SEN 1753

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SEN 1753 - Table of Contents


  1. SCAT Annual reminder
  2. 2014 USA Junior Team Info
  3. 2015 USA Team Info
  4. RDT Tx Holder ?




SCAT ANNUAL This Weekend

Free Flighters

SCAT Annual, March 23 & 24, Lost Hills. California

Looks like we are going to get to continue with the Fabulous flying weather we had in February. Classic Wunderground shows:


Friday
clearClear. High of 66F. Winds from the NW at 5 to 15 mph.
Friday Night
nt_clearClear. Low of 41F. Winds less than 5 mph.
Saturday
partlycloudyClear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 70F. Winds less than 5 mph.
Saturday Night
nt_clearClear. Low of 41F. Winds from the SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday
clearClear. High of 72F. Winds from the NE at 5 to 10 mph.

If the  breeze direction  stays as forecast, I'll be set-up at location #3, the first area you get to when you drive in.  Park to the north of the road and not too far west.  Lee Hines will be setting up the "pen".

Malkhasyans are laser engraving cubic glass trophies. 1-2-3 places trophies in F1ABCG&H. Due to low attendance in F1JPQ, these trophies will be awarded after the contest should we get entrants. First Place engraved trophies for  HLG, CG and Classic Glider. Also Junior Hi Time trophy, Nos-Wake trophy, Vintage FAI Power as well as the $100 top 20 something award.

Please bring the Perpetual trophies-- I have the F1G and J.

See earlier SEN, NNFS or LHFFA web site for the flyer.
Summary:
Sat 8:00 am start for F1ABCQP, HLG.
Sun: F1G starts tie breaker flight at 7:45, the F1H 8:00 and F1J at 8:15. The 5 regular rounds start at 9:00am. CG and Classic Glider starts at 8:00am
Sat or Sun: Vintage FAI Power and NosWake starting at 8:00 am (may enter both days!)
    

Thermals, JIM


2014 USA Junior Team Program.

The 2014 Junior Free Flight FAI Team Selection Program has been approved by the TSC.
 
The Junior Team Selection Committee is making changes to the Junior Team Selection Program for the 2014 cycle. In summary we are returning to a program using a point system based on performances in three America’s Cup Contests. One of the three must be from the designated contest list:

-    Skyscraper International Challenge, Wayawanda, NY, 2013, Memorial Weekend
-    Centennial Cup/Denver, CO, September 1, 2013, Labor Day weekend
-    National Aeromodeling Championships (NATS), Muncie, IN, July 8-12, 2013
-    NW FAI Challenge, Tangent, OR, August 25, 2013
-    California Invitational (Livotto’s) October 2013, Columbus Day Weekend
-    Southwest Regional’s, Eloy, AZ, January 2014, Martin Luther King Weekend

    A complete copy of the 2014 Junior program will be available shortly  at:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/events/teams/teamprograms.aspx

Some history:

The first Junior FAI Free Flight Team was created in 1988 by the FAI Team Selection Committee (TSC) to compete in the newly created Junior World Championship. In subsequent years, the teams were selected by primarily recruiting Junior Flyers who showed interest in the events and were funded by the TSC.

In 1996, the TSC started working with AMA for funding of the Junior Team Program. This required a more formal selection method in accordance with the “AMA Blue Book." The new selection program for the 1998 Team used a point system based on performance in America's Cup Contests. At first this program was successful because there weren't many juniors interested in the program.
 
Over the next few years the number of qualified junior flyers interested increased. This was primarily due two factors. One, the coming of age of sons/daughters of active FAI flyers; and two, the work of Art Ellis and the Whitney Museum model airplane program. It became clear the point system would no longer be effective in providing a fair selection process with as many as 25 juniors competing for nine team positions.
 
In the 2004, the Junior Team Program implemented a single-site finals format. More than 25 entered that program. Over the next five program cycles, this format produced some of the best overall team and individual results. They included four world champions and the team winning the French Challenge Cup in 2006 and 2008.
 
In recent years, the number of entrants has significantly declined for the inverted reasons of the earlier increase. There were fewer coming of age sons and daughters of active FAI flyers and the Whitney model program closed down. The last two teams to represent the USA only had full teams by having the older members fly two events.
 
We now have a situation where the requirement to have 2-3 good models, spending many weekends at contests and a week at Muncie in the middle of the summer was more than several families could afford. The fear was the current program was preventing some families from participating. 
 
To reduce some of this financial burden, and in an effort to attract more flyers, we have gone back to the point-based system, using performance in the America’s Cup Contests as the format to select the 2014 team. . We believe this will entice more junior flyers and families to participate on a local level and eventually on a national and global scale.
 
 
Sincerely,
Jim Parker
Charlie Jones


USA 2015 Team Selection program

Previous USA World Champs  team program participants should have just got an email from the AMA with details of the proposed program for 2015.  This is asking you to vote on the new  program for 2015.  The way it works is that you vote to approve or disapprove the program.  There is not a way in the voting process to propose a change.  However if you are not happy with the program or some aspect of it then you need to vote to disapprove the program.. You should also communicate with the Team Selection Committee rep for your AMA district and let them know why you are unhappy with the program.  It is very  possible that your TSC Rep may already know how you feel but in the unlikely event of the TSC rep not knowing how people in his district feel there is no harm in reminding him.

  Note that the AMA considers that it is the TSC's responsibility for each of the FAI classes to come up with Team Selection program that satisfies both the AMA's conditions and the participants desires.  From time to time people complain to the AMA about the actions of the TSC, unless the TSC is being obviously dishonest this is counterproductive as the AMA expects each TSC to understand what the participants want and come up with the appropriate plan.  They will not step in and do the TSC's job for them. Note that this applies to all the World Champs Classes not just Free Flight.  So read that program, talk to your TSC rep if you need to and vote.





Looking for RDT tx holder


What is the preferred arm/wrist case for the Airtek RDT? I see lots of guys wearing one that seems to be a perfect fit for the Tx.
TIA

Don DeLoach




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