Driving up to Henley for some kind of aviating on weekends — and any good soaring days — was my routine for several years. Of course, I was now focused on aerobatics in my newly-acquired Citabria (hangared at Henley). I was improving my loops and adding other aerobatic figures, but having no success with rolls.
[Nice, short videos of basic aerobatic figures. Click the image to the right to see hints.]
One weekend, when I returned from an aerobatic session and taxied up to the fuel pumps, there was a yellow Citabria. The owner — Dave Cook — was sitting in the restaurant near the fuel pumps. He came out to see who had arrived in the green Citabria.
We talked about our planes and aerobatics and I told Dave about my problem with rolls. He offered to go up with me and show me how to do it. He had two parachutes in his plane so we took it up for some roll instruction. The secret was surprisingly simple.
Dave did one roll, explaining that he was putting the stick hard over to the left and applying full rudder. Rather brute force. (Much more moderate control works in a Pitts.) I tried the next roll, and to my surprise, it went well. The surprising thing was that rolls were instantly no longer intimidating. I’ve recently figured out that Dave’s method doubles up what’s called a rudder roll with an aileron roll.
I also learned that Dave was a certified aerobatics instructor and had worked at the famous Art Scholl [YouTube video] school of aerobatics. Dave had moved to Sandpoint, Idaho — 25 miles north of Henley — where he was teaching school. He invited me to come up to his hangar at the airport there the next weekend. I happily accepted.
Serendipity again… That day was the start of a new adventure…
It might go without saying, but aerobatics is totally absorbing. It’s much like racing sailboats in that way. No matter how good you get, you must focus on the moment and anticipate the next one while striving to do your best. Steve Wolf always knew what was coming next, and he could describe it fluidly.
Didit.Live 