[NSRCA-discussion] Small Models...goodfor thefutureofthePatternEvent?

[Chris Moon]

Mike, it's people like you.........that are 100% correct.  The money is 
not as big a deal as some people say.  If you made it so everyone in 
Sportsman and Intermediate had to fly $5 cardboard planes, people would 
say some other reason for not competing.  Like we said before, only a 
small percentage of people want to compete and there are other events 
(IMAC etc) that draw from that same pool of people.  Some fly "pattern" 
planes for fun and will never compete because they don't want to - plain 
and simple.  We need to do more to attract those who are interested in 
competing to come our way vs another direction.  Average Joe sport guy 
will probably never be convinced to fly pattern regardless of how 
convenient we make the rules.  We should be aiming with a rifle, not a 
shotgun.

Chris

I could be wrong too.


Mike Hester wrote:
> That is because people are looking fo a magic fix that I am utterly, 
> totally, absolutely convinced does not exist.
>
> I am also absolutely utterly convinced that messing with the rules too much 
> over airframes in ANY class right now will ultimately have the opposite 
> effect of what people are trying to accomplish.
>
> You guys know as well as I do that a major part of the draw in pattern is 
> the planes themselves to a lot of people. Not all, but a substantial number. 
> In the sportsman class, if a guy has the ambition to secure a 2 meter plane, 
> history shows (around here anyway) that you're MUCH more likely to see him 
> next year in intermediate. The guy with the Kaos.....more likely, not. It's 
> not because of cost, that is an excuse. Remove that excuse, they'll just 
> find another. And now you've screwed the guy who WOULD have been around next 
> year....
>
> So let me get this straight....if you want to fly a 2 meter plane with a OS 
> or YS160, you would have to fly advanced? Jeez, that's not a good idea.
>
> When I started, my first contest, I knew I was going to do it. I scratch 
> built a 2 meter plane and went for it. I wasn't the only one, most others in 
> sportsman also had 2 meter planes. One actually had bought a world team 
> member's plane and was flying it....pretty well I might add...and I have to 
> say that even through masters and many years, that season was some of the 
> best competition I have ever had. And we're still here. It produced myself, 
> AC Glenn, Bryan Kennedy, Steve Homenda to name a few. Steve was the only one 
> who wasn't flying a 2 meter plane, he was flying a 40 sized Arresti and 
> whipping everyone's tail with it. Oddly enough, he didn't get deterred by 
> the big bad evil 2 meters.
>
> There is no magic change to the rules that's going to bring newcomers in 
> droves. You get creative, do what you can, and you make the best of what you 
> get. We're not driving people away in droves like some people seem to think. 
> If we are, it certainly isn't the rules regarding the size of the planes and 
> cost. Maybe, just maybe it has more to do with a lot of the negativity?
>
> That's just my opinion, I could be wrong....but I'm pretty sure I'm not =)
>
> -M
>
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