Focus on Competition
Technical Director Steve Kaluf
HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is the first issue of Model Aviation for the new century and millennium. I hope that all the predictions of computers failing and not having power did not come true. Of course, if they did you probably would not have received this issue of the magazine.
I've not written a column for a few months now. The press of events did not allow the time needed to put something together that would make sense. Hopefully the hiatus has helped me build some new material. As always, if there is something you would like to see discussed here, please drop me a line (E-mail is best: [email protected]) and let me know.
In September 1999, the F3A (RC Aerobatics) World Championships took place in Navarre, Florida (Pensacola area). This event was hosted by the AMA and directed by Tony Stillman, Ron Van Putte, and their committees from the Eglin Aeromodellers and Northwest Florida Aeromodelers.
These people did a super job of putting this event together. They spent countless hours in field preparation, planning the tours, opening and closing ceremonies, and the banquet. Our sincere gratitude goes out to them. AMA Competitions Department staff came in to do administrative work.
A complete article will be published soon on the World Championships, so I won't go into the details here. A short piece did appear last month in the "On the Fly" section of the magazine.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few major corporate sponsors of the event:
- Futaba Corporation of America and JR (Horizon Hobby Distributors) — supplied many transmitter models and receivers to the competitors from foreign countries so that they could fly on U.S. legal frequencies. This was no small task, and without a doubt it stretched the resources of both companies.
- Morgan Fuels — supplied fuel at no charge to all competitors who requested it—literally hundreds of gallons of fuel. In many cases they custom-blended the fuel to the competitor's order.
We will never be able to repay these fine companies for their support of the World Championships. All three are also major supporters of the National Championships and many local events. Please show them your gratitude for this support by purchasing their products and thanking them in person whenever you get the chance.
The new year also brings about the next phase in the Rules Change Cycle.
As you know (hopefully), the time for acceptance of Basic Proposals ended on October 1, 1999. The next step is the review of the proposals by the respective Contest Boards. The March issue of Model Aviation will contain the Basic Proposals. This will be in your hands by late January.
Following that, the Contest Boards will vote on these proposals. Any proposal not passing this initial vote is weeded out of the Rules Change Cycle. It is very important that you comment to your respective Contest Board member regarding any proposal that is of concern to you. If you do not comment to them, they will have no way of knowing the membership's feelings on the proposals.
This initial vote must be completed by February 29, 2000.
Next month we will discuss the next phase of the Rules Change Cycle.
On October 30, 1999 the AMA Frequency Committee will meet during the RCHTA National Model and Hobby Show to discuss a few issues. Next month I will also have a complete report of this meeting.
Till next time . . . MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
