Re: Steering

From: john_kagan <john_kagan_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:33:15 -0000

--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, Tapio Linkosalo <tapio.linkosalo@...> wrote:
> ...
> So there it is! The rules quite clearly say that you can _only_
> steer to avoid collision. In other words, steering to cure trim
> problems _is_ prohibited.
> ...
> The question remains, how to enforce this.
> ...
> The timekeeper is already given the power...

I agree with this direction. I believe the "altitude change" enforcement should apply to all potential violations.

However, you've also highlighted what I think is the biggest problem with the current steering rules: the timekeepers are charged with enforcement.

The problem is that the timekeepers are often non-flyer volunteers, with little knowledge about drift, identifying altitude change, or even recognizing a stalling model. They are heroes for, for example, sitting in the Serbia sauna box or the Romanian freezer for days on end. But, they do not have enough Indoor FF knowledge and experience to determine if, say, a model is three circles away from drifting into a wall.

What we need is a dedicated steering judge. Not the CD, who is already busy with other tasks. But someone allocated to watch steering attempts, with the knowledge and confidence to stand up to a heated competitor.

I understand that this requires an additional person(s), when finding enough people to run a contest is already difficult, and that they will have to juggle multiple concurrent steers. But the current enforcement mechanism doesn't really work, and I think this is the simplest way to fix it.
Received on Wed Jan 20 2010 - 06:33:19 CET