Indoor proposal IFF-15-5; rebuttal
Dear Indoor Contest Board Members,
I am sending this letter in response to the email and post to the
Indoor Construction Mailing list recently sent by Jeff Murphy in
regards to the proposal IFF-15-5 which is a proposal to allow the use of
plastic covering in the A-6 event. I fear there is some misinformation
in regards to what my proposal actually says. In the past the word for
word proposals were published in the AMA Model Aviation magazine for all
AMA members. Now they are only published on the AMA website and unless
people are aware of that and know where to look on the AMA website to
read them, they don't know what exactly is proposed. It seems word of
mouth is how these proposals are being communicated by some and
consequently some inaccurate information becomes disseminated by this
method.
Below are my responses to Mr Murphy's post on the Indoor mailing list,
his post there is similar to the message emailed to all indoor board
members. My replies to Mr.Murphy are highlighted in red below.
>
> Hello fellow A-6 competitors,
>
> As you know the indoor contest Board will be voting shortly on a
> proposal to allow plastic covering for the A-6
> models. The reason for this proposal is a belief that condenser paper
> is no longer available.
Jerry,
As the proposer of the rule change, the exact reason for my proposal is
as follows (copied from my rules change submission):
*Logic behind proposed change, including alleged shortcomings of the
present rules.*
A-6 has a 1.2 gram minimum weight. The paper covering requirement makes
it difficult to achieve the min weight due the limited availability of
lightweight condenser paper. Those who have been flying indoor for many
years have personal stocks of lightweight condenser, but new modelers
(who are the target demographic of A-6) will have to use the heavier
condenser paper currently being sold. The new condenser paper is
approximately 1.5 times heavier then the lightweight condenser sold many
years ago. Because of the minimum wood size requirements of A-6, the
heavier modern condenser paper requires the use of ~4 pound density
balsa for the entire model. This forces new modelers to invest in
contest grade indoor balsa to make weight. My 13 year old son built an
A-6 and we needed my personal supply of lightweight condenser to get his
model to make weight. By allowing plastic, heavier balsa can be used and
the skills used in covering with plastic are directly transferrable to
other indoor events such as Limited Pennyplane, F1L etc. It seems it
would make a more logical progression instead of forcing them to use a
paper that is only good for this one event. Additionally, condenser
covering paper requirements on other indoor events like Pennyplane,
Manhattan Cabin, EZB, and Paper Stick (renamed to Int Stick) were
dropped about 25 years ago in favor of plastic covering .
> many modelers are not happy with this proposal for several reasons.
> The first is it will wipe our years of records and the second is
> plastic film is not as easy to handle as paper.
This is incorrect. It will have no effect on current records. The rule
change I have submitted does not ban tissue, it removes the tissue only
requirement.
Change from :"The model shall be rubber powered and covered with paper."
To: "The model shall be rubber powered and covered with paper or
commercially available plastic; no microfilm allowed."
So models which are tissue or plastic covered are both allowed under
this proposal. So all records will stand. I have several A-6 models that
I will leave covered in tissue as they are trimmed and fly great. So I
will still fly those existing models tissue covered under the new rules.
As far as plastic being easier to use than paper, that is subjective and
personal preference. Condenser paper sags in high humidity and shrinks
in low humidity high/temps. I recall when EZB was still condenser
covered having to have saggy paper and Akron on the ground so when the
model went to the roof and shrunk it would still be in trim. I had seen
models fly to the top of the hangar and warp and come down only to relax
one they were returned to floor level. I prefer plastic but if you still
like paper then you are still free to use paper as you currently do
under this rule proposal.
> The use of plastic film on the A-6 models will make them harder to
> build which will not support the idea that this class of models will
> bring new people into the fun world of indoor free flight.
>
Once again it is not mandatory to use plastic under this proposal. The
wording does not say the model must be plastic covered only. The
proposal says the model may be tissue or plastic covered.
> So, here is the deal. I have discovered a large inventory of very
> high quality condenser paper which means the basic reason for this
> proposal is no longer valid.
What is the weight of the condenser paper you have found? The ~mile roll
I have is ~500 mg per 100 sq inches. The lightweight condenser I am
referring to in this proposal is around 340mg per 100 sq inches.
>
> IF THE INDOOR CONTEST BOARD REJECTS THE PLASTIC COVERING PROPOSAL
> (IFF-15-5), I WILL MAKE THIS HIGH QUALITY C ONDENSER PAPER AVAILABLE
> FOR FREE!
>
> Here are the details. If and only if the indoor Contest Board rejects
> proposal IFF-15-6 I will provide enough condenser paper to cover two
> models for free. The person requesting the condenser paper must send
> me a letter size self addressed envelope and I will return it with the
> condenser paper.
>
> So there it is. Contact your Indoor Contest Board member and tell
> them to reject IFF-15-5.
>
I prefer people make a decision by the merits of the proposal and not
because they are going to be rewarded for voting a certain way. I have
miles of plastic film yet you do not see me using bribery of free
plastic film to those who ask but only if the proposal passes. I
understand you desire to keep the tissue covering but think that buying
votes is never a winning strategy.
To me it is clear that there is misinformation about IFF-15-5. I do not
know what supply of condenser paper Mr Murphy is referring to, perhaps
it is left over condenser from A2Z Corp (which has closed) as they are
only ~70 miles away from each other. But the issue is not condenser
paper being unavailable, it is indoor grade 330 mg per 100 sq. inch
condenser paper is what is hard to find. However, even with this light
tissue I still needed to have custom cut 3.8# C grain from England so I
could make a prop light enough due to the 1/32" thick minimum thickness
requirement. My current A-6 also uses similarly custom cut 4# density
wing and stab spars to get to weight. Allowing plastic removes this
light wood necessity requirement and makes hobby shop or Sig contest
grade usable again. Additionally, the statement that my proposal will
eradicate all existing records is completely untrue. Plastic and tissue
will both be allowed just as both are allowed for Manhattan Cabin,
Limited Pennyplane, Pennyplane, EZB, and Inst Stick. Those who like
tissue can keep using it just as before.
If you have any questions about my proposal or want to discuss in more
detail please feel free to email or call me. I appreciate your
consideration on my rebuttal and thank you for your time. Unlike Mr.
Murphy, I will not be offering any rewards or compensation for you
voting in favor of my proposal. I do not believe that is an appropriate
way to handle such a situation as this. Instead I will ask that if you
agree with the proposal I have submitted, then please vote for it.
Regards,
Don Slusarczyk
868 Eaglewood Dr
Willoughby, OH 44094
P: 440-918-0290 after 5pm EST
don_at_slusarczyk.com
Received on Wed Sep 03 2014 - 16:10:30 CEST
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