Control Line: Racing
Bill Lee
Practice-site problems (TR/Team Race)
I hope you read the report published a couple of months ago in Model Aviation about the CL World Championships held this past summer in Czestochowa, Poland. I attended the contest and have some additional comments.
The flying site in Poland was a competitor's dream, but a nightmare for practice. There was no place to practice where flying could be done safely—for modelers, their equipment, or the spectators. As Doc Jackson mentioned in his general report on the Champs, the practice circles for TR (Team Race) were on a paved area near a high-rise housing development. The paved area was not quite large enough to put in a circle, so the organizers moved the curb back about four feet in an arc and laid in a little temporary paving. However, with the ever-present rain, one of the circles was dangerous to equipment if you happened to come down on that temporary quarter of the circle. The other circle was usable, but the real problem was the lack of adequate crowd control—to keep children and other spectators back at a safe distance.
Any future organization must provide adequate practice areas, and the FAI should require this as a prerequisite for awarding World Championships. No World Championships should be saddled with inadequate practice areas.
Finals controversy (TR)
The outcome of the finals in TR was a total bummer. The race should have been re-run by any reasonable interpretation of the FAI rules, yet the Team Race Jury sat on their collective hands and did nothing. I don't agree with their ruling. Apparently the FAI Jury agreed with my thinking, upholding (surprise!) the joint protest of the U.S. and United Kingdom teams. But the ultimate aggravation was that the organizers would not allow the race to be re-run because the closing ceremonies were to commence in another part of the site shortly. This is equivalent to the groundskeepers at the Philadelphia or Kansas City baseball stadiums telling the umpires they will not be able to play extra innings of the World Series because they need to clean up the stands.
So, Walt Perkins and J. E. Albritton get to sit on a second-place "tie" for two years (unless the FAI CIAM comes up with some other solution). Their only consolation is that everybody who was there knows who the real World Champs are.
First trip behind the Iron Curtain — impressions
This was my first trip out of the U.S., and, of course, my first trip behind the Iron Curtain. I don't really know what I had expected, but what I found confirmed some suspicions I had been harboring. Friends, look around at what we, who live in a free country, have and take for granted. Now try to imagine what it would be like to not have it.
The U.S. team spent about 12 days behind the Iron Curtain, and I'm certain that every one of them was anxious to return home. You don't realize the freedom you have until you experience the continual, sometimes not very subtle, presence of the police and other military entities in the Communist countries. At first, the police don't seem out of place—until, after a while, you suddenly realize that every time you go out of your room there are officers around; every time you look around, you find uniforms looking back at you. And they are not there for any obvious reason—just there. This influence is reflected in the people. When you walk down the street you note that, while people will look at you from a distance, as they get close their eyes are cast away, as if any eye contact or recognition is to be avoided. Sad.
The whole concept of always doing your best and being recognized for it, which we have as a driving force in the free world, is completely destroyed by the oppressiveness of the Communist governments. Don't do anything to be recognized, because Big Brother may not take kindly. The thrust and fiber of the human spirit are destroyed. It was awfully good to get back into West Germany and then on to home after the contest was over. Count your blessings, free Americans; you really don't realize how well off you are!
Skill categories for CL Racing
Last month, in my Nats report, I spent considerable time talking about an embryonic CL Racing organization proposed by a group of racers meeting informally at the Nats. John Ballard is serving as the focal point of this activity. One aspect that needs consideration by all racers is the concept of "skill categories." The idea is that each competitor would be classified according to exhibited abilities as a "Novice," "Advanced," or similar. The classification would allow competitors of similar performance levels to compete on a more equal basis. As one's capabilities improved, he would advance in his skill category and begin competing with more skillful pilots.
Similar schemes are in place and working effectively in CL Aerobatics and RC Pattern. Administration of results and ranking of individual fliers would have to be worked out, but several workable schemes have been proposed. John has been distributing pertinent reference material. If you are interested and not on his list, contact:
- John Ballard, 10102 Kimblewick Dr., Louisville, KY 40223
Shadow Racing and the "Gator Tales" newsletter
Walt Perkins is the brains and brawn behind a concern he has named "Shadow Racing." For some time now he has offered a number of items useful to the TR competitor, and a few other items for other CL racers—such as props and some hard-to-find parts. Walt has begun a small newsletter that anyone interested in TR will want to receive. It's called the "Gator Tales," and Walt is asking $2.50 to cover mailing costs.
The first edition has a lot of good information about the equipment that John and J. E. Albritton ran in Poland this summer, as well as a price list of all the stuff Walt sells. If you're interested (and I suggest you should be), contact:
- Shadow Racing, 1100 S.E. 28th Street, Ocala, FL 32670
W. R. Lee 3522 Tamarisk Lane Missouri City, TX 77459
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
