SEN 2321
- SEN 2320
- F1C Comment
- Comment on F1C Participation
- Kudos to Dukie
- Someone who is recruiting “new” free flighters
SEN 2320
Apologies to our readers for the somewhat inconstant formatting and fonts.. Something happened during the prep of SEN 2320 and short of redoing everything, we had no way of fixing before SEN had to go to press, so we ended up with some funny formatting
F1C comment
From:Bernard Scott
Hello All,
Regarding Doug’s comment on F1C support. As a flier of power models I agree, the decline of support for the international power class is indeed sad and a loss to aeromodelling.
As to his question about what can be done, I believe that attempts to boost the FAI classes have been, and will continue to be, doomed for one reason – only the opinions and ideas of current fliers are deemed worthy of consideration. I am not aware of any large scale canvassing of potential fliers, those who do not currently fly FAI events … but would dearly like to.
Behind this lack of openness has been the fear that prestige will be tarnished if the less well-heeled are allowed access to competitions. Sadly, in trying to protect what they love, FAI fliers have been their own worst enemies. To quote from Oscar Wilde’s “Ballad of Reading Gaol” … “Each man kills the thing he loves”
Bernard Scott
Potential F1C flier
Comment on F1C Participation
From: Ron Young
I have been going to Lost Hills for over eight years and have watched the decline in FIC by over 95%. It seems like everyone now flys same folder or flapper and they all look the same in the air. With all the mandatory equipment now required, e.g., electronic timer, with remote dethermalizer, and now (for 2018) a mandatory engine shut off, this event has gotten to the point where your investment of $5,000 to fly this event has gotten way out of hand. The irony now is if you purchase all you need to fly the event and go to the contest and you are likely to be the only one there! Rarely, there will be one or two other flyers. This event is 99% DEAD ON ARRIVAL just put the last nail in the coffin and it will be in the ground. Just look at all of the people in this county who are no longer flying F1C. Back in the day when FIC was a fun event to fly and everyone built their own airplane, there were eight or more different designs on the field with 25 to 30 flyers and California was the hot bed for FIC and now it is dead. Something needs to be done with FIC at least at the National level and it would be even more helpful to reverse some of the recent rules changes at the International level.
If the point of most of the F1C rules changes was to decrease excessive performance for competitions on smaller fields (the safety concerns don’t hold water) then why haven’t there been equivalent reductions in the performance of F1A. The best models now get twice the line length on a zoom launch, therefore the line length ought to be shortened in proportion to the F1C reductions in engine run (that have been instituted in recent rules changes) as a starter (say to 50 meters).
Ron Young
For those not aware Ron was a strong F1C flyer in the FAI Power days, a well known engine man and more recently a coach to a number current F1C, including one of this year’s USA Team member
Kudos to Dukie
From: Steve Jone
As a 13-year-old, who stepped nervously into Doug Galbreath’s living room back in 1966 to meet this bigger-than-life model airplane flier for the first time, I had no idea that over 50 years later I would be poking out a response to Mr. Galbreath’s query about the future of FAI POWER competition.
First, I will tell you what made him so unique to me and literally hundreds of others who are his free flight friends, and in my description of the man may be the answer to his question.
1) Doug helped perfect structural and design concepts of the day and then BUILT HIS OWN MODELS.
2) Doug sought out engine advice from individuals like Rol Anderson, then set about refining his own engines.
3) Doug recognized the need for high quality timers and established an over-three-decade partnership with Hans Seelig which would bring wonderful timepieces to countless fliers around the world.
4) As technology developed, Doug established a similar relationship with Henry Nelson in developing and distributing and repairing one of the finest brands of engine ever mass produced.
5) And never wanting to play second fiddle in the FAI POWER arena, Doug and Ed Keck linked arms with Henry Nelson to create the GK Hummer.
Certainly, I am describing a unique individual.
But in this description, I hope there are elements that everyone in this sport can understand . . . that Doug Galbreath totally embraced the FAI concept in which it was “who is the best at building and flying . . . start to finish . . . beginning to end.”
Now-a-days, people want immediate gratification. Go buy a Ukrainian model with a fancy engine (and a fancy price), and go compete. That’s the sad part for me.
Heck, if the builder-of-the-model rule was enforced where it SHOULD be enforced (in the FAI events), Colorado’s Pete McQuade would have been F1A champion a long time ago . . . for the simple reason that he builds his own models, as a true Master of an FAI event should.
Just my humble opinion . . .
Steve Jones / Denver
Someone who is recruiting “new” free flighters
SEN is about FAI free flight models as flown in International (and domestic events). But there many different classes of free flight to suit just about every taste, budget, available time, physical abilities etc. Sometimes we publish flyers and information about other classes and our club member take parts in other events organized by other clubs. I find it always interesting to look at what other modelers are doing because they always have good ideas to “borrow” and I benefit from exchanging ideas.
Stan B shows up at our Saturday test sessions at Perris with his latest “small” glider or E-36. Just this last week I was running out of time to get my act together before a jaunt to Hungary I went to Perris on Wednesday, the mid-Week day for the SCAMPS club get together. Always good to see what Bernie, Hal, Hulan and every one else is up to. Against my principles I partook of one of the traditional mid-morning donuts and ended up having very interest discussion with Roger Willis. Roger is one of the local leaders of the FAC (Flying Aces Club). The FAC guys have an unusual “fun” culture with unusual titles and flying rules which I don’t fully understand so don’t know General Willis’s official title. The FAC flys small field, stick and tissue rubber models, mostly scale and have broad membership and many events. Look them up on the internet if you are not familiar with their events. FAC members include Herb Kothe a top Wakefield guy from way back, Don Deloach who flys just about everything and Mike Mulligan who was a former F1B flying buddy of mine. Roger has been organizing classes for “new” flyers. Most of the “new” modellers are those who tell instructor Roger that they had tried to build one of these airplanes when they were kid and it never flew and that was about 60 years ago! FAC flying school has chosen the Flying Aces Moth as the model to learn on. This helps them learn or re-learn basic building and trimming skills. Roger who is never shy, assures them that it might not have flown 60 or years ago but this Moth WILL fly, and so it does. Roger works with some of the groups organizing programs for older people, this has let the FAC guys get community halls to build in and sports fields to fly on.
Now one of these new beginners not the ideal candidate to rejuvenate the F1C mentioned in previous articles. But it does show that free flight is not completely dead and some lateral thinking has brought promising results. 2 or 3 of the Roger’s students, probably those who took early retirement have turned up at our Saturday FAI flying session to find out what its all about
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…………..
Roger Morrell