Casual IMAC Fly - October 2009

by Jim Tiller

Under the stewardship of Gene Jobgen, eight of us went though the 10 maneuvers included in the 2009 Basic Sequence. Gene Jobgen opened the event by doing the routine while the other fliers watched. Doc McGuigan called the maneuvers one by one: “#1 Pull to 45 degree up line. #2 Half roll, half loop. #3 Hammerhead. #4 Roll. #5 Teardrop with half roll on the down line. #6 Loop. #7 Shark’s tooth. #8 one half reverse Cuban eight. #9 Ninety degree up line with half roll and push out at the top. #10 Two turn positive spin. Shortly after the first go, the rest of us; Ken Gatzke, Denny Bernal, Zac Roller, Doc McGuigan, Clancy Kingsbury and I took our turns at the 10 maneuver sequence.

In between we had quite of bit of general sport flying, with Ken Corrin and new Propbuster Clint Outka putting on quite a show with their electric Corsairs. The IMAC was new to most of us and certainly a challenge to our flying skills.

The maneuvers are all things we do while ‘burning holes in the sky’, but two things were different on this Sunday morning. We didn’t know the proper names of each maneuver and we hadn’t previously done all 10 in a row. That was the challenge and the fun of day. I was surprised at how fast the 10 maneuvers passed when I was at the sticks. I think the biggest plus was forcing me to finish each one and go on the next without stopping or starting over. It certainly gave me a new appreciation of the fliers who have mastered these skills.

We certainly fielded an eclectic stable of IMAC fliers. The new Fusions were the most popular airplane, but I flew the sequence with my Escapade and Ken Gatzke flew it with his Goldberg profile. Zac Roller used his YS powered Chipmunk. Gene Jobgen flew his Yak gasser. We didn’t score any of the flights but we did provide a lot of encouragement for all who attended.

There was one prize awarded for the best single flight and that went to Zac Roller. He received a profile plane used forvisualizing the sequence. The rest of us all received Air Rally t-shirts. There are just of few of those left over.

All of us certainly enjoyed the day and the donuts provided by Gene. It is good to stretch the envelope once in a while. Zac and Gene are going to some IMAC events next summer. Maybe some of their preparation will rub off on the rest of us. Sounds like you’d better download the 2010 sequence and line up your caller.