Why quit pattern.

Thu Dec 11 05:44:12 AKST 2003

What about splitting the masters class between the
lines. Start masters 1st on both lines, when pilot 1
is done on flight line 1 he goes to the end of the
line on flight line 2 and vice versa (everyone sees
the same judges that way).

Everbody else just sits back and watches the fire
drill..... ;)

--- Bob <Bob at enduremed.com> wrote:
> All
>  
> Well I'm taking the grandkids to Nashville this
> weekend and, of course,
> hobby shop scouting is mandatory.  Anyone know of a
> good pattern type hobby
> shop in Music City?
>  
> Bob
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Pastorello [mailto:rcaerobob at cox.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 7:14 PM
> To: discussion at nsrca.org
> Subject: Re: Why quit pattern.
> 
> 
> It would be interesting to know the demographics of
> the sample group.  What
> regions/states?  How many?  What classes did they
> fly when they quit?
>  
> And - I've said this before - and usually NO one
> chooses to get realistic
> about it and respond- in our region, we have MANY
> contests where everyone is
> busting their butts to be able to FINISH flying a 5
> rounder due to numbers
> of entrants.  Some only become a FOUR rounder.
>     Then, there's the lopsided numbers of folks in
> Masters, who have all the
> other classes done, or juggling flight lines, or
> whatever while that class
> has to finish.  And since contestants of OTHER
> classes are always in the J.
> chair, THEIR lines can't start (frequently).
>     I've CD'd and struggled with that issue.  It's
> real.
>  
> Many contests have plenty of flyers to fill up a
> weekend.  There are already
> many regions with conflicts because there are SO
> MANY contests, so close
> together that THAT issue becomes a problem.  And
> only so many weekends to
> have events.
>  
> I guess I'm getting old enough, and narrow-minded
> enough, to begin to wonder
> - 
>     WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
>  
> Do we WANT a bunch more pilots trying to wedge in
> logistics of practice
> times crowding at club fields, and contest times on
> contest day....?
>     Or is it "okay" to have the typical ebb and flow
> of participation that
> seems to follow the game?
>  
> Of course, if a particular area/region/state has
> some participation issues,
> maybe THEY should work on it.
>     I just don't think we have a
> Pandemic-Pending-Pattern death cycle upon
> us.
>  
>  
> P.S. - I also am just "noise" on the list, have no
> knowledge of what I'm
> talking about, and haven't contributed at all to the
> game.  YMMV.
> 
> Bob Pastorello, Oklahoma
> NSRCA 199, AMA 46373
> rcaerobob at cox.net <mailto:rcaerobob at cox.net> 
> www.rcaerobats.net <http://www.rcaerobats.net> 
>  
>  
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Henderson,Eric
> <mailto:Eric.Henderson at gartner.com>  
> To: discussion at nsrca.org
> <mailto:discussion at nsrca.org>  
> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 1:36 PM
> Subject: Why quit pattern.
> 
> In a previous note I said that I would post the
> results of my informal
> survey of pilots who quit the sport in the last six
> years.The good news is
> that many people continue to contact all of us and
> get into pattern.
> Personal contact helps enormously and it soon shows
> up as a regularly
> competing pilot. We attend contests for many
> reasons. It is a
> birds-of-a-feather gathering. We can talk
> pattern-speak up-the-gazoo and see
> what is the latest gizmo or plane or engine. 
>  
> So why do people stop competing?
>  
> There are many reasons, some are unique and some are
> unavoidable. I listed
> the reasons in uncommon to most common. (The last
> reason on my list is the
> most common.) [All identities are absolutely
> protected, so don't ask who
> please]
>  
>  
> 1. Once in a while a person competes who is just not
> cut out for
> competition. It affects them badly, degrades their
> skills temporarily and
> just plain gets to them if they are not successful.
> Even when successful the
> stress of Competitions just makes them behave badly.
> Sooner, rather than
> later, they quit, usually for some other sport.
>  
> 2. A big change in their lives. A new partner, new
> job, losing one or both.
> Children getting older - T-ball, b-ball soccer etc.
>  
> 3. Cost. Not that it was too much, but they began
> spending too much for very
> little in return. They felt that unless they had the
> latest equipment they
> would not get the scores.
>  
> 4. Time. Interestingly enough it was not building
> time but flying time. They
> could not dedicate the practice time to handle new
> routines or do well with
> existing ones. Not happy with their performance
> because of lack of practice.
>  
> 5. Age and eyesight
>  
> 6. Judging. The common thread was that none of the
> pilots felt that they
> could get a fair shake  There two main reasons for
> their conclusion. The
> first was that they found the standard of judging
> did not meet their flying
> skills. They knew from contest after contest and
> personal contact that the
> people behind them did not know the rules. They felt
> that no matter how well
> they executed the geometry it would not be scored
> correctly against pilots
> who did not execute as well.
>     The second reason was that they had built up
> enough prejudices in the
> folks that coul could be judging them. Old feuds
> from previous classes. Guys
> who they used to hammer were now getting even on
> those who had now moved up.
> Personal grudges and personality conflicts regards
> less of competition
> history. How many times have you heard this "I know
> that if so-and-so is in
> the chair might as well not fly?. 
>  
> (The last one is the down side of pilot judging. I
> also heard it about
> non-flying judges of the past and present). 
>  
> I spent a lot of my time looking a how to fix these
> issues. I had to
> conclude that I could not do much with 1, 2, 3 and
> 5.
>  
> With #4, we should think very carefully about
> changing schedules too often.
> Changing masters every three years is enough for the
> core who pay to
> compete.
>  
> With #6, I don't have a lot of ideas that would
> work. All I can say is that
> if we drive people away and we have very little
> influx of youth, then we
> will have less folks to judge!
>  
> Regards,
> 
> Eric 
> 
> 

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