Can you follow directions?

[MakeItHappen 15]

Rubik's Cube for Skydivers or anyone else

Terminology:

Corner cube – those are the ones on the corners.
Edge Cube – those are the ones in between the corner cubes
Center Cube – those are the ones in the middle of a side. It cannot be moved and determines the color of that side.

Location: a cube is in the right slot but may not be in the right orientation
It's sort of like flying to a formation and before you turn to your proper heading

Orientation: a cube is in the right location AND is lined up right with all the colors
This is when you are in your slot and have the proper heading.
It has nothing to do with whether you are straight, gay or bisexual.

Hold the cube in your left hand with your thumb on a center cube and your middle finger on the opposite side's center cube, such that one side faces up.
The side that your thumb is on is called the FRONT.
The side that your middle finger is on is called the BACK.
The side to your right is called RIGHT.
The side to your left is called LEFT.
The side that is up is called UP.
The side that is down is called DOWN.
Look at each side and observe that each side can be turned clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Individual Moves:
R means to rotate the right side clockwise.
Ri means to rotate the right side counter-clockwise.
L means rotate the left side clockwise.
Li means rotate the left side counter-clockwise.
U means rotate the UP side clockwise.
Ui means rotate the UP side counter-clockwise.
D means rotate the DOWN side clockwise.
Di means rotate the DOWN side counter-clockwise.
F means rotate the FRONT side clockwise.
Fi means rotate the FRONT side counter-clockwise.
We won't be doing any BACK side rotations in this lesson because that has been known to get people into trouble.
But the notation would be B and Bi.
The lower case 'i' stands for inverted.
Each rotation designation means 90 degrees.
The clockwise or counter-clockwise is always as you look at the side.

Block Moves:
Fi U Li Ui – used to orient edge cubes on the first side solved
Ri Di R D – used to orient corner cubes on the first and last sides solved
Ui Fi U F U R Ui Ri – used to position & orient edge cubes of middle layer
U R Ui Ri Ui Fi U F – used to position & orient edge cubes of middle layer
F R U Ri Ui Fi – used to position the cross on last side
R U Ri U R U U Ri – used to orient the cross properly on the last side
U R Ui Li U Ri Ui L – used to get the corner cubes in the right location on the last side

The Build Sequence:
1. Form a cross on the first side you want to complete
2. Fill in the corners on the first side
3. Fill in the edges on the middle layer
4. Make a cross on the last side
5. Orient the cross properly
6. Place the corners on the last side in their proper locations
7. Orient the corners


The Detailed Description:

Step 1:
This step forms the cross on UP side.
Pick a side, any side, to solve first.
That side will be UP, so hold the cube with that side up.
Find an edge cube that belongs to that side.
Look at the UP layer first.
If you find an edge cube that belongs to that layer rotate the UP side over to the side that matches the other color of the edge cube.
If the edge cube is flipped, do block Fi U Li Ui with the FRONT side being the side with the flipped edge cube.
Next look for an edge cube that belongs to the UP side in the middle layer. Rotate the UP side and then rotate the side with the edge cube to put it in the right location. If it is flipped, use the block sequence Fi U Li Ui with the front side as the side with the flipped edge.
A simpler way to do this is to always place the edge cube directly below the location it is supposed to be in and then rotate that side twice to put it in the correct location. Any flipped pieces can be corrected with Fi U Li Ui.
After you finish this with all 4 edge pieces you will have a cross on the UP side and the edge pieces will match up with the right, left, front and back sides.

Step 2:
This step places the corners of the first solved side.
Place an UP side corner cube directly underneath the corner it should be located in.
Hold the cube with the first build side up and the cube to be placed in the lower right of the front side.
Apply block Ri Di R D multiple times until the cube is in the right location with the proper orientation.
Repeat for the other corners.

Step 3:
This step solves the four middle layer edges.
To solve the middle layer you need to flip the entire cube up-side-down. The first completed side will become the DOWN side from now on.
Look at the UP side for an edge piece that belongs in the middle layer. This will be an edge piece that does not have the color of the UP side.
Rotate the UP layer until that edge piece lines up with the proper color of one of the sides. The cube should now have a side that has a stack of 3 colors in a vertical row.
Now find the location that this edge piece needs to be moved to. It will be in the middle row on the face that you are looking at.
Turn the cube as a whole so that the target location is on the right side of the FRONT side.
As you now hold the cube you will have one of two cases.
Case 1: The top edge piece of the FRONT needs to be moved to the middle right location of the FRONT.
For Case 1 execute the block move U R Ui Ri Ui Fi U F

Case 2: The top edge piece of the RIGHT needs to be moved to the middle right location of the FRONT.
For Case 2 execute the block move Ui Fi U F U R Ui Ri

If you do this correctly the edge piece should be in the proper location with the proper orientation.

Repeat for the other 3 edges of the middle layer.
You should end up with two completed layers.

Step 4:
This step puts the cross on the UP side.
Look at the UP side. It will be one of four possible cases.
Ignore the corner colors and look for a top cross.

If you have the top cross, then go to the next step.
Don't worry that the edges are not in the proper location. You just want the proper colors facing up.

If you have a bar – three across – rotate the cube as a whole so that the bar is running from the LEFT side to the RIGHT side.
Then execute block move F R U Ri Ui Fi
That should get you to the cross.
Move on to the next step.

If you have an L shape, rotate the cube as a whole so that the L looks inverted. That means that the cross will have completed arms at the top and the left, as you look at the UP side.
Then execute block move F R U Ri Ui Fi
That should get you to the bar configuration.
Rotate the cube as a whole to get the bar running from the LEFT to RIGHT side.
Execute block move F R U Ri Ui Fi again.
That should get you to the cross.
Move on to the next step.

If you do not see the inverted L, bar or cross, then execute block move F R U Ri Ui Fi
That should get you to the inverted L. You may have to rotate the cube as a whole to put it in the right position. Then follow the steps for the inverted L.

Step 5:
This step orientates the UP edges. Do not worry about the UP corners.
Line up one of the edges properly by rotating the UP layer.
The side that you line up is now the FRONT side, so make sure you hold the cube that way.
Now execute the block move R U Ri U R U U Ri
This rotates the other 3 edges. After each block move, check to see if the edges are aligned. Repeat until it is complete.
At the end of this step you should have the UP edges complete.

Step 6:
This step places the UP corners in the proper location, but not necessarily in the proper orientation.
Look at the UP corners to see if any of them are in the correct location. They do not necessarily have to be in the right orientation.
If you have one, then rotate the cube as a whole so that the UP corner cube in the proper location is in the upper right of the FRONT.
If you do not have any corners in the right location, pick any side to be the FRONT.
Execute the block move U R Ui Li U Ri Ui L
Check the corners to see if they are in the proper location.
If you started without any in the proper location you should get one that is located correctly. Remember you do not care if the orientation is wrong. Find a corner in the proper location and put that in the upper right of the FRONT side.
Repeat the block move U R Ui Li U Ri Ui L until all four corners are in the proper location.

Step 7:
This is the FUN step. This step changes the orientation of the corners.
You need to pick a side as FRONT. The UP side should remain the same as before.
In this step it will look like you are messing up the entire cube. Do not let that freak you out. Sometimes some of the corners will be orientated correctly.
Rotate the cube as a whole so that a corner that needs to flipped is in the upper right of the FRONT side.
The important part is to pick a FRONT side and keep it as FRONT during this entire process.
Execute the block move of Ri Di R D repeatedly until the corner cube is oriented correctly. Make sure you do the D rotation.
Once that corner is oriented correctly, rotate the UP side to position another corner that needs flipping to the upper right of the FRONT side.
Do not worry about the rest of cube that looks like it is very messed up.
Execute the block move of Ri Di R D until the corner cube is oriented correctly.
Continue until you have all four corners oriented correctly.
The cube will require one more UP rotation, that should be very obvious, to complete the entire cube.
Woohoo!

(Lemme know if something is unclear)

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[JoeQ.Public 0]

I always just took them apart.

Very soon, an honest person will not be able to sing the last 2 lines of our National Anthem:::Practice safe dining....use condiments

[Slyde 0]

Wholey COW!
I might be coming cornfused!
but wutz a hayseed from grimdiana
too doo
ta daa

tiny things remain unsaid for a bit now
gotta work
efdd

down came the rain and washed the spider out

still & always
m~

physician heal thy self
m1

A Peace Prize within minutes of Bombing the Moon. Coincidence? "Beware the Military Industrial Complex." You GO Ike!

[DiverMike 5]

A 3x3 Cube is so 1980's. I can solve my 5x5 in about 4 minutes. My 4x4 takes a little longer (different parity errors on a even number cube makes it harder)

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[Slyde 0]

4x4??
I blew up a 6-cell-paramount, once!

It too had no center cell.

And there's only about ONE thing a diving board is perfectly good FOR!

A Peace Prize within minutes of Bombing the Moon. Coincidence? "Beware the Military Industrial Complex." You GO Ike!

[aresye 0]

I never had the patience to finish one of those cubes. Now, I'm going to have to, after seeing this:

5-Dimensional Rubik's Cube

Skydiving: You either learn from other's mistakes, or they'll learn from yours.

[councilman24 36]

Two words....


Spray Paint

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[tigra 0]

Quote

I always just took them apart.

+ 1

They got really easy to put back together after the first few times.

[bhammond 0]

Way too much time on your hands... and you can always tell who the programer is in the bunch,

that said I kept reading thinking there was a joke burried in it ...

[mdrejhon 8]

Quote

Rubik's Cube for Skydivers or anyone else

On a flight to Argentina, I followed an Internet manual to solve the Rubik's Cube for the first time.

Without a guide, I can only complete two or three faces before I get lost. I need to memorize the final complex steps.

[base283 0]

Do the 1st cross on the downside. If not, one blocks the view of the lurkers waiting for a slot . If an edge piece is in place, you don't need to see it anymore, just put it back in place if you move it out for one the lurkers docking.

For the Inverted L shape, instead of F R U Ri Ui Fi, Try F U R Ui Ri Fi. This will get you to the cross without going to the bar and having to repeat it.
Take care,
Space,

[MakeItHappen 15]

Quote

Do the 1st cross on the downside. If not, one blocks the view of the lurkers waiting for a slot . If an edge piece is in place, you don't need to see it anymore, just put it back in place if you move it out for one the lurkers docking.

For the Inverted L shape, instead of F R U Ri Ui Fi, Try F U R Ui Ri Fi. This will get you to the cross without going to the bar and having to repeat it.
Take care,
Space,

I'll have to try that.

For the rest of the replies - you guys ain't any fun ;)

I just know there has to be some nerd type, like me, that dug out their cube and tried out the instructions.
Come on it's just like 4-way. The 8 move long blocks are like a 4 point dive with a flipper.
Are the instructions ok?

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Make It Happen
Parachute History
DiveMaker

[riddler 0]

I fell into that very broad category of people that thought Rubik's Cube was fun to play with, but a waste of time to try to solve.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[rlucus 0]

My friends sent me one while I was in Iraq. I carried it around in my cargo pocket and I got decently fast at it. ~45 seconds.

The very same one sits on my desk now.

[riddler 0]

If the Rubik's Cube is a good way to waste time, then the Rubik's TouchCube is also a good waste of technology. Seem like you have to hold it very carefully to avoid activating the touchscreen on the bottom/sides.

Edit - after further research, it has accelerometers to know which side is "up", so it doesn't take input from the sides/bottom. Also, it has internal rechargeable batteries, costs $150 and can solve itself.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD