RADIO CONTROL AEROBATICS
Rick Allison, 15618 NE 56th Way, Redmond WA 98052
I'm a compulsive reader. Where model aircraft are concerned, my vice finds its fullest expression. I read everything—stunt stuff, free flight, indoor, big birds, pylon, electrics, combat, soaring, even helicopters. I confess that I even read directions, which all real men discard instantly.
I even read the editorials and the letters to the editor. Which brings me to the first item floating in this month's stew. Ever since Managing Editor Jim Haught's column on the subject in the October '94 MA, letters have periodically appeared regarding competition and competitors—competition in aeromodeling, sport fliers and sport flying, and all of their supposed attitudes towards our hobby/sport and each other: the blessings that competition affords, the curses it bestows, and the cost in blighted souls it exacts.
None of this is new. I've read it all before. I can dig out stuff from the '50s and '60s and prove conclusively that the modeling world was going to Hades in a handcart back then. We must still be enroute.
Humans are competitive creatures. Life on this planet has mostly been difficult, and competition is the normal, natural way the world does business. Most of us compete, of course, in our normal day—coworkers, relatives, friends, strangers, lovers—for fun, for money, to validate self-esteem. Most of the time, nearly unaware, it furthers careers, determines social roles, sets rules for relationships, and defines personalities. We don't consider competition; it's just normal human interaction.
Modelers attend fly‑ins, trade shows, float‑flys, club meetings and other similar noncompetitive affairs—often understated, low‑key and definitely social. Given that not everything in aeromodeling is competitive, shouldn't we try competition at least once since it's such a normal, human, fun thing? Of course.
Some of us find that competition fits. Others prefer to relax, chew the fat, rip a casual chunk out of the nearest cloud and go home full of bliss, beauty and unfettered flight—the escape from pressure that the hobby provides.
Humans are built to exacting specs, however. Some of us are competitive; others stubbornly believe that attempting to achieve perfection requires personal expression. Those who gather to compete do so for the fun and delight of the technical tasks—designing, building, preparing the flight, trimming—and these events absorb us. Winning is less the goal than a byproduct of getting it right. The practice necessary to perfect the flight is an art, a release, an exercise of cultivated talent—not drudgery. The beauty of flight is still, for many, wedded to purpose and achievement; an escape from pressure.
Flying around aimlessly bores some of us silly. Never the twain shall meet those who love airplanes and those who only want casual escape.
Sport fliers now form the bulk of the AMA, giving it financial weight and political clout. The organization also provides a pool of competitors—some come and retire; few start out competing and continue forever. Competition fliers have had (and have) a large role in developing the tools, designs, and materials we use. They push the limits of modeling possibility and keep the diversity of our hobby alive. Most are committed and dedicated modelers.
My personal club experience has been that competitors are more likely to be directly involved in club and AMA affairs than noncompetitors. The AMA president, vice-president, Technical Director, and (to my knowledge) at least six of the eleven District VPs have a competitive-modeling background of one type or another. That's a lot of dedicated, uncompensated, volunteer leadership from what has been advertised as just an uncaring 10% of the membership.
The really funny thing is, this group of former competitors is pushing to do more for the sport flier, not less!
It seems to me that the real question here is not competitor vs. sport flier, but tolerance vs. intolerance, with intolerance on both sides. The pursuit of aeromodeling happiness takes slightly different forms for each of us. We should celebrate that and support it. Biting our own tails is unfortunate, unfriendly, and counterproductive.
1996 Rules Changes
- AMA Pattern: The Contest Board voted unanimously to mirror the FAI move to unlimited engine displacement and a two-meter size limit on length and span (weight limit remains at five kilograms).
- New Masters maneuver schedule adopted.
- Pilots will have the option to declare landing and takeoff direction and direction of flight.
- Novice class: All limits on aircraft size have been removed. A Novice may now show up at any contest with virtually any airplane and fly it.
- A proposal to rename Novice and Sportsman to Basic and Intermediate was rejected in a close vote.
- The Event Director now has the power to grant relief from the effects of unforeseen circumstances interrupting a flight.
- More specific downgrades were added to maneuver descriptions.
- The implied box floor height requirement was removed; turnarounds are now more purely positioning maneuvers, and altitude adjustments to enter the next maneuver are legal.
- Most other Pattern proposals were housekeeping in nature.
The new rules are effective January 1, 1996.
Highlights of the New Masters Schedule
- The Bunt (#13) is essentially a Reverse Immelmann from the top: push to a 1/2 outside loop and roll to upright at the bottom.
- The #5 Immelmann is a "half height" maneuver into a #6 inside-outside roll.
- Vertical Eight (#6) starts from the middle, with the pilot having the option to do either the inside or outside loop first.
- The #16 Quarter-Half-Quarter roll is a quarter roll to knife edge, followed by a half roll to the other knife edge, and another quarter roll out.
- My favorite is the #8 Triangle Snap Loop, which is the current Triangle Rolling Loop with a snap roll replacing the roll.
I've flown this schedule. It has very good flow, is fun to fly, and has sufficient complexity to be challenging. It looks like a very interesting year coming up!
1996 MASTERS SCHEDULE
- Takeoff (U) — k = 1
- Inside-Outside Cuban 8 with Full Rolls (U) — k = 4
- Stall Turn with 1/2 Rolls — k = 2
- Four-Point Roll (D) — k = 4
- Immelmann Turn — k = 1
- Vertical 8 from the Middle, Pilot's Option (U) — k = 3
- One and One-Half Turn Spin — k = 3
- Triangle Snap Loop (D) — k = 4
- Top Hat with 1/4 Rolls — k = 2
- Figure M with 3/4 Rolls (U) — k = 5
- Half Square Loop with 1/2 Roll in Vertical — k = 3
- Push-Pull Humpty Bump: 1/2 Roll Down, 2/4 Up (D) — k = 3
- Bunt with 1/2 Roll Out — k = 2
- Double Immelmann with Full Rolls (U) — k = 4
- Pull-Push Humpty Bump: 1/2 Roll Down — k = 3
- Quarter - Half - Quarter Roll (D) — k = 4
- Half Square Loop — k = 1
- Three-Turn Inverted Spin (U) — k = 4
- Humpty Bump with Options — k = 2
- Two Rolls in Opposite Directions (D) — k = 3
- Stall Turn, Full Roll Up — k = 2
- Square Loop with Four Half Rolls (U) — k = 5
- Landing (U) — k = 1
Total — k = 66
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
