C/LCombat G
etting into shape for Combat: This last summer was a bit different than most since in our contest area we had a number of new-to-
Combat flyers join in the fray. New fliers are always welcome around here and we do our best to help them get acclimated to the two-up flying and learn the ropes so to speak.
Having gotten into the sport the hard
way, back when the only Combat event was single elimination Fast, the learning curve really was vicious. I flew my first competi- tion matches over an asphalt circle and made all the rookie mistakes for a number of years. Fortunately I belonged to a good club and had several good flyers to fly prac- tice matches with. It can be even tougher trying to learn when your only match time is one flight a contest a couple of times a summer. The best place to start is Speed Limit Combat—75 mph or less. Things happen slow enough that you can remember what exactly went wrong or right. In our area we use what we call Roy’s Rules, or East Coast rules. These place a lot of emphasis on care- ful, canny, accurate flying. Nobody can get ahead by causing a midair, line tangle, fly- away or crash. The only way to win is to fly nearly every second of each of four matches, don’t hit the ground, don’t hit the other plane, don’t tangle the lines unless you can fly out of it, and get a cut every time you take a shot at one. Do all that and your final score will be
well over 3000 points in four matches with no more than a broken prop. Nobody has
by phil cartier You can reach Phil Cartierat 34 Sweet Arrow Dr, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania 17036, or via e-mail at
philcartier@earthlink.net
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHIL CARTIER
F2D on F2D: Phil couldn’t figure out who is flying, but the light colored plane cuts the string on the green streamer in a few tenths of a second. Quite a few F2D matches end up in double kills which usually means a reflight.
ever come close. If you want a copy of the full rules email me at
philcartier@earthlink.net or look at my website http://home.earth-
link.net/~philcartier. A pilot can start flying Combat as soon as
he/she can keep the plane under control and fly level, if he wants. Veteran Combat flyers call that fresh meat. To avoid embarrass- ment and have more fun it pays to learn how to do inside loops (up elevator), outside loops (bunts as the limeys call them, down eleva-
Alex Prokofiev launches for Mark Rudner, probably going up against Cary Minor. Mark picked up a win that match. For the most part, the motors ran okay on 6mm exhausts. Didn’t sound much quieter though. Alex gets a second pic ’cause he ended up in first place.
50
tor), a lazy eight where you start an inside loop and then give down elevator as the plane starts towards the ground and do part of an outside loop to recover to level flight, and finally, contest or Stunt figure eights. With the plane suitably high, start an out- side loop. As the plane goes inverted and starts to climb let it gain some altitude and then give up to recover. Those basic maneu- vers, placed here and there all around the circle will get you through any Combat match. Oddly enough, learning to fly the Stunt pattern will help a lot getting ready to fly Combat. It teaches the pilot to place a ma- neuver where he wants it. It also has some emphasis on doing a maneuver precisely. Stunt isn’t nearly as precise as hitting a streamer but you have to learn how to fly the plane on a specific track when you want to. It isn’t just banging the controls up and down and hoping something good happens. Try flying the Stunt pattern with your Com- bat plane. Doing a recognizable pattern at even 75 mph is rather tricky to do and very good practice for Combat. Skip all the level laps between maneuvers and run through it twice in a flight. Another common maneuver that can be practiced alone or with a flying buddy is a fake or S turn. At its simplest it might be hitting hard down elevator to start a defen- sive eight and then pulling up to go back to level flight. It might just fake your opponent into doing an outside loop and get him off your tail. A variation is doing the fake while headed towards the ground in a wingover. Done at just the right height the other guy may stop to think about it and fly into the ground. Watch out for doing a wiggle like this
when heading down. It’s quite possible to fly yourself into the ground. The same thing
APRIL 2012
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