Re: Photos of Mini-Dome Banners at ETSU site of AMA Indoor FF Nats/USIC

From: John Kagan <john_kagan_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 05:24:18 -0000

Pitting one site against another probably isn't going to get the results you want. I've flown both sites more than a few times. There are pluses and minuses for each. ETSU has more stable air - especially near the top, and is driving distance for high-density East coast and Midwest areas; Kibbie has a wider high-point allowing heavy and light models to fly concurrently, and has been willing to remove the center scoreboard and roll up the curtains. Kibbie is taller, but its altitude produces times very similar to ETSU. Both sites have hosted F1D WC's.

I understand the motivation behind vying for the Nats: the AMA funding that accompanies the Nats is of significant value. But it isn't the only factor in an event's success or failure. We can still fund the costs involved through participants and sponsors, as the Tustin events demonstrate. We need to find a way to attract participants to Kibbie, in addition to looking at moving the Nats.

Regarding abandoning ETSU: moving to a new unknown site (not talking about Kibbie here) is risky business. There are plenty of potential site, but getting a foot in the door is hard enough - cost, air, obstructions, etc. can make a promising site useless (talk to the people who flew the huge stadium in Florida - Tropicana Dome, I think it was). A site that we know is good has more value than one that might be good.

That said, when a site has "expired", we have to move on. I haven't seen the banners first-hand, but based on the photos we are left with basically a Cat II site. We could likely find a much cheaper 50' site to fly in. We should test it, but I don't think ETSU with the banners in place would be a good value.

I think we should:

- run out our options with the known good site ETSU. If we can come up with a way to stay there, great. If not, we have the daunting task of finding something new.

- Support Kibbie. We still have to confirm that the new side windows don't generate unmanageable drift, but it has been a great site in the past and it is another of our few "known quantity" sites. If the Nats end up helping fund it, great. If not, we should still promote the event and make it a financial success on its own.

--- In Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com, Jake Palmer <82.jake@...> wrote:
>
> Even without the banners, Kibbie has more usable space and a higher
> ceiling. The center speaker cluster at ETSU is a problem.
>
> I would also say flight times at the '96 world champs speak for themselves
> when talking about the Kibbie Dome. I was fortunate enough to be there and
> it was amazing.
Received on Fri Nov 18 2011 - 21:24:21 CET