Competition Newsletter
A Note From the Technical Director
Bob Underwood
Jim wasn't certain whether the emotion he was feeling was anger or not. Maybe it was more like frustration or even disappointment. A month or so had elapsed since he had happened to drop by the model flying field and was suddenly caught up in what he found there. Fond memories from 50 years ago had flooded his mind as he recalled the many pleasant hours building and flying model planes as a child.
"Why not now?" he thought. "I have the time now that I am retired, and there is a little extra money I can use." He hunted up a hobby shop and located someone connected with the club whose field he had visited. As luck would have it, just a week ago there had been a large trade show in his area and the opportunity to spend an afternoon surrounded by all the sights, sounds and people associated with the hobby/sport. What a thrill! He talked to kit manufacturers, located some really great equipment, and even had an opportunity to talk with a representative from a national association that could provide help.
But now Jim was caught up in that negative feeling! Here he was, in his sixties. He had a ticket to pilot the Cessna he rented every now and then, and everyone he had talked to had said the same thing: "Don't try to teach yourself to fly." Heck, they had even referred to him as a "beginner." He hadn't been a beginner at anything for a very long time and he wasn't certain that he liked the feeling.
Most of us involved in modeling would tend to agree with the advice given to Jim. I would be one of the very first to recommend that Jim find an instructor, because I taught myself to fly three disciplines of model airplanes. It was like living life without a history book! You have to make all the mistakes without having the experiences of others to guide you through the turbulence. It is frustrating, time-consuming, possibly dangerous, and can cost a bunch of money.
Jim was lucky. The club that he found had a very nicely developed instructor program. It provided good training in a pleasant atmosphere and treated the newcomers in a professional manner. How about your club?
The basic purpose of this month's column is to stimulate some thought toward reviewing the program your club already has in place for assimilating newcomers, expanding it, or establishing one if it doesn't exist. While the Academy of Model Aeronautics does not currently have an "official" version of such a program, we do have some samples of programs that are used by various clubs around the country. We would be happy to share this information with your club until that time when an official AMA program is developed.
For the remainder of this column I would like to pass along some generalizations, observations, and opinions I have gained over the years concerning modeling help.
I feel that Free Flight offers the best chance of developing the self-taught modeler. This is not because it's simpler. Actually, quite the opposite is true. Becoming a successful Free Flighter depends on an assimilation of facts and experiences based not just on flying, but on building and trimming the model for flight. It is more of a total involvement of the individual.
There just are not true almost-ready-to-fly (ARF) models for Free Flight. Free Flighters, as a group, are the most complete modelers, exhibiting well-rounded skills in all facets of the hobby/sport. Indeed, scratch a longtime modeler in any of the three disciplines and you will almost always find Free Flight experience. Another advantage is that you can have a lot of fun per dollar and hour invested.
I've worked with groups of adults who have had a feeling of tremendous satisfaction in just making an AMA Cub fly well! And they learned something of building and flying in the process. Starting with inexpensive simple models makes the self-taught concept far more practical.
This is not to suggest that you forsake club or instructor involvement if you are interested in Free Flight. Quite the opposite is true. Not only will your involvement with experienced modelers produce a better result, faster, but you will find the challenges enhanced by sharing with others.
The club that seeks to provide the help will find rich rewards, both individually and collectively, as they share knowledge and experiences.
For the individual interested in Control Line, we again find that satisfaction can be achieved for a reasonable investment of time and money. There are some ARF-type models available, as well as some fairly simple kits with good directions.
The ability to take off, fly, and land can be developed fairly quickly. This means, however, that the next level of involvement for the newcomer can come sooner. To this end, it is important that the individual link up with a club as soon as possible.
Many clubs use a dual-handle arrangement to help the person become accustomed to the feel of the model. More important, they can provide the very subtle little hints that don't show up in printed matter but are valuable—necessary—for success.
Don't try to teach yourself to fly RC! If you are a full-scale pilot, double the number of exclamation points at the end of the last sentence. Oh, yes, there are exceptions—but they are very rare.
Remember how when you sit in the cockpit of a Cessna, right is always right, and left is always left. By perception, this is not so with the model when it is coming toward you. If you are teaching a full-scale pilot to fly RC, you can almost bet that the first turns coming back will result in cross control.
Also, the full-scale pilot experiences a feeling of motion sitting in his Cessna, while the pilot of the model just has a little spring tension pushing back against a finger.
A vast majority of those wishing to learn to fly RC have little or no experience with either modeling or flying in general. When they visited the field it looked interesting to them, and now here they are standing in front of you with several hundred dollars' worth of equipment, no skills, and a desire to be Waldo Pepper before the sun sets that day.
Ugh!
Now some thoughts for the newcomer looking for help. Every club has at least one self-styled expert. No club has more than three. They tend to consume one another, or start another club at the library down the street. Beware the self-styled experts! Very often they will have a strong bias toward specific equipment or ways of doing things—arrived at after a total of one year's modeling experience—and have an arrogant attitude to boot.
The true expert will more often be the quiet, successful modeler who is both open-minded and willing to learn himself. He probably will not impose himself upon you but will require that the first contact come from your direction.
Ask a bunch of questions. You will soon know whether the club or hobby shop is willing to help by its attitude toward you. Remember, if you are new to something there are few silly questions—only silly answers.
Spend several trips to the field just watching the people. Try to find a knowledgeable, experienced flier who can become your instructor. You are looking for someone who is patient and understanding. The "hotdogger" may be able to wow you with his flying, but he frequently is not a good instructor.
Watch to see whether the person tends to structure his flight rather than have the model wander aimlessly around the sky. Careful observation on your part will often reveal that the flier spends most of the flight time bringing the model back from somewhere, rather than placing it in the sky.
Visit a couple of club meetings. The time spent there can provide valuable insights into the type of help you will receive, or indeed whether you will receive any at all. You will often find that club politics get in the way not only of having a good time, but of receiving any benefit from the club program.
Some clubs take care of the housekeeping routines at special board meetings and provide instructional features for the main course of their regular monthly meetings. As a newcomer you will find this far more helpful. Just as at the field, you should people-watch and listen carefully. One or two of the members may try to monopolize the air time. You may even recognize them as the self-styled experts from the field.
A certain part of the group at the meeting will cluster about these mountaintops to receive the monthly blessings. Fear not, nor be dismayed, for patient seeking will bring forth many helpful persons, willing to share their expertise.
The newcomer needs to consider his motive (or motives) behind seeking involvement. More often than not, it will be for recreational purposes. Few persons start out with the goal of becoming a world champion! They figure that it looks like fun and fulfills some type of desire that has lurked within them for many years.
In some clubs you will find the "builders." These people always have a new model on display at the club meeting, but you never see them fly! Others are forever at the field flying, but you never see them with a model they built.
What are your goals as a newcomer? Articulate them! Write them down! Ask others why they participate! Better yet, evaluate what happened with your involvement in an activity the last time you had an itch similar to the one driving you at this point.
And now some thoughts for your club: Does it really want to invite or encourage new blood? Some do not. It may not be because of antisocial behavior; instead, there may be some practical limit to the number your field can accommodate.
Perhaps you do not attempt to attract new members, but at least you should consider how you serve those individuals who show genuine interest.
Some clubs use business cards as handouts at hobby shops or events to direct newcomers to the proper individual or to their site.
Does your club have a newcomer program? What does it include? Ask some questions!
How structured is your program? Does it offer help, not only with the flying but with building techniques and field etiquette as well? I recall hearing of clubs that assigned the newcomer an instructor who not only provided flying instruction, but was on call if other help was needed away from the field.
How do your instructors achieve that status? We can hear that it is related to skills and not just to longevity in the hobby/sport. Additionally, do you consider the ability of the individual to relate to others as important, or even more so, than their skills exhibited?
Does your program contain logical steps that lead the individual to levels of achievement? A 20-ft. ladder with only two rungs isn't much help, unless you happen to be 10 ft. tall to begin with! (In which case, you don't need the ladder anyway!)
Do you require safety checks, provide direction for the purchase of suitable equipment for the task, incentives for progress, and the myriad other little things that help make the program meaningful?
I have watched at club meetings when a patch or pin is awarded for having achieved a particular level. For the most part, such recognition works! It isn't only the recognition that basks in the glow of recognition.
There are many other points to consider. I only wanted to stimulate some thinking on the subject. The concept of helping a newcomer is very important.
For a number of years I ran a newcomer's class for a St. Louis club. I lovingly referred to it as "my eight-week crash course." Actually, it did not continue through completely as flight training, but rather was oriented at providing help prior to that point and ended with some buddy-box flying at the field before the individuals were turned loose for solo flying.
'91 RC Soaring Team Selection Program
Prior to making a qualifying attempt, the pilot must be a current AMA member, enter the program by paying the $20 entry fee, and purchase the current ($18) FAI competition stamp. The pilot will be permitted up to two sets of attempts per $20 fee. Additional sets of attempts are permitted provided the $20 fee is paid for each set. Fees may be made on-site to the Contest Director (CD).
If payment is made to the CD of a contest, the CD must indicate this by marking the appropriate circle on the entry form, sign it, and note his AMA number in the area provided.
Qualification for the finals will be permitted up to 30 days prior to the start of the finals contest.
To qualify, a pilot must complete either 1 and 2, or 1 and 3 below:
- Fly in an AMA-sanctioned F3B contest with one or more rounds.
- Achieve 90% of the winner's score in the contest; or
- Perform the absolute qualification flights of less than 24 seconds in Speed, more than 16 laps in Distance, and better than 400 points in Duration. These absolutes may be achieved during the sanctioned contest (1, above) or during a separately sanctioned performance attempt.
Additionally, the 1989 team members (Larry Jolly, Seth Dawson, and Richard Spicer) are to be considered qualified to attend the finals upon payment of the $20 program entry fee and the $50 finals fee.
Please note: The $50 finals fee must be sent to AMA Headquarters, postmarked no later than 30 days prior to the start of the finals. Finals fees will not be accepted on-site.
F3B Soaring Team Selection Finals: Call for Site Bids
Clubs interested in being host to the Soaring team selection finals, which will be held for the purpose of selecting a team to represent the U.S. in the 1991 F3B World Championships, should document their offer in writing and send it to AMA HQ (Attn.: Micheline Madison).
Selection of the site will be made from among the bids received by means of a vote of the Team Selection Committee sometime after January 1, 1990. The winning site will be announced as soon as possible thereafter.
A well-prepared site bid will include information relating to the adequacy of the flying site (size, obstruction-free area, orientation with respect to the sun, parking, spectator control, etc.), preferred dates, weather statistics, manpower available for contest duties (including timers, lap counters, scorers, etc.), contest equipment which can be provided, community backing, nearby housing for entrants and out-of-town officials, and any other "plus" factors. The FAI jury will be assigned by the AMA Executive Council, and the contest manager or CD will coordinate with local officials with respect to the assignment of personnel and other contest needs.
Club officers who think that there is a possibility of their club hosting the finals may want to get in touch with the chairman of the Team Selection Committee, Don Edberg, who will be glad to answer questions. Don can be reached at 1-714-552-1812 (home) or 1-714-896-5210 (work).
F3A Program Rev. (continued)
Entries submitted prior to entering the program may be counted toward qualifying for the Finals (Masters Tournament). All contestants must have a current FAI stamp before attempting to qualify. Those found not to have had an FAI stamp at the time of qualification will be disqualified.
The second item appears after sub-paragraph d of Section II, Qualifying:
NOTE: The number of contestants qualified at each contest will be rounded up (i.e., if seven are entered, the upper 50% would be rounded to the top four contestants). If members of the 1989 U.S. team or foreign competitors are entered in the contest, they will not be counted in determining the number of contestants entered or in the results.
RC Electroflight (F3E) Team Finals Set
The U.S. RC Electroflight (F3E) team finals will be held in Costa Mesa, CA on June 1–3, 1990. The host club will be the Harbor Soaring Society.
The postmark deadline for receiving the $50 finals fee at AMA HQ is May 1, 1990. The fee must be sent to AMA HQ. It will not be accepted at the finals site.
In addition, the Harbor Soaring Society will charge an on-site entry fee of $25 per contestant to be used to defray the expenses of running the event.
As of March 20, 1990, those qualified for the finals are Jerry Bridgeman, Keith Finkenbinder, Grant Messinger II, Jason Perrin, and Bob Sliff.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
