Ed Moorman's

THE ROLLING CIRCLE

Maneuver Card

The rolling circle may appear difficult, but all it really consists of is a bunch of rolls strung together with the up and down corrections timed to make the plane go in a circle instead of a line. Remember back to when you first tried to do three rolls together. Like most fliers, you probably mistimed the elevator and got your rolls in a curve instead of a straight line. What you really did was a part of a rolling circle.

KEYS FOR A PAINLESS ROLLING CIRCLE

1. Set aileron dual rate for a very slow roll. It should take 6 or more seconds to complete a single roll at full aileron. The faster you roll, the easier it is to get out of sync with the elevator corrections.

2. Roll to the inside of the circle. If you roll right, you will be making a right circle and the airplane will be coming from the right when you start. Rolling to the inside of the circle lets you use elevator at the start just like you are doing a turn. If you circle opposite to the roll, you will need to use rudder as the first control.

3. Use elevator only for turning. Later on, you can add in rudder correction if desired, but you will get a passable rolling circle with elevator only.

4. Watch the wings. Then the wings are banked in, either upright or inverted, this is when you put in up or down elevator to make the circle.

5. Don't worry about the number of rolls, just complete the circle. If you are going to do a rolling circle for a high level pattern or IMAC meet, you will need to complete a certain number of rolls in the circle. If you are just trying to learn a rolling circle, forget the number of rolls and just do it.

DOING THE ROLLING CIRCLE

· Full Power. · Parallel to the Runway · Two Mistakes High

1. Set the plane up coming from your right to left (for a right roll).

2. Turn on LOW RATE aileron.

3. Just as the plane passes in front of you, use full aileron to begin a roll.

4. Add in up elevator just like you are beginning a turn. Do not release the aileron.

5. Just before the bank gets to 90 degrees, release the elevator. Continue holding the aileron.

6. The wings will pass through vertical (90 degrees) and continue to inverted. After the wings pass the inverted position, use down elevator to continue the circle.

7. Before the wings get to 90 degrees release the down.

8. After the wings pass through level flight and are banked inward, use up elevator to continue the circle.

· You'll find that timing the up and down will be easier that doing three rolls. This is because the plane is rolling at a much slower rate

· At first, you will probably get a small circle because you put in too much up and down. Again, it's like three rolls. It doesn't take much control movement, it's the timing that makes all the difference. Shoot for a big circle. They are easier to see and it is easier to time the elevator movement.

OUTSIDE ROLLS

The rolling circle with a roll to the outside isn't much harder, as long as you know how to start. When you start the roll to the outside, any up will make you turn the wrong direction and down will make the plane descend. What you have to do is to put in a lot of opposite rudder. For a right roll, use a bunch of left rudder, then start blending in some down as the wings pass vertical. Visualize the plane in a left bank. You want it to go to the right. The only control you have that can work is the rudder. Once you are in the circle, forget the rudder and use up and down as with the inside roll.

USING RUDDER

Here are the control sequences:

· INSIDE LEFT CIRCLE:

UP, RIGHT, DOWN, LEFT

· INSIDE RIGHT CIRCLE:

UP, LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT

· OUTSIDE LEFT CIRCLE:

RIGHT, DOWN, LEFT, UP

· OUTSIDE RIGHT CIRCLE:

LEFT, DOWN, RIGHT, UP

By Ed Moorman

85 12th Street Shalimar, FL 32579