Glider Pilots do it silently!
Glider Aerobatic Pilots do it quietly before the flight - the planning of a sequence. As with the landing, the sequence is a one shot deal. Do it right the first time or reach deep in your pocket for the next tow unless you have enough lift in the area. The cheapest flights are those you do on the ground, although those are not nearly as much fun.

So you are getting ready to design a sequence for your first contest or just for your practice and want to place all those figures inside that box.

Yet, nobody has given you a hand on how to approach the design of a sequence.

You have learned the basic figures like spins, loops, hammerheads and rolls. You may have even started combining some elements into sequences.

Perhaps you’ve gone so far as to get your hands on the FAI Glider Aerobatic Figures Catalogue (GAF), the red IAC Rule Book, and started looking through those wild figures. Some of them seem to be impossible to fly and may just be there to create a logical row of elements.

What are my abilities?

Your repertoire pretty much outlines the families of figures you are capable of flying. But your first thought should always be: “Don’t try this at home!” Any new family of figures should be taught by a flight instructor, who can outline systematically how to coordinate the figure correctly. There should always be a plan about how to abort a figure safely.

As you go through the GAF, you may highlight the figures you would like to fly

As you practice, your threshold for your physical comfort level will increase. Your physical abilities and state of your fitness, etc. don’t have an immediate influence at the time you design your sequence, but should be considered along with a margin of safety when attempting a certain level of difficulty.

What are my glider’s abilities?

The operating manual of your glider is another key to your sequence. It gives you the recommended airspeeds and the limitations of your glider. Following the manual will keep you within safe limits of the operation of your glider. Certain figures may not be approved for your glider. There are reasons for this, which you may not understand without experiencing them.

You may want to check the figures you have marked in the GAF and compare them with your glider’s capabilities. You may find that you need to make new choices.

Energy Management

With your catalogue full of figures within your and your glider’s limitations, you want to start with a few simple combinations. But first you should identify the airspeeds at the entry and exit of each figure. This is the key to the harmony of your sequence. Many figures will have about the same airspeed in and out, provided they are flown clean. Loop, Hammerhead, Humpty Bump etc. are in that category. Other figures give you the opportunity to slow down for any following figures. Those are the ones, which end up at a higher altitude than were you started them.

It is all simple physics. Altitude can be traded for speed and vice versa. And if it wasn’t for the drag, you could practice your sequence forever.

Make sure that for any vertical figures upward you have enough momentum from the previously flown figure. Even though the Rule Book allows for “reasonable” angle in the horizontal flight, you should not have to accelerate in a horizontal portion of your sequence. For example, a hammerhead after a horizontal roll will not look as good as if you place it after a figure with a high exit speed.

In contrary, you also have to make sure that you are not starting an accelerating figure with too much speed. You may end up going past the red line. The operating manual of your glider should give you some hints about this. With practice you will learn the gain or loss of airspeed for each individual figure.

Your dilemma now is to find a combination of those figures you want to fly which will fit into a harmonic sequence. The accelerating, decelerating or constant speed figures, as well as same direction or turnaround figures, give you many options.

Thinking inside the box

How often have you heard the phrase, “Just think outside the box?” Well, if you have to think outside the box, your box is not big enough! When it comes to our sport, the box is well defined and you don’t want to consider thinking outside of it.

Out of your own and your glider’s abilities, you have picked a repertoire of figures you would like to fly. In the catalogue, all of the figures, except for the complementary family 9 (rolls and spins), start with a horizontal entry. Additionally, they all end with a horizontal line, which may finish in the same direction the figure started or in the opposite way. Using a complementary element (family of rolls and spins) may give you the option of finishing the figure in any direction you want.  

Learn the altitude loss for each figure and apply conservative numbers when you design your routine. Sum up the loss of altitude for the whole sequence. Add a safety margin based on your skill level to fit your whole sequence in the vertical space of the box. Check that before you fly the sequence the first time.

When you are entering the box at 4000ft, that square down on the ground looks as small as a postage stamp. It’s hard to judge your own position in the box while entering. The wing waggle, which marks the beginning of your sequence, gives you a chance to look straight down and figure out where you are. The choice of the first figure has significance in different ways to your sequence too. Do you want to start slow, maybe with a spin? Or do you want to enter the box with high speed? Where should the first figure start?

Although you cannot impress the judges with a perfectly flown wing waggle, consider it part of your sequence. It doesn’t count towards your score, but a sloppy wing waggle leaves a bad taste to a nicely flown sequence. The dilemma here is that you should fly it with enough speed. If you want to continue with a slow figure, like a spin, you may need to dissipate that speed. Therefore, you may want to place that spin in either the center or on the far end of the box.

Make sure to have at least part of a figure in the Y-axis of the box, which will give you the opportunity to correct for possible crosswind. Plan it somewhere in the middle of the sequence so you can take the most advantage of it. It really doesn’t help you much by putting it at the beginning or at the end of your routine.

Most of the time you end up using a figure with the same heading in and out between two turnaround figures. Be aware that you need to show a straight line between all figures. This hesitation eats space. If you have a fast combination, try to fit it in the headwind portion of the sequence. It may be not important if there is no wind when you fly the routine, but it could be to your advantage with wind.

Some figures give you a good opportunity to check your position. The vertical figures downward give you the best idea where you are.

Take the judge’s position into account. Some figures show impurities in execution more in one axis than the other. Be aware of it and try to use it to your advantage.

Test your sequence

Once you think you are happy with your creation, go test it out. You may find that certain parts of your routine do not fit in the box. The composition of your sequence can be an ongoing process.

If it doesn’t fit, you may have to go back to the drawing board and redesign parts of your routine. Keep alternative figures or parts of a sequence ready to test while you are at the airport practicing. That way you leave the second-guessing behind you when you redesign your sequence.

Know the rules in competition

Your abilities and those of your glider pretty much determine the category you should fly in a competition. The Rule Book tells you what figures you may expect in the Unknown Program. A new Known Program is published every year.

In order to fly your free sequence at a contest, it has to be in compliance with Chapter 6 of the Rule Book. When you are sure that your routine meets all required criteria, have it checked and signed off by an official aerobatic judge.

Many things in competition are give and take. The pilot, who makes the least mistakes, scores the best. Learn how the scoring system works and how you get penalized. You can’t always avoid leaving the box, but when you do, do it with style. The penalty for leaving the box may be less expensive than the badly flown figure you tried to squeeze in.

If you get disoriented or you suspect that you turned in the wrong direction, indicate a break and reposition yourself. This break is not for free, it costs you some points but is still better than scoring zeros for the rest of your sequence.

Enjoy your flights

An aerobatic sequence is a vanishing piece of art. Often you are up there all by yourself and the only one who can appreciate its beauty.

This piece is created within very defined boundaries of rules. All this planning will help you to find the joy of accomplishment in a perfectly flown masterpiece.

You will find your own way to design for success. If you are not sure, talk to a more experienced pilot. And if possible, practice together with other pilots. That way your learning curve may be as steep as figure 1.6.1.

Checklist for your sequence design

þ      Can I do this? (In my repertoire)

þ      Can my glider do this? (In my glider’s repertoire)

þ      Does the combination make sense in harmony with airspeed?

þ     Is it safe?

þ     Where in the box shall the sequence start and what kind of figure should it be (speed)?

þ      Does the combination fit in the box?

þ      Is the balance of total of figures adequate – or in other words: will I finish the sequence at high enough altitude?

þ      Are the fast combinations into the wind and the slower combinations with a tailwind?

þ      Do I have a Y-axis figure to correct for wind?

þ      Can I monitor my positioning in the box adequately?

þ      Where are the judges located?

þ      Where in the box shall the sequence finish (wing waggle)?

þ      Does the sequence cover all required figures/families? (Intermediate & Unlimited)

þ      No repetitions, except the exceptions per Rule Book.

þ      Is the total K value within limits?

þ      Check your sequence for compliance with the Rule Book and have your forms A, B and C signed off by an official aerobatic judge.