RC Soaring - 2012/03

118 Model Aviation March 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
rc sfof asrcianlge
I thought I should begin with how we ended up cheering together on a beautiful
day in October, as the top pilots from two flight classes launched simultaneously in
Northern California’s first ALES contest, held in Davis.
In chemistry, some reactions occur slowly, but a good catalyst can make things take
off. In our case, a number of Sacramento Valley Soaring Society (SVSS) members
had been reading about ALES on the
Web, but what spurred us into action
was when Lee Estingoy devoted most
of his September 2011 “Radio Control
Soaring” column in MA to the growing
ALES phenomenon.
Typically we don’t have much traffic
on the SVSS email list, but on a Friday
in late August 2011, Ron Kucera sent
a short note about Lee’s column to the
club members. By Monday, I had more
than 42 emails on the topic.
Some were from SVSS members
expressing interest, but I also found
the email address for John Frugé,
the CD who ran an ALES contest in
Fresno, California, in July 2011. He sent
recommendations for running this type
of event, scoring systems, and landing
tapes, and included information about a
contact person at the South Bay Soaring
Society (SBSS) who had provided him
with the contest rules the club had used.
Throughout the next few days,
everyone I spoke to or emailed
responded with tremendous enthusiasm
and excitement about the prospect of
having an ALES contest. I sent an email
out, offering to help if someone wanted
to organize an event, and that quickly
turned into a recommendation that I
step forward to serve as CD.
The fact that I had never been a CD
for any kind of Sailplane event was
not considered; I had never attended
an ALES contest or even seen an
airplane fly with an ALES limiter. To
make matters more challenging, it was
suggested that October 22, 2011—
barely eight weeks away—would be a
great date for the event.
To say that the first Altitude Limited Electric Soaring (ALES) event
took off like a rocket would be mixing metaphors, but when you
start with a 10-second countdown that ends with 11 airplanes
shooting skyward, it is easy to make that comparison. Before any
launch—or mass launch in our case—much goes on behind the scenes.
Inaugural Soaring event
is a success
by Lee Estingoy
[email protected]
Editor’s note: Aric Wilmunder is filling in as a guest columnist for Lee Estingoy this month.
Many pilots arrived early to complete preflight checks and perform a quick launch before
the pilots’ meeting. Dave Olson photo.
The Open class launch included a Playboy from the 1940s,
an Oly II from the 1970s, and AVAs. Timers are standing
behind the pilots. Photo by Ryan Scott.
Foamie class pilots stand at the end
of their landing tape and wait for the
countdown to start the 10-second
launch window. Scott photo.A tight deadline can be the best
motivation, so I started with a list of
everything that I did and didn’t know
about ALES. Throughout the weeks, this
list expanded and I continued to learn
more. Fortunately, the number of items
on this list plateaued over time, and the
event began to take shape.
Apart from using an electric motor
instead of a winch to launch, the key
difference between our regular club
contests and ALES is that ALES is flown
in a man-on-man (MOM), also known
as pilot-on-pilot (POP) format. Having
all of the airplanes launching at the same
time seemed straightforward, but I soon
realized that when there are several
pilots they must be split into multiple
flight groups. The tricky part was how
to score a MOM/POP event with pilots
flying at different times.
I learned that in each round, the
top pilot’s flight score is normalized to
1,000 points, while the other pilots in
that round receive a score based on the
ratio of their time versus the time of the
top pilot. This not only allows all of the
pilots in the group to fly at once, but
all of their scores are based on the best
flight duration from that group.
To even the playing field for
motorized launches, ALES uses a
device called a limiter, which sits
between the receiver and the motor.
The limiter works like an altimeter
which either cuts the motor at a
specified altitude (200 meters in
our case) or after a predetermined
30-second motor run.
Without limiters, our contest would
not work. One of my critical tasks was
to order enough for the group. Soaring
Circuits makes one of the devices
approved by the AMA and offers a club
discount. Within two weeks of deciding
to have a contest, we had ordered 30
limiters. We distributed these at our
September club contest.
I still needed a scoring system for
the event, so I looked into a variety of
options. These ranged from upgrades
to the club database that we use forThermal Duration events, to scoring
systems specifically designed for MOM/
POP. I wanted to be sure that I had
a clear understanding of how the
scoring systems worked, so I evaluated
the options, including setting up and
running a number of test events.
While I was busy running scoring
simulations, Sheldon Smith contacted
Tom Kallevang, the former president of
the League of Silent Flight (LSF), and
he hooked us up with both the AMA/
LSF rules for ALES and the scoring
system that was used for the 2011
Nats. This was a key turning point.
We now had rules that had been used
successfully for an ALES event, and an
AMA-endorsed scoring system.
One of our goals was that any pilot
who attended a SVSS ALES event
should be able to fly at the Nats
without having to learn a different set of
rules, and I think we succeeded.The next project was the landing
tapes. Nats officials used a 10-meter
tape to mark every meter for a
maximum 50 points for landing. Tom
Kallevang helped here, again letting us
know that Nats officials were discussing
moving to a 5-meter tape, so we
adopted this new standard. (Author’s
note: LSF has decided to stay with
10-meter landing tapes for 2012.)
With little shopping on the Web, I
found a great site that could provide
the materials. A local shoe repair shop
with an industrial sewing machine
solved how to attach the tapes to
the end brackets. After an hour in
the garage with a Sharpie and a
numbering template, the tapes were
ready to roll out.
The advantage of working with a
great crew with the same vision was
that while I was working on one project,
the rest of the team was handling
others. When there was a question that
we needed answered, Sheldon reached
out to his contacts and received a
reply within minutes. Ron stepped up
and offered to make the awards for
the event. These looked great and the
contest attendees were impressed.
One day, Ron emailed a link for a logo
he had designed for the event. The link
was to a website that printed shirts. Ron
designed a polo shirt with the SVSS logo
on the front and an ALES logo on the
back. How cool is that? Ron also had
stickers made for each of the contestants.
Now that we had the rules and the
scoring system, the date and invitations
were sent to local clubs. It was time to
have a contest.
The top three pilots in the Open and Foamie classes received awards. Cohn photo.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Wing Span: 42 inches
Weight: 24 - 26 oz.
Length: 34 inches
Radio Required: 4 Channel, Micro Receiver, 4 Micro Servos
Electric Power: 2410-09 Brushless Motor (included)
Battery Required: 3-cell 900 - 1400 mAh Lithium Power
Order No. SIGRC104ARFB - KADET EP-42B ARF (trans blue)
Order No. SIGRC104ARFR - KADET EP-42B ARF (trans red)
SIG Mfg. Co., Inc. • 401 South Front St • P O Box 520 • Montezuma, IA 50171-0520 • www.sigmfg.com • 641-623-5154
amp ESC, 8-1/2 x 8 propeller, quality hardware, cowling, fully
illustrated, step-by-step assembly manual, and decals. Available
in two color schemes, the Kadet EP-42B ARF is meticulously
covered with premium UltraCote® (aka ORACOVER®)
film.
2410-09The day began slightly breezy, and
after a few delays with the setup, the
pilots’ meeting went smoothly. There
weren’t any questions for which we
didn’t have answers. Scorecards were
distributed and we were ready for our
first flights.
Sheldon, who had worked as an
announcer for the Summer Soaring
Challenge, brought a great presence to
the field. The pilots who would be flying
were announced a few minutes before
each round, and when everyone was
ready, Sheldon began a 10-minute flight
countdown, followed by a 10-second
launch window.
Our event had 27 airplanes: 14
Foamie or Radian class airplanes, and 13
Open class airplanes. Seven Radian pilots
nervously waited for the first launch.
I also was nervous, but as the clock
counted down and the launch window
time started, one then another launched,
until all seven airplanes were airborne.
The Radians were evenly matched,
and there was a gasp as two wingtips
brushed. To our relief, this was the only
contact between airplanes all day.
The Open class brought quite a
selection of airplanes. There were modern
airplanes, including an electric AVA, and
Mike Clancy arrived with a Playboy Old-
Timer, a design from the 1940s. Mike
threw down the gauntlet when he came
in second place in the first round.
Brian Chan, from the South Bay
Soaring Society (SBSS), also showed
that older designs could be competitive
in ALES when he unpacked a 25-yearyearold
Paragon and took second place
overall in the Open class. Al Strahm,
from the SBSS, placed first with his
AVA, and Charles Eaton, who traveled
from Modesto, California, came in third.
The Foamie class was dominated by
standard Radians with a Radian Pro
or two in the mix. Steve Henke, from
SVSS, took first place, Benard Simpier,
from Modesto, placed second, and
Thomas Carmody placed third.
Before the contest there were many
questions about how the Radians would
stack up against the Open airplanes. To
find out, for our final flight of the day
we invited the top five Radian and the
top five Open pilots to fly in a single
10-minute round.
It wasn’t looking good when the first
two airplanes down were Radians, but
as the round advanced, more Open class
airplanes landed. When there were only
four airplanes left in the air, three of
them were Radians. As we approached
the final 10-minute marker, an AVA and
the final Radian were neck-and-neck and
a tie was declared.
Were there any conclusions about
which airplanes flew best? If anything,
we saw that ALES is accomplishing
exactly what was hoped: to even the
playing field and make the competitions
more about pilot skill than having the
latest and greatest flying hardware. One
competitor had only recently purchased
his Radian and this was his first contest.
ALES will certainly bring more fliers
into our community. ALES events are
fun and the format likely is here to stay.ALES Success
Since the original write-up, our
club had its second ALES contest in
November 2011 with 25 participants.
We have put ALES events on our
calendar for the first Saturday of each
month from March through November,
and scheduled a two-day ALES event in September.