Pattern Box Rules (discussion)

[Doug Cronkhite]

If you start making things easier, you won't attract new pilots. All you'll
really do is make existing pilots get sloppy. IMAC has adopted new
positioning rules that are 'supposed' to make the noise footprint smaller
when in reality all they've done is breed a new group of pilots who can't
put the airplane where they want and have no reason to do so.

My best analogy is the pilot who spends his entire flying time at a field
with a HUGE runway, who then cannot land on a small one because he's never
had to do it.

Leave pattern alone. The only thing I'd do is ease up the schedules a bit
from the current trend of thumb gynastics. I've always believed a pattern
should be easy to fly, but difficult to fly well. The winning flight
shouldn't just be the person who managed to get through it.

-Doug

 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: discussion-request at nsrca.org 
> [mailto:discussion-request at nsrca.org] On Behalf Of David Lockhart
> Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 7:39 PM
> To: discussion at nsrca.org
> Subject: Re: Pattern Box Rules (discussion)
> 
> Arch,
> 
> I think you are right on target.
> 
> Competition is supposed to be tough and challenging, and 
> unlike too much of the PC rhetoric in schools today, there is 
> only ONE winner, and everyone else is a loser (even if they 
> played the game "nice").
> 
> Sometimes I wonder if pattern would attract more people if -
> - downgrades were 1 point per 30 degrees,
> - no downgrades for wind drift,
> - no box specified,
> - final score includes only your single best flight,
> - 3 "mulligans" allowed per flight,
> 
> And, the awards at every contest included awards for best 
> Peewee, Junior, Senior, Open, Sr. Open, and Super Senior.
> 
> Then 90% of the scores would be 9 or better, and 90% of the 
> entrants would go home with 1st place trophies.
> 
> My apologies to anyone put off by this slightly off topic post.
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Archie Stafford" <rcpattern at comcast.net>
> To: <discussion at nsrca.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2005 10:08 PM
> Subject: RE: Pattern Box Rules (discussion)
> 
> 
> > What is the desire to make pattern easier.  Seems like 
> every proposal 
> > is
> to
> > make the planes easier to build to meet the rules, or changing the
> patterns
> > because they are hard.  I got into pattern because of the 
> challenge.  
> > I would much rather fly a very difficult schedule and have to go 
> > practice often than to fly an easy schedule that everyone 
> can do well.  
> > The
> challenge
> > should never be who you are flying against, but to be able to go 
> > practice
> on
> > your own and see the results.  Contests are great, but I 
> love pattern 
> > because I know that everytime I go fly that I am NOT going 
> to fly the 
> > perfect flight.  The challenge is to go out and put in that much 
> > better flight than I did before.
> >
> > We as a SIG are never going to attract everyone at the field.  It 
> > takes a certain personality type to be interested in 
> pattern.  I don't 
> > think the solution is to water down pattern to where 
> everyone wants to 
> > try it, but
> at
> > the cost of eliminating a lot of the challenges.  Once 
> again I think 
> > we
> need
> > to put the emphasis on getting people to try it. Yes, we 
> will lose a 
> > great number of those people to lack of time, interest, money or 
> > whatever, but
> if
> > each district just picks up 5 or 6 people a year, it will 
> keep pattern 
> > healthy.  I have no problem being lenient with rules in 
> Sportsman, but 
> > as
> I
> > think Chris Moon said, we don't need to sacrifice the other classes.
> There
> > are good cheaper alternatives with airframes (Aresti, 
> Focus, or even 
> > older designs that others are selling), motors, and radios.
> >
> > I think we need to concentrate on getting more people to 
> try it, all 
> > the while knowing that we are not going to keep everyone.
> >
> > Just my two cents...
> >
> > Arch
> >
> >
> >
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