Focus on Competition - 2003/01

Technical
Director
Steve
Kaluf
[email protected]
F o c u s o n C o m p e t i t i o n
I don’T very often include a letter from
a member in my columns (in fact only once
before that I remember); however, I
recently received a letter from member Bob
Walker that asked me to address an all too
common problem. Here is Bob’s letter:
“Don’t know if you are the right person
for this, so feel free to pass this on. This
subject seems bothersome and thought I
should let AMA know, although I think I
read an article on this awhile back, maybe
in Model Aviation.
“I am in the Harford County Miniature
Aircraft Operators Association (Swan
Harbor Club, about 30 miles NE of
Baltimore).
“Yesterday, there was a probable shoot
United States Soaring Team Selection Trials
Host Club Site Bids
2004 F3J Team Selection Finals
Dear Soaring Enthusiasts,
The Soaring Team Selection Committee, under the sponsorship of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, is requesting bids from
your club or group to host the F3J Team Selection Finals. The actual contest must take place between July and December 2003. The
selection committee recommends that the contest take place over Labor Day weekend if possible.
The host club is responsible for organizing and running the contest, which normally takes place over three days of flying. Full
support is available from the selection committee in helping the winning bidder with planning for this contest. This is the competition
that will select the three best F3J pilots in the country to represent the United States in the next World Championships, to be held
during the summer of 2004.
US Soaring pilots have placed very well at previous World Championships with many wins and high placing, both as team
champions and individual champions.
Your club or group can be a part of this continuing dominance. You will also have the opportunity to watch the very best F3J
fliers in the country in action and see the latest advances in this sport.
Your club does not need experience in the F3J event or have any local F3J fliers enter a bid to host this contest. All you need is a
flying field with minimal slope lift available and the desire to see your club’s prestige lifted to a world-class level. Your club will
need to supply sufficient field help.
Your club will not be asked to donate money for this event. The committee has the equipment needed for the actual contest. Local
expenses such as Porta Pottis, tables, chairs, etc. can be covered by an entry fee for the entered pilots.
Complete bid-package information can be obtained from Lisa Johnson in the Competition Department at AMA. Her address is
listed below. General informational questions can be addressed to the Soaring Team Selection Committee chairman at the address
listed below. Bids may be submitted to Lisa Johnson anytime from now until April 30, 2003.
Obviously the sooner your bid is submitted and can be considered by the committee, the more time will be available to plan and
prepare for this contest. If necessary, the Soaring Team Selection Committee chairman or his representative will visit one of your club
meetings and your site.
Buzz Averill Lisa Johnson
Soaring Team Selection Committee Chairman Competition Department
11608 Singing Arrow Rd. S.E. Academy of Model Aeronautics
Albuquerque NM 87123 5161 E. Memorial Dr.
Muncie IN 47302
down of an expensive airplane at the field.
No one else claimed to be on the flier’s
frequency, but a check of transmitters found
that another person was indeed on that
frequency with the wrong flag and wrong
pin. Whether that person had his transmitter
on is another story. A further check of all
the transmitters at the field found another
transmitter with the wrong flag and wrong
pin. This second person flies at contests
around the country and is by amazing luck
that he was never shot down. Who knows if
he ever shot anyone else down.
“So just a suggestion for all contests,
fly-ins, and meets, that crystals be checked
for actual frequency. Evidently they are not
or at least at not all contests. I noticed that a
lot of Futaba radios have the crystal covers
with just the frequency number. My JRs
have both the frequency and channel
number on the crystal cover.
“Also, is there an AMA rule to require
channel number flags? Nowadays people
have multiple transmitters that look alike
and it is easy to pick up the wrong one,
especially without a flag. But in our one
case, the transmitter had the wrong flag.
“So, just wanted someone out there to
know what we learned this weekend. With
so many $1000 plus airplanes, this is a real
issue.”
Does this scenario sound familiar to
you? Have you ever run an impound at an
event and looked at the transmitters to
verify what channel they are on?
Fortunately many events do verify
channels; by the same token many do not.
Even if AMA required this I have no doubt
that the problem would still exist.
This is an outgrowth of so many fly-ins
being very large and folks changing
channels in the middle of an event in order
to get more flying time. Personally I only
impound my module for this reason. That
way there is no doubt what channel
impound should issue for it, as there is no
flag attached to mislead them so they must
check the module to assure what channel it
is on. Transmitters that do not use modules
cannot do this, however, and it is very
important that we make sure the flag that is
attached to the transmitters matches the
channel it is on.
The message is simple here. Check to
Continued on page 174
January 2003 171