COMPETITION NEWSLETTER
ACADEMY OF MODEL AERONAUTICS 815 FIFTEENTH STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005
World Champs and Team Selection
1981 RC Aerobatics: Team Finals Site Selected
By an overwhelming margin, the 1981 RC Aerobatics team Finals-qualifiers have voted to hold the Masters Tournament (the team selection Finals) at Huntsville, AL on the weekend of June 27–28, 1981. The Rocket City Radio Controllers, Inc. (RCRC) will be the hosts for the Tournament.
The finalists also voted on which of three operational plans—each with a different entry fee—they would accept. Once again, an overwhelming majority favored the plan whereby the RCRC would supply all the meet personnel, including the contest director and judges. The entry fee will be $50.
1981 RC Aerobatics World Champs: Date, Site Changed!
In an unprecedented move, the organizers of the 1981 RC Aerobatics World Championships have changed the date, site, and entry fee for this prestigious contest.
- Site: Acapulco, Mexico (altitude: 30 ft. above sea level), a city on the Pacific west coast of Mexico, approximately 200 miles south of Mexico City.
- Dates: September 22–27, 1981 (Tuesday through Saturday).
- Entry fee: $375 (previously proposed at $350/contestant).
Since these arrangements differ from those approved by the FAI's CIAM at last December's plenary meeting, they will likely be discussed at the next FAI meeting in April in Paris. At this late date, the FAI will probably let the changes stand, though disapproval could, in theory, result in cancellation—an unlikely event.
Actual site of the World Championships is proposed as Pie de la Cuesta Military Air Base, located approximately 16 km (10 miles) north of the city of Acapulco.
General News
AMA Numbers: A New Era is Coming
The growth of AMA membership has created a new problem: running out of AMA numbers. At present, AMA numbers are limited to five digits, so the highest number available is 99,999.
Although this should not be an issue until membership reaches that figure, trouble has arisen because numbers are "reserved" for the current holder for a year after membership expiration (this usually occurs when a member does not renew promptly). With membership now approaching 80,000, a modest number of late renewals can exhaust the available numbers.
Recent Executive Council action (see the AMA News section when the approved minutes of the January 31, 1981 Council meeting are published) has rescinded the reservation policy on AMA numbers, effective March 31, 1981.
A long-term solution may be the adoption of alpha-numeric AMA "numbers," or a shift to six-digit numbers. The Executive Council has directed that plans for an alpha-numeric system be developed immediately. More publicity will be given to this development both here and in AMA News.
Alaskan Mini-Nats
The AMA Executive Council has approved a three-day Mini-Nats for Alaska in 1981. The meet, to be held in Anchorage, will be the first of its kind. Actual dates and the event schedule have not yet been finalized.
1981 RC Soaring World Champs: Price Change on Meals/Housing Package
Last month's CN contained two errors regarding the lodging/meals package offered through AMA HQ.
- The package includes six nights of lodging and five (not four) days of meals.
- The package price is $275, not $250. This price includes the World Champs entry fee and the official ID/souvenir packet, plus the awards banquet.
For those who do not want the full lodging/meals package, the basic entry fee is $65. This includes lunches at the flying site, the awards banquet, the ID required for admission to the flying site, and the official World Championships souvenir packet (program book, pin, patch, decal, etc.).
The lodging/meals package includes accommodations at Sacramento's Red Lion Inn and is based on double occupancy/two beds. Other arrangements (single occupancy, three or four to a room, one bed instead of two) will be offered at varying prices.
The lodging/meals package is available to anyone interested—you do not have to be a World Champs competitor to take advantage of it.
1982 FAI CL Team Selection: Hold at 1981 Nats
Speed, Team Race, and Precision Aerobatic teams for the 1982 World Championships will be selected at the 1981 AMA Nationals in Seguin, TX. AMA President John Grigg made this decision so potential contestants can receive key facts early and make immediate plans to attend the 1981 Nats.
- Team Race and Speed will use special FAI team-selection events held in addition to the regular Nats events. Two days of flying for each event are planned: Monday and Tuesday, August 3–4.
- Precision Aerobatics team selection will be part of the regular AMA Nats event, but only flying points will count—appearance points are not used in the FAI event. AMA rules will be used to score flights, but appearance points will be deducted from scores of those in the team-selection.
'81 NATS NEWS
Want '81 Nats Entry Forms?
Indoor Nats? Outdoor Nats? Both? If you request entry forms from AMA HQ, be sure to indicate which Nats form you want. This will save headaches at HQ and speed processing.
Practice Flying Before the Nats?
Seguin AFB Auxiliary Field is a military installation and is closed to public use. Seguin is the home field of the Tri-City RC Club and is under their control (on weekends and government holidays) for modeling activities.
Clubs or individuals wanting to use Seguin for practice flying must contact Kelso G. Barnett, 107 Daxama Drive, Universal City, TX 78148, (512) 658-5268. He will coordinate scheduling and permission with the local club. Local club safety and flying site rules will apply to any practice flying.
At present, the following modeling activities can be accommodated: RC Pattern, RC Scale, RC Soaring, RC Helicopters, RC Pylon Racing (visitors must supply their own equipment), and Free Flight.
Kelso can respond with available dates and a map with directions.
New Nats Entry, Event Fees Approved
To reduce deficits from annual Nats operations, the Executive Council has approved a new fee schedule.
- Outdoor Nats basic Open-age entry fee: $35.
- Indoor Nats basic entry fee: $20 (unchanged).
- Junior basic entry fee: $5 (unchanged; includes one event entry).
- Senior basic entry fee: $10 (unchanged; includes one event entry).
Entrants who pay the Indoor Nats entry fee and attend that meet will not have to pay any additional basic entry fee to attend the Outdoor portion of the Nats. Entrants who pay the Indoor entry fee but are no-shows at the Indoor Nats and later attend the Outdoor Nats must pay the difference in basic entry fees.
Event fees:
- Free Flight event fees: $3/event (unchanged) for either Indoor or Outdoor events.
- Radio Control event fees: $12/event (increased to help cover the cost of providing judges).
- Control Line event fees: $5/event (except Precision Aerobatics).
- Control Line Precision Aerobatics: $12/event (increased to help cover the cost of providing judges).
Rationale: The fee increases follow a study showing cost per contestant for Free Flight events is much less than for CL or RC events. The study also noted that the Nats must compensate officials who typically work an average of four or more days and often must be brought in from out of town.
FLY SAFELY!
FAI CL Team (continued)
Team program entry fees will be $20 for each of the Speed, Team Race, and Precision Aerobatics team-selection events. Only contestants who pay these fees will be eligible for team selection. Contestants must enter the Nats to fly in the team-selection events. Fees should be paid at the Nats prior to the start of each team-selection event.
- If a Precision Aerobatics contestant pays only the team-selection fee, he will not be counted in the Nats standings and will not be eligible for Nats trophies.
- In Speed and Team Race, contestants may enter the team-selection event, the regular Nats event (if they've paid the Nats entry and event fees), or both.
Combat Team Selection is Separate
Combat team selection is scheduled for Nashville, TN on September 19–20, 1981, and was detailed in the April 1981 issue of Model Aviation (page 83).
The 1982 CL Team
AMA plans to send Speed, Team Race, Precision Aerobatics, and Combat teams to the 1982 World Championships in Sweden. AMA will pay overseas transportation from New York to Stockholm and the team-member entry fees, which include food and lodging, for all competitors and team managers—a total of 17 people:
- Speed: 3 competitors
- Combat: 3 competitors
- Precision Aerobatics: 3 competitors
- Team Race: 6 competitors
- Team managers: 2 people
Last year AMA paid approximately $20,000 for the Control Line team to compete in Poland, in addition to funding Indoor and Scale teams. AMA also pays travel and lodging for U.S. teams who hold two-day practice sessions in advance of World Championships.
Indoor Nats Contestant Lodging/Meals Packages Offered
AMA HQ has arranged two housing/meal package plans at the Indoor Nats site, Northwood Institute in West Baden, IN. Only these two full packages are available—no partial deals.
- Confirmed reservations deadline: Prepaid orders must be received at AMA HQ by June 1, 1981 (postmark). Requests received after June 1 will be filled on a space-available basis.
- Package cost: The package is in addition to the Indoor Nats entry fee ($20 for Open-age contestants).
Plan I: $75/person
- Four nights' lodging: June 19–22
- Twelve meals: dinner June 19 through lunch June 23 (no banquet)
- Regular menu samples: dinners—chicken, roast beef, Salisbury steak; lunches—sandwiches, salads; breakfasts—eggs, bacon, sausage, fruits, cereals, juices.
Plan II: $60/person
- Three nights' lodging: June 20–22
- Nine meals: dinner June 20 through lunch June 23
- Other amenities same as Plan I.
Housing note: Reservations are for beds only, not rooms. Most rooms have two beds. Provisions can be made for couples, families, or groups to be housed together if requested in advance. Housing is first-come, first-served. Special arrangements will be made for handicapped contestants. There are only about 150 beds available—get requests in early.
Nats Fees (continued)
Radio Control event fees have been increased to $12/event to help cover the extra cost of providing judges. Control Line event fees are $5/event, except Precision Aerobatics at $12. The increases reflect the higher per-contestant cost for CL and RC events and the need to compensate officials who work multiple days at the Nats.
1982-83 Competition Rules Change Cycle
2 Deferred RC Rules Proposals; Cross Proposals
The 1982–83 rules change cycle is underway. The CN has reported proposals, printed summaries, and Contest Board voting results in the October, November, and December 1980 issues, and in the February and March 1981 issues.
In this issue we present two RC proposals (Helicopter) not previously published and all cross-proposals received at AMA HQ up to March 2, 1981 (the cutoff date for accepting cross-proposals was March 1; postmarks after March 1 are acceptable). Additional cross-proposals may arrive and will be published next month.
The next substantial coverage may not occur until the December issue (distributed late October or early November).
Two Deferred RC Proposals Two additional rules proposals must be added to the totals reported in the March 1981 CN. These are being allowed into the system now because they originated with the AMCC and are treated as if they had passed the Initial Vote. Contest Board procedures governing the rules change system were printed in full in the March 1981 issue of Model Aviation (beginning on page 90). Rules proposals are summarized and the overall procedures were discussed in the October, November, and December 1980 issues.
These new proposals are published too late to permit cross-proposals before the March 1 deadline. However, there is still time for modelers to submit comments to AMA district Contest Board members before the Final Vote. The Contest Board deadline for the Final Vote is September 1, 1981.
RC Rules Proposals
- RC-82-60 — Change time limit and number of freestyle maneuvers in Expert Helicopter.
- Proposes a limit of seven freestyle maneuvers (current rule: one limit) and increasing the allowed time for freestyle maneuvers from three minutes to four minutes.
- Proposer: H. Eugene Hagan of Newark, NJ, acting for the Helicopter Advisory Committee.
- Rationale: The current three-minute limit pressures competitors to rush maneuvers, creating safety risks and leaving judges inadequate time to write scores. Seven maneuvers can be safely completed within four minutes, and modern helicopters are capable of all maneuvers once included to advance the state of the art.
- RC-82-61 — Include FAI RC Helicopter (Class F3C) rules and maneuver schedule in the AMA rule book.
- Proposer: H. Eugene Hagan, on behalf of the RC Helicopter Advisory Committee.
- Rationale: Adding the newly adopted FAI RC Helicopter rules and pattern to the AMA rule book will acquaint U.S. flyers with them and encourage U.S. entries in domestic contests, improving competitiveness in world-class events.
The Cross-Proposals
Not all cross-proposals received at AMA HQ are published here. Reasons:
- A cross-proposal may be invalid because it addresses a proposal defeated in the Contest Board Initial Vote and thus not part of this cycle.
- The required three signatures may be missing from the cross-proposal.
If a referenced proposal has survived the Initial Vote, a printed Contest Board statement to that effect must accompany the cross-proposal. At the March 1 cutoff date (this item written on March 2), the cross-proposals below were available for member comment. Additional cross-proposals may still be arriving.
Control Line Cross-Proposals
- CL-82-20/34A — Redefine Carrier landings and add new 75-point landing.
- Proposes clarifying the existing carrier landing definition and adding an intermediate 75-point landing.
- Proposer: Wallace L. Ross.
- The cross-proposal adds to the definition of arrested landing, revises the scoring table to include the new 75-point landing, and clarifies measurement and judging procedures for carrier landings.
(The full text of the CL cross-proposals, including detailed rule changes and scoring clarifications, is printed in the CN and should be reviewed by interested contestants and contest directors.)
Free Flight Cross-Proposals
- FF-82-12A — Easy 8 wing chord 3-in. max.
- Proposer: Thomas W. McClintock of Laurel, MD.
- Proposes reducing the Easy 8 wing chord to a 3-inch maximum to reduce structural weight and encourage more efficient wing sections for duration models.
- FF-82-20A — Permit VTO/ROG in Category I only.
- Proposer: Harry S. Murphy of Anderson, IN.
- Proposes limiting the proposed return of VTO/ROG in Outdoor FF Gas to Category I. Rationale: 3–4 oz. engine sizes are too large for Category III small-field competitions and would defeat the purpose of Category III fields. Shortened engine runs combined with VTO/ROG in flyoff situations could create safety hazards for spectators and models. Current rules work well for Category II and III.
(Additional free flight cross-proposals and complete wording are printed in the CN for member review and comment.)
(End of Competition Newsletter material on this page.)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
