Free Flight: Indoor
Bud Tenny
CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENTS
Is it too late for your club activities to be included here? In recent columns I have requested advance information on your club's flying sessions and contests for listing here. You will be reading this about December 1, so if you haven't sent it, it may be too late. If you send me information now and I use it in my next column (which I have to mail into the MA editorial offices on December 1, 1984), then it won't be seen by readers until February 1, 1985 — so better timing next year!
Meanwhile, John Martin, mentor of the MIAMA club, made it with time to spare. The MIAMA club is based in Miami, FL and has announced its 1984–85 season. Contests will be held at Miami Dade South College from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on December 9, 1984 and February 10, 1985. Two-day contests have been tentatively set at MacDill AFB (Tampa, FL) on January 12–13, March 9–10, and May 11–12, 1985. The World Inter-Gnats for Pistachio Scale will be held at Miami Dade on April 13–14, 1985.
Even in the case of confirmed meets, you should call 305-858-6363 for verification of contest status before making an out-of-town trip. For more detailed information, write The Hagar Pilot, 2180 Tigertail Ave., Miami, FL 33133.
CONDENSER PAPER FEEDBACK
Good news and bad news! No, condenser paper is not being entirely discontinued. At least one company will be making light condenser paper well into the foreseeable future. The bad news is that the very lightest grade of condenser paper presently available will not be manufactured in the future.
FUTURE FORECAST
Pretend it is January 1, 1986. You have just received your new AMA rule book, so you quickly scan the Indoor rules to see what has changed. Here's what you find:
- Indoor Cabin models correspond to the Manhattan Cabin rules which were adopted in 1982.
- There are no "paper covered" events. Indoor Paper Stick has become Intermediate Stick, with plastic or microfilm covering permitted. The model specifications otherwise conform to the original Paper Stick rules, except for a minimum of one gram weight. Easy B no longer requires paper covering.
- Easy B requires 1.2 grams minimum weight with 14‑in. maximum prop diameter; or 1 gram minimum weight with 22‑in. maximum length. Other structural definitions are unchanged for either version.
- Indoor Stick class is no longer limited to 300 sq. in. maximum area, having no size limit.
- Pennyplane is no more. Instead, Novice Pennyplane has been renamed Pennyplane with no change in specifications.
- There are numerous Provisional events: electric-powered Indoor Scale RC, FF and Control Line, and Indoor Electric RC Duration. Also, there is rubber-powered Indoor RC Scale.
Rules that didn't make it (in my future forecast)
- Indoor Cabin fuselage volume = length cubed / 500.
- Indoor Cabin fuselage volume = length cubed / 1000.
- A re-definition of Cabin fuselage to require fully built-up structure with no rigid internal members.
Do you like my forecast? Why not? Didn't you contact your Indoor Contest Board representative and let him know your preferences? Are we ready for a replay of the Easy B fiasco a few years back? The rule which caused so much resentment then was voted by a Contest Board which received essentially no guidance from the modelers. Now that the 26 Indoor rules proposals have been published (October and December per 1984 issues of MA), the ball is in your court! Not only are there heavy rules changes being proposed, the Indoor Contest Board has to sort through multiple proposals for some events.
For Easy B, all the proposals except one are supplemental or complementary. For Cabin, each proposal conflicts with the others to some extent. The same is true to a lesser extent with the proposals affecting Paper Stick. The Pennyplane proposals are essentially identical. Several proposals on the docket affect contest administration or have no conflicting proposals. Even so, the Indoor Contest Board has a big job and needs your guidance!
COMMENTS ON SCALING AND RULES DEVELOPMENT
Actually, my own ears have heard little of what one might label as all‑out dissension at this point; however, the most controversial subject seems to center around the permissibility of "scaling." Our reasoning comes from attempting to satisfy the goal of item 1, in that since the West Coast Category I Rules had already permitted scaling from year one, any rules now prohibiting this feature would surely obsolete some models that were already built. Ralph and I were trapped between a rock and a hard place with no way to win our way out—therefore, item 3 has yet to be finalized.
Another item should probably be emphasized: there is nothing that insists the NFFS Rules, as they are written, have to be used per se on a local basis. Individual areas are still free to make up and abide by any rules they choose; however, those areas should appreciate that to enable successful competition on a national or even regional level, a single rule system is mandatory. The work had to start someplace, and NFFS Rules, as written, were our best effort to fill that need. Remember, guys, the whole idea is to have fun!
See ya downwind! Harry Murphy, 3824 Oakwood Blvd., Anderson, IN 46011
SPECIAL NOTE
Under Future Forecast item No. 6 (provisional Electric and Indoor RC Scale events), the Unified Scale Contest Board will be considering these proposals, and you must send them your feeling on these rules. The same goes for Indoor Electric Control Line Scale. The Indoor Contest Board will be considering the Indoor Electric RC Duration event.
SPECIAL INDOOR CONTEST BOARD CONCERNS
Should Indoor Cabin and Pennyplane be scrubbed? In terms of competition, Cabin is nowhere—without Nats perpetual trophy status, Cabin probably would have died years ago. If Cabin is revamped to make it conform to the "original" concept of the event, will there be more competition? What's wrong (if anything) with substituting Manhattan Cabin for the lame‑duck Indoor Cabin has become?
There is still a significant amount of competition in Pennyplane. From what I've seen, however, I think that a lot of the existing Pennyplane competition uses Novice Pennyplane models. The significant thing about Pennyplane is the heavy development in aerodynamics, props, and the application of rubber that has occurred. Whatever else, 15 minutes with three grams of model is a magnificent achievement! What is the justification for dropping an event?
What about Paper Stick? It has less competition than Pennyplane, but has had relatively little modification development in recent years. One proposal would simply drop Paper Stick, while another would convert Paper into B Stick, with any covering allowed. A third proposal eliminates paper covering, adds a minimum weight and maximum length. Change it, drop it, or forget the whole thing?
What about no longer requiring Paper Stick and Easy B to be covered with paper? Condenser paper has been scarce for about 30 years. It is cantankerous and is not the favorite of very many fliers. However, the new plastics are very light, very stable, and require a learning process to use. Is plastic film an idea whose time has come? I do not consider the condenser paper "shortage" justification for dropping paper, but maybe I'm wrong. Tell me!
One final major concern: do we want electric‑powered models in Indoor sites? Even if the Indoor Contest Board votes against the provisional Electric RC Duration event, the Scale Board may accept some of the provisional Indoor Electric Scale events. What impact on the indoor site situation can we expect from regular flights involving 28‑oz. (maximum allowable weight of all proposed Electric Indoor events) RC and Control Line models?
INDOOR WEEK — SITE SEARCH
Don't forget! We still need to find a viable site for Indoor Week. What we need is a site with ceiling height close to the maximum in one of the ceiling categories. It should have good flying conditions and suitable housing nearby. A college campus would be ideal; everyone could stay in dormitories nearby and it would be close to the ideal we had at West Baden.
Send word of any possible sites to one of us:
- Bud Tenny, P.O. Box 545, Richardson, TX 75080
- Dr. John Martin, 2180 Tigertail Ave., Miami, FL 33133
- Tony Taliano, 1655 Revere Dr., Brookfield, WI 53005
The future of Indoor Week is in your hands—don't let us down!
Bud Tenny, P.O. Box 545, Richardson, TX 75080.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
