[NSRCA-discussion] Weight rule, was PACSS Upgrade

[Ronald Van Putte]

You never know what's going to happen.  For the past several years I  
brought a 6 KG digital scale to the Nats so John Fuqua and I could  
assist Dave Guerin in weighing potential trophy winners.  In 2009 I  
was asked when my scales were last calibrated and to show the  
certification papers for my calibration weights.  I won't be  
volunteering in 2010.

Ron

On Jan 6, 2010, at 5:17 PM, John Gayer wrote:

> That's partially what the 0.5 Kg tolerance is for. How long does it  
> take to weigh a plane casually? If the numbers are posted, then  
> there is another data point. If you see a plane and like the way it  
> flies, you can check the weight. I expect it will be a light  
> airplane and you will get positive enforcement that "light is  
> good". This is an important lesson for those starting out in  
> pattern. Also, if someone is flying the same plane as I am but it's  
> 1/2 pound lighter, I am sure going to be peppering him with  
> questions about how he did it.
>
> It wouldn't take any longer to weigh planes than it does to take  
> photos for the plaques. In fact, both could be done at once with  
> minimum time penalty.
> Don't you have a scale that's good to an ounce or two that you  
> could bring to a local contest? I do.
>
> John
>
> Dave Burton wrote:
>>
>> How many CDs have access to accurate scales to weigh at local  
>> contest? How many that are running contest with a minimum of help  
>> would want to weigh planes in a good environment with accurate  
>> scales in addition to all the other tasks they have to keep up  
>> with? It’s not a bad thing that planes are never weighed or  
>> measured at local contest.
>> Dave Burton
>>
>> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org [mailto:nsrca- 
>> discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org] On Behalf Of John Gayer
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 5:06 PM
>> To: General pattern discussion
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Weight rule, was PACSS Upgrade
>>
>> I'll bet there are a lot of planes flying in contests that are  
>> easily a pound overweight. I can't see anyone designing planes to  
>> add a pound.
>> Our current planes may be pigs at 5.5Kg, I agree but some of the  
>> older designs flown in lower classes that have more wing area are  
>> probably fine.
>> I don't see much point in playing with 2 ounce increments at 2  
>> year intervals. I definitely could not support removal of the  
>> weight criteria. Raising the limit by a pound and then weighing at  
>> local contests has a certain appeal. One way to do it would be to  
>> leave the weight at 5 Kg and then raise the tolerance to 0.5 Kg  
>> and weigh everything in sight.
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>> Joe Lachowski wrote:
>> 5.5 kilos is a flying pig in my book. I bet most planes there are  
>> very close to 5 kilos anyway to be competititive.
>>
>> I prefer our current requirements, but could be persuaded to add 2  
>> maybe 3 ozs tops in our national classes to help people save a  
>> couple of bucks. Anything more might open up a can of worms. I can  
>> support 2 ozs to see what it gains us and then reevaluate in two  
>> years. There are some out there who want to make a significantly  
>> larger jump up. I think small increments at a time is a much wiser  
>> approach.
>> Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 13:47:21 -0700
>> From: jgghome at comcast.net
>> To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Weight rule, was PACSS Upgrade
>>
>> Just to fan the flames a bit on the weight rule, I've been going  
>> over the French rulebook for pattern and they have a weight limit  
>> of 5.5 kilos for their national classes, both electric and fuel,  
>> weighed empty with a tolerance of 1%.
>>
>> John
>>
>> Bob Kane wrote:
>> Speaking of weight rule, maybe we should immortalize Ron by  
>> inventing a new parameter called the Van Putte Equivalent. It  
>> would be how much weight can be added to the upper limit of an  
>> electric pattern aircraft.  It would be loosely based on battery  
>> capacity, motor watts, maximum continuous controller current, and  
>> the speed of Ron at full gallop in a vacuum.
>>
>> Bob Kane
>> getterflash at yahoo.com
>>
>>
>> --- On Wed, 1/6/10, Ronald Van Putte <vanputte at cox.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: Ronald Van Putte <vanputte at cox.net>
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>> To: mklein25 at roadrunner.com, "General pattern discussion" <nsrca- 
>> discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
>> Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 2:20 PM
>> OK, I am a marathoner, but SOME of
>> you whippersnackers might be able
>> to beat me.  Most are afraid to find out, because
>> being whipped in a
>> long race by an old guy would be humiliating.
>>
>> Mike - I am also an engineer and I want a piece of the
>> design action
>> on your large hamster charging wheel project.
>>
>> Have we taken everyones' eyes off the airplane weight rule
>> change
>> long enough yet?
>>
>> RVP
>>
>> On Jan 6, 2010, at 12:58 PM, mklein25 at roadrunner.com
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> That's great news Tony!  Given my Jewish
>>
>> heritage, I have been
>>
>> trying to find a less expensive way to charge
>>
>> batteries.  I have
>>
>> been designing a large hamster wheel to generate
>>
>> power, but have
>>
>> been looking for someone with the stamina to run in
>>
>> the wheel.
>>
>> Looks like RVP is my man!  Lord knows my fat self
>>
>> wouldn't get but
>>
>> a couple mah in a pack and I'd be dialing 911.
>>
>> Give RVP his due.  That man is fit as a
>>
>> fiddle.  I sure as heck am
>>
>> not going to take him up on his challenge.
>>
>> RVP, how tall are you so I can make sure the hamster
>>
>> wheel is
>>
>> comfortable?
>> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: "Tony" <tony at radiosouthrc.com>
>> Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 13:49:11
>> To: 'General pattern discussion'<nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>>
>> No, RVP is a Marathoner.....  I wouldn't
>>
>> challenge him!
>>
>> Tony Stillman, President
>> Radio South, Inc.
>> 139 Altama Connector, Box 322
>> Brunswick, GA  31525
>> 1-800-962-7802
>> www.radiosouthrc.com
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
>> [mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org]
>>
>> On Behalf Of
>>
>> Atwood, Mark
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 1:29 PM
>> To: General pattern discussion
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>>
>> Careful guys... he's probably setting us up.  He
>>
>> probably knows a
>>
>> short cut,
>> having seen that path before there was dirt...
>>
>> Mark Atwood
>> Paragon Consulting, Inc.  |  President
>> 5885 Landerbrook Drive Suite 130, Cleveland Ohio,
>>
>> 44124
>>
>> Phone: 440.684.3101 x102  |  Fax:
>>
>> 440.684.3102
>>
>> mark.atwood at paragon-inc.com
>>
>> |  www.paragon-inc.com
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
>> [mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org]
>>
>> On Behalf Of Ron
>>
>> Van Putte
>> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 11:17 AM
>> To: General pattern discussion
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>>
>> Any participants in this discussion who comment
>>
>> negatively on RVP's
>>
>> ancientness and show up at the 2010 Nats will be
>>
>> challenged to a foot
>>
>> race from the Farm House porch to the Site 4 scoring
>>
>> trailer and back.
>>
>> RVP
>>
>> On Jan 5, 2010, at 10:00 PM, Stuart Chale wrote:
>>
>>
>> Ed I was trying to make sense of your humor.
>>
>> Couldn't figure it
>>
>> out.  Thought it might have been a response
>>
>> about RVP?
>>
>> Stuart
>>
>> Ed Alt wrote:
>>
>> Argh - replied to the wrong message  -
>>
>> sorry!
>>
>> From: Ed Alt
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 8:17 PM
>> To: 'General pattern discussion'
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>>
>> Something that old is filled with dried up
>>
>> capacitors in the power
>>
>> supply.  When they dry up, nothing is
>>
>> likely to work
>>
>> From: Gene Maurice
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 11:57 AM
>> To: 'General pattern discussion'
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>>
>> John,
>>
>>
>>
>> 401 thru 409 are just identifiers that are
>>
>> used as the key to the
>>
>> class / schedule data, it just happen to be
>>
>> the AMA class /
>>
>> schedule numbers. Go figure. You can make
>>
>> those identifiers
>>
>> anything you want, at Contest Setup it asks
>>
>> you to "Name" the
>>
>> classes. You can also assign any schedule to
>>
>> any class in your
>>
>> contest. The way the system works today is
>>
>> that by default it
>>
>> assigns the AMA / FAI schedules in effect as
>>
>> of the date of the
>>
>> contest.
>>
>>
>>
>> Currently the key to the schedules is the
>>
>> ID  mentioned above and
>>
>> the schedule effective date. You can create a
>>
>> new schedule without
>>
>> deleting the AMA schedule by simply assigning
>>
>> a different
>>
>> effective date and then change the schedule
>>
>> assigned to the class
>>
>> in Contest Setup.  Part of the upgrade
>>
>> will be to add and
>>
>> Organization identifier, ie. AMA, SPA, GBRCAA,
>>
>> MAAC, etc.. in
>>
>> addition then it can default to the schedule
>>
>> in effect for that
>>
>> organization but still allow you to select and
>>
>> assign any schedule.
>>
>> Every release of PACSS has included a file
>>
>> conversion program that
>>
>> converts the existing user data to whatever
>>
>> that new file format
>>
>> is. It is my intent to do that this time also.
>>
>> I will do
>>
>> everything I can to preserve any custom data.
>>
>>
>>
>> Hope this helps.....
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Gene Maurice
>>
>> gene.maurice at sgmservice.com
>>
>> Dallas, GA
>>
>> AMA 3408
>>
>> NSRCA 877
>>
>> PACSS.sgmservice.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
>>
>> [mailto:nsrca-
>>
>> discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org]
>>
>> On Behalf Of John Gayer
>>
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 10:45 AM
>> To: General pattern discussion
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>>
>>
>>
>> Gene,
>> The Schedule Maintenance appears to allow only
>>
>> schedules between
>>
>> 401 and 409. Doesn't this mean you need to
>>
>> replace the current AMA/
>>
>> FAI schedules in order to set up for SPA or a
>>
>> foreign county.
>>
>> Wouldn't you lose your modified schedules with
>>
>> a PACSS update?
>>
>> I think what Phil is suggesting is an external
>>
>> text file that can
>>
>> be used to input the schedules  for any
>>
>> contest, foreign or
>>
>> domestic. If you provide the layout, there are
>>
>> plenty of folks
>>
>> around the world that would keep their version
>>
>> up to date and send
>>
>> you the file for inclusion in updates.
>>
>> Here's the url for the current British
>>
>> patterns:   http://
>>
>> www.gbrcaa.org/schedules.htm
>>
>> John
>>
>> Gene Maurice wrote:
>>
>> Phil,
>>
>>
>>
>> You CAN add / maintain your own
>>
>> schedules.  "System Maintenance"
>>
>> tab, "Schedules" button.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Gene Maurice
>>
>> gene.maurice at sgmservice.com
>>
>> Dallas, GA
>>
>> AMA 3408
>>
>> NSRCA 877
>>
>> PACSS.sgmservice.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org
>>
>> [mailto:nsrca-
>>
>> discussion-bounces at lists.nsrca.org]
>>
>> On Behalf Of Phil Spelt
>>
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 8:32 AM
>> To: General pattern discussion
>> Cc: Bruce Underwood; Ed Hartley
>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] PACSS Upgrade
>>
>>
>>
>> Happy New Year, Gene!!!
>>
>> The SPA schedule will remain the same for
>>
>> 2010.  We will probably
>>
>> change it for 2011-2012.  If we do, I'll
>>
>> send the new patterns to
>>
>> you.  How 'bout just making an app to let
>>
>> us update the schedules
>>
>> ourselves.  Would that be too much work
>>
>> for you, or would it
>>
>> reduce your work every couple of years?
>>
>> We sure do appreciate the work you do on
>>
>> PACSS!!!  I believe it is
>>
>> THE scoring program for SPA, at least here in
>>
>> the Southeast...
>>
>> At 08:04 AM 1/5/2010, you wrote:
>>
>>
>> Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
>>
>>
>> boundary="----=_NextPart_000_000D_01CA8DDD.B09C42C0"
>>
>> Content-Language: en-us
>>
>> All PACSS Users,
>>
>> I am in the process of making a number
>>
>> modifications to PACSS. One
>>
>> of the changes is to make the use of
>>
>> "foreign", other than AMA /
>>
>> FAI, schedules easier to use. In order to do
>>
>> this I need to know
>>
>> what are the Organizations and associated
>>
>> schedules that are being
>>
>> used today. I have the SPA and Canadian
>>
>> schedules from last year
>>
>> but don't know if they are changing in 2010 so
>>
>> updated schedules
>>
>> from those two organizations would be
>>
>> helpful.
>>
>> Any and all help would be greatly appreciated
>>
>>
>> Gene Maurice
>> gene.maurice at sgmservice.com
>> Dallas, GA
>> AMA 3408
>> NSRCA 877
>> PACSS.sgmservice.com
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>> --> There are only two types of aircraft --
>>
>> fighters and targets.
>>
>> Phil Spelt, Past President, Knox County Radio
>>
>> Control Society, Inc.
>>
>>         URL: http://www.kcrctn.com
>> AMA--1294,  Scientific Leader Member,
>>
>> SPA--177
>>
>>        My URL: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/~chuenkan/
>>        (865) 435-1476
>>
>> v  (865) 604-0541 c
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________ NSRCA-
>>
>> discussion mailing list NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>>
>> http://
>>
>> lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion
>>
>> mailing list NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>>
>> http://
>>
>> lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Your E-mail and More On-the-Go. Get Windows Live Hotmail Free.  
>> Sign up now.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
>> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion
> _______________________________________________
> NSRCA-discussion mailing list
> NSRCA-discussion at lists.nsrca.org
> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.nsrca.org/pipermail/nsrca-discussion/attachments/20100107/e7dcba73/attachment.html>