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I'd like to present three proposals that might appeal to a few if not
the
many....<br>
Modified from the original proposal . Apparently not many saw it. The
first one has been added <br>
Comments?<br>
John<br>
NSRCA 632<br>
<br>
<b>Revive the practice of assigning mentors to Sportsman and
Intermediate flyers<br>
<br>
</b>At contests, assign an experienced competitor to mentor, call and
advise the Sportsman/ Intermediate flyers. This is nothing new, but
should be a part of every contest. We should try to provide a
connection that will last past the contest.<br>
As I see it, there are four issues that drasticaly affect the ability
of these flyers to compete effectively: aircraft trimming, execessive
throws, wings level and centering(also known as flying the airplane,
not letting the airplane fly you).<br>
These flyers have shown the initiative to come out and compete. We owe
them (and ourselves) all the help we can throw at them. <br>
<br>
<br>
<b>Create a National Database for Pattern<br>
</b><br>
The database must contain the raw scores of all flights for <u>all</u>
competitors by class. The only thing normalized scores are good for is
finding the right finish order for each class at a contest. Raw scores
are much better for comparing results even at a contest. For example I
finish round one with a 930 and round two with a 985, both to
competitor A. Now did I fly a lot better in round two(I thought I did)
or did competitor A flop a stall turn in the figure M in round 2.<br>
Anyway once you have the raw scores by competitor and class, you can do
the following:<br>
<ol>
<li>Create a National Ranking for each class based on average points
per maneuver. Once this is in place and on line, we will have a reason
for pattern competitors to join NSRCA. you can't tell me that there
wouldn't be a lot of interest in seeing who is hot around the country
and how you stack up against the competition. I know, the judging isn't
always equal but that's always been true and we have to live with it. <br>
</li>
<li>The data available on each competitor would include contests
entered, placing, advance points earned. The districts could extract
whatever data is required to ascertain the district champions. We could
archive previous years as well.</li>
<li>Other ways to specify advancement in class become available,
percentage of average FAI score, even eventually moving the 10
top-rated pilots up a class. Possibilities are endless when you have
the data.<br>
</li>
</ol>
Since the database would only be open to NSRCA members, if you want to
track your National standing, joining NSRCA would be a must. If you
want to see what the guy nobody heard of that just rolled in from out
of district has accomplished, look him up. We've been looking for
reasons to join NSRCA, I feel this is one that could be big and would
be worth some investment in time and money. I would be willing to help
with such a project although I don't feel like I could take it on by
myself.<br>
<br>
<b>Redirect the focus to our international team competition through
modification of the advancement system<br>
<br>
</b>
<ol>
<li>Modify the advancement process to be consistent through all
classes from Sportsman through to F3A. See section two for possible
advancement criteria</li>
<li>Advancement can be forced by the advancement criteria(see section
2) or voluntary.<br>
</li>
<li>The first year in a new and higher class is an option year. At
the end of the option year you can downselect one class for any reason.</li>
</ol>
This has the advantage of being able to try out the higher class for a
year without committing your entire pattern career. If you discover
that the next class is beyond your means( time, money or talent) then
you option down the following year. If you absolutely refuse to fly
your new class, then perhaps you could use the time and money to
reintroduce your self to your wife, girlfriend, etc. If you need a goal
for the year, focus on making your rudder commands instinctive, learn
to fly a helicopter, learn to fly rolling circles. You would probably
come back a better pattern flyer than when you left.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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