[NSRCA-discussion] IMAC Vs Pattern Participation? Does the DogHunt on points made?

Thu Mar 2 10:02:46 AKST 2006

I'm in.  

Now if I could only get that Brushfire back again.  Nothing better to do
point and slow rolls 10 feet off the deck :-)

Maybe blow it up to a 2 meter brushfire :-)

I agree that some very good insight has come out in these discussions.  As I
have just got back into flying last fall I saw my first IMAC style flying by
a couple of flyers that actually compete in IMAC.  Sure I have seen plenty
of IMAC style planes but never anyone flying a competition sequence.  My
initial thoughts?  Gee that looks a lot like pattern :-)

They were flying 35 and 40% Carden aircraft.  All top quality.  I was
impressed to say the least.  Just as I have been told that bigger flys
better (2 meter stuff vs my last competition planes, a 60 sized desire and
120 sized Omen) the larger IMAC stuff does present very well in the air.
Definitely made me think I would like to get some stick time and compare.

Stuart

  _____  

From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
[mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of Keith Black
Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 1:31 PM
To: NSRCA Mailing List
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] IMAC Vs Pattern Participation? Does the
DogHunt on points made?

Reading the comments here brings the following to my attention.

Loud "ballistic missile" pattern = Huge popularity.

Quite graceful pattern flying 150 m away = Boring.

Huge Loud IMAC planes flying 3D = Huge popularity.

I bet if we add an "Extreme Pattern" class where we do high slow rolls and
snaps ten feed off the deck right over the runway we'd become much more
popular again.  ;-)

Keith Black

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Bob Richards <mailto:bob at toprudder.com>  

To: NSRCA Mailing List <mailto:nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>  

Sent: Thursday, March 02, 2006 8:55 AM

Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] IMAC Vs Pattern Participation? Does the
DogHunt on points made?

Larry,

Good points.

A little history, as best as I can remember it. 

At one time, Pattern was the top of the heap. I remember the first RC
Modeler magazine I bought (circa 1972) had coverage of the Masters
competition. RC Modeler carried coverage of the large pattern contests back
then. At some point (I don't remember when, exactly) RCM (aka Don Dewey)
became ticked off at the AMA because AMA chose to publish their own
magazine. This happened when American Aircraft Modeler magazine went out of
business, they had been publishing the AMA News in the back of their
magazine. It seemed to me that RCM no longer covered pattern events after
that. There was a big push by RCM to promote the "Sport Flyers Association",
anything AMA sanctioned was left out. (This was my observation).

Along came the TOC, which actually started out with pattern models. Again,
t! here was coverage. But, then the TOC went the scale aerobatics route (and
extra points for biplanes, and extra points for mammoth planes -- the rest
is history).

Pattern is no longer the premiere event that it used to be. I think it all
goes back to the WOW factor. There also seemed to be a period where pattern
flyers were looked down upon, usually labeled "snobs". Thank goodnes that
does not seem to be the case anymore.

I think the change from loud, ballistic missle type flying to the turnaround
style now has changed the general modeling perception, although it took
several years for the general modeling public to recognize the change. 

However, the turnaround format seems to have had both a positive and
negative effect. The general modeling public respects pattern more as a
result, but it also SEEMS to be a barrier for new participants. Again, this
is just my opinion.

Bob R.

Lisa & Larry <lld613 at psci.net> wrote:

Eric Henderson wrote**** If we knew why we could probably fix it. ****

>From my viewpoint trying to get into pattern around 1999 was a major
challenge.

I was first introduced to Pattern in Southern California in 1985 when I went
to watch a contest. It took another 15 years to have the time and money to
do it. For me lack of time was because of my service in the US Navy.
Difficult to fly when your out at sea and they don't fit too well in a
locker on the ship.vbg

! It took me from 1999 to 2002 to find somebody that new what pattern was.
Everyone new IMAC and could point me to a pilot that competed, but not
Pattern.

What does this mean? Either I'm not a very smart cookie or Pattern is a very
well kept secret (not much has changed since 1999). So how is it that a
person that new pattern existed took the better part of 4 years to finally
talk to someone that could help get started?

Over the last seven years we watched IMAC ARF's take off and sell like hot
cakes, only in the last couple years have we seen Pattern ARF's on the
market.

I went to an RC Airshow north of Bloomington, IN around the spring of 2002.
I watched a pilot fly an Extra for an IMAC Sportsman Class Demo. I
approached him and asked him about Pattern and how to get started. His
response was clear, "Why would you want to fly a toy model plane when you
can fly a model of a real plane and do the same thing!" Aside from an
instant turn off from IMAC, it ! set the tone of perception between IMAC and
Pattern. I will most likely start competing in IMAC this year as well as
pattern. Mostly because there are more IMAC contests in a 5 hour drive than
there are pattern from where I'm located.

If you compare IMAC and Pattern I don't think the dog hunts in most of the
arguments I've seen posted in the last few years as they reappear from time
to time. 

1)       IMAC and Pattern planes compare in cost. (That dog won't hunt on
this point)

2)       IMAC and Pattern take the same ! amount of practice time to be
competitive in a given class. (That dog won't hunt on this point)

3)       IMAC and Pattern meets are relatively the same driving distance for
most. (That dog won't hunt on this point)

4)       I can find more IMAC contests than Pattern contests (Dog might be
tracking something on this one)

5)       Sport pilots know more about IMAC than they do pattern, this is
speculative but I believe it's the case. (Dog might be tracking something on
this one)

We need to do a better job marketing Pattern. I think that IMAC has done
great in this area. The TOC helped IMAC grow and get the word out through
coverage of a big event. I think we can see a decline in IMAC since the last
TOC. I have not seen or heard of a big contest that gets the publicity that
the TOC received. Even the FAI World Pattern contest is not covered as well
as the TOC was.

How do you guys view these points?

Larry Diamond

NSRCA 3083

PS.What Eric does for Pattern in his reporting to magazines is probably one
of the key factors that he! lps pattern stay afloat. Thanks Eric..

  _____  

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