1978-79 INDOOR TEAM PROGRAM PROPOSED
Vote of Previous Participants Was in Progress in Late March
Ray Harlan, Chmn. Indoor Team Committee
Following more than six months of discussing selection principles, and a one and a half hour conference telephone call, the Indoor Team Selection Committee has developed what it considers to be a program strong enough to choose a very competent U.S. team. At the same time it offers schedule flexibility, which should appeal to nearly everyone, and it provides new Indoor enthusiasts with the opportunity to gain competitive experience with minimal expense and travel.
The proposed program, now being voted on by previous program participants, is the current result of efforts initiated in 1974 to develop the potential for individual and team world champions in this country. Despite the fact that Indoor modeling was born in the U.S., we have produced only three individual champions, and won no team championships, since the inception in 1961 of Indoor World Championships. Even in 1974, at our own Lakehurst LTA hangar, we could manage no better than second in both individual and team placement.
In consequence, a committee was formed and charged with the creation of a team selection program which would choose the strongest team to represent the U.S. in 1976. Great emphasis was placed on consistent ability to perform at top level. It was not the usual one-contest flyoff, but weighted regional contest performance in the final tally. An added incentive to work hard in the regional meets was the offering of travel funds to the top scorers prior to the finals. And the demanding effort paid off! For the first time, the U.S. walked off with both individual and team trophies.
Many entrants found the program a bit too demanding. Even though the regional contest weighting was reduced, and cross-zone flying was restricted for the 1977 program, compared to 1975, the number of entrants dropped about 30%. However, at the finals practically all the same people competed as for the previous program. They had worked very hard this year, also, as evidenced by one finalist breaking 30 minutes. Nearly half the pack had totals of more than 70 minutes, to say nothing of Jim Richmond's 82-minute dazzler. The program objectives seem to have been met, and the U.S. has developed unparalleled depth.
But the battle has taken its toll. With the drop in participation sounding its warning, the Indoor Team Selection Committee retrenched to rethink the principles involved in molding a strong team. All of the issues of the past two programs, together with new inputs from participants, were painstakingly digested.
With the belief that our momentum is up, and the days of sandbagging to get a single shot at making the team at the finals are history, the currently proposed program has been relaxed and broadened to encourage participation at the local level, hopefully to bring back the numbers of the past. The major changes proposed for this year include the move to a two-year schedule, the addition of local level contests, and the addition of two new sites for regional level contests.
The proposed program, for which previous program participants were considering approval when this was written, is outlined below:
Schedule
- 1978: Unlimited local contests. One regional contest at each regional site.
- 1979: Unlimited local contests. One regional contest at each regional site.
Local Contests
- a) At least three entrants required to hold a contest.
- b) Model specifications: 20" minimum span, 2 grams maximum weight.
- c) No qualification level to go to regional contests.
- d) Program participants may enter as many local contests as they please; the single best contest counts.
- e) The present team manager, if he placed fourth in the selection program, may pass the local contest and receive 10 points for this program.
- f) Scoring: Total of two best out of six flights. Top score counts 10 points. Other scores are a percentage of these points based on an entrant's time divided by the winning time.
Regional Contests
- a) Six regional contest sites: East (NJ), Southeast (FL), Midwest (OH or IN), Southwest (OK), Mountain (CO), and West (CA).
- b) Seventy-five percent of top score qualifies for finals.
- c) The single best contest is counted for team selection scoring.
- d) Scoring: Total of two best out of six flights. Top score counts 100 points. Other scores are a percentage of these points based on an entrant's time divided by the winning time.
Final Contest
- a) The finals will be held for a three-day period.
- b) Flying will be conducted by rounds, three rounds per day.
- c) Scoring: Total of two best out of nine flights. Top score counts 1,000 points. Other scores are a percentage of these points based on an entrant's time divided by the winning time.
Team Selection
The team is selected by adding each competitor's points accrued in local, regional and final contests. The maximum score attainable is 1,110 points.
Fee Structure
- a) The entry fee for local contests is $3.
- b) The entry fee for regional contests is $10.
- c) The entry fee for the final contest is $15.
Additional Comments
There will be no travel funds awarded to top finalists in this proposed program. It offers a great deal of flexibility to an individual's schedule; he can spread his flying over two years, or even accomplish all of it in one year. Guidelines established by the AMA Executive Council require approval of 51% or more of previous program participants who vote (ballots were mailed directly to these people).
RC Aerobatics Program (Cont.)
Registration for the Masters Tournament is required for those who have qualified, 45 days in advance (the date and place of the Masters Tournament have not yet been established), accompanied by $150 entry fee.
EXPERT & MASTER PATTERNS SETTLED
The RC Contest Board has ratified (by not objecting to) the plan put forward by Chairman Bill Northrop as outlined last month. This provides the following:
Expert Class
The pattern will be the one flown in the 1977 World Championships.
Master Class
Three choices provided to contest organizers: (1) 1977 pattern as flown in the 1977 World Championships; (2) the "Swiss" pattern, a fixed schedule of 18 maneuvers, or (3) the new FAI pattern consisting of two flights from Schedule A, two from Schedule B, and two from Schedule C (maneuvers selected from Schedules A and B and the list of extra maneuvers) by the top fliers.
The 1977 pattern as flown in the 1977 World Championships is different from the FAI Pattern Rules in the 1976-77 AMA rule book in two major respects: the Rolling Eight consists of two outside loops, one above the other, with half-rolls at the point of tangency (instead of two inside loops as shown in the rule book), and two circles are used in judging the landing (15m and 30m).
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
