SEN 2646
- Great Photos, Great Champs
- Champs Photos
- On Objectives
- Objectives Encore
- Comment from Texas
- And the editor
Great Photos, Great Champs
From:gary pope
Hi Roger,
Thanks for the Photos. They are great.
I have to say it one more time – the team that ran the 2019 World Champs did a great job. I’ve only been to the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 WC’s so my experience is not as deep as some folk, but this was easily the best run & most enjoyable WC’s I’ve been to. ‘Bravo’ to all on the WC team & thank you for a job well done.
Cheers
Champs Photo archive
We will maintain an archive of links to photos and videos about the 2019 Champs on SEN. Intitally these are one on external servers , Like those of Brian Furutani on Flickr and Ates Gurcan’s YouTube video of the final flyoff round of F1B. So if you have some send the link to SEN by replying to this email.
On Objectives
From:Stuart Darmon
Hi Roger, thanks for your frequent updates and links, much appreciated by those of us who cannot be there. I was very interested in the comment from Mr. Vaccaro regarding the (perceived) purpose of flyoffs, and by your reply, with which I broadly agree. Like everyone else’s, my attention is on the champs right now, but as you end your reply by inviting comments, I think there’s an interesting discussion to be had about how widely model performance is seen as a determinent of success in a sport which is now ostensibly all about the “sportsman”, and how this perception influences rule making.
Perhaps when the dust settles, so to speak…
Regards and good luck everyone (but mostly the Brits),
Stuart
Comment from Texas
Removed at author’s request (another sportsman, from Texas) replied generally taking a position contrary to Tom’s but then wrote saying (in my words) that he was trying to mellow out and did not want to stir stuff up so asked me not to print it.
Objectives Encore
From:Tom Vaccaro
There’s already enough luck in freeflight without relegating the outcome of an important contest to chance. Your last comment about the ability of man and machine to handle all conditions under pressure implies that there are objective decisions that can be made prior to launching the model which can predictably affect the outcome. I’ve flown enough to know that under the “spectacular climb and drop conditions” you described, that just isn’t true. You make the best assessment of conditions you can to determine when to launch, throw the model and take your chances. If you are luckier than the guy standing right next to you who launches at the same time you make it and he doesn’t. No skill involved. I’m no better or worse at this than anyone else.
In my opinion, the objective of flying rounds is to survive to the fly off. The objective of the fly off is to outperform your competitors under as close to the same conditions as possible for everyone. Under those conditions, rubber selection, the ability to wind, model trim, and a good launch are the predominant factors affecting the outcome of the flight. Everyone pretty much gets the same air early in the morning at Lost Hills unless you can launch as high as Alex and you get better air. That’s not luck, that air is available to everyone that can get to it.
I also want to be clear that I think that the guys who finished in the top slots at this contest could have done as well in a proper fly off. They are great flyers and my intent is not to belittle their achievement.
I would like to hear from others on this subject. I have an open mind and if I’m off base I’d like to know it.
Tom
Editor’s reply
Firstly to Quote Arnold, Palmer that is … the harder I practice the luckier I get
My personal feeling of flying in any conditions, including the apparently infamous, hopeless ones – is to use all the skils I have to better them. Sometimes I do better than others.
Then …. A group of us did discuss this at Lost Hills and the consensus was that the contests were conducted in accordance with the rules, got a sporting result and well inline with the spirit of what FAI Free Flight is all about. We know that to compete many skills are used and different people have different skills and sometimes the conditions suit one person more than another.
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Roger Morrell