SEN 3274
- Out by factor of 10
- OOS and altimetry – the glass is half fill
- One interpretation
- Why would you not want to have a RDT?
- Aeromodeller encore
Out by factor of 10
From Colin Sharman
Just a small correction to the Biff ma and AeroModeller piece in SEN 3273.
The weight limit for the proposed mandatory RDT rule in the U.K. is 250 gms, not 25 gms, so all contest duration models over 250 gms will need to have RDT.
Best regards,
Colin Sharman,
Editor, AeroModeller.
Editor’s Commemt – Whoops our proof reading is not as good as the Aeromodeller !! Note that the only ‘World Champs Class’ that is under the 250 gram limit is F1B, although you could possible make a F1C or Q under 250 grams, although they probably would not be competitive ,but of course if they were the only ones that were allowed to be flown. …
OOS and altimetry – the glass is half full
From :allard van wallene
Re: OOS and altimetry
Electronic altimeters are used for proof of flight time and decide a winner in adverse weather and/or field conditions. By no means should such devices be used to operate outside of the law or regulations. On the contrary, these devices allow us to operate within the law. This to safeguard the future of our great hobby as we do no longer need ever increasing maximum flight times in fly offs which would result in OOS conditions. The current altimeter fly off rule has been introduced exactly for this very purpose: to stay within sight and field boundaries by shortening the flight time, yet produce a winner.
regards
Allard
One interpretation
From: Ron Marking
HI Roger
John Carter is wrong. Here are two quotes from Article 16.
1. The remote pilot of a model aircraft must maintain direct, unaided visual
contact with the aircraft…
(4) A ‘free flight model aircraft’ shall not be deliberately flown beyond the visual
line of sight….
The first quote comes under the section dealing with RC models. Note that for a FF model it does not say “unaided”, therefore binoculars are allowed.
Now consider the following:-
In a fly Off
Competitor A looked at the conditions and set what he thought was a reasonable DT time. Unfortunately, the wind was stronger than anticipated and the model flew OOS before the DT went. This flight was in accordance with Article 16.
Competitor B had RDT fitted and of course wanting win, (why else do you compete) deliberately waited until his time keeper said “I’ve lost it.” before pressing the button. This flight does contravene Article 16.
The use of RDT actually encourages competitors to contravene Article 16.
Regards
Ron Marking
Why would you not want to have a RDT?
From: John Carter
Hi again indeed your contributor was correct in the UK in 2024 all models above 250 g will require for FF contest use organised by the BMFA RDT CAA regs in uk define differences in models below and above 250 g
Please note for B a model on weight will be exempt from the rule so will many other classes .
However the CAA is clear ,that you must keep model in unaided line of sight as a remote pilot .Despite an article in the Aero modeller questioning this decision plus the outspoken comments by a certain ex free fighter .
The world changes and we the very small group of free flight enthusiasts must move with the times .
In fact why would you not want to have the aid of remote DT it’s saved more than one of my models when especially learning to handle LDA gliders that at first were very un
Aeromodeller encore
Further aligning the international communications forces my October Aeromodeller arrived today along with the personal note above from the Aeromodeller’s editor. In this month’s editorial they address the issue of fitting and RDT to an aircraft with a mechanical timer . It us probably not all that difficult and people have used approaches where the RDT in in an easily swappable module.
As John Carter points out the world is changing and we need to apply all resources to address these issues. Allard already points out one way how the dreaded technology in the form of an altimeter can be used to address some of today’s issues. We need to look all possible ways. The Aeromodeller has offered to help and so has electronic media like SEN. This is a serious issue. Applying modern technology might even encourage more youth participation. that’s a woke word for Junior 🙂
SEN Status
Our new web site is online with archives of SEN going back to 1997 plus many items about FAI Free Flight. It can be found at http://www.faifreeflight.org
Existing SEN subscribers can update their preferences by following the update your preferences link at the bottom of this page.
New users can sign up at this link http://eepurl.com/crOnvj
or at the SEN website
…………..
Roger Morrell