Control Line: Aerobatics
Wynn Paul
As stunt fliers go into the new year there are a number of issues and ideas that should be considered by all who participate in the event. The Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association (PAMPA) president, Keith Trostle, has recently sent a questionnaire to all members with questions relating to rules changes for the 1980–81 cycle, as well as ideas for PAMPA categories, Half‑A stunt, and the FAI team selection process. Stunt fliers with opinions on these topics should direct their remarks to Keith at: 10900 Phillips Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20870.
Scoring System
The first topic concerns George Aldrich's scoring system adopted in 1957 and little changed since. The biggest complaint is that the scoring range of 10–30 feels unrealistic, especially since most of us have grown up thinking in terms of 0–100. The international (FAI) scoring system is based on 0–10, which seems more realistic, although FAI scoring also includes the degree of difficulty (“K”) factor.
The PAMPA questionnaire suggests a scoring range of 0–10 with one‑half point increments and no K factor. While the overall point total would be reduced from about 650 to around 175, that is only a relative change. Some argue ties would become more likely, but friends in the math department at the University of Kentucky estimate the chance of a tie would increase only about 0.4 percent — not significant. The benefit of a realistic scoring range outweighs the small increased chance of ties.
Suggested Pattern Changes
Other changes suggested for pattern and event rules include:
- Throw out the appearance points.
- Throw out the pattern points.
- Change the flight limit to seven minutes rather than eight minutes.
- Reduce appearance points to ten if maneuver points are changed to ten.
- Require mufflers in precision aerobatics.
- Remove the builder‑of‑the‑model rule (as RC has done).
- Eliminate the hand signal requirement and make a flight official when the model leaves the ground.
- Give a bonus for retractable landing gear.
- Change the number of starting points.
- Leave everything alone and go flying.
- Adopt the FAI (international) rules entirely.
- Eliminate the line diameter requirement — use a 15G pull test to decide.
Write to Keith and be concise on each point; he will be tallying up some three to four hundred answers.
Half‑A Stunt
Another issue is what to do with Half‑A stunt. Should it be put into the AMA rule book? PAMPA has used a set of simplified rules for the last five Nationals, which include:
- One entry per pilot, one pilot per airplane (to eliminate several pilots using the same plane).
- No builder‑of‑the‑model rule.
- No appearance points.
- Engine displacement allowed: .051 cu in.
Questions to consider: Should the PAMPA rules for Half‑A stunt be enlarged and elaborated upon? Should Half‑A stunt be added at local contests? The low entry at the Nationals suggests the present unofficial status may be sufficient for enthusiasts.
FAI Team Selection
Although the FAI team selection process appears on the questionnaire, this is one area that seems to run satisfactorily for most stunt fliers (selection method, dates, site selection, etc.). The main question is whether to run the trials in conjunction with, or in place of, the Nationals. The trials have been held over Labor Day weekend since 1964, which gives adequate preparation time after the Nationals and is a convenient date for competition.
The writer believes team trials should be kept separate from the Nationals, similar to how most Olympic team tryouts are held separately from National Championships. Holding the trials the year before the World Championships (actually about nine months prior) allows team members adequate time to prepare.
Major PAMPA Contest in the Off Year
Consider establishing a major PAMPA contest in the off year of the FAI team tryouts. This contest could include PAMPA classes: Half‑A stunt, Old Time stunt, and Profile stunt. Bill Allen’s annual Aero‑Challenge for Muscular Dystrophy near DeKalb, Illinois, is gradually becoming the second largest control‑line contest in the nation after the Nationals. Only Winston‑Salem's 4A contest in June is larger, but Bill's Labor Day weekend date is attractive because it allows an extra travel day.
Bill has trouble obtaining enough judges each year (John Laws is usually there but more are needed for 25–30 stunt fliers), yet the contest is becoming very popular and in the past year actually attracted some fliers who might otherwise have participated in the FAI tryouts. It is the writer's opinion that PAMPA should support Bill Allen and his contest.
PAMPA Category System
The PAMPA category system has done much to attract new faces and is the most perplexing for making it an AMA‑sanctioned event. Since the PAMPA categories first appeared in the December 1973 issue of Stunt News, there has been gradual acceptance of the Expert (500 and above), Advanced (400–499), Intermediate (300–399), and Beginner (under 300) classes at local contests rather than the Junior, Senior, and Open divisions.
For a while many relied on Richard Byron to publish stunt rankings by score averages, but most fliers now simply enter the category they feel they belong in. Event directors may move someone up or down, but this happens rarely; there are only a few instances of "sandbagging" to win an easy trophy.
The problem is wording the category system for inclusion in the AMA rule book. Options include:
- List the categories as now and let competitors voluntarily pick their class.
- Require the acquisition of a certain number of first, second, and third places in contests to qualify for a class.
- Award points based on the number of competitors in a contest and the competitor's finishing place.
- Continue to keep a scoring average for fliers.
Some of these systems require record keeping. Can we expect AMA headquarters to maintain such records? What about contest administrators who never send their results to Stunt News — we can only hope they send results to AMA headquarters.
Categories at the Nationals
A final question is whether PAMPA categories should be used at the Nationals, and if so, how many categories to include. The last Nationals saw only 46 Open entries and nearly half of these were qualifiers, since 20 flew on Finals day (Finals day is often called Walker Cup day).
Contact
For information on stunt or PAMPA, write: Wynn Paul 1640 Maywick Dr. Lexington, KY 40504
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
