SEN 3287
- Fab Feb Links
- SEN 3286 Correction
- Keep it Interesting
- Line of sight timing (LoST) and altimeter timing (AT)
- Elephant from the corner in the Can eating the Worms*
Fab Feb Links
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SEN 3286 Correction
Hi Roger, again a nice and interesting SEN. I presume you meant ‘altimeter fly off’ instead of “DT-fly off”? Better correct or otherwise another can of worms is opening again
Hopefully can closed !
Keep it Interesting
From: Walt Ghio
I found all the articles on SEN about the timing of FAI F1ABCQ Free Flight models very interesting.
Each author has a different view point depending on their back ground regarding the events. Some old timers have a view point from the past, the electronic person has a view point from the technical side and some a view point from running a contest, etc. Our editor has a public safety view point from his last article. All very interesting.
What I do not read about is the electronic equipment needed to record right time and how accurate they are. Have the folks who designed the device made test runs and come up with a reliability number for the device? Meaning you should function the device a thousand times and coming up with a number that failed and a number that gave accurate results. It is called a reliability number. An excellent reliability number is 0.9. This means that out of a test panel of 1,000 that 100 of them failed. No device is 100% accurate. Is each device sold tested to some standard? Have test fights been made that land down wind and out of site behind the hay stack to make sure the device is giving correct results compared to the old fashion stop watch that was started when the model was released and then stopped when the model landed? My guess is that you can try 100 devices and not have all 100 give you the same results. Remember we are talking about seconds of clock time to determine the winner of a contest.
My F1C Sidus timer boards are being upgraded with new software. Massimo had sent us a note saying if we remove the heat shrink sleeving to make sure we leave a gap for the pressure sensor. I would presume that if we do not leave a gap the altimeter results would be not so accurate.
Just a few words to keep SEN interesting, Walt Ghio
Line of sight timing (LoST) and altimeter timing (AT)
Aram Schlosberg
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The only control we have on free flight models is when to dethermalize them by a burning fuse or a remote DT signal. Under the line-of-sight doctrine models should be observed to be timed. Maxes are adjusted to keep models in sight and be reasonably retrievable.
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Timing matters only when a model sub-maxed. But LoST fails in adverse weather conditions — fog, low clouds or high winds and contests can’t reach closure.
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Altimeter timing (AT) and LoST are identical when a model lands in sight or maxes in sight. (Actually, AT has less errors than many human timers when many models are concurrently in the air or in flyoffs.) AT also accounts for the time a model is flying out of sight — behind a hill, in a pit or obscured in fog or a cloud. This is completely fair if every model carries an altimeter.
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Altimeter flyoffs terminate a contest. Those who maxed are ranked by their altitude, followed by those who did not max, ranked by their (cumulative) time.
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Altimeters can also expand the envelope of contests flying to very confined fields. For example, pegging the max at 90 or 60 seconds, accounting only for the altitude at the designated max — called altimeter contests. (See my short piece in the ’24 Symposium.)
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Altimeters have not changed free flight control-ability (DT only) size, weight or its contest format (number of rounds, maxes and flyoffs). They bring contest closure and allow flying in very limited fields. Accounting for hidden flight time is fair if all models carry altimeters. A flyer should be able to appeal a sub-max time in any round, not only in a flyoff — as currently stated in the rules. ///
Elephant from the corner in the Can eating the Worms*
He will be in the next SEN when he has finished his worms
* Apologies on the use of some obscure expression and no worms or elephants were harmed in the preparation of this SEN.
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Roger Morrell