The Haught Corner
Around the horn: Cashing it in: In his Technical Director's column, Steve Kaluf makes a good point that bears repeating: Contest Directors and others who send fees or place orders for supplies or plans should send payment in check or money order. Please do not send cash for these transactions. There have been a few reports of cash allegedly sent to AMA that was not in the envelope when it reached the appropriate party. Since it's impossible to ascertain what happened to the cash (or if it was there to begin with), everyone loses in this deal. If you use a check or money order, you have a receipt of the transaction.
The Haught Corner
I received an interesting letter from longtime FF modeler Mike Cook. (You might remember Mike's 1/2A A-Go-Go, a Nats winner in 1/2A Gas in the 1960s.) He has some rather definite ideas about the differences between FF and RC modelers: "The philosophical difference between the two is immense. In fact, it is close to impossible to explain the difference to some RC modelers who use their aircraft in the same way that they might use a tennis racket, a golf club, or even a race car. "I do take issue with your comment [October 1995 column] about `perhaps 1,500 competition FFers in an AMA membership of 100,000' [actually 160,000-plus]." If all AMA RC fliers were competitors, this would be a valid statement, but they are not. Most AMA members, whatever their flying preference, are sport fliers. If you count the RC fliers who actually compete, the comparison would not be so lopsided. Similarly, add up all the AMA members who fly free flight for fun, then total the RC sport fliers for a fair comparison.
The Haught Corner
Nats Issue: Unless you begin reading with the back of the magazine, by now you have seen the reports from the various Nats venues on this most diverse of championships. With the number of sites used and the large number of volunteer workers needed, this Nationals represented a significant transition year as the entire contest moves to Muncie in 1996. There has been some criticism about insufficient manpower here and there, but I wonder if most of those doing the criticizing realize the magnitude of the effort it took by a relatively small group of people to make the Nats happen at all. It was a hectic few weeks, with an enormous amount of planning, coordination, and just plain hard work required.
Free Flight
WET! That's a one-word summary of the combined FF Nats and US Outdoor Championships, held June 26-30 at the National Flying Site. Showers during nine consecutive days before and during the contest forced the nearly 200 entrants to become adept at setting up and tearing down their equipment quickly, and otherwise coping with the soggy conditions. Despite the dampness, quite a bit of good flying was done (see results in "Focus on Competition"). A full array of AMA events was supplemented by various Nostalgia and unofficial events administered by the National Free Flight Society.
The Haught Corner
Vindicated: To paraphrase an old line, being a free flighter working full-time for an RC-oriented organization is a bit like being a pair of brown shoes in a world of tuxedos. Our warm, sensitive staff reminds me at least daily that my modeling "choice" is not exactly mainstream. And with perhaps 1,500 competition FFers in an AMA membership of 160,000+, they have a point, and there's nothing I can do except try to grin and bear it. The bantering among co-workers is fine-I certainly dish out at least as much as I take-but labels ("he's that FF guy") can be tough to shake. An otherwise brilliant ballplayer may get a "choker" tag because of one dropped pass or kicked ground ball.
