Flying the 2023 Sportsman Sequence - Part 7 – Flying the Competition Roll

The Competition Aileron Roll 

Competition aileron rolls, which are really slow rolls in technique, are one of the harder things to teach in the basic aerobatic course. You must Not pitch first before initiating the roll as you would in a pure, 1g, Bob Hoover-smooth, coordinated aileron roll (or the zero g Primary roll). A slow roll is definitely not coordinated as top rudder, or sky rudder, is applied in each knife-edge portion of the roll.

Low Horsepower/high drag airplanes struggle with the slow roll unless it is flown at moderate to high airspeeds. Enter the roll as fast as you can.

The main problem in this maneuver is that people do not maintain the straight and level path before, during, and after the roll. Sinking during the roll is quite common, especially in the inverted and second knife-edge portions of the roll. Another problem is not maintaining a constant roll rate. Most pilots allow the roll rate to speed up in the second half of the roll.

People also end up off heading, usually to the right in a left roll. 

The key to a good competition aileron (slow) roll is picking a spot on the horizon, and then drawing Alan Cassidy's scared circle with the tip of the nose around that spot. John Morrissey's "deep focus" must be maintained throughout the roll, which will be a challenge in and of itself as the controls are manipulated.

If we consider a left roll, the tip of the nose starts at 6 o'clock on the sacred circle, rotates counterclockwise up to 3 o'clock for the first knife-edge, continues up to the 12 o'clock when inverted, down to 9 o'clock for the second knife-edge, then back to 6 o'clock. The controls must be manipulated in such a way to "draw" that sacred circle with the tipe of the nose around that point on the horizon.

Remember our earlier conversation from Rich Stowell about pitch and yaw? That will apply here.

Former flight instructor of the year and master CFI-aerobatic Rich Stowell said it best. He stated that the flight controls work in relation to the pilot not the horizon. Pitch is a head-to-foot motion of the tip of the nose of the airplane, not up and down. Yaw is an ear-to-ear motion of the tip of the nose of the airplane, not left and right. Up and down and left and right, in relation to the horizon, only work in upright flight with less than 40 degrees of bank. Up and down and left and right ideas do not work in knife-edge or inverted flight.

Sport Aerobatics May 2018 issue page 20

 

A good trick taught to me by Emerson Stewart here in Ohio was to not switch the rudders (when switching to the other top rudder) when passing through 12 o’clock, but to wait until about the 10:30 position.

 

Additionally, as it says in Alan Cassidy's book, Better Aerobatics, a little push with the elevator at about the same time as the feet are switched (10:30) will also keep the nose pointed in the right direction as the rolling motion continues, rounding out the second half of the sacred circle. This push will fix the problem of ending off heading to the right all the time.

 

Once the rudder pedals are switched the roll rate will increase, which is a downgrade. This happens because once the pilot shifts to the left rudder for “top” rudder the aircraft is no longer slipping. Ease off the aileron deflection a bit when the rudder pedals are switched so the roll rate stays the same.

 

Fly Safe!