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<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Hi Bob.. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial> </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Those are all valid points but the
people that I have tracked that have left the sport after trying it did not
leave it to participate in any of those other venues in my case. Not saying that
is always the case. But if the NSRCA "<FONT
color=#800000><EM><U>TRULY</U></EM></FONT>" wanted to address the pattern drop
they would make up a questionnaire to ask those that dropped from participating
after a full year as a courteous follow-up to ask some open ended questions
about their choice why they stopped their competition and leave
one or two questions open ended, to what would you do to make it appealing for
you yourself to participate again.. Granted the responses will be varied and not
able to address them all.. But to spin the wheel with no true idea of what
it will take to bring back some that used to play and why they left at least
would give material to steer the growth with. The true problem with that
is, the NSRCA By-Laws dictate that is not the primary goal or reason or
existence of the NSRCA. This of course don't address new fliers some are
trying to attract to the fold but it may help address the common theme and that
alone with bring newcomers and some will stay. JMHO. Thanks for reading.
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial> </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial> Del
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=bob@toprudder.com href="mailto:bob@toprudder.com">Bob Richards</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">General pattern discussion</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, March 13, 2012 8:38
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion] Rules
Proposals</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
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<DIV>Del,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I don't know that they ever had that amount in this area. I
remember several 50 plus contests in this area (two contests each at
Winston-Salem and Smithfield) each year, this was in
'93 <STRONG>AFTER</STRONG> the four-strokes and turnaround had
started. I flew in a couple of contests in the 70s and 80s, none
were anything close to that. I started flying competitively in '89, and
from that point until '95 or so, pattern grew in this area. I could go
to 10 contests a year and rarely drive more than a 4 hour radius. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Back in the 70s, when I started flying RC, if anyone in this area
competed it was pretty much limited to fun-fly, pattern, scale, pylon,
or gliders. There were no RC helicopters until the early 70s and very
few people tried them (I was the first in my club in '75). There were no
indoor or park flyers unless you count .049 or smaller noise makers. No
electrics. With the explosion in technology that has taken place, there
are so many more avenues that a modeler can explore and, like I said,
pattern is now a smaller piece of the pie.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Pattern, pylon, and scale had the WOW factor back then, but not any
more. Giant-Scale, turbines, 3D, helicopters, etc have the WOW factor
now. I think that has as much to do with the down-turn in attendance at
pattern contests as anything. JMHO.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bob R.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>--- On <B>Mon, 3/12/12, Del
<I><drykert2@rochester.rr.com></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From:
Del <drykert2@rochester.rr.com><BR>Subject: Re:
[NSRCA-discussion] Rules Proposals<BR>To: "General pattern discussion"
<nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org><BR>Date: Monday, March 12,
2012, 11:30 AM<BR><BR>
<DIV id=yiv230746398>
<DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Bob..
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Not sure if you hark back
tot he 70's with 68 in attendance at local contests. That
contest has withered and never gone back to even close to those
numbers. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>
Del</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4"><B>From:</B> <A
title=bob@toprudder.com
href="http://us.mc1616.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bob@toprudder.com"
rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:bob@toprudder.com">Bob
Richards</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="http://us.mc1616.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org"
rel=nofollow target=_blank
ymailto="mailto:nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org">General pattern
discussion</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 12, 2012
5:15 AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NSRCA-discussion]
Rules Proposals</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
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<DIV>That may be so, but I don't see how this particular
proposal would have that effect. Is anyone serious about
leaving the hobby because of the weight rule proposal? Is
anyone who was contemplating pattern competition going to be
turned off by it?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Keep in mind there will always be chronic complainers.
How many times did I hear that "four-strokes are going to ruin
the sport" or "turnaround ..." or "noise rules ...", etc etc.
Some did leave the hobby, but there will always be turnover.
Some of them will feel the need to give an excuse whether it
really is the reason. I will say that some of the largest
local contests I ever attended were AFTER all of
those game-ruining rules that I mentioned. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The whole hobby of model airplanes has changed
significantly in the last 10-15 years, with many more
venues to divide one's time in the hobby - pattern is an
overall smaller piece of the pie as a result. I personally
don't think that anything about the rules can be blamed for
any downturn in pattern contest attendance. Nor do I
think that tweaking the rules we have will magically breath
new life into it. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bob R.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>--- On <B>Sun, 3/11/12, Del
<I><drykert2@rochester.rr.com></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From:
Del <drykert2@rochester.rr.com><BR>Subject: Re:
[NSRCA-discussion] Rules Proposals<BR>To: "General pattern
discussion"
<nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org><BR>Date: Sunday,
March 11, 2012, 2:56 PM<BR><BR>
<DIV id=yiv230746398>
<STYLE></STYLE>
<DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Bob..
</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial>Poorly disguised
rule changes have driven more from the sport than any words
or hashing about the sport. </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT color=#0000ff
face=Arial> Del </FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4"><B>From:</B>
<A title=bob@toprudder.com
href="http://us.mc1616.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=bob@toprudder.com"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>Bob Richards</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org
href="http://us.mc1616.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org"
rel=nofollow target=_blank>General pattern discussion</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March
11, 2012 1:22 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re:
[NSRCA-discussion] Rules Proposals</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD vAlign=top>
<DIV>Guys,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>For the life of me, I can't see why everyone is
getting bent out of shape over the proposed
weight limt rule for the lower classes. It opens up
the possibilities for someone wanting to get started
in pattern and competing in the lower classes,
IMHO. If someone in the upper classes has a
plane that is at the weight limit, but is unable to
repair the plane without it going over the limit,
then it becomes a perfect hand-me-down for someone
getting started. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The fact is that the proposed rule does
not exclude any planes that are already legal. The
guys that build light know they should have a better
flying plane than one that is heavier. The only
reason I can think of that people with light planes
can get upset with this rule is that someone with a
heavier plane might beat them. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>OTOH, how often are models weighed at local
contests? I never saw it done in the years I flew,
but that was before the electrics came on the scene.
Tell me, does any CD weigh planes at a local event
now? If not, then I am really confused
about weight limit discussions where someone
says it is ruining things to raise the weight limit,
when no one is checking it at local contests anyway.
Why all the fuss (one way or the other) about a rule
that no one enforces except at the Nats?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I really don't have a dog in this hunt. I'm
just confused about all the strongly worded comments
going back and forth. This, IMHO, does more to turn
people off from pattern than any rule change
proposal.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Bob R.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR> </DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<DIV>
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