Re: Beginner events - one more person's opinion

From: Steve Brown <rtxc_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:37:16 -0000

I mostly agree with what Bill is saying. Diluting or tweaking the
rules to make events "easier" conflicts with the nature of
competition. If you don't want to engage competition then why enter
in the first place? At some point a beginner has to learn how to
adjust and fly an indoor model or he will just flounder, finally
giving up entirely. Aren't most things "hard" because we haven't yet
put out the effort to master the necessary skills to succeed? If you
don't find these kinds of challenges to be "fun" then you won't find
them to be "fun" no matter what event you build or how heavy the
model is.

Regarding Bill's statement that building an A-6 is almost as
difficult as building F1L (or similar): After building an A-6 myself
I would say that A-6 is not intrinsically "hard to build" or "hard
to build to weight" but you do have to engage some of the realities
of all indoor construction. Things like basic wood grading,
stripping wood to some defined size, learning to use indoor glue
("it's like water"), handling the wood (breaks when you touch it).
All of these are hurdles to beginners no matter what class is being
constructed.

Over and over, classes are introduced that are targeted at beginners
or are labeled "fun" events, but which paradoxically always include
one or more big trip & fall hazard for beginners or something that
is inherently "not fun."

Examples: isn't the difficulty factor in A-6 mostly attributable to
the one thing that was mandated by rule to make the event "fun"
or "easy": the paper covering?

Paper is heavy, hard to apply when compared to plastic, and it is
not dimensionally stable. Given the high weight limit of A-6 and its
small size, covering with dry cleaner's plastic bag or similar would
have been as light or lighter, easier and cheaper. Covering a
dihedraled or polyhedraled wing with paper is not that easy.
Covering a more complex shape such as a Manhattan fuselage is even
more challenging.

Picture covering an A-6 with with Pennyplane Plastic or PM2L or
Polymicro or whatever from 15 years ago. You would be done in 15
minutes. Instead, with paper you have to prepare the paper by
crumpling and/or shrinking, allow to dry, figure out an adhesive,
carefully cut & apply (messy and awkward and hard for beginners
fingers), blah. If you are a beginner this is probably more work
than building the rest of the model.

Also, using A-6 as an example: the original rules called for a 1/32"
prop shaft. How "easy" is that to form and exactly what thrust
bearing might accomodate it? Are we implying that a beginner form a
wire thrust bearing and install it? And what about the "easy" flat
prop blades with the inset, flush spar called out on every plan?

I'm not advocating that A-6's should be covered with plastic or that
any other changes be made to their rules. I personally enjoyed
covering my model with paper. But I am saying that if the goal of a
class is to be "easy" for beginners the rules should be consistent
in creating an "easy" airplane to build. Not one that is easy up to
a point, and then a migraine to complete.
Received on Thu Mar 16 2006 - 08:37:21 CET