SEN-463 Sept. 1 2000
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News and Reports 2000 - second half
SCAT Electronic News 1 September 2000 issue 463
Table of contents
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Timing problems in Romania - Linkosalo
Richard Bach / NFFS Symposion - Bjerre
Junior Competition
AmCup update - Parker and Coussens
Timing problems in Romania
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Having recently returned from EuroChamps in Romania, I'd like to write a
few lines about time keeper errors. These tend to happen in every
competition, unfortunately. In Romania I know of two that took place. The
worse one happened to the brit F1C flier Watson on the first flight, and
dropped him out of fly-off for victory (he would have been at least
second). The other one was my first flight.
The flight was quite eventless, and after the flight out team manager
asked the timekeepers how was it, to get a brief reply "normal". For some
reason no-one ever checked what they wrote down (a big mistake!) so we
were quite shocked at the end of the day, when finding out the fly-off
positions, that the score-board claimed a dropped flight for me! It was
not on the wrong card either, as no other Finn dropped in the first round.
Our team manager discussed this with the jury, and eventually we left a
written protest against the scores. The jury decided that they do not have
time to handle the protest, so they allowed me to fly the five minutes
round, and to decide about the protest later. Despite the hassle (I had
quite little time to set up my stooge and no time to check the timers) I
managed to make a good flight with most of the others in the round. Then,
preparing for the 7 minutes, comes back the message that the jury did not
accept the protest (it was left too late), and no more flying for me.
The good thing about the process was that it gave me the chance to fly one
round in the fly-off, to show (me) that I would have been in the top 24
instead of my "official" placing of 32nd. I strongly doubt that even if we
noticed the timer error immediately, protesting then would have made any
difference. Even worse, I'd have known from the start that there will be
no fly-off for me. Now I could fly the whole day under the pressure of
working towards the fly-off (this was my first in championships), and even
fly the fly-off under some extra pressure. If only the jury had not
handled the protest so quickly, but would have given me the chance to try
the 7 minute round, too... The other outcome of my missing four seconds
was that the Finnish team lost the fourth position to the Brits.
So, I guess these things are inevitable, and it is just bad luck that it
happens to you. Still I wonder why the timekeepers replied that the flight
was "normal" when they saw the model DT to early (that's how they reported
the flight to the jury), and also if there was some way to show the
timekeepers that they have watched the wrong model? Sometimes fliers take
the timekeepers to the landing site of the model to show that they had
been looking in the wrong direction, but there seems to be no "common"
way?
Richard Bach / NFFS Symposion
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Back in the 1970's I remember that Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston
Seagull's author) wrote an introduction to the NFFS Symposion, would anyone
copy/scan Richard Bach's Introduction for me, beforehand Thank You if
anyone can do it,
Best regards, ex Danish Nordic (F1A) team flyer,
Finn Bjerre
Norregade 67, 5, tv
DK-5000 Odense C
Ph and fax (+45) 6611 6109
Mobile (+45) 2075 3948
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Junior Competition
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In regards to Chuck's comments on winding a junior's rubber motor, I
think we need to look at more than that. I know that builder of the
model is hard to prove, but there needs to be something done to insure
that a junior flying against another junior has an equal chance. I know
that many kids build their own models, but I also know of many that
simply throw up a model that Dad built, trimmed, and sometimes started.
I was recently at a contest where a junior came up to my son, who is 14,
and asked why he was starting his engine using his finger (remember how
that is done?). I stated that I felt it was important for him to learn
how to start it the "old fashioned way". The child said that we should
just use the starter. I asked him what would happen to him if his
starter didn't work. He simply said "I wouldn't fly!"
What are we trying to have juniors do? Is it to teach them the basics of
building, the patience required, the skills needed to trim the model,
the thrill of flying something that was constructed by his own hands? Or
is it just to have them grab a ready built model and launch it when dad
says? I know how proud I am of what my son has recently done with models
that he built himself. I think I was happier than he was when he got his
first max with his F1A (that he built!) at the FAI Invitational at
Muncie.
And, I guess the ultimate question, is do we have contest directors that
have enough "guts" to tell a junior he can't fly because he didn't build
the model. I don't know if I would, but I also don't think that it is
fair to the other competitors who have actually spent the time to build
their own. We are trying very hard to encourage juniors into the hobby,
but do we really have the courage to uphold the rules? Maybe it is time
to change the rule. I hope it isn't.
On a more upbeat note, the last contest at Muncie run by Chuck and the
Aeronuts was a great time. The field sure is great, as compared to
Bong!! Also, it was great to see many old friends, espicially Gil Morris
and Bill Shaillor. Ah, free flight forever!!!
AmCup update
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Author : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Printed on System : aeromodel dot com for scat
on Date : Fri Sep 1 13:51:55 2000
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Roger,
I found the NATs scores on the AMA web site, thanks. I'm missing the FFMAS
contest scores. Can anyone help? Bob Junk is looking for the number of
F1G entrants at the 5 Flag contest. This will have a small effect on the
bonus points. As usual, all corrections are welcome. I'll e:mail the Excell
file to those asking. Thermals, JIM
....the actual results are sent in the following e-mail as an excel
attachment. We were not able to reformat them for plain text display
before leaving for this weekends competition activities.
..................
Roger Morrell
