[NSRCA-discussion] Sportsman supplemental rules?

[Jim Woodward]

At the 4 IMAC contests I attended this year I saw lots of fliers letting
better pilots take off and land the plane (contest attendance 25+, 30+, 40+,
55+).  I can maybe see a rule like this for the basic class, but all
classes?  Many of the intermediate pilots were letting other pilots take off
and land.  Just to compare, IMAC intermediate is roughly the equivalent of
the pattern Advanced class (maybe harder in terms of stick gymnastics).  If
you think about it, the guys who are doing the extra takeoff and landings
are getting more exposure to the wind conditions before their own contest
round - is that an unfair advantage (just asking)?.  My personal take is
that scoring take offs and landings are for the betterment of everyone.  

 

Jim W.

 

 

  _____  

From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
[mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of
DaveL322 at comcast.net
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 1:26 PM
To: NSRCA Mailing List
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Sportsman supplemental rules?

 

Bob, point taken, and this discussion goes round and round endlessly.

 

Anyone who thinks they are forced to takeoff or land is really missing the
big picture, IMHO.  Any unsafe takeoff is very likely to get a zero, or
minimal points (so aborting costs you nothing or next to nothing for score).
Any attempted landing that is not going well should be aborted in the
interest of safety (and to save the plane). Crashing on the runway is not
likely to earn very many points.

 

A large number of remarked that scoring takeoffs and landings improves the
quality of takeoffs and landings because they are then taken more seriously,
and flown with greater diligence.

 

Regards,


Dave

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Bob Richards <bob at toprudder.com> 

John,

 

I see your point, but this plane is 2m legal, it is just over the 11lb
limit. It has a Bisson muffler and is quieter than most all the gassers at
my club, and quieter than a lot of the sport planes that I have seen
Sportsman/Novice flyers show up with. At least in this instance, oversize
and noisey is not a problem.

 

SOAPBOX TIME:

 

FWIW, the only time I've ever seen a plane hit somebody bad enough to hurt
them, it was by a long time pattern flyer (advanced class) flying a pattern
plane, and it was because he could not keep it on the runway and was not
about to abort the takeoff and take a zero. The person he hit was not on the
flightline, he was deep in the pit. The plane was airborne and was full
throttle when it hit. It did have a muffled tuned pipe, and was very quiet,
however.

 

Matt and I visited an IMAC contest recently.  Several flyers had someone
more experienced perform the takeoff and landings for them, since the field
was small and there was a bit of a crosswind. One of the contestants was
only 9 years old.  At no time did I feel there was any danger to anyone,
either on the flightline or in the pit. There were a few contestants there
that would not have been comfortable flying, and probably would not have
flown, if they were required to perform their own takeoffs and landings. And
I'm sure it would not have been as safe, either.

 

I wasn't sure before, but I am 100% sure now, that scoring takeoffs and
landings is a bad idea, not only from a safety point of view, but also from
the participation level viewpoint as well. I've witnessed both sides.

 

Just my 2CW.

 

Getting back to my original question, I'll be sure to contact the CD. If my
11 year old son goes to a pattern contest, he might just decide he likes
pattern better than IMAC. Then again, maybe not, if he prangs his plane
because he is forced to takeoff/land in bad conditions.


Bob R.

 


John Ferrell <johnferrell at earthlink.net> wrote:

It real scary with two lines going for the guys flying opposite big noisy
airplanes that could not manage to stay on the runway. We generally leave it
up to the CD. My choice as CD is not requiring anyone else to fly with an
oversize airplane at the same time.

 

John Ferrell    W8CCW
"My Competition is not my enemy"
http://DixieNC.US <http://dixienc.us/> 

 

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