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| Issue 33 (March 2009) |
Words: Mark Fadely |
Do all of your buddies applaud after your flights at the local field? Can you feel your ego getting a little extra stroking when you're "in the zone"? Are you thinking about competing? If these things describe you, then this article is for you. If you have become really proficient in your flying, it will only be natural to augment your flights with a music soundtrack. Like many other types of performances, it's more fun to watch a heli fly when it "dances" to music. At major heli events in the past, pilots would go out to do their demo flights and just throw on some kind of generic hard rock tune. Van Halen was always popular at vintage IRCHA (International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association) get-togethers during the 90's. Things are changing though, and expectations are rising. A fantastic flight during the IRCHA noontime demos of five years ago would barely get noticed today.
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Face the Music
The old style of flying helis to background music is being replaced by well thought out flying routines that incorporate precision planning and custom musical scores. It takes many long hours to put together a pleasing flight routine combined with a well-choreographed music track. It is a lot of hard work to design the flying to music, but it pays off with a routine that looks much better as it follows the music in both tempo and mood. You can spend a few minutes picking a good song from the radio to fly to, or you can spend months making sure everything is just right with a custom made mix.
It is a lot harder than it looks.
When you give the whole choreography thing a try, you'll find it to be quite difficult initially. When most pilots go up for a flight, they generally have an idea of what maneuvers will be flown. They might vary the order of the moves or change some of them slightly. It also doesn't make too much difference if you fly an extra twenty-five feet before starting the next trick. That changes when you begin choreographing your flying.
Just as a dance group needs to make every turn and twist on the beat, so the heli must follow suit. If you try to fly your favorite maneuvers with better timing, placement, and precision, they will be more difficult. Entering a maneuver early or exiting one late will throw everything off. Even though spectators might not fly helis, they will notice whether your timing is on or not when music is playing. All the top-level contests include flight-to-music because it more easily separates the better pilots and makes for a more entertaining event.
Work it out on the sim
Simulators are the single most powerful tool that advancing heli pilots have available to them. The sim is just as valuable when working out your flight to music routine. I recommend working in short segments. Plan out where in the flight you will be and insert the music clip in that section so that you can fly to it over and over. Looping the music so that it repeats the same segment will accelerate the tweaking process.
One element to be aware of is the sim's real-world speed. I found that no matter how I adjusted the speed on the sim, the timing was always a little different when flying in the real world. Once you have flown a couple of choreographed routines this timing difference will become easy to account for.
What makes good flying music?
That is a good question. The answer is different for everyone. One thing is for sure; the music needs to have an obvious correlation with the heli's movements. Think about your favorite maneuver, and then try to imagine a piece of music that would accentuate that move. All major contests require the pilots to perform their routines to exact timing in order to place well. Choreographed flights serve two purposes. First, flights integrated with music are more entertaining for the spectator. Second, those same flights are easier to judge because segments that do not match the music and rhythm are obvious.
It is nearly impossible to find one song that will compliment your flying style for an entire flight. A mix of music that lasts around four minutes is best. That is enough time to show all your best stuff without boring the audience by going on for too long. It's most important to not repeat anything during the flight. Keep it fresh and new. Remember that you're an entertainer and plan your routine with that in mind. The flight should be captivating for both experienced heli pilots as well as spectators who may have never seen a heli fly.
What's the best way to get started? First, you need to find a good way to play music while you fly. Some pilots use their mp3 players and listen through earphones. I never liked this method. The few times I tried it, I would only put an ear bud into one ear so that I could still hear the heli with the other ear. A small boom box works well, but sometimes they are difficult to hear over the sound of the heli. A pilot friend of mine once made a small portable sound system with a car audio amplifier and two small studio speakers. It was more than loud enough to hear with the heli in the air.
Make sure to include a number of starts and stops in your flying and in the music. The most obvious timing of the flight to music is when things happen abruptly. For instance, imagine flying along straight and level to stage center, and then jerk the heli up into a vertical position just as the symbols crash in the music.
How do I start mixing my own music?
There are many different mixing programs on the market. I have heard of some people finding free versions online that work well too. I used the program called Music Studio available at www.magix.com. That program has worked well for several years. Becoming familiar with the program is half the battle. The mixing software is generally pretty powerful, and you can do quite a few elegant tasks with it once you figure out how to use it. It is a time commitment, though.
I spent about an hour a day over the span of a few months learning techniques with Music Studio. Like all software, it seems a bit overwhelming at first. Now that I have been using it for several years, I can sit down and make a simple mix in a matter of minutes.
Choreography is a requirement
All pilots that compete in the XFC (Extreme Flight Championships) must have excellent flight-to-music skills. In fact, the organizers have highlighted the entire paragraph that talks about choreography in the XFC rules. They want the competitors to understand the importance of maneuvering their helis in harmony with music. Besides that, the "K" factor (a percentage of your total score) is really high on choreography.
Here is what is written in the official XFC judging criteria.
"The entire flight should be accurately and precisely choreographed to music and/or other suitable sound effects. It should include different types of audible rhythms, beats, tempos, and sounds that reflect the maneuvers, speeds, and attitudes of the aircraft. Higher marks should be given for choreography with the music to enhance the flight, and the flight choreographed to enhance and present visual impressions where both the music and aircraft are flowing together with each other and acting as a unified entity to display a harmonious presentation. Marks should be deducted in this category if only portions of the flight follow the music or if portions have no reasonable relationship to the music. Marks should also be deducted if it is obvious that the intent of the maneuver is not in concert with the music or audio."
Putting it all together
I have always enjoyed flying to music. I think it adds so much to the entertainment factor of a flight.It's a way to express yourself on a higher level than just going out and flying with no purpose. Try to not get frustrated. You have to remember, it took a lot of hours to learn how to fly RC helicopters, and it will take some time to figure out the flight-to-music part as well.
I believe everyone enjoys seeing an excellent flight that is well choreographed. The IRCHA noontime demos are where you see the best pilots in the world showing their unique skills. They make the heli look so natural, just like a skillful dancer makes difficult moves look easy. If you like to try new things, then flying to some music (and maybe even making your own music) just might inspire you to reach that next level.
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