SEN 1772

Table of Contents - SEN 1772

  1. Hoosier Cup
  2. More Martyn memories
  3. Free Flight Purity
  4. Remote D/T
  5. Hatschek International Challenge Rescheduled
Hoosier Cup FAI June 1-2
Friends,

The Muncie Free Flight season starts on the Fri, Sat and Sunday after
Memorial Day with a slate of events that includes FAI (bigs on Sat, minis
of Sun) AMA, Nostalgia, and Oldtimers.  The contest flyer is available on
the NFFS web site (freeflight.org) via the master calendar for 2013.  Crops
in the surrounding fields will be very short and will not present a
retrieval problem other than asking permission from the landowners.

Both America's Cup and National Cup points will be awarded in addition to
engraved goblets to the winners.  The AMA portion of the contest carries
the title "Midwestern States Championships" that is in its 70th year of
continuous sponsorship by the Chicago Aeronuts.

Chuck Markos


More Martyn Cowley Memories

My memories of Martyn obviously do not extend back as far as the British
gentleman who previously have reminisced on SEN. But I will say that my
memories of Martyn extend back as far as I can remember on the flying
field. One memory that sticks out to me in particular is a Scat Annual many
years ago that he attempted to go after the Glider record. I watched
intently as he put up flight after flight pushing towards the record. After
is 2nd flight (9 min) I believe, he approached me and asked me if I could
chase for him. Martin had this orange bike with a lighter orange fender and
was just small enough that I could ride. My eyes lit up and he laughed as I
jumped on his bike and fired it up for the first time. I chased for him for
the rest of the day, thanked him and went home being so thankful for the
opportunity he gave me to feel like one of the big boys.

Not so long after that, I started to show a keen interest in flying models
myself. At the 1997 Vegas Contest, Brian Van Nest let me fly one of his
F1H's (unlatched of course) and I placed for the first time in my
freeflight career. Martyn approached me afterwards and told me that he
enjoyed my enthusiasm and desire to better myself. It meant a lot to me
that people besides my family were encouraging me, and Martyn was one who
continually went out of his way to build me up.

I remember that he always had such an enjoyable time with the British
invasion that occurred every February. The boys would always enjoy a good
conversation and meal at the restaurant on the field. They also came up
with a game revolving around minimizing the quantity of questions that a
waiter at Denny's would be compelled to ask when recording an order. These
things all may seem inconsequential to most, but something I enjoyed so
much was watching Martyn enjoy life! He had to give up F1A after he hurt
his knee, and I can only imagine how hard that was for him, but he wouldn't
burden anyone with that, instead he continued to show up to the field and
fly different events and support other free flight flyers. These were
characteristics that marked Martyn's reputation. A kind, fun loving,
extremely intelligent and encouraging man.

Its interesting to be someone that grew up in this community. I don't mean
to sound doom and gloom, but as I get older I sadly read of men that I have
admired and matured because of, passing away. I think this is a solemn
reminder that our lives on earth are fleeting and that we are very blessed
to enjoy a community that is as involved and tight knit as the free flight
community. May we cherish the time we spend with each other, not just the
time we spend competing. I know that I cherish the memories of
conversations in RV's and under sun fly's more than I do any trophy that
sits on my mantle. I may not have been close to Martyn, but I won't soon
forget him.

Benjamin Coussens



Hi Roger.

Martyn Cowley was an excellent all around modeler excelling in both FF and combat. The thing I remember most about Martyn though was he always had a smile on his face and his sense of humor and dry wit always made you laugh.  If you knew him much at all he became your friend and was a pleasure to be around.

He will be missed by all of us in the FF and C/L family.

Terry Thorkildsen


Free Flight Purity

I understand Don's position on RDT, flapping, etc. I also find it hard to
keep up physically and emotionally with the pace of change in our sport. My
question is can we afford to be "pure" given our diminishing numbers, field
availability, and the performance of our models?  Going back to pure free
flight means taking other aspects of our sport back to a time when purity
was possible, or at least not a deterrent. RDT was possible and practical
in the 1970's or 1980's and flapping is older. Don needs to ask himself why
they are so prevalent now, and then assess whether the root causes should
be rolled back as well.

Ross

P.S. I will be (am) the Editor of the 2014 Sympo.  I will be approaching
some of you for specific papers soon, but I would also like proposals for
papers. My e-mail is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


Remote DT


I am not sure where this string started, but Remote DT is legal for ALL AMA free flight classes.
The contest board voted to approve this technology several years ago.  Please refer to the AMA rule bookfor the exact wording. Thermals,

Jerry Murphy, Chairman FF Contest Board.

9 Via Escondido Valle

Manitou Springs, CO 80829
 
Hatschek International Challenge Rescheduled for June 8-9
Dear Free Flight Friends,

  We have indeed postponed the Hatschek International Challenge because of the high winds this weekend.  It will now be June 8-9, at Barron Field in Wawayanda, NY, subsuming the Wilbur and Orville Spring Meet.  Jim Parker from SCAT confirms that the Hatschek Challenge (formerly known as the Skyscraper International Challenge) will be maintaining its open Americas Cup and Junior US Team Selection status.  The event schedule is the same as announced at http://www.brooklynskyscrapers.org/ except for the change of dates.

  Alan, please help distribute this announcement and update the site. Thanks.

Thermals,

Andrew Barron: Host and Field Marshall
Dave Acton: co-CD
Alan Abriss: co-CD

.................................
Roger Morrell