SEN 2796 - Open Letter
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SEN 2796
1. Open letter to F1 sportspeople
2. USA Team Selection
3. Issue 4/2020 of Thermiksense
Open letter to F1 sportspeople
From: Ed Carroll
December 20, 2020
Dear F1 Sportspeople,
I have decided to speak out about the COVID 19 situation and planning for our Team Selection Finals and the next Free Flight World Championships.
First of all, if the COVID 19 issues were under control (as they are not at the present), I would have no problem with the finals for team selection being held 16-21 March, 2021.
Second of all, the leadership role in the whole international scene should be taken by Ian and the CIAM leadership to recognize that the COVID 19 issues will not be under control worldwide until vaccinations are in order. In the interest of calm and reason, the World Championships should be postponed at least one year until the USA and the world is in a safer place with respect to the COVID 19 pandemic.
As a scientist with 50+ years of experience in the science of immunology and antibody production, it takes a period of time (4-6 weeks, maybe longer) before immunity begins; as Fauchi says we do not know how the vaccine immune response will roll out on a global scale [how long immunity lasts, if a vaccinated person who is asymptomatic can still transmit the virus] after vaccination to gain any immunity from the disease. I also have a concern that with the virus mutability and the possibility that vaccines will no longer be able to be effective against new variants, we will still not be out the woods. In addition, we don’t know if enough people in the USA and the world will take the vaccine and generate herd immunity.
My other concern is that many of us (as F1 sportspersons) are in a high-risk group for COVID 19 infection because of age, never mind what other mitigating factors of risk might be present individuals.
Look, yesterday there were over 40,000 cases in LA county and there are no ICU beds available. Given what I have said above, I think the best decision is to cancel everything and roll the entire process forward at least one year in cycle. This wipes out the odd/even cycle of WC events, but this is not a big deal. I know France wants to hold the WC as scheduled, but England is now in a new lockdown, can France be far behind?
With best wishes to all for a safe holiday season,
Eddie
Edward J. Carroll, Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
USA Team Selection
Normally the final part of the USA Team Selection is held in an October event. This year the event was not held and planned to be held early 2021. Some of the original ideas for that may not be practical and even though there are positive signs with vaccines and new treatments there in no guarantee that the 2021 event will held or a significant number counties will participate. Now the USA Team Selection Committee is working on how best to select the Team for the 2021 Champs. In a large country like the USA there many issues the TSC is working on, can travel to an event be done, if there was a number of regional events with potentially different numbers of people and conditions at the different site and many more. The current Team Selection program took all of these into account but that has been messed up by the Covid pandemic and may need to be adapted.
The TSC will make announcement in due course and we also expect some additional information from the CIAM and the FFAM, the Champs organizer.
Issue 4/2020 of Thermiksense
From:Bernhard Schwendemann
Issue 4/2020 of the German Free Flight Magazine "Thermiksense" was just
published. For the content please see here:
https://www.thermiksense.de/aktuelle-ausgabe/
We have e.g.:
Dieter Siebenmann about aerodynamics
Plans of F1C, F1M, several small indoor models,
historic models of Hansheiri Thomann and the theory behind
Or some more general info in English:
https://www.thermiksense.de/english/
Bernhard Schwendemann