1986 Nats: RC Aerobatics
EXCLUDE THEM! The results of the 1986 Nats FAI Pattern event demonstrated once again that the United States needs tighter control of persons entering into the country across its northern border. Ivan Kristensen from Ontario, Canada won the FAI Pattern event for the third time in the last four years-and the other time he was second to Chip Hyde at the 1984 Reno Nats. Very impressive flying. The Nats returned once again to the old runway at what used to be Chennault AFB near Lake Charles, LA. Previously, the 1974, 1975, and 1978 Nats have been held at this same site. It may well be the last time that a Nats can be held there, since the Boeing Co. is going to establish an aircraft rework facility at the field and will be using the old bomber runway that makes the site so popular to modelers.
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
WHAT'S ALL THIS FUSS about normalizing? In case you hadn't heard, the current argument in Pattern is whether or not to normalize the scores to determine the winner of contests in the U.S.A. Before we get too far into the subject, let me review what normalizing is and how it's used. Basically, the scores that a flier earns in front of a set of judges are divided by the score of his best flight in front of those judges, then multiplied by 1000. Obviously, when there's more than one flier involved, the best flier for a round in front of any particular set of judges gets 1000 points, and everyone else gets somewhat less. After the contest is over, there are two ways to determine the winner. One way is to use the scores for all rounds, and the highest total wins.
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
SMOOTH. Do you admire the flier who can perform maneuvers smoothly and gracefully? Me too. There are three ways to achieve this. The first way is with natural ability. One name always comes to my mind when I think of smooth and graceful flying-Don Lowe. He's had that ability since I can remember first watching him fly reed equipment (remember?) way back in 1962. Another name that comes to mind is Steve Rojecki. Steve's radio system is set up so that the airplane could almost turn inside out if full control is used. Steve doesn't use dual-rate controls, but you would swear that he does because of the way his airplanes fly. That's real talent. The second way to achieve smoothness and gracefulness is by applying massive doses of practice. It requires some natural ability to make progress, but the chief ingredient in the formula for success is practice. We all know individuals who are in this category. They are gluttons for punishment.
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
SOMETIMES I get complaints that I have too great an emphasis on Pattern subjects. I'm probably guilty, but the reason I write about them so much is because Pattern involves competition and I love competition. Someone asked me recently how much longer I plan to compete in Pattern, and I told him that I didn't plan to stop. A lot of people get burned out and quit, but these people are usually one of two types. The first type treats Pattern as an obsession. He must own the very best airplane, engine, radio, etc., and he practices all the time. No matter how dedicated this person appears, sooner or later he will burn out and often drops completely out of the RC hobby. The second type cannot stand to lose. He may not practice a lot but usually has a lot of natural talent which will take him a long way. Finally this type reaches the point when he's not winning all the time, and he just quits.
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
BOY! What a month it has been for me! Lots of RC flying? No. Just work. However, it's been an interesting job to make sure that external stores (bombs, missiles, fuel tanks, and the like) don't strike U.S. airplanes when they are released during flight tests. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. No, Virginia, those external stores don't just fall off or fly away from the airplane which releases them. Sometimes we have a devil of a time getting them off some airplanes, and that is what makes my job so interesting. During the last month I was conducting wind tunnel tests on external stores separations from a new USAF air-to-surface attack fighter airplane that we will be flight testing during 1987. The tests were conducted at Arnold Engineering Development Center near Tullahoma, TN-the largest wind tunnel testing facility in the free world. My team of three lieutenants and I spent a month of 24 hours a day/seven days a week testing. So, getting down to writing this column has been kind of difficult.
