The bog roll cutting is fairly easy. We have found that single ply toilet paper works the best; twin ply is too heavy and falls to fast and the ribbon length is shorter.
'Start' the roll by unrolling the paper until you no longer get that 'sticky' bit at the beginning of the roll (the bit that prevents the paper simply unrolling). You can throw that first bit away or leave it in the toilets for the poor buggers who acutally need the paper for its real purpose..
Do all this on the ground and then put the roll/s somewhere (David puts them down the front of his jacket).
Climb to around 1000' to 1500' AGL and choose a position to toss from. Be aware of where you are and consider the following:
Are you above a circuit pattern?
Will you create litter in a pristine enviroment?
Will any aircraft be likely to pass below you?
Is there a landing spot should you have an engine out when you are low?
Are there any tall objects that you might hit when low?
What is the wind direction and where will it carry the ribbon to?
Make radio calls and ensure that any traffic in the vicinity understands where you are and what you are doing- make sure about this as you will lose track of what is happening in the excitement of the chase.
Toss the roll; it will unwind and drop - later on you can try to remove the cardboard inner to slow the descent, but its too fiddly at first.
After you have tossed the roll, come off the power and count to 4; 1001, 1002, etc and then turn to find the ribbon. If you try to turn immediately you will find that you cannot turn tightly enough to reach the ribbon. Aim for the ribbon with your profile tube- if you try to aim for it with your wing will invariably misjudge and miss, so try to hit it 'square on'. It won't hurt!
WATCH YOUR ALTITUDE! It is very easy to get too low in the excitement of it all- WATCH OUT FOR LOW MASTS, TREES, ETC! Beak it off at around 300-400' AGL.
Its a lot of fun and the Panorama record is more than 8 cuts, by David Levy (up to 12 cuts have been seen but by then he is cutting individual squares....). You will learn a lot about flying and about your aircraft.
Please pay a lot of attention to where you are doing it and observe the points I have made above before tossing- do it without a passenger until you have got the hang of it, and if you do it with a passenger be aware that your loading will be higher- in the excitement you may exceed Vne and g limits; the exercise is not very dangerous, but, be aware of what you are doing!
Oddball
