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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Dean:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I'm following this thread avidly. One of the
important subtopics is attendance. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Others may have picked up on this, but recently I was
reading a Nats' write up where the writer was chortling about the fact that
their attendance at the NATS was actually up. How many contestants?
Would you believe a total ~13 or so. And, from this mix they actually
selected their World's Team to travel to Europe. My point? Actually,
if somebody is going to turn out the lights, it's probably time for other
disciplines to start crying fire! Additionally, I think it good that we're
considering this situation about pattern BEFORE we have a Nats with 13
competitors. Anybody remember Control Line speed? Just try to find a
contest around here, (NC)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bill Glaze</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=d.pappas@kodeos.com href="mailto:d.pappas@kodeos.com">Dean Pappas</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">NSRCA Mailing List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, February 28, 2006 2:12
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Equipment
cost andpartiicpation --</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Let
me try to offer another perspective on the situation. Everyone is making good
points, even where they don't necessarily agree.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Back
when ... In R/C y</FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>ou either flew Sport, or Pattern, or Pylon, or Scale.
<SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>That was
it!</FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2><SPAN class=808491317-28022006>Oh, the discussions in print when
Stand-Off Scale was proposed. It was the end of the culture of building
excellence! NOT!</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2><SPAN class=808491317-28022006>It was also heralded as the greatest
thing to happen to Scale modelling.</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Back
then, a lot of guys flew more than one event: the early years of "Goodyear"
racing read like the Pattern NATs results.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Heck, Larry Leonard won both the same year in '69! After all, the RC
World was a smaller universe ...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Of
course, back in DaVinci's day, it was possible for one man to know almost
everything known to man!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>As
Bob describes, there is a huge fractionalization in just the
competition-friendly segment of the RC community.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Look
at how many competitive, or special-appeal, events there are just in
Scale!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>The
R/C Aerobatics world is split almost neatly in two, complete ( at times)
with ersatz holy war between the factions. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>We
are a smaller chunk of a hopefully larger pie, and as a result, we are less
like the "demographic center" of Aeromodelling.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Complaining about it is at least cathartic, if not
fun.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Our
mission is to find the corruptible ones: the guy who enjoys both the
cameraderie and competition. Then we show them the joy of
Pattern.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>No,
we may never have the WOW factor of other segments of the hobby, and if we
changed to make it so, we would lose our way.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>The
Control-Line Stunt guys have seen this cycle come to maturity: there is a
small, but stable, community there.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Do
some of them long for the days when Stunt had hundreds of NATs entrants? Yes,
but they also know that the art is in no danger of
extinction.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006></SPAN><SPAN
class=808491317-28022006></SPAN><SPAN class=808491317-28022006></SPAN><SPAN
class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>let me shift
gears:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Imagine if just one major direction change, in the event, had gone
differently ...</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Back
in the early '80s, there was actually some serious discussion in the FAI
Technical Subcommittee to limit the functionality of radios to 5 or 6
channels, dual rates, and no couplings.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>It
was supposed to be a cost-limiting rule, and it would have rewarded those who
designed better airplanes.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Needless to say, the idea went down in spectacular flames, but there
actually was a discussion!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>If
it had gone through, the Pattern people would now be like Amish among the
modern world. Boy, would we look silly!</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=808491317-28022006><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=808491317-28022006>feels good to get that out ...</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=808491317-28022006> Dean</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman">Dean Pappas</FONT> <BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Sr. Design Engineer</FONT> <BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Kodeos Communications</FONT> <BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">111 Corporate Blvd.</FONT> <BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">South Plainfield, N.J. 07080</FONT> <BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">(908) 222-7817 phone</FONT> <BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">(908) 222-2392 fax</FONT> <BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman">d.pappas@kodeos.com</FONT> </P>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org
[mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Bob
Richards<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, February 28, 2006 12:03 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
NSRCA Mailing List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Equipment cost
andpartiicpation --<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>I really don't think that turnaround caused the drop in numbers that a
lot of people seem to attribute. Sure, some of the long-time pattern
veterans did not like it, and dropped out, but the biggest contests that I
can remember in this area were a couple of years after turnaround started.
(All classes).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Like others have mentioned, the expense of competition has gone up. Not
only from the required equipment, but also from the travel expense (gas
prices, hotels, etc). And, there are many other things competing for our
time, both in and out of the hobby. I believe that is why there are so many
ARFs on the market, that is the only way a lot of us can have the time to
put into this hobby.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My son just got interested in flying RC last year. He soloed in quick
order, and he wants EVERYTHING. He wants to fly helipcopters. He wants to
try IMAC. He wants to try pattern, and he wants to go to giant-scale meets.
Patt! ern seems to be on the low end of his scale, however, possibly due to
the "wow factor" of the other events. Guess what, daddy can't afford
everything!!!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bob R.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
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