1980 LSF: Regional Tournament
Overview
The biggest soaring event of 1980 took place on August 23–24: the League of Silent Flight's Regional Tournament. Fourteen sites were used across the U.S. and Canada to accommodate the more than 3,500 LSF members. Sites included locations in Ontario (Canada), Virginia, Detroit, Chicago, Oak Ridge (TN), Dallas, Denver, Tacoma, and multiple sites in Pennsylvania, Florida, and California.
— Dan Pruss
Events and format
- Each day began with a four-minute duration task, followed by 10-minute duration tasks.
- A total of seven rounds were flown over the two days.
- The four-minute morning task gives all competitors an equal chance in the typically marginal early-morning air; if conditions improve later, later fliers don't unfairly benefit by having been scheduled after the morning slot.
Contest directors may wish to consider this format: scheduling a short morning task levels the playing field when early conditions are poor.
Classes and entries
- Classes: Unlimited, Standard, and Scale.
- Two-Meter sailplanes could be entered in either the Unlimited or Standard classes to compete against larger wingspans. However, only one plaque was awarded at each site for "Best Performance by a Two-Meter" model.
- Two-Meter sailplanes are gaining popularity in competition, evidenced by strong entries at the AMA Nationals and the planned international event in California in 1981 (see the November RC Soaring column).
- Scale entries were sparse across the 14 sites, with a high of five entries at both Warminster, PA and Chicago.
At the LSF Regionals, Two-Meter flyers performed notably:
- In Orlando, FL and in Ontario, Canada a Two-Meter sailplane won Standard class.
- In Detroit, Don Patterson won Standard with a Two-Meter plane but did not receive the site’s "Best Performance by a 2M" plaque; John Humphreys scored fourth in Unlimited with his Two-Meter ship and outpointed Patterson 3,110 to 2,984 for the 2M honors.
Organizers might consider scheduling a dedicated Two-Meter event alongside "some other" event (any size over two meters) to give the class further recognition on the contest circuit.
Scoring and weather issues
With events spread over roughly 3,000 miles, the current scoring methods make it impractical to select an overall winner that fairly accounts for widely varying weather. Example top scores at Warminster:
- Josh Glaab (Warminster) — 3,586 out of 3,648
- Jerry Bower (Kanata, Ontario) — 3,576
- Jim Fitch (Tennessee, 1978 AMA Nationals winner) — 3,575
Glaab’s 3,586 is commendable, but fliers who faced very poor conditions during their two days could not reasonably be expected to achieve comparable totals. Future tournaments need a scoring formula that compensates for differing weather conditions so that a top performer in bad weather can be recognized appropriately.
Man-on-man proposal
Dave Peltz (California) suggests a man-on-man competition to address fairness across varying conditions. His group has run many contests and refined the system substantially; a regional tournament based on a man-to-man concept could be held using those methods. Peltz has streamlined the scoring and matrix setup and has offered to provide rules and an organizer’s guide in the near future.
If bad weather limits a 10-minute maximum contest to five-minute flights, those "fives" should be treated as equivalent to "tens" flown in booming lift; consistency should be recognized.
1981 considerations
LSF officers have not decided whether 1981 will be a regional tournament or an international event. Because the F3B World Championships run on a two-year cycle, the league is trying to plan an LSF schedule that dovetails with the F3B Team Selection Program.
League funding and contacts
The LSF is funded by these tournaments. Aside from contributions received when members send in level forms, the league depends on contests for financial support. The current officers thank all members for their past contributions.
Any input to the LSF can be made by contacting one of the following:
- Gordon Pearson, President
8232 Earhart Road, South Lyon, MI 48178
- Warren Plohr, Vice President
5395 Sunset Oval, North Olmsted, OH 44070
- Warren Tiahrt, Secretary
7647 Twilight Court, Clarkston, MI 48016
- Keith Finkenbinder, Treasurer
907 Barley Drive, Wilmington, DE 19807
Applicants for membership can write directly to: League of Silent Flight, P.O. Box 39068, Chicago, IL 60639. Include a self-addressed envelope.
Good lift!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
