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Jim,<BR>
Thank you for the thoughtful reply and your interest in the survey.<BR>
As someone once told me, you can't have change without dissatisfaction.<BR>
The subject of class advancement comes up often enough that one has<BR>
to believe a lot of folks feel there is a better way.<BR>
You bring up some excellent alternatives that need to be discussed.<BR>
I know this discussion will lead to one or more survey proposals.<BR>
I hope to have the survey ready to publish on the website, in the K-Factor and <BR>
Model Aviation and on the various forums by late summer. So we have time<BR>
to formulate your ideas.<BR>
By the way, the survey will be open to ALL those interested in pattern.<BR>
NOT just NSRCA members.<BR>
Once again thanks Jim!<BR>
JLK<BR><BR>> From: jnhiller@earthlink.net<BR>> To: nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org<BR>> Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 12:37:25 -0800<BR>> Subject: [NSRCA-discussion] Mandatory Advancment<BR>> <BR>> John, I would be happy to get involved with this.<BR>> <BR>> I believe flight score averages derived from complete flights are good<BR>> indicators of ability. Advancement could be based on multiple contest<BR>> average (maybe 6???), enough to demonstrate consistency. 70%? 75%? 80%? 85%?<BR>> could be used as an advancement indicator rather it be mandatory or simply a<BR>> recommendation. Not having raw scores information it would be difficult for<BR>> me to suggest a hard number. Probably needs to be included in a proposal!<BR>> Last season's contest raw scores would be a good indicator of an appropriate<BR>> value.<BR>> <BR>> Here is my story:<BR>> I'm being pushed into masters where it's not likely that I will ever be very<BR>> competitive, but that's OK. I reached my personal plateau of about 80%<BR>> flying advanced in 2007. Through much of 2008 during practice I was just<BR>> standing in the flight box going through the motions, talking to who ever<BR>> was standing there. I expect I will be hard pressed to break 70% in masters.<BR>> My feeling is advancement percentage needs to increase with the class<BR>> progression as the skill development or learning curve tends to level out.<BR>> Not that the maneuvers are more difficult relative to our acquired ability<BR>> but the sequences become much less forgiving of even simple errors.<BR>> <BR>> For something like this to work the AMA would need to maintain accessible<BR>> records that are consistently updated by CD's. How many pattern contests are<BR>> sanctioned? Does AMA still require CD to send contest results to AMA? How<BR>> many CD's actually do? We started to touch on this issue in the 'national<BR>> database' discussion last year. How can it be done? Who is going to do it?<BR>> Who needs to be involved to make this happen? Are they interested? Are we<BR>> (pattern fliers) interested?<BR>> <BR>> Change is never without obstacles. Lets discuss this and other ideas and add<BR>> it to the rules proposal survey. Lets try not to get overwhelmed with<BR>> unreasonable high tech automated data management systems. We only need one<BR>> additional number included with contest results and a new advancement<BR>> 'points' card format.<BR>> <BR>> It's past time to try something different. John, how much time do we have?<BR>> <BR>> Jim Hiller<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> -----Original Message-----<BR>> From: nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org<BR>> [mailto:nsrca-discussion-bounces@lists.nsrca.org]On Behalf Of John Konneker<BR>> Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2009 11:17 AM<BR>> To: Discussion List; d_bodary@yahoo.com<BR>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Pattern Classes & Growth<BR>> <BR>> hmmm...<BR>> Jim H.,<BR>> That looks like a good rules proposal in the making!<BR>> I'd be happy to include it in the survey.<BR>> ;-)<BR>> JLK<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> From: jnhiller@earthlink.net<BR>> To: d_bodary@yahoo.com; nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org<BR>> Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 10:37:28 -0800<BR>> Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Pattern Classes & Growth<BR>> <BR>> Dennis your dedication is admirable and describes rather well the problem I<BR>> see with the mandatory advancement system.<BR>> It is based on performance of others, or lack of, rather than individual<BR>> capability. In short flying against more capable competitors reduces<BR>> premature mandatory advancement.<BR>> Flying a sequence for 4 years can get old especially if improvement stalls.<BR>> I pay close attention to raw score averages, both individual maneuvers and<BR>> total flight, and use it as a guide to understanding problem areas and gauge<BR>> improvement. It is also a very good indicator of flight-to-flight<BR>> consistency and the ability to control the flight in adverse conditions.<BR>> Even more rewarding than winning the round, contest or district championship<BR>> was maintaining my average flight score in very windy conditions.<BR>> Pattern flying can be very rewarding.<BR>> Jim Hiller<BR>> <BR>> _______________________________________________<BR>> NSRCA-discussion mailing list<BR>> NSRCA-discussion@lists.nsrca.org<BR>> http://lists.nsrca.org/mailman/listinfo/nsrca-discussion<BR><BR></body>
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