[NSRCA-discussion] Old Farts club

[Bob Richards]

The first time I saw a pattern plane fly was at the '73 Nats. Went there as a spectator. Not long after that, I bought a Super Kaos, and later a Mach 1. Never flew either one in a pattern contest, but I practiced the novice pattern seqeunce hundreds of times, and even learned to do point rolls and slow rolls. It wasn't until about 1980 that I actually entered a pattern contest. Fun times.

Jon Lowe <jonlowe at aol.com> wrote:  Yeah, those eveolved in the few years before AMA went to the A,B,C 
classes into:

Class 1: Rudder/Throttle only
Class 2: Rudder/elevator/throttle
Class 3: Full house

Class 1 airplanes evolved in ridiculous things that could only fly in a 
straight line at mid throttle. They had so much up thrust that full 
throttle would loop them, and if rudder was applied, they would do 
consequetive barrel rolls. I remember watching one try to fly in high 
winds that could not go upwind because it needed throttle, but would 
loop everytime the pilot touched it! They had rudders on them that put 
the ones on modern day pattern ships to shame. Used proportional gear 
also!

Class 2 had some good flying airplanes, including one that would do a 
nice axial roll with just full rudder. I had one (can't remember the 
name of it) and I was going to go to contests with it, but then came 
the A,B,C system, and I built one of my Dad's prototype Phoenix 5s for 
that. Then came college, girls, and cars, and a 35 year layoff from 
the hobby. First time I saw a modern pattern plane, I went "holy s--t, 
what happened?".


Jon Lowe


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