Free Flight: Duration
Sandlot Free Flight Tournament: Have you ever been out flying, just trimming or practicing, and wished you could have a contest? But a contest would be impractical because (a) you only have a few other guys in the field who would compete, or (b) there is not enough time left to have a complete contest. Why not try the tournament approach for a spur-of-the-moment pickup contest? Basically, the tournament would be set up as an elimination system, as illustrated in figure 1. Competition should be in accordance with flyoff-type rules with both competitors launching within a given, but short, number of minutes. The criteria for winning a round could be determined by how much time is available to conduct the tournament; best one flight (fly again if both max), best total of two flights, etc. One of the attractive features of the tournament system is that only a maximum of two timers are required at any one time, which would logically be two fliers from another round. Try it; a little flyoff practice wouldn't hurt.
Free Flight: Duration
MR. ED: For a model to be called Mr. Ed it probably was designed by a talking horse or someone named Edward. Well, Ed Hopper is not a horse, and his Mr. Ed FAI Power model is not a turkey. (Editor's Note: Sounds like an animal farm!) It is a bit difficult to talk about Ed Hopper designs; difficult because Ed doesn't name his designs. The Mr. Ed moniker was actually coined by Bob Sifleet. Ed's Nordic designs are referred to as Hoppers; his Wakefield design is called either Ed's Wakefield or Hopper's Wakefield. See the problem? Anyway, name problems aside, the Mr. Ed is an excellent design. Excellent. Actually, there are several Mr. Eds as the basic design has been gradually evolving over the years. The original Mr. Ed had a 144 sq. in. stab. This evolved into the next Mr. Ed (here we go again), which, for sake of clarity, shall be arbitrarily referred to as the Mk II version. The Mr. Ed Mk II featured a stab reduced in area to 120 squares on a slightly lengthened tail moment, putting the reduced stab area into the wing. The Mk II wing retained the original 9% Cherney-type airfoil and pylon height. This Mk II version served many of the major FAI Power protagonists well during the pre-seven seconds engine run era. Curiously, the Mk II version is looked upon as the definitive Mr. Ed and is the version Ed Hopper did not himself build.
'81 AMA Texas Nats: FF Power
POWER! Free Flight Power conjures up visions of high-powered, screaming engines pulling the models skyward at a breathtaking rate. Sometimes, but not always. On Monday the first Power event was Electric, with 1/2A-sized models humming gently upwards; struggling was a more apt description. Even with the 25-second motor run, the altitude achieved was not that great. Many flights, when launched without good thermal help, merely cruised around at low altitudes. A good thermal was absolutely necessary to achieve a max with these relatively heavy models.
'81 AMA Texas Nats: FF Rubber
RUBBER got underway on Wednesday, the third day, with Wakefield. And a good event it promised to be, with a fair number of big name gumbanders (the entry list read like a Who's Who in Rubber), good weather, and a good field. It is becoming axiomatic that to do well in the FAI format (seven rounds, three-minute max, flying from a common starting line) one must make that first max of the morning. Starting off with the comfortable feeling of a max in round one were Bob White, James O'Reilly, Chris Matsuno, C. C. Johnson, Fred Pearce, Jim Quinn, and Robert Dunham. However, one round does not an FAI contest make. One must do well in all seven (at least) rounds.
'81 AMA Texas Nats: FF Glider
THE FIRST ORDER of business was Hand-Launched Glider, flown on Monday amid numerous but fairly small thermals. Interest in this event was very high, since the Tulsa Glue Dobbers Trophy and the National HLG Team Challenge were also at stake. The Tulsa Glue Dobbers Trophy is the only perpetual Nats trophy that has not been won twice by the same person, and there were at least four former winners in competition trying to be the first two-time winner. Jim Lueken, trophy winner in 1977 and USFFC HLG champ this year, and three buddies drove up from San Diego (23 hours) just to fly Hand-Launch Glider.
