Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
Ron Van Putte
Victimized?
VICTIMIZED? Apparently the United States team which competed in the FAI RC Aerobatics (F3A) World Championships was the victim of bad "intelligence." Frank Broach was the sole U.S. judge at the World Championships, and he reported his experiences in Points (newsletter of the United Scale and Pattern Judging Association). Here's a part of his report.
"When the flying began, it was obvious that the U.S.A. team was at the wrong contest. Two members of the U.S.A. team had journeyed to Europe last year for the express purpose of seeing firsthand how the Europeans were flying. Last year it was 'out' and 'fast.'
"A funny thing happened between then and the World Championships. The European judges, who made up eight of the 10 judges used at the Championships, had decided that the flight corridor was only to be 150 meters out, and that was that.
"It appeared to me that the European judges were more concerned that the pilots fly close in, than with what the maneuvers looked like. The pilots who were flying close and slow were getting better scores.
"Most of the Europeans and Japanese were flying this way. I was told that the European contests had started enforcing the 150 meters idea this past spring, and the Japanese lucked out. The reason I say the Japanese 'lucked out' was that they alone (of the non-European teams) found out about this new, unofficial interpretation of FAI rules by the European judges and practiced strictly to it.
"The Japanese profited from this intelligence. They scored fourth, fifth, and ninth in the individual standings, giving them second place in the team standings. The U.S.A. usually takes first place. This year the U.S.A. team didn't even make third place. It ended up in fourth place, behind Austria and just ahead of China.
"I know that the Americans, Mexicans, Australians, British, and Canadians were not happy with this 150-meter situation. One of the U.S.A. pilots was told by a judge that the U.S.A. pilot was being penalized an additional whole point per maneuver, just for being too far out and too high as measured by their unofficial 150-meter rule.
"In contrast, my understanding of FAI rules is that the judge should make a mental adjustment for the size of the maneuver and judge the precision of its performance accordingly. If the maneuver is so high and so far out that the judge cannot see it well, that is fair grounds for a downgrade. But if the larger, farther-out maneuver is still quite visible, downgrading has to be limited to actual observed imperfections in performance.
"Like most contests, there were some complaints about the judging beyond this 150-meter issue. Maybe someday all of the contestants will be happy with all of the judges."
Frank had more to say, but the bottom line was that Chip Hyde was the sole U.S.A. flier to get into the finals. Chip finished sixth overall, but was fourth in both finals rounds and second in the last qualifying round. He couldn't overcome low places in the first three rounds when he was fifteenth, tenth, and thirteenth.
Who won, did you say? Who else but Hanno Prettner, followed by Wolfgang Matt and Bernd Lossen. The team standings were Germany, Japan, and Austria.
The big question in my mind is: "Did we get blind-sided again?" Two years ago the Europeans were flying high, far out, and ignoring the box — and the judges bought it. This time it was the opposite. It makes you wonder how the same set of rules can be interpreted so differently in two World Championships.
Servo tester schematic and requests
I had the picture of a servo tester in the September 1987 column which had been built from a schematic I'd published many years ago. The original schematic was published by Hugh Shoemaker in the February 1976 issue of the DCRC Newsletter. I had the schematic in my column about 10 years ago and later offered to send schematics to anyone who sent me a SASE. The servo tester has been far and away the most popular item in my column (outside of the downwind turn), and I had still been getting requests for the schematic based on the original appearance in the column.
Then the picture was printed (in September), and the requests started flooding in again.
The reason I'm writing about it now is that many of the requests are coming in without a SASE, and while my postage and stationery budget can handle a few requests, the cost of the many requests I've received strains that budget and makes me work harder to address and stamp the envelopes. So, keep the requests for the servo tester schematic coming, but don't forget to include the SASE.
You might be interested in a bit of information on the servo tester. It can be wired for both positive- and negative-pulse systems and uses a standard 4.8-volt pack for power. It acts in place of the transmitter and receiver by simulating the output pulse of the receiver so you can simulate movement of the transmitter control and observe the movement of the servo. You can discover broken gear teeth, a sick potentiometer, and bad spots on the motor armature by slowly moving the control and watching/listening to what happens to the servo. It's a nice little piece of test equipment that's relatively easy to assemble and low in cost.
Low-cost touchup spray gun
While on the subject of low in cost, I'd like to mention a really nice touchup spray gun I discovered that's also low cost.
During the past few years I've been buying tools from the Harbor Freight Salvage Co. (3491 Mission Oaks Blvd., Camarillo, CA 93011). Recently they advertised a touchup gun that looked like a "Chinese copy" of a well-known American brand which I already owned. The price was only $19.50. With a great many misgivings I ordered the gun, but when it arrived I was delighted with the quality of the workmanship.
However, the final judgment couldn't be made until I had used it to paint my latest Pattern airplane with K&B Super Epoxy. It is a fine piece of machinery! My new airplane looks like someone who knows how to paint did the work. Since I only paint an airplane every year or so, the credit must belong to the gun. This gun is recommended by the Van Putte workshop.
Tennessee Turnaround
What is a Tennessee Turnaround? Well, it really isn't anything official, but when Dennis Hunt (Knoxville, TN) and Bob McLain (Jackson, MS) collaborated on a set of schedules to be used in an ALL‑Turnaround contest and asked my opinion, I dubbed the result Tennessee Turnaround.
The idea was to sponsor a contest in which all of the events would involve Turnaround, but one in which contestants could pick their schedule based on their level of ability.
I think their efforts resulted in a useful alternative to conventional AMA Pattern which would give contestants a chance to try out Turnaround, and compete against other fliers of similar ability. The four schedules are called Sportsman Turnaround, Advanced Turnaround, Expert Turnaround, and FAI Turnaround.
Their Sportsman Turnaround is this: (Key: U — upwind; D — downwind; TA — Turnaround)
- Takeoff ................................ U 1
- "Enter the box" ..................... U 1
- Three Inside Loops ................. U 2
- Stall Turn .......................... TA 1
- Cuban Eight ........................ D 2
- "Exit the box" ...................... D 1
- "Enter the box" ..................... U 1
- One Reverse Outside Loop .......... U 1
- 1/2 Reverse Cuban Eight ............ TA 1
- Three Horizontal Rolls ............. D 3
- "Exit the box" ...................... D 1
- "Enter the box" ..................... U 1
Of course, the fourth schedule is the current FAI Turnaround.
The four schedules have a nice progression to them, and fliers can enter the list anywhere they feel comfortable. I've heard about several clubs promoting this kind of contest, and I look forward to competing in my first all‑Turnaround contest.
After vowing never to fly Turnaround, I promised to enter the fall all‑Turnaround contest sponsored by the team R/C Club in Jackson, MS on October 17–18, 1987. I'll be flying the Advanced schedule—if I can get the Air Force to complete a one‑month wind tunnel test on the F-15E in time for me to get back home for my airplane and out to Jackson.
Ron Van Putte 111 Sleepy Oaks Rd. Ft. Walton Beach, FL 32548
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
