to be that you have to fly and work on it gradually, but incrementally.
Well congrats on that! To have a new SuperD available to you, you have no idea how rare that is and how truly lucky you are! Good rental planes are super rare in rural parts of the states so we’re seriously jealous!
You might find the Rich Stowell’s “Getting Ready for Spins” DVD interesting, it’s $15 well spent from a known Acro instructor. We carry the DVD at the URL I included if you’re interested…..
Good luck to you! What an amazing opportunity you have!
~Brendan
http://www.CRAZEDpilot.com
Phil,
I’ve been doing undergraduate pilot training with the Air Force down in Mississippi for the last few months and while the T-6 and super decathlon aren’t quite the same aircraft, there should e a fair amount overlap in what gets introduced when. We start every flight with a G-exercise – a level to slightly descending turn at various G-loadings. You can start at 2Gs, see how you feel and how your g-strain is working and increase from there. Unusual attitude recoveries (45-50 degrees nose high; 35-45 degrees nose low; a g should get you comfortable with an inverted aircraft and the rate of acceleration you’d feel on a split-s or the back half of a loop.
Once you’re comfortable with that stuff, aileron rolls and barrel rolls are fairly gentle low-g maneuvers, and I’d imagine a dirty airplane like the Suoer Decathlon doesn’t have very violent g-loading in maneuvers like the loop, split-s, and Immelmann. I think the G-ex will probably be the most help for acclimatization since its just a steeper steep turn – not very disorienting and you can knock it off at any time.
Start slowly, gradually ramp up your exposure over a number of flights, and knock it off as soon as you start to feel bad – it won’t get any better. I started my Super D flying with aileron rolls, loops, half cubans and spins. Aileron rolls are zero-to-1G all the way around and are a good way to get used to the wacky sight picture, and 3.5-4G will get you around a loop. Spins will likely be the most disorienting but if you ever want to fly solo aerobatics you absolutely MUST be fully proficient in spin recovery (upright and inverted).
More generally, make sure you’re well-rested, well hydrated and have had something (but not too much) to eat. Dehydration, in particular, will destroy your G tolerance. Note also that you’ll feel much better when you’re flying – when I’ve had passengers go a little green in the Pitts I’ve let them fly it straight and level for a bit.
I love the Super Decathlon – it’s a delightful airplane for learning the fundamentals of aerobatics (and for tailwheel training) and for flying Sportsman-level competition. Have fun but it’s incredibly addictive….
Why not start with spins? You did them to get your CFI, so they are not new to you. And as Martin said, you have to have spin recovery down cold to do other acro.
I don’t think you can sustain high g loads for long enough in this airplane for that to really be a problem.
Motion sickness, on the other had….I’m the wrong guy to ask. After 40 years and 2000+ hours (including 950 hours in the pit of the F-4, about the most sickening place you can be this side of the ISS) I still have issues with motion sickness.
Ah, you’re the guys that ended up with 7145G, eh? Got a bunch of time in that airplane. You’ll really enjoy it, she’s a sweetheart.
I strongly recommend thorough spin training before you start flying solo aerobatics. As far as the figures to fly, start with a simple aileron roll. Loop next. Then some roll/loop combos (immelman, cuban, split s, etc).
I completely understand the “getting sick when someone else is flying” thing. Teaching acro means being in the plane but not knowing exactly when that pull or push is going to come from the student, and it’s much harder handling the acceleration when you’re not the one controlling it. So your instructor should not fly very much if at all. YOU should be doing it 99% of the time.
Build up your G tolerance by only flying until you start to feel signs of air sickness. Then quit — even if you’ve only flown one or two figures. Over time, you’ll build up your G-tolerance. Trust me, I’ve been teaching this stuff for a decade and haven’t had anyone barf on me yet.
Also, ensure you’re taught how to deal with the unusual attitudes you might get into from each figure. Falling out of the top of a loop, nose low from a botched aileron roll, spin out of the top of an immelman, etc.
–Ron
If you have the time I would first listen to this podcast, and davisson’s feelings about flight training in the pitts.
http://airpigz.com/blog/2010/5/17/airpigz-podcast-11-flight-journal-editor-pitts-fanatic-budd.html
Then maybe think about going to Arizona to learn how to land the pitts with davisson. I went though his course in about 4 days and it will make you a much better pilot and also transitioning “down” to the super d would be super easy. Plus you don’t have to worry about high g forces or anything like that just yet.
Forrest Bird claims (in jest?) that hardening of the arteries increases tolerance of G forces.