[NSRCA-discussion] Rules proposal 11-6 question

[Bob Richards]

I got started in pattern (seriously) around 1990. I remember Expert Turnaround being flown (Dennis Worley was the best in our area at the time) with the rest of the AMA classes being the old ballistic-style pattern. 1992 was the first year of all-turnaround. However, before all the classes went turnaround, I do remember the planes were already getting quieter, not so much from the real need to be quiet, but from the fact that the technology trickled down from the F3A world. (Remember when Hanno won flying a plane with an anhedral stab, pretty soon everyone wanted anhedral stabs). Yes, we needed to be quieter, but it was the top dawgs becoming quieter that really drove the rest of the ranks to it, IMHO. Personally, I was glad to see the quieter planes, and also glad to see turnaround. 
 
As I recall, at the time of the transition (1992) the majority of the planes were two stroke powered, but had muffled tuned pipes and most had soft mounts. I was somewhat of a heathen :-) since I had a fixed gear four-stroke powered plane. Also, when the AMA classes went all turnaround style, everyone was allowed to drop down a class. I opted to move up from Advanced to Masters since I liked the Masters sequence more.
 
I'll never forget Tom Miller showing up at a contest in Winston Salem (circa 1990?) with his own design, "Reaction". Fixed gear, tail dragger, four-stroke powered. He said he thought this was the direction pattern was heading. I think he pretty much hit the nail on the head.
 
Bob R.


--- On Tue, 10/20/09, Tony <tony at radiosouthrc.com> wrote:









At the 1983 World Champs in Pensacola (I was assistant CD) we flew single maneuver schedules and during a break during the finals, a pilot from France flew a DEMO of the new turn-around sequence that would begin after the conclusion of the World Champs.  This was flown in the USA starting in 1984 only by FAI pilots.  In 1990, I flew a YS60 powered MK Arrow clone and took 2nd place at the NATS.  The next year, Expert Turnaround was added to the classes and I won 3rd place.  These models all used the YS60 with a Radio South Pro Prop (10 ¾ x 7.5 with de-pitched tips to 6.5.  It took that long for turnaround to catch on.  Many pilots quit pattern for good once turnaround started.
 
Just letting you see that we used muffled tuned pipes and small props and very loud!  Most FAI guys were flying semi-scale stuff right after 1983.  
 
 
 
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