Aero Mail
If you have a letter to the editor, please submit it to MA Editor-in-Chief Jay Smith at 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302, or email to [email protected].
This letter is a follow-up to a follow-up. Why? Because sometimes I find an article or letter that directly or indirectly affects all pilots.
A recent article on competition-driven innovations brought up some very interesting conversations with some of the folks I fly with. It also piqued enough interest to have a reply published in the "Aero Mail" column of the MA July issue.
As a commercial pilot and avid RC sailplane pilot, I have to agree that competition has helped develop and create airships that are truly pieces of art, not to mention their ability to withstand great punishment in both the launch aspect as well as the landing aspect of the sport.
We have produced such clean and efficient aircraft that, if a person wanted to spend a few thousand dollars, he or she could compete with anyone. But is this where we want to go? Do we want to take the skill out of the sport? Are we looking to take the average person out of the game by outspending him or her? Has anyone seen a full-scale aircraft dork or stick their landings by forcefully pushing the nose of the aircraft inches into the ground?
Mark Hauschild wrote a very good reply in the July MA "Aero Mail" column that made very good sense. Look, we need advancements in our hobby, we need to learn and create better and safer aircraft. We need people to design and create these ships so we can all learn and gain knowledge of such engineering.
But where do we draw the line for competition flying? How do we allow a young pilot to enter a contest and give that person a fair shot at winning. I know what many will say: practice, practice, practice. As true as this is, practice does not make affordable high-tech aircraft for most people.
I will never forget when my father took out a Gentle Lady and launched in a sailplane contest competing against those expensive contest birds and won. This is not normally the case, but he did it and all with just simply a Gentle Lady. He had very low launches and always slid his airplane in for a gentle landing in the circle.
My point is to make contest fair. Let the Gentle Lady models of the world be able to compete for those with fixed incomes. Don't take the flying skills out of the game. Instead, incorporate them in the game. Take points away from those who want to take their bird and cover the nose in three inches of dirt to stick the landing. There is no skill in that.
Just to let everyone know, I do own sailplanes that have a high dollar amount attached to them. I also compete. I also would like to see my young friends have an equal chance to compete. I thank Mark for his reply and stand by his remarks.
— Gino Pastori
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
