SEN-476 Sept. 26 2000

News and Reports 2000 - second half
SCAT Electronic News 26 Sept 2000 issue 476


Table of Contents
=================
Wawayanda listing in America's Cup - Barron
Other Retrieval Systems? - Gannon
Backflip: Free Flight Search Engine (update by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Finals: Good or better - Schrodter
Americas Cup scoring - Anon?
Hermann on the team - Andresen


Wawayanda listing in America's Cup
==================================
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jim, Tom,

Thanks for all your doing. Please show the Skyscraper
listing as NY rather than MD in the results.

Also can you update the SCAT web site? As you
have confirmed the America's cup listing should show
Oct 28-29 as the dates, Art Ellis as the CD,
(80 Denison Drive, Guilford, CT 06437) phone
203-453-1850, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and the site
as Wawayanda, NY.

Publicity from this end is under control. It will
be nice to have SCAT in sync.

Best wishes on Finals preparation!

Andrew

[We are always ready to publish whatever contest organizers
give us about their contest and to change the schedule displayed.
To make sure it gets done always send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
and check the online listing afterwards.]


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

Dear Roger,
I had an exciting experience about three weeks ago at the Orbiteers
contest in Lost Hills. My last flight in the mulvihill event fly-offs. A
good friend let me tape a walston transmitter to the top of my wing just so
I could experience how the system works (but with the DT working so well
that day I won't need it). Anyway I wind, spot the thermal, launch, and
about 6 min. later after the DT failed (my fault) my friend and I head out
cross country and about (at least) 8 miles and 1&1/2 hrs later we have the
plane back, and I won that event.
My Comment is, "They work great", the problem is, its an expensive
system ($650.00 versus a $50 airplane) and a comment made by someone (I
don't recall who?) was "there are lots of systems like that one" so my
question to all you world traveling FAIers is; Is there any other retrieval
systems available that's not so expensive, maybe just as reliable, almost as
light, and available here in the US? If so, then give me some addresses so I
can inquire about them. I think that system worked great but that's a lot of
cost, but I'm sold on that type of system but I just can't justify that much
money with money being tight and all. I work in the aerospace industry here
in So Cal.
Sincerely, William Gannon

[There is information on the SCAT Web site - If you search
on the word tracker or retriever you will find some information]

Backflip: Free Flight Search Engine (update by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
=================================================================
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Roger,

This has a lot of F1E info.
Backflip by Greg Lane adds a FF site daily.
H


>From: Greg Lane
>To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
>Subject: Backflip: Free Flight Search Engine (update by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
>Date: Fri Sep 22 05:27:55 2000
>
>This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. added this page to Greg Lane's Free Flight Search Engine
>folder
>
>Page title: F1E Magnet Steered Slope Soaring Free Flight Gliders
>Description: This site is for sharing the information and knowledge
>needed for flying F1E magnet steered gliders.
>
>Click here to check out the Free Flight Search Engine folder:
>http://www.backflip.com/sh/HZZRXXfHSDefEZTWRYWFJGRTEHfQgggg
>
>Enjoy!
>This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
>
>* * * * * * * * * * * * *
>Like This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., use Backflip to get back to what's important to
>you on the Web. For FREE
>
>
>http://www.backflip.com/
>Get Back to the Good Stuff!


Finals: Good or better
=======================
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.



Roger

I am delighted that my suggestion to use the AmCup to select our teams
has stimulated a very good discussion. This has to be good for the
sport! I certainly agree that there are many shortcomings to my
suggestion. I have been absent for a few years, so I was not aware of
what Parker and Atcherberg have reported: that a similar but condensed
set of meets for selecting teams failed a while back by only one vote.

I want to make it clear that I am not in any way being critical of any
past team member other than myself. We did have an F1A world champ on
our team in '83 (Matt G) and in '87 Bob White became the F1B world champ
after coming close so many times previously. I was also at Taft in '79
to see our F1A boys win team first place. All wonderful achievements,
but I would like to have seen more. I think we are very capable.

I strongly feel that somehow the team selection process should require a
reasonable amount of experience traveling to other contests and flying
in some challenging weather conditions, which I did not have.
Incidentally, I also flew in the '84 finals at Seguin and placed 4th.
Because I was so involved running Champion Model Products, I would have
again been poorly prepared to compete at Livno, had I done better by a
notch. I more than qualified for the finals in '87, but decided at the
last minute that I really had no business making another attempt. That
was it for me.

Why did I compete in the first place? Merely to show that the simple
Wake-Up that I was kiting was indeed capable of doing well in a tough
competition. I thought that if I could place in the top 10 in the
finals, I would sell a lot of kits. I placed well twice and eventually
sold about 525.

Obviously, if we make travel a requirement, then we will shut out quite
a few FAI flyers who simply don't have the time (off from work) to
compete at distant contests. So we'll have to decide where our
priorities lie.

Let's hear some other suggestions besides keeping what we now have.

George Schroedter



Americas Cup scoring
====================

Roger,

The following is not for publication. Could you please forward it to
whomever keeps the America's Cup stats? (Is it Al Hotard?)

[message edit ...]

Thanks,

[Send corrections to Jim Parker This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.]

Hermann on the team
===================
Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Roger,

Before commenting on the team selection I tried to find the FAI
comments/rules regarding team selection. As I recall it specified head to
head competition be used.

IMHO the current system emphesizes the wrong thing, namely making 3min maxes
in the middle of the day.
World Champs are won by flying in the 10min round in a 10min window at dawn.

The 3min maxes could/should be handled as a qualifier ie one must do 7x3
twice or thrice (rather than 75min) to qualify.

It wouldn't be bad to have 3 select contests where 2 of the flyoff type
rounds are held prior to the contest on each of 2 days.

Think that would produce a very strong team and even give SLOBAT a chance @
a team spot.
H



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