holly711
May 13, 2004, 04:00 PM
!Introduction and About the Author
Racing, in some form, has been going on since before the first ... prehistoric "whatever” . . . crawled out of the ocean. Since I have been around almost that long, I’ve been asked to comment on some of the perceptions and thoughts that have occurred to me during that time.
@907818:Holly's Knight Twister Giant Scale Racing Biplane
I’ve raced at the club level and enjoyed that. I raced Giant Scale at “Madera” and on the circuit with the “Big Dogs” of the “World Championship Air Races”, and enjoyed that also…even though sometimes I wished that I had stayed on the porch. I’ve raced anything airborne from .20 to 4.45ci. fuelers. Been involved with Giant Scale 100in. + going 230 mph+, fire breathing monsters with cylinders hanging out all sides of the airframe. Be advised, five of these bad boys going around the pylons on a closed course WILL get your attention. A pucker factor of ten is about the norm. These suckers are expensive! We’ll talk more about these in another article.
I can say that racing R.C. aircraft at this level is contingent upon dollar volume expended. There is an old saying, something about, “The only thing that will beat cubic inches, is more cubic inches, and, that will cost more cubic dollars”. With most racing, that statement is fact.
!Club Racing
The above being said, it is also possible to race RC aircraft without taking the food out of the mouths of your children. (One meal a day should be enough, don’t you think?) Truth is, I’ll bet you have an old 4-channel radio on the shelf that you haven’t used in a year, ‘cause it can’t work all the monkey motions, plus the bells and whistles on your new “Supergofast” model. But it CAN be used for a club racer. Local club racing really is fun. Get the other local clubs involved and it gets even better. So lets start there.
!!Race Rules
Now, at this point of the narrative we do need to get serious for a moment. THE RACE RULES. “Rules you say? We don’t need no stinking rules! We just want to race and have fun!” Trust me, in the real world racing fun will not happen without some rules. Racing is only fun when everyone believes the playing field is equal, that no one else has an advantage. That no one is “getting away with something”. This is where a strong rules committee is imperative. I don’t say you need lots of rules. I don’t say you need a bunch of “picky” rules. Just say what you mean and mean what you say!
Committees have to recognize the difference between the words STOCK, LIMITED, and UNLIMITED. Unlimited is not a problem, as long as everyone understands that it means just what it says. If you can hang a 350 Chevy on it and clear the ground, go for it. Limited means, “Only the changes we authorize”. Stock means “right out of the box” -- NO CHANGES OF ANY KIND TO ANY PART!
One way to alleviate a lot of potential problems before they get started is to put this sentence on the front page of the rules. Preferably in big black letters.
IF IT DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY SAY YOU CAN ……YOU CANNOT !!
!!Why Are Rules So Critical?
An attitude adjustment takes place within a calm, normal person as they build a race plane. A good friend who normally would give you the shirt off his back is suddenly secretive and aggressive.
First, they will read and interpret the rule to their advantage. Second, they will push the rule right up to the line, and beyond if possible. As soon as we become racers our job description changes to “what can I change to get more speed”. “Hey, if it don’t say I can’t, Well then …” It is the responsibility of the rules committee to make sure that the intent of the rule is maintained as THEY have interpreted it. As an example: The kit being used has a tail wheel. Joe Slick shows up with a skid. What’s the big deal?
Not enough to worry about, right? WRONG, WAY WRONG !!
The next guy wants to use a thinner canopy and he is told, Nope, can’t do it. So now it starts. “Well, you let Joe … yada, yada. Yada”. And so it goes. The “snowball” effect will run you over in a heartbeat if you let it. Trust me, once a rule is bent or broken it can never be brought back to the original. Racers will bitch and moan about the rules. That’s just another part of the attitude adjustment mentioned before. However, if the rules are applied fairly, consistently, and to everyone the same, this soon stops. If there is a rule or ruling that is not quite right, try to live with it at that particular race if at all possible.
Changing rules and stuff at the race bends folks out of shape and will get you yelled at. It also sets a very nasty habit. Fix the problem at the next meeting before the next race.
Enough of this serious stuff, you get the idea. Now comes the fun part.
!!Let’s Go Racing! Wait…Who? What? Where? When?
The first thing is to have a club meeting with all the members. Yes, even the cranky old guy who is going to argue why this can’t work and talks for an hour without saying anything. You need to respect everyone and listen to everyone before you get started, or it will bite you later. You need to see if this racing idea is going to fly (pun intended). Besides which, you’re going to need help! Folks can be pylon callers, fuelers, starters, scorers, etc. Also, the regular club members need to know that there is no flying on race day until the race is over. (Racing is usually set for one Saturday a month, and on a regular schedule so folks know when they can expect the field to be over-run by these attitude-adjusted-normally-nice-people!)
If other clubs are in the circuit, the ”What do you mean one Saturday a month I can’t fly my Electric Widget at the field because you goofs are racing” problem goes away. Once every other month or every three months at a single site usually doesn’t cause any problems…IF everyone is given a chance to be heard right at the beginning. If and when you get past this part you are in business.
!!Next time...
Now all you have left is the real fun stuff. What plane, what engine, what’s allowed, what’s not, so on and so on…so let’s talk about that in another article…
Until later, check yer 6…
@907819
Racing, in some form, has been going on since before the first ... prehistoric "whatever” . . . crawled out of the ocean. Since I have been around almost that long, I’ve been asked to comment on some of the perceptions and thoughts that have occurred to me during that time.
@907818:Holly's Knight Twister Giant Scale Racing Biplane
I’ve raced at the club level and enjoyed that. I raced Giant Scale at “Madera” and on the circuit with the “Big Dogs” of the “World Championship Air Races”, and enjoyed that also…even though sometimes I wished that I had stayed on the porch. I’ve raced anything airborne from .20 to 4.45ci. fuelers. Been involved with Giant Scale 100in. + going 230 mph+, fire breathing monsters with cylinders hanging out all sides of the airframe. Be advised, five of these bad boys going around the pylons on a closed course WILL get your attention. A pucker factor of ten is about the norm. These suckers are expensive! We’ll talk more about these in another article.
I can say that racing R.C. aircraft at this level is contingent upon dollar volume expended. There is an old saying, something about, “The only thing that will beat cubic inches, is more cubic inches, and, that will cost more cubic dollars”. With most racing, that statement is fact.
!Club Racing
The above being said, it is also possible to race RC aircraft without taking the food out of the mouths of your children. (One meal a day should be enough, don’t you think?) Truth is, I’ll bet you have an old 4-channel radio on the shelf that you haven’t used in a year, ‘cause it can’t work all the monkey motions, plus the bells and whistles on your new “Supergofast” model. But it CAN be used for a club racer. Local club racing really is fun. Get the other local clubs involved and it gets even better. So lets start there.
!!Race Rules
Now, at this point of the narrative we do need to get serious for a moment. THE RACE RULES. “Rules you say? We don’t need no stinking rules! We just want to race and have fun!” Trust me, in the real world racing fun will not happen without some rules. Racing is only fun when everyone believes the playing field is equal, that no one else has an advantage. That no one is “getting away with something”. This is where a strong rules committee is imperative. I don’t say you need lots of rules. I don’t say you need a bunch of “picky” rules. Just say what you mean and mean what you say!
Committees have to recognize the difference between the words STOCK, LIMITED, and UNLIMITED. Unlimited is not a problem, as long as everyone understands that it means just what it says. If you can hang a 350 Chevy on it and clear the ground, go for it. Limited means, “Only the changes we authorize”. Stock means “right out of the box” -- NO CHANGES OF ANY KIND TO ANY PART!
One way to alleviate a lot of potential problems before they get started is to put this sentence on the front page of the rules. Preferably in big black letters.
IF IT DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY SAY YOU CAN ……YOU CANNOT !!
!!Why Are Rules So Critical?
An attitude adjustment takes place within a calm, normal person as they build a race plane. A good friend who normally would give you the shirt off his back is suddenly secretive and aggressive.
First, they will read and interpret the rule to their advantage. Second, they will push the rule right up to the line, and beyond if possible. As soon as we become racers our job description changes to “what can I change to get more speed”. “Hey, if it don’t say I can’t, Well then …” It is the responsibility of the rules committee to make sure that the intent of the rule is maintained as THEY have interpreted it. As an example: The kit being used has a tail wheel. Joe Slick shows up with a skid. What’s the big deal?
Not enough to worry about, right? WRONG, WAY WRONG !!
The next guy wants to use a thinner canopy and he is told, Nope, can’t do it. So now it starts. “Well, you let Joe … yada, yada. Yada”. And so it goes. The “snowball” effect will run you over in a heartbeat if you let it. Trust me, once a rule is bent or broken it can never be brought back to the original. Racers will bitch and moan about the rules. That’s just another part of the attitude adjustment mentioned before. However, if the rules are applied fairly, consistently, and to everyone the same, this soon stops. If there is a rule or ruling that is not quite right, try to live with it at that particular race if at all possible.
Changing rules and stuff at the race bends folks out of shape and will get you yelled at. It also sets a very nasty habit. Fix the problem at the next meeting before the next race.
Enough of this serious stuff, you get the idea. Now comes the fun part.
!!Let’s Go Racing! Wait…Who? What? Where? When?
The first thing is to have a club meeting with all the members. Yes, even the cranky old guy who is going to argue why this can’t work and talks for an hour without saying anything. You need to respect everyone and listen to everyone before you get started, or it will bite you later. You need to see if this racing idea is going to fly (pun intended). Besides which, you’re going to need help! Folks can be pylon callers, fuelers, starters, scorers, etc. Also, the regular club members need to know that there is no flying on race day until the race is over. (Racing is usually set for one Saturday a month, and on a regular schedule so folks know when they can expect the field to be over-run by these attitude-adjusted-normally-nice-people!)
If other clubs are in the circuit, the ”What do you mean one Saturday a month I can’t fly my Electric Widget at the field because you goofs are racing” problem goes away. Once every other month or every three months at a single site usually doesn’t cause any problems…IF everyone is given a chance to be heard right at the beginning. If and when you get past this part you are in business.
!!Next time...
Now all you have left is the real fun stuff. What plane, what engine, what’s allowed, what’s not, so on and so on…so let’s talk about that in another article…
Until later, check yer 6…
@907819