Sport-Aerobatics
Ron Van Putte
RECENTLY, while attending several contests, I heard a lot of fliers discussing competition class advancement. Usually, the discussions involved two situations. First, that a particular flier had earned enough points to be advanced to the next class, but hadn't done so. Second, that Contest Directors don't call for event winners' advancement cards to enter the appropriate information. It's not too difficult to figure that both situations may well be true and that the first situation is largely caused by the second.
There are those people who are "trophy hunters" who can beat the system by "losing" or otherwise making their cards unavailable when they register for a contest, but not too much can be done about that. I can't imagine what satisfaction a guy gets by beating others whom he knows are inferior fliers, but some people must because they do it.
The situation which can be alleviated is the one in which the Contest Director doesn't call for the advancement cards. It's easy to see why the situation develops. When a contest is over everyone wants to get on the road back home, including the contest workers. The only suggestion I have about that hectic situation is for the harried Contest Director to select an individual who has the responsibility to remind him to mark the cards.
Another suggestion I have is that AMA headquarters should prepare a computerized, alphabetized list of contest advancement points based on C.D. contest reports and mail the list to chartered clubs along with the club charter renewals. In this way, each contest director would have a list to compare with an entrant's registration during the following calendar year. It would involve more work for headquarters people who already have enough to do, but it would certainly alleviate a sore spot in RC aerobatic competition. If you support this suggestion, please drop AMA headquarters a note so they can gauge the level of interest across the country.
The January 1977 issue of Model Aviation (page 68) contained several suggested interpretations of the 1976-77 AMA rule book which were submitted by RC contest Board Chairman Bill Northrop. Rather than repeat them here, I suggest that you look them up. With the exception of "Para. 3," I think the proposed interpretations should be a big help to Contest Directors. The questionable interpretation would allow a contestant to go to the end of the flight list for a round if his engine failed after Takeoff was announced. Most Contest Directors I've talked to agree that once the starter cord is on the engine, the flight is official and the contestant has two (three for Masters) minutes to call Takeoff and begin his takeoff roll. If the engine dies then, he earns a zero for the takeoff, but has satisfied the starting time requirement. From that point, the only limitation would be the total flight time allowed for the respective pattern category. As a competitive flier and a Contest Director, I'll be very interested to see how the revised "Para. 3" will look.
Have you sent your dues to the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics for 1977 membership? Since the NSRCA doesn't send renewal notices, if you're like me you forgot all about renewing your membership (or joining up) for 1977. Send a $6.00 check to NSRCA, c/o Mrs. Sally Brown, Secretary/Treasurer, 8534 Huddleston Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45236 and get on board for 1977.
There are military installations all over the country and most of them have an annual "open house" to bring in people from the local community for familiarization with the mission and activities of the installation. The situation is not only good for the public relations of the installation; it is perfect for a local RC club to improve/maintain its public image. One club which recognized the opportunity and capitalized on it is the Spirits of St. Louis RC Club in St. Louis, Missouri. The RC Spirits conducted a static display and flying demonstration at the Scott Air Force Base Open House. According to club member Joe Lunt, an hour-long flying demonstration was extremely well received by the spectators and, "...at the static display the crowd was fabulous. People came all day, sometimes as many as five deep at one time. We answered questions, showed off our planes and stood back for pictures. We brought everything we could think of, even some bare bones jobs to show off our construction. Crowd estimates were between 80,000 to 120,000 people."
Does the open house idea sound good to you? If you're looking for a quick way to a good image with the local public, why not contact the local military installation and volunteer to participate in their open house. For those of you who aren't near a military installation, look for community functions which you could serve with a flying demonstration and/or static display. Good publicity like that is worth every bit of the effort that goes into it.
Every year I attend the Crescent City RC Club contest near New Orleans, not only because they put on such a great contest, but also because there is always something different that goes on during the contest. Last year the "something different" was night flying of an RC Buzzard Bombshell at the annual Saturday night roast beef feed at the flying field. This year the Fall Carnival had two things that must be classed as "something different." The first was the flight of an airplane which carried a "baker's dozen" of hen eggs in a bomb bay. The idea resulted from a challenge between two club members. The challenger sat in a lawn chair while the other club member conducted a bombing run directed at the challenger. Unfortunately (?) all the "bombs" missed the target, so I guess the challenge still stands; maybe it will be renewed at next year's contest.
The second unusual event was the presentation of two awards to club members Ben Mathews and Rhett Miller (who is attending college there). It seems that Rhett was practicing for the Las Vegas Tournament of Champions and had never seen a Tail Slide performed properly. Ben was in RC pattern back when the Tail Slide was a competition maneuver, so he volunteered to demonstrate how it is supposed to be done. He put his Phoenix 6 into the maneuver, but he had forgotten how much altitude is required for safe recovery. The Phoenix almost made it, but that doesn't count when airplanes and terra firma are concerned. Consequently, the Silver Thumbs Award went to Ben Mathews and an Altitude Extender (a shovel) went to Rhett Miller.
For your enjoyment, here is a delightful item from the Gold Coast Flyer (newsletter of the Gold Coast Radio Controllers, in Boca Raton, Florida), which is edited by Terry Richter.
"Why do I fly? What strange and mystical force drives sane and reliable men and women to spend weeks and weeks building a little toy plane, putting two months' rent money into a radio and gleefully going out and smashing it to bits? I, for one, cannot really say why I fly these model planes. Maybe it is the man against machine idea. It certainly cannot be called relaxing at times. It certainly does not help one's relationship with his spouse. It certainly isn't cheaper than going to the beach on Sunday. I have watched my own handiwork rise into the sky and felt great pride until I had to pick the parts up with a broom. The remainder of the month is" then spent picking sand out of the engine and using sixteen bucks of Hot Stuff to put my marvellous machine together.
"I suppose at every place in the world there are the wizards that help you get your first plane in the air, get you addicted, and then hand you the little despicable box and sit back to gloat. Maybe these guys were put on earth by the devil. Possibly they have a special dispensation from the Pope, as they never seem to wreck their own planes. I sit back many a night and wonder why I cannot be as good as they are. Then one sunny day, a new man comes up and asks if I can try his plane for him. Lo and behold, the darn thing flies great and I make the only good landing I have ever made. I went and hooked this sucker the same way I was caught. Imagine me playing the devil's advocate. My shrink tells me that this fad will pass and that I will eventually return to normal, but I have a feeling that he is wrong. No matter what the reason, this sport has me trapped, and I do believe that I will go on enjoying every frustrating minute of it after the divorce is final. Actually, my wife says she will tolerate this hobby if I would please get all the planes and radios off the dining room table. That is really a small price to pay for being able to drive myself crazy."
Have a nice month, and if you have any good pictures I can use please send them to me.
Ron Van Putte, 12 Connie Dr., Shalimar, FL 32579.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
