NFFS Indoor Committee
by John Kagan [email protected]
The latest incarnation of the National Free Flight Society (NFFS) Indoor Free Flight Committee has kicked into gear. Members include Brett Sanborn, Jim Buxton, Kang Lee, Bill Gowen, Larry Coslick, and me. The group's charter is to support and promote Indoor Free Flight through NFFS, Indoor's official AMA SIG.
Our top-level goals include:
- Increasing participation in both NFFS and Indoor Free Flight in general.
- Maintaining our national-level flying sites.
- Building membership in NFFS so we can cooperate toward common goals.
We want more people participating in Indoor because more participants equal more fun. A broader base also simplifies keeping the major sites we already have and finding new ones.
The committee has brainstormed a set of tasks designed to attack these goals from a variety of angles. One way to increase participation is to build it from the ground up with local activity feeding regional events, which in turn provides the numbers to support the big national sites. Envision local activity as the roots: many small pockets of frequent activity, probably in smaller, lower-cost sites and possibly in the winter months as an alternative to outdoor flying.
Empirically, a common set of ingredients is apparent in local groups that reach a self-sustaining critical mass. There is usually a strong personality at the center who is passionate about some form of aviation and who keeps enthusiasm high and everyone informed through newsletters or mailing lists. Examples include:
- Doc Martin, who led the Miami Indoor Aircraft Model Association (MIAMA) in Florida.
- Doc Hacker, the godfather of Indoor FF in Cleveland.
- George Armstead Jr., cofounder of the Glastonbury Aeromodelers in Connecticut.
- Laurie Barr, a driving force at Cardington in England.
The Indoor Committee can't create these personalities, but we are looking for ways to help identify and support them. Contact me if you are, or know of, someone who fits this bill.
Successful local groups have places to fly. Some people may find construction fun, but without a venue where our airplanes can take to the air, we might as well be making display models. Sites range from school gyms to the DC Maxecuters' National Building Museum sessions in Washington, D.C.
We'd like to collect information from those who have figured out how to gain access to these valuable venues. Hopefully their knowledge will help others obtain local sites of their own. Join the discussion on the NFFS website forum to share your experiences (see the Sources list).
NFFS Website
The NFFS website now includes a section covering Indoor activity. Pictures, video, results, and text are presented for each event. Webmaster Alan Petersen has been experimenting with various formats and is currently using a chronological timeline page with links to the details. Our goal is to include every Indoor session in the United States, from the largest national meets to the most intimate local events.
If you have participated in an Indoor session, make sure it gets posted. I expect I'll be amazed at how much activity is occurring that I don't know about.
Alan's preferred format:
- Results in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
- Text in a Microsoft Word document.
- Photos and video hosted on a website such as Picasa, Webshots, or Photobucket.
If you are computer savvy, you can send your information to Alan directly (see Sources). If you need assistance, contact me and I'll help you get set up.
Increasing Participation
Another method for increasing participation is to lure people from similar activities. Two that spring to mind are Outdoor Free Flight and Science Olympiad.
Outdoor FF is fun, but it has its downsides (chase bikes, sunburn, rattlesnakes, blown-out days). Many people fly both Outdoor and Indoor, and we'd like to bring a few more into the Indoor fold.
Plans include:
- Featuring an Indoor contest during or near the Outdoor Nats to attract Outdoor fliers in the evening or before/after their contest.
- Investigating a Winter Nationals to supplement the Indoor Nats held in May/June. Finding a winter site will be challenging, but we hope to work something out.
A significant portion of Indoor activity involves Outdoor fliers looking to satisfy their aviation urge when it is too cold or windy to fly outside. Dedicated Indoor fliers do their most serious efforts during the warm months when most big sites are available and flying conditions are best, but there is value in recognizing and supporting part-time participants.
Science Olympiad
Science Olympiad (SO), a science competition program for elementary, middle, and high schools, has been another great source of Indoor participants—students, parents, and teachers alike. One of SO's events is Wright Stuff, a rubber-powered Indoor Free Flight model contest.
The US Junior F1D program did a complete turnaround when SO graduates began competing in other AMA Indoor events. The US hasn't gone without a Junior podium spot since the first of them took up F1D in 2002.
Wright Stuff is on rotation with other model aviation-related events such as helicopters, balloon-launched gliders, hand-launched gliders, and possibly capacitor-powered airplanes. Rubber-powered models are slated to return to rotation in roughly two years. Each of these events has enough connection to Indoor to be an effective development tool.
In addition to the SO mentoring that many Indoor fliers already do, we'd like to:
- Organize demonstrations at SO contests (flying a model while kids gather for awards has been well received).
- Point interested people toward resources to bootstrap themselves into Indoor; a section of the NFFS website will be dedicated to how-to articles and references.
After we've caught the attention of a potential Indoor flier, we need to set the hook. A recurring lament is that beginner events get overrun by elite fliers and are no longer attractive to newcomers, prompting calls to exclude experts. There are two problems with that reasoning:
- Indoor flying is largely about exploring nuances to fly longer; an "expert" is simply someone reasonably successful. Many beginners will become experts quickly, and we can't retroactively kick them out.
- Most Indoor fliers are attracted by the challenge; dumbing down events to be "beginner friendly" reduces the challenge. Some categories are intentionally less complex and therefore more accessible, but there is really no such thing as a purely "beginner" event.
There are ways to entice beginners, however. The Limited Pennyplane Pro/Am held at the Indoor Nats has introduced dozens of people to our activity in recent years. A new rule requiring amateur participants to return their donor model to the pool will help perpetuate the event. We intend to expand this program to other national-level contests.
Another proposal is a set of achievement levels modeled after the League of Silent Flight (LSF) Soaring program that both beginners and experienced fliers can strive for. The goals would remain the same so each newcomer faces the same set of challenges. The initial task would be relatively easy but still significant (for example, a 5-minute flight with any Indoor model), with subsequent challenges becoming more difficult. People accomplishing each level would have their names listed on the NFFS website. More details to come.
If you have any ideas for the Indoor Committee or would like to help out, contact me. Most of all, go flying and enjoy Indoor!
Round Valley Dome
I had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural Round Valley Dome contest in Springerville, Arizona, this past March. This great Category III site covers a previously underserved area in the Southwest.
Tom Price discovered the site several years ago and proposed using it for model airplanes to the school board. He was met with a resounding "no." Tom didn't give up; after years of persistent effort he finally got an appointment to meet with the superintendent and invited Steve Riley along. Steve brought a Pennyplane to illustrate what they wanted to fly. The superintendent responded, "Oh, that's the kind of model you're talking about?" Seeing the model for himself made the difference. They arranged some educational AMA Cub sessions for the science students and were soon on their way to scheduling the first contest. (I hope Tom and Steve can share more details of their success that will be posted on the NFFS website.)
The Round Valley Dome is slightly below the Category III limit but offers tons of air and floor space. Translucent panels in the roof keep the dome warm even in cold fall or spring months. The resulting noontime hotspots on the floor create some interesting air.
I would previously have labeled the turbulent conditions as subpar, but after learning at the F1D World Championships how to use strong thermals effectively, I now see it as a new skill to learn.
Steve is planning the next contest, likely in March or April of 2013. If you live within driving distance, schedule a model aviation weekend in Springerville. You can also fly into nearby major cities and enjoy a scenic drive.
Johnson City Update
In my last column I reported that new banners in the East Tennessee State University Mini-Dome could put the future of Indoor at this site in question.
I am happy to report that the Indoor Committee debated the topic and decided to set the issue to rest. A relatively small surcharge of $25, spread over an average of roughly 50 participants, will cover the current cost of removing and replacing the banners on an ongoing basis. Nobody wants endless cost hikes, but this one was deemed worthwhile for such an important site. We will attempt to negotiate a lower fee for dealing with the banners.
Searches for other sites will continue. Johnson City is a world-class venue and not easily replaced, but it is in our best interest to have some backup options in the pipeline.
SOURCES
- NFFS — www.freeflight.org
- Alan Petersen (NFFS Webmaster) — [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
