Re: Re: Getting newcomers started in indoor FF

From: Bill Gowen <wdgowen_at_gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 18:20:41 -0500

Like Jeff I've been trying to stifle my comments since most of you know where I stand anyway. But Aki and Don S. have testified that the 1.2g min. wt. came about in a postal contest at some point in the past. Now if you're trying to maintain the original SPIRIT of A6 then it's hard to justify making 1.2g the min. wt.

But the other side of this issue is that it SHOULD (at least in my mind) be somewhat difficult to meet a minimum weight for ANY class. I've heard all the same arguments about 3.1g for LPP and 1.2g for F1L. I don't really think you need to dumb down a class so much that anyone can do it. If you really wanted a class where a raw beginner could be competitive then you would have to do things like supply the same rubber for everyone, outlaw torque meters, etc.

I spent several years getting the crap beat out of me and on occasion still do. Learning how to stop that from happening (besides stepping on the other guy's model) is what makes this so much fun.

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Andy
  To: Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 6:02 PM
  Subject: [Indoor_Construction] Re: Getting newcomers started in indoor FF


    
  My short answer is that its borderline. Long answer; it depends on how much work we want it to take. I've been flying bi-monthly for 5 months now, and I've built the same model (Lew's A-6 from IMS) three times. 2.2g, 1.9g and finally 1.55g. The first two were using the wood included with the kit, the last required me to find and buy 4-5# wood at 15$ for 50 sticks. I think the wood was the bulk of the low-hanging fruit, short of finding some lighter CP (IMS lists it at 600g/100sq inch.) So, I'll probably eventually make it out of sheer stubbornness, but but I probably won't enjoy it as much as just accepting 1.55 and working on my rubber management skills.

  If 1.2 is the price of attracting the best flyers into a single class then I'm inclined to agree. If you want to segregate things into novice/open classes, then I think the novice class limit could use a bump to (you guessed it) 1.5g :-)

  my $.02
  -Andy

  --- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, "Don DeLoach" <ddeloach_at_...> wrote:
>
> Andy
>
> Would you say 1.2 grams for A-6 is a reasonable weight target?
>
>
>
> Thanks for the input.
>
>
>
> --Don D.
>

>
>
> Exactly. As a novice (2:47 A-6 PR) I'd rather be a small fish in a big pond.
> Being beat is the happy price of getting to pick their brains. If an
> experienced flyer deigns to fly a novice class, the more the merrier; just
> don't over tweak the class out of the reach of novices just to keep it
> interesting (i.e. 1.2g A-6) See you in the gym.
>



  
Received on Tue Feb 09 2010 - 15:20:57 CET