Fw: Judging class design

[Del K. Rykert]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Del K. Rykert
To: discussion at nsrca.org
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 3:28 PM
Subject: Re: Judging class design


Hi Tony..
    I would love to help but if I did it might get finished for 2005 or
2006. I don't have the time or resources.

    del
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tony Stillman
  To: discussion at nsrca.org
  Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 3:12 PM
  Subject: Re: Judging class design


  I have two people now working on video and computer-generated models
flying through maneuvers.  Don Ramsey is heading this up, but the idea is to
update the Judging Video with some new footage and narration.  If you are
interested, you might send Don an a-mail about the project...

  Tony Stillman
  Radio South
  3702 N. Pace Blvd.
  Pensacola, FL 32505
  1-800-962-7802
  www.radiosouthrc.com
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Del K. Rykert
    To: discussion at nsrca.org
    Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 1:15 PM
    Subject: Re: Judging class design


    I always thought the best solution would be to have a close-up frame of
the model within the full screen set off to one corner to visually see both
up close and the full view with background. The expense of creating such a
work I guess is prohibitive financially.

                  del
                   NSRCA - 473
      ----- Original Message ----- 
      From: Bill Glaze
      To: discussion at nsrca.org
      Sent: Friday, January 09, 2004 2:44 PM
      Subject: Re: Judging class design


      Eric:
      I admit to "shooting from the hip" on this one, but I wanted to get in
a couple of thoughts.
      As it developed, (no pun!) I did a lot of filming at the Nats.

      1.)  Any usable film, showing an entire sequence, would be a good
thing to go through for potential judges, preferably as soon before the
flight to be judged as possible.  (even a week or so would be a help.)   It
might help alleviate that problem where the first flier is the judges
learning curve, and, sometimes, may get an unfair score. (Either higher or
lower than deserved.)  Just seeing the maneuvers, in sequence, would be a
help particularly after a winter layoff.  The figures certainly need not be
perfect, just well recognizable.

      2.)  My tapes showed me that perfection is certainly not necessary on
the part of the photographer--believe me!  I had no difficulty following the
person's flying, and, knowing the next figure was a great help in
anticipating where the airplane was to be "pointed."  In fact, after showing
a top-notch pilot a maneuver he thought he had zeroed, he could plainly see
that the figure was, in fact, rather good.

      3.) Because the main problem was shakiness on my part, (try holding a
camera steady for 15 minutes at 32 power magnification, you'll see what I
mean) next time I will try a good-quality pan-head tripod.  I did try
sitting down in a lawn chair, which helped, but it still did nothing to
brace my elbows.  Photographer fatigue IS a problem.

      4.) With respect to the magnification, the lower powers will show the
airplane and any clouds (or possibly some background) which makes it easier
to check for geometry, but won't show errors such as wings not level, etc. A
good compromise seems to be about 10-15 power; not always the case, but
frequently so.

      Just a few rapid-fire thoughts.

      Bill Glaze


      Henderson,Eric wrote:

             One thing that I have always wished we could do, with judges
training, is run through each schedule with the specifics for each maneuver.
The thinking being that it is OK to learn all the possible down grades, but
it is easier to remember a set of down grades for a schedule. There are the
usual generic downgrades like angles and centering etc. But each maneuver
has a list that is probably worth going through. There are classics like
which way the pull or the push is on a Humpty, or which way up the cross
line is in a reverse top hat. Breeding familiarity with the 2004 schedules
might be beneficial.

        <<Text  clipped..>>
            If you try and segment maneuvers such as stall turns and snaps
you need to keep the camera on track and not follow the displacement of the
plane. (Also set auto focus off and select infinity). Spins have to be dome
very low and or the camera needs to be on top of the "clubhouse". You just
can't get the plane to look level. Often we could only do one spin we were
so low trying to get a good result.

        I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who is giving this a
shot.

        Regards,

        Eric



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