SCAT Electronic News 11 December 1999 - SCAT Christmas Party Day 1999

SCAT Electronic News 11 December 1999 - SCAT Christmas Party Day

      "SCAT - 40 Years of FAI Free Flight Competition"

Table of Contents
=================
Seller of the Bits - Dukie
The Rules - Hinson
FAI Mini or who built what ? - Roberts
(ACCIDENTALLY FORWARDED) - Businelli
Sticky Gummi ? - Korsgard
F1J Luddites Corner
Mini events BOM - F1TOM
BOM for Mini Events - Haught
Zero - O'Reilly



Seller of the Bits
==================
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Roger
Modelers who are in favor of the BOM should have to do their own machine
work, repair and make their own timers, repair and build their own engines
and engine mounts. Then I would have the time to build my own wings. Plus,
they should not call up and ask advice on how to trim and build. I spend an
average of 4 to 5 hours a day providing the things that other modelers "need"
to build their models, but I am not supposed to be able to buy the things
that I "need"! Does anybody ever think of that?
Doug

[Doug, same thing here with the Electronic Timers and even the
SCAT Electronic News.

The BOM rule always seems a arbitary to me as to what bit are 'OK'
to buy and what are not. Certainly anyone who can build and airplane
'should' be able to make timer - mechanical or electronic and although
those little fitting like d/t hammers, stab mounts etc.

I was listenting to take off on Martha Stewart the other day and they
explained how the true do it yourselfer got the Oxygen and Hydrogen
to make their own water. Where's you balsa tree Doug ? ]




The Rules
=========
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Hi Roger,
Just read Mike Woodhouse's comments about all of this miserable
discussion of F1B rules. Three cheers for Mike!!!!!!!
It took us modelers about 50 years to finally get an F1B to fly to the
desired level.
I think that if you collected all of the scores from all of us flying
F1B around the world at this time, you would be surprised how few really
max out.

I can remember the 1970's and most of the 1980's where most everyone in
the USA was an also ran, and the U.S. team was almost the same all of
the time.
I would hate to see the rules modified again to the point that same very
select few win all the contest and the rest of us either fly purely for
the fun of flying, or just give it up all together. As long the current
rules give everyone a chance to hang in there and wait for the top dogs
to stumble, we will all come back and keep trying, but if we loose that
possibility, the event will be ruined and the numbers of flyers that we
see now will vanish. If this happens, we will have ruled ourselves out
of existence.

Rex Hinson


[ I agree with Rex - even with a supposedly six minute airplane it ain't
easy . Alexander Andriukov is the best F1B flyer of this decade in all
aspect of our endevour but he had problems in Israel. When the best
sportsmen in the world get together at the World
Champs we expect outstanding performances. -

But remember as Rex says us regular guys have to fly too and we want
to have to possibility to win. i]


FAI Mini or who built what ?
============================
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Response to Bruce's BOM query. I need clarification of the BOM rule. I
don't really care what the rules are, just that they are very clear.
With a BOM rule must I:
1. Carve or mold my own props; if not, can I get credit towards another part
if I do?
2. Mold my own taco's for D-boxes?
3. Learn to make carbon aluminum tubes if I wish to use them?
4. Make my own carbon sheet from tow if I wish to use?
5. Machine my own mounts and bunt mechanisms?
6. Etc.
These may seem to some like stupid questions, however I am truly confused
and need to know what my future investments might need to be to compete. I
suggest that where ever the line in the sand might be, it needs to be very
clear. Don't you love opinions.
Thanks
Mike



(ACCIDENTALLY FORWARDED)
========================
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Roger:
Hello. Yesterday I sent an end of the year greeting to friends and
acquaintances picked out from my address book and you were between them.
Since I do not know who the subscribers to this news are and many of them do
not know me, the note I sent you was not meant to be included in the
electronic newsletter for a mass mailing. Perhaps some people whose e-mail
address I had missed got my greeting just by cosmic accident at the end.

So, sorry to everybody, their sisters and parrots who got that accidentally
included in the electronic news; I hope my playing around did not freeze up
your PC's, ovens, etc.

Thank you
E. Busnelli

[Ernesto - You did sent it to my personal e-mail and to SCAT -
normally I do not publish cards etc - but you had some very
good F1A phots - the fact the you and Mary Yvonne we in them
only made them better.

I figured that someone would have to make the effort to go look
at them so it was not intruding on them or their parrot. Also
seeing it was on AOL our many readers would not overload
the webserver.

As an aside, when you get on the leading edge and do some
fancy design as you did, there is always a risk that you
may freeze an older PC. But don't worry about it probably belongs
to a wayward semi- Luddite who really wants to turn the PC off
and get back to cultivating his balsa wood tree.]

Sticky Gummi ?
==============
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jorgen Korsgaard
Ahornweg 5, Ellund
D-24983 Handewitt
Germany


Dear friends,

In these high-tech times it seems to me a bit old-fashioned to stay
with knotting rubber motors instead of glueing the ends together. Does
anyone know a perfect glue/adhesive for this job, it doesnt matter end to
end or a overlapping
joint.
I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards

Jorgen

[Jorgen - the rubber factory does use glue to spolice the rubber -
which John Clapp has them mark in black - so we can cut
the splice out because it does not hold. That is obviously
not the glue to use.]

F1J Luddites Corner
===================
Mini events BOM
---------------
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Way to go Bruce, how do we make this happen? I really enjoy the time spent
building a model and the satisfaction of seeing it fly. It's also
interesting to see some of the building techniques and gadgets of other
modelers. We've lost our real hobby shops, but this part of modeling will
always remain.

Tom Laird - "Orbiteers Forever"

[Tom, I assume that this the Obiteer airplane - not that you are
contemplating a move to San Diego rather than San Luis ?

Norm tells me that the Zero is a more exciting airplane than the
Orbiteer or even the Geef - so how about it ?]


BOM for Mini Events
-------------------
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I agree with Jim O'Reilly that it would be nice to have Mini fliers build their
models, but I suspect things are too far gone for that. I am a strong advocate
of BOM, but this is a pretty untenable position these days. (And I went agains
t my own beliefs and bought a couple sets of W-Hobby F1J wings. I cannot--yet--
build composite wings as good as what I can buy, though I'm working on it.)

My concern for BOM is not so much with Open-class fliers as it is with Juniors;
I fear that much of the "learning curve" may be lost in terms of building skil
l development. When I see a Junior flying a model he/she probably could not hav
e built, I wonder if anyone but a select few will even know HOW to build or rep
air models some years in the future (assuming FF HAS a long-term future).

Of course, there could be just a tiny bit of resentment that as a kid, I had to
spend a lot of time learning to build and repair, and that seems to be going a
way now.

My take on BOM has gone from being hard-line to giving up trying to fight evolu
tion, and deciding that I am going to make use of whatever resources are availa
ble to be competitive in F1J. For now, that means a mixture of store-bought par
ts and scratch-built models.

Jim Haught


Zero
====
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Thanks to all you generous souls who offered copies of the "Zero" plan. I
have a set en route.

I now know where to announce the availablity of the finished plan and
semi-kit.

Jim O'Reilly


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