Edition: Model Aviation - 1979/06
Page Numbers: 89, 90, 91, 92, 93
,
,
,
,

Competition Newsletter

CL COMBAT TEAM SELECTION PROGRAM

The program to select the U.S. team for the 1980 Control Line Combat World Championships has been approved by the AMA Combat Team Selection Committee (vote 9–1) and by previous program participants (vote 13–1). The program has been submitted for approval by AMA President Earl Witt. The program is sometimes referred to as the "Rubber for Peanuts" program.

Members of the Combat Team Selection Committee were generally recruited by the Miniature Aircraft Combat Assn. (MACA), endorsed by respective AMA vice-presidents, and confirmed by previous program participants. Current committee members are:

  • Steve Sacco, Norwell, MA
  • Bill Bird, Florham Park, NJ
  • Charles Rudner, Cleveland Heights, OH
  • Bill Harris, Laurel, MD
  • W. M. (Mack) Henry, Nashville, TN
  • Gary Frost, Florissant, MO
  • Paul Smith, chairman, Sterling Heights, MI
  • George Cleveland, Kenner, LA
  • Dave Jones, Wichita, KS
  • Charlie Johnson, San Diego, CA
  • Howard Rush, Kirkland, WA

The program was developed over nearly a full year, during which a number of alternatives were considered.

PROGRAM DETAILS

  1. Entries
  • Entrants must be U.S. citizens according to FAI guidelines and possess a current AMA license with the $5 FAI stamp.
  • Advance entries should be sent to AMA Headquarters, postmarked on or before June 30, 1979, and accompanied by an entry fee of $50.00.
  • Entries postmarked after that date will be considered late and must be paid on-site to the Contest Director no later than 7:00 p.m., Friday, September 14, 1979. The Contest Director will remit on-site entry fees to AMA Headquarters.
  • Total fee for late entries, including basic charge and penalty, is $75.00.
  1. Time
  • Pilots and officials meeting: 6:00 p.m., Friday, September 14, 1979.
  • Flying: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday, September 15, and Sunday, September 16, 1979.
  1. Place
  • Buder Park, St. Louis, MO.
  1. Purpose
  • To select three primary and seven alternate FAI Combat pilots for the U.S. team to the 1980 World Championships. Team placings are to be determined solely by the number of matches won during this contest.
  1. Mechanics
  • Mechanics will be selected by each pilot. Mechanics are not otherwise involved in this program, except pilots may share their portion of the travel fund with mechanics who actually pit for them at the World Championships.
  1. Team Entries
  • Pilots may enter the team trials as teams of two or three for purposes of separation from their own teammates. These teams will have the same status as "nations" in the FAI rule book.
  • The U.S. team may be composed of members of the same team or different teams.
  • Anyone may act as a mechanic for any pilot during the team trials.
  1. FAI Jury
  • All protests will be decided by a three-man FAI Jury. The Jury will not include the timers or circle marshal.
  • The Jury may perform other duties such as pull-testing and record-keeping.
  • The Jury may vote for either contestant or for a rematch. The FAI Jury is the final authority on the field; however, any protest unresolvable between protester and Jury must be arbitrated by the AMA President, who has final authority on FAI matters per the AMA By-Laws.
  • The FAI Jury may overrule any decisions of the Contest Director and other officials (including whether to suspend flying for weather or darkness).
  1. Competition Rules
  • Each match will be run according to the 1980 FAI rules (same as 1979 rules). The FAI Jury will make necessary clarifications and interpretations. In no case will FAI rules be changed or eliminated except as contained in this Program.
  • The pyramid elimination system will not be used. Instead, the Triple Elimination Ladder System will be used:

a. Pilots will advance one round per match won. b. Pilots will continue to compete until they have lost a total of three matches. c. If at the beginning of a round the total number of fliers is odd, someone will get a bye. Pilots will not advance on a bye; they will remain where they are until they win a match and advance. d. If the number of pilots in two or more rounds is odd, pilots in different rounds may fly each other. e. The first three rounds will be flown on Saturday; the remainder on Sunday. A "round" is defined as the matches required for all fliers to either win once or accumulate their third loss. f. Matching:

  • (1) The same two pilots will not fly each other twice until they have flown the remaining pilots once.
  • (2) Team members will be matched together after they have flown all other remaining contestants.
  • (3) There will be no consideration of the number of losses in matching. Contestants with similar or dissimilar numbers of losses may be matched together.

g. If a contestant forfeits or is disqualified before the signal to commence combat, he will be charged with a loss. His opponent will receive a rematch and be credited with neither a win nor a loss. If a disqualification occurs after the signal to commence combat, the non-disqualified contestant will be credited with a win. h. In accordance with "FAI Rules, General," page 70, AMA Rule Book: "The competitor named on the entry form must be the builder of the models entered." Also, "All models must display AMA license numerals." The numerals should be permanently affixed, preceded by N.

  1. Scoring
  • At the end of each match, the judges will present both pilots with itemized scores including cuts, air time, the reason and amount of penalties, and the total score.
  1. Budget
  • Income will be supplied by pilots' entry fees and any additional contributions to the Combat Program.
  • There are three separate funds in the Program:

1) Team Trials Expenses 2) Pilots' Vehicle Rentals (for team members) 3) Travel (Inboard Travel Fund)

10.1 Team Trials Expenses

  • Paid from the first $10.00 of each pilot's entry fee.
  • Any excess money after the team trials will be put into Item No. 3.

10.2 Pilots' Vehicle Rentals

  • Paid out of the second $10.00 of each pilot's entry fee.
  • Vehicle rentals will be reimbursed from the fund only if the location of living quarters, practice fields and the contest site is such that vehicles are necessary to compete effectively. If vehicles are unnecessary for competition, no vouchers will be paid.
  • If pilots' vouchers exceed the money in this fund, the excess will be paid from Item No. 3.

10.3 Travel Fund (Inboard Travel Fund)

  • Supplied from the remaining monies, the remaining $30.00 per entry fee, any additional contributions, and excess funds from other budget items.
  • After the World Championships, team members will submit vouchers for the cost of travel from their home to the international airport and return, and from the overseas airport to the contest site and return. Actual expenses for U.S. citizens who acted as mechanics may be included on this voucher.

10.3a. If each voucher exceeds one-third of the money in the fund, each pilot will receive one-third of the money. 10.3b. If the fund will cover all three vouchers, they will be paid in full, and any excess money will be carried over to the 1982 Program. 10.3c. If the total vouchers exceed the money in the fund, but one or two team members request less than one-third, they will be paid as requested, and the higher vouchers will share the remaining money equally.

  1. Contest Personnel
  • Members of the committee will help recruit the following contest personnel:
  • Contest Manager — organize use of the field, recruit helpers, request prizes, etc.
  • Contest Directors
  • Circle Marshals (one spare included)
  • Timers (two spares included)
  • FAI Jury
  • Pull Test and Line Length crew
  • Scheduler/Scorer
  1. Weather Delays
  • The Contest Director may suspend flying for foul weather or darkness. He will attempt to compensate for these delays by extending flying hours for the remainder of the contest if required.
  • If the team is not selected by dark on Sunday, the contest will be continued on Monday morning, September 17. These decisions will be subject to approval by the FAI Jury.

Competition Newsletter (General Notices)

  • There is no charge for junior-age contestants entering the program.
  • The Qualifying Trials stage of the program has been approved by a mail vote of previous program participants (162 to 3). It is essentially a repeat of the previous program, plus provision for retroactive qualification. The AMA Free Flight Team Selection Committee was developing recommendations for the Semi-Finals and Team Finals stages to be submitted for approval.

Committee members for the Free Flight Team Selection Committee are:

  • Rol Anderson, Chairman, Toledo, OH (has indicated he will step down from the chairmanship and turn the position over to Vice‑Chairman Ed Turner upon acceptance of the 1981 program)
  • George Batiuk, Denver, CO
  • Paul Crowley, Warren, MI
  • C. Wayne Drake, Troutdale, OR
  • Doug Galbreath, Davis, CA
  • Bob Hatschke, Douglaston, NY
  • Dick Lyons, Libertyville, IL
  • Charlie Learoyd, W. Groton, MA
  • Tom McLaughlan, Pensacola, FL
  • Bob Sifleet, Glenrock, PA
  • Ed Turner, Ft. Worth, TX

1979 Team Manager Named

  • Dick Myers, Gridley, CA, has been selected as manager of the U.S. teams for the 1979 Free Flight World Championships at Taft, CA, October 3–9.
  • He received the most team member votes of three candidates the committee had narrowed down from 22 nominations submitted by finalists in the previous program.
  • Runners-up were John Lenderman and Reid Simpson.

Cross-Proposals (Cont.)

Some members referenced Scale events from the basic proposal, noting that any rules affecting or governing Scale belong in the jurisdiction of the Scale Contest Board. A similar proposal before the Scale Contest Board (SC-80-66) was noted; rules needed for Scale alone can be considered in the future by the Scale Contest Board.

Scale

SC-80-56D — Indoor and Outdoor Rubber Scale, Unified Rules

  • Purpose: Eliminate unnecessary complexity and confusion due to differences in present indoor and outdoor rules by unifying rules and incorporating tentatively accepted proposals and minor editorial changes.
  • Proposed changes (reference numbers refer to the original basic proposal):
  • Change 3.1 to: "No interior details will receive judging points. Cockpit cowlings, windshields, cabin windows and framing will be considered for judging points."
  • Delete from 4.3.8: "and where feasible (due to rubber motor placement), instrument panels."
  • Revise 4.3.c to read (with indicated additions): "... Proof of the 'typical' color and markings used by similar aircraft during the time period of the type being modeled ... as well as the placement and shape of all markings should ..."
  • In the Judging Guide, add "If not scale" in the second column under Basic Points opposite I. Wing and II. Tail Surfaces; add "size" in the first column under Added Points opposite I. Wing and III. Fuselage, Cowlings, and Engine, so that the first lines of these headings read "Scale size, shape."

SC-80-66A — All RC Events (Including Scale), General Rules

  • In conjunction with RC-80-63A, Dave Platt cross-proposes that these general rules be applicable only to Scale, and that conditions be included applicable to CL and FF Scale models.
  • Revised Scale General text as cross-proposed:
  • At all sanctioned contests, each contestant shall sign an AMA Flight Safety Declaration, attesting that he or she has previously and is now capable of at least confidently performing in RC Scale: a takeoff, a Figure 8 as described in Precision Scale, and a realistic landing within a designated area; in CL Scale: an unassisted takeoff, two laps of level flight, and a normal landing within the designated flying circle.
  • Furthermore, the contestant shall also sign a declaration that any and all aircraft he or she uses in said competition have been flown at least to the extent that they have performed the above maneuvers, and are therefore qualified to be flown in the contest and in the presence of fellow contestants, contest officials, and all others who may be in the flight area during the competition period.

Note:

  • For Scale sailplane competition, the declaration shall be modified to read: "... at least confidently performing a towed or hand launch, a Figure 8 similar to that required in Precision Scale, and a realistic landing within a designated area."
  • For Free Flight Scale, the declaration shall be modified to read: "... that any and all aircraft he or she uses in said competition have been flown at least to the extent that they have performed the above maneuvers, and are therefore qualified to be flown in the contest ... The contestant shall also sign a declaration that the model is capable of confidently and safely performing a takeoff or hand launch, stable flight, and a normal landing."

Free Flight

FF-80.25A — New CO2 Duration Event

  • Proposed by Bob Mcuser, Oakland, CA. Cross-proposed changes to the original basic proposal:
  1. Delete engine displacement limit.
  2. Limit propeller diameter to 6 in. and wingspan to 30 in.
  3. Change tank volume to external tank volume.
  4. Limit the event to monoplanes.
  5. Define the competition rules.
  • Cross-proposed event rules:
  • The event is limited to monoplanes powered by commercially available CO2 engines and tanks.
  • Wingspan shall not exceed 30 in. (76.2 cm).
  • The external volume of the tank shall not exceed 0.3 cu. in. (4.92 cc).
  • The area of the horizontal stabilizer shall not exceed 50% of the projected wing area.
  • The propeller diameter shall not exceed 6 in.
  • A flight of 20 seconds or more shall be considered an official flight. There is no limit to the number of attempts allowed to make an official flight.
  • The score is the total time for three official flights. If a tie exists after three official flights, or for record purposes, additional flights may be made until the tie is broken.
  • The maximum duration to be recorded for any flight is 2 minutes.
  • No parts may be dropped during an official flight.
  • Notes: Engine displacement is not necessary since other specs provide automatic limitations. Model specs are intended to prohibit indoor-type models (popular in England) that fly over 6 minutes in still air. External tank volume is easier to measure than internal; tanks for single-cylinder Telco, Shark, and Brown engines fit within the cross-proposed limit.

AMA Scale Contest Board

Claude McCullough, chairman, has voted unanimously to issue the following clarification of intent.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.