SEN 2846
- FAI on COVID
- Follow Golf ?
- USA National Champs = The Nats
- What’s Ahead
FAI on COVID
FAI Guidance Protocol for Covid-19 affected events | World Air Sports Federation
Prepared by FAI MEDICO-PHYSIOLOGICAL COMMISSION (CIMP)
Follow Golf ?
From:Michael Achterberg
Hello. Hope all are safe and well thru this troubling time.. Had an idea the other day watching the Masters. They allow all former Champions to play in the Masters as long as they want, as does the Open in UK.. Seems like the CIAM should do the same for Freeflight.. Why not?? We should have a World Champs line at all WChamps and not just the previous World Champion. It would be great for the contest and create opening on Team Selection if that country so chooses. Countries like Ukraine would have option to get more people on there team if they choose to have their former W Champions fly as individual and not as part of there official team. Also, it’s good for the host country as they get more entrees to make a little more profit. Many of former World Champions have quit flying and may bring them back. We need them all.. US and Ukraine have multiple WC and this could create more interest with them not in team selection process for people interested in trying to make their countries team. We might even get Randy Archer back. Maybe Fusav from Russia and many others. Just seems like something we should do this to honor their accomplishments.. Really dont see any downside to this at all… Any thoughts out there in cyber land?? CIAM meeting in a month and easy proposal, so why not just do it.
Thermals,
Michael Achterberg
USA National Champs = The Nats
AMA OUTDOOR FREE FLIGHT NATIONALS & NFFS OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
July 25 – 29, 2021
AMA International Field, Muncie, Indiana
AMA INDOOR FREE FLIGHT NATIONALS
July 20–23, 2021
Ultimate Soccer Arena, Pontiac Michigan
All information on the NFFS web site at https://freeflight.org/competition/nats-updates/
What’s Ahead
From:gilbert morris
There is a serious attempt to capture wind power in competition with
windmills using a huge tethered power model made to fly in large
circles much like circle towing. Take a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDKDCsCs_m4&list=PL7og_3Jqea4UFajQX-wwc702tUJcBMFMU&index=11
I understand their hope is to replace windmills with a cheaper device.
Gil Morris
Here we see one of our more “experienced” flyers still looking ahead at new ideas looking for whatever is happening next. If we look at the early “heroes” of model flying they were young people looking ahead for new technologies and ideas. Many of these became leaders in different fields in particular aviation. I think of some of our past SCAT members, one worked at the Lockheed Skunk Works, P-38 to the SR 71 another finished his career at Northrop Grumman on the B2, some well known British flyers worked the on the English Electric Lightning and the Harrier and I’m sure there are many other cases. We are trying to encourage younger people, we want some new innovators, people who will be leaders. Do we do this by looking back, by trashing current classes, by criticizing modern technologies?
Many are critical of the current state of F1C and look back to the past and want to go back , maybe the problem was that we were not looking far enough into the future to foresee the effects of geared motor and variable area and section wings. With 20-20 hindsight it is obvious that if you can get a “glider” twice as high with a motor than you can with a towline it is going to glide for twice as long. We have made some good decisions, two come to mind right away, the first is banning tip launch for F1B and F1C. I’m not sure how high a F1B sized Tip Launched R/C glider gets but starting the prop of a F1B at 80 meters off the ground would give it a quite a head start. And a tip launch F1C … ! The second was banning closed loop control systems. At the time this was very un-popular in some circles because people were working on that. That technology is now common place and used in many drones, it would have put FF models right in the sights of the Civil Aviation authorities and other 3 letter agencies.
So carefully crafting rules permits the use of modern technologies, after all carbon makes models last longer, fly more consistently and cheaper in the long run. Electronics in the form of RDT, Electronic timers, trackers helps find our models, stop trimming crashes and associated disappointments. CNC machining and 3-d printing are cool and help prepare people for todays jobs.
So lets look to the future, tethered or not.