President Emeritis Rob Dorsey was the IAC president from February 2001 through June 2002. He was a prolific writer who began his Stick & Rudder column in 1998. The column was widely popular among EAA and IAC members due to his excellent writing style, technical expertise, and humor.
Enjoy this archive of Stick & Rudder articles from Sport Aerobatics magazines from 1998 to 2002.
In the Loop articles added July 2025 |
December 2001
Stick & Rudder - Lomcevak! The Secrets Revealed (Part I)
In the air, you'd better have your total wits about you if you try this stunt. Yes, I said stunt. Here's why.
There has probably never been a maneuver since the "tailspin" of early flight that has had so much lore and myth applied to it as the Lomcevak. Fact is, no one had ever even thought of such a thing until the summer of 1958. In those wonderful and simple days, unencumbered by the rules of CIVA and the IAC, aerobatics were judged on the merits of grace, rhythm, and showmanship, sort of like a multitude of 4-minute Freestyles linked together.
Read more - click on the link below.
January 2002
Stick & Rudder - Lomcevak! The Secrets Revealed (Part I)
Last month we established some background for an understanding of the Lomcevak, or tumble, by going into the mechanics of the inverted flat spin, and we finished with the question, "What has a flat spin got to do with the Lomcevak?" Answer: Everything.
Read more - click on the link below.
In the Loop articles added June 2025 |
May 2000 "The Safety Issue"
Stick & Rudder - Crossover Spins
Spin accidents have taken our dearest friends from us, and they surely will again. They have brought us tears of regret, both for our loss and for the knowledge of what just a little training could have prevented. If you can't recognize the signs of a spin gone wrong and take immediate corrective action at competition altitudes, friend, you are putting yourself smack-dab in harm's way. Read more - click on the link below.
January 2001
Stick & Rudder - In the Beginning
You have wanted to fly aerobatics all of your adult life. The plastic airplanes, hung by thread and thumbtack from your childhood bedroom ceiling, were often posed inverted or in steep climbs or dives, and you couldn't possibly fly your .049 Cox Little Stinker without trying a loop or two. More importantly, you sort of enjoyed the steep turns and accelerated stalls you practiced while working toward your private certificate. Now, bored with droning from A to B, you again think about looping and rolling, about gaining a true command of the horizon. But how? Where to start?
Read more - click on the link below.
February 2001
Stick & Rudder - Through the Sequence - The 2001 Sportsman Known
Again, we will take up a figure-by-figure look at a Known sequence. This time, however, we will look at the Sportsman Known for 2001. It is meant to be winnable by the benchmark Clipped Cub - and is, if you think it through and don't try to fly too hard.
Read more - click on the link below.
March 2001
Stick & Rudder - The 2001 Sportsman Known Part II
We continue with our tour through the 2001 Sportsman Known sequence. Last month, we discovered that this program provides some intellectual as well as physical challenges. Good, I like that. I'm using our 4-aileron, 450 Stearman to test this sequence since I reckoned that it pretty much fit the description of a "low performance" aerobatic airplane. I was right.
Read more - click on the link below.
April 2001
Stick & Rudder - Easy Does It
So, my buddy with the Waco says: "Competition schmompetition, what the heck's wrong with just a nice loop and a roll? I mean, what if you ain't got no inverted system and wouldn't want to dump oil all over the belly if you did? Sheesh! When will you g-junkies just relax and enjoy the simple pleasure of smoothly rolling the horizon around the nose? For a lot of us, pal, competition just ain't necessary, but aerobatics is." Read more - click on the link below
June 2001
Stick & Rudder - Going Outside
The sign on the old Tiger Club hangar in Waco read: "You ain't been till you've been Outside!" Take it easy getting into this phase of aerobatics, but give it a try. It is a sort of rite of passage for us wing flingers, and if your airplane is up to it, so may you be.
Read more - click on the link below.
July 2001
Stick & Rudder - Through the Sequence
Wow! Talk about controversy! This Known has raised eyebrows and blood pressures among even seasoned Intermediate competitors ever since it came out, and it has even generated calls for mid-season change. Not so fast! Let's at least talk about it.
Read more - click on the link below.
Learn more about Rob Dorsey, who flew west on March 5, 2025, in this article: https://www.iac.org/lines-and-
