aeajr
Jul 13, 2006, 09:52 AM
The Long Island Silent Flyers www.lisf.org is proud to host The Eastern Soaring League R/C Sailplane Competition that will be held at Stillwell Field, Syosset, Long Island, NY, on September 23 and 24th. :)
Spectators are welcome and there is no cost to just come and watch.
The contest is listed as unlimited sailplanes, which means you can fly anything. I have competed with a 2M, Sagitta 600 and a 2M Spirit Select RTF, both of which are built up balsa planes. One of our club members flew his Easy Glider foamy. We had a great time and received a lot of help and encouragement from the more experienced flyers. Of course there are many people there with more advanced planes than these, but you don't need an expensive plane to fly the ESL events.
Two Classes of Flying ( edit: see post below on addition of Novice Class)
There are two classes of flying, sportsman and expert. If you have never flown in a contest, or have limited experience, don't hesitate to register in the sportsman class. The experts tend to be better equipped and have the fancy ships. The sportsman class tends to be the newer flyers and the guys flying woodies, or less competitive ships. Many sportsman aspire to become experts and some just like the sportsman class. Low pressure, low investment, high fun!
To register, visit www.flyesl.com and register with the ESL. There is no cost to be an ESL member. All you need is an AMA card.
Then click on the contest of your choice and register for the contest. The specific registration for the September event is here:
http://www.flyesl.com/contest_registration/registration_list.asp?cid=18
Serious Competitors - Expert Class
If you are a strong competitor with a high end ship and great skills, you will find plenty of good flyers to challenge you, in the expert class. Some big name pilots and well known sailplane designers fly with the Eastern Soaring League. We get flyers from Maine to Florida and sometimes from across the country or other countries. Many compete on the national and international level. While this is a fun day of flying, if you like a serious challenge, there are plenty of people here to challenge you. Supras, Mantis, Icons, Bubble Dancers, Graphites and the like are all around so bring on your contest ship and see how good you really are. If you have the skills, register for Expert Class
New Flyers or Less Experienced Competitors - Sportsman Class
If you are new at this contest stuff, or perhaps you have flown a club contest but nothing else, come on down. Sportsman class is not about big investments, it is about big time fun and improving your skills. I promise, you will leave a better flyer than when you arrived. And you will make new friends who love soaring just as much as you do. You do need to be an AMA member, but you do not have to be part of a club.
To fly sportsman you should be able to handle your plane in the air with other planes in the area. You will be flying with a timer who also spots for you so you will have help avoiding other planes and knowing where to land. The timer can also tell you where other planes have found lift. If you are willing to accept coaching ( I always do!) many will give you tips that will help you improve your flying.
You should be able to land with reasonable control, but don't worry if you can't spot land, we have a large field so there is plenty of room to land. Believe me, I take advantage of it all the time. Feel comfortable bringing your Gentle Lady, Sig Riser, Easy Glider, Spirit 100, Tower Vista, Bird of Time, R/E, RES, full house, foamy or other sport glider. If you have something more advanced, but your skills are not up to the expert class, register for sportsman.
If you have never used a winch, or are not confident on the winch, no problem! We will launch the plane for you. I launch light planes from winches all the time.
The Multiplex Easy Glider does very well on the winch if you extend the tow hook a little. My Spirit Select has made many trips up the winch line. I have that easy touch that Gentle Ladies just love. :-) In my first competition, people launched my Sagitta 600 for me both days, and no one minded a bit! In many cases your timer may be able to launch for you. You can bring your own timer or we will arrange timers for you. It is all part of meeting people.
This is about fun and good times and learning how to improve your skills. And when you get really good, you can push yourself into serious competition, but you can be comfortable that our competition is held in a friendly, laid back atmosphere of fun and good sportsmanship. I have seen competitors loan planes to each other so that a pilot can finish the contest. Does this sound cutthroat, or like a bunch of guys you would like to know?
I have not seen any women pilots at our events but they are certainly welcome. Come on ladies, show the boys how it's done!
Photos from a previous ESL event:
http://eslphotos.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8AaMWLRw2Ys2eA¬ag=1
There is a link to a map to the field on the LISF home page:
www.lisf.org
Picture of the flying field:
http://www.lisf.org/Pictures/29070035.jpg
For the full calendar of ESL Thermal Duration and Hand Launched contests, visit
http://www.flyesl.com/calendar.asp
What to bring?
Bring your plane, radio and your AMA card. Bring whatever you normally bring when you go flying. There are no vendors or parts suppliers, so bring what you need. Bring some suntan lotion, a chair and anything else you might like to have at a picnic type site. I like to have a tarp or a blanket so if I drop something I don't lose it in the grass.
Umbrellas, Easy-ups and the like are welcome. This is a big open field. Don't forget your camera. RVs are welcome but we do not have hook-ups and you can't park on the field overnight.
We do have a Walston plane finder receiver for Walston Channels 1-16, so if you have a Walston, bring it. Bring a stop watch so you can help with timing for other pilots. Nothing fancy required, a $10 Radio Shack stop watch is fine.
The LISF/ESL FORMAT
This is a two day event. Pilots can fly one or both days.
The contest director will declare a task, say 7 minutes. Pilots launch in groups of four so that the pilots can hunt for lift. The goal is to stay in the air 7 minutes and to land exactly on the 7 minute mark.
This group of 4 are scored together so that a group launching in poor air are not penalized because the next group launched right into a lift. This is called Man on Man scoring. Its a very fair system, similar to grading on a curve. The person who gets the best time in that group gets the full set of points and everyone else gets a % based on their time. If the task is 7 minutes and the best time in the group is 4:00 minutes and you got 3:55, you are doing great!
Bonus points are awarded for landing accuracy.
Two classes - sportsman and expert. This way the very best pilots compete
against each other. The newer pilots compete as a group.
One class of plane - unlimited
Fly what you have. Wing spans range from 1.8 M, about 72 inches, to 3.6 M, or about 144 inches and beyond. No motors please, this is a pure sailplane soaring event. Construction ranges from built-up wood, wood and foam to bagged wings and moldies. If we can launch it on the winch, you can fly it! All are welcome.
Often experts time for sportsman, which gives the sportsman the benefit of expert advice during their flights. Sportsman often time for the experts so the sportsman get the benefit of watching the masters at work. (Would you caddy for Tiger, just to watch him play?)
There will be awards for first, second and third in Sportsman and Expert for each day. There are no money prizes. This is for the joy of it!
Lunch is available for a reasonable price of around $5. Contest fees are typically $17 for one day or $30 to fly both. See the ESL site for actual fees.
Pilot's meeting is around 9 am with first launch around 9:30. Field opens around 8. The last launch is usually no later than 3:30 pm, depending on conditions. :-) Even intermittent rain doesn't stop us. We had two days of on and off rain for the June ESL/LISF event and we got in two full days of contest flying. It was wet, but it was fun!
Come on down! :D
What? You still aren't sure? :confused: Long Island is beautiful in September! You gotta see it!
Post any questions and I will be happy to answer them! ;)
Spectators are welcome and there is no cost to just come and watch.
The contest is listed as unlimited sailplanes, which means you can fly anything. I have competed with a 2M, Sagitta 600 and a 2M Spirit Select RTF, both of which are built up balsa planes. One of our club members flew his Easy Glider foamy. We had a great time and received a lot of help and encouragement from the more experienced flyers. Of course there are many people there with more advanced planes than these, but you don't need an expensive plane to fly the ESL events.
Two Classes of Flying ( edit: see post below on addition of Novice Class)
There are two classes of flying, sportsman and expert. If you have never flown in a contest, or have limited experience, don't hesitate to register in the sportsman class. The experts tend to be better equipped and have the fancy ships. The sportsman class tends to be the newer flyers and the guys flying woodies, or less competitive ships. Many sportsman aspire to become experts and some just like the sportsman class. Low pressure, low investment, high fun!
To register, visit www.flyesl.com and register with the ESL. There is no cost to be an ESL member. All you need is an AMA card.
Then click on the contest of your choice and register for the contest. The specific registration for the September event is here:
http://www.flyesl.com/contest_registration/registration_list.asp?cid=18
Serious Competitors - Expert Class
If you are a strong competitor with a high end ship and great skills, you will find plenty of good flyers to challenge you, in the expert class. Some big name pilots and well known sailplane designers fly with the Eastern Soaring League. We get flyers from Maine to Florida and sometimes from across the country or other countries. Many compete on the national and international level. While this is a fun day of flying, if you like a serious challenge, there are plenty of people here to challenge you. Supras, Mantis, Icons, Bubble Dancers, Graphites and the like are all around so bring on your contest ship and see how good you really are. If you have the skills, register for Expert Class
New Flyers or Less Experienced Competitors - Sportsman Class
If you are new at this contest stuff, or perhaps you have flown a club contest but nothing else, come on down. Sportsman class is not about big investments, it is about big time fun and improving your skills. I promise, you will leave a better flyer than when you arrived. And you will make new friends who love soaring just as much as you do. You do need to be an AMA member, but you do not have to be part of a club.
To fly sportsman you should be able to handle your plane in the air with other planes in the area. You will be flying with a timer who also spots for you so you will have help avoiding other planes and knowing where to land. The timer can also tell you where other planes have found lift. If you are willing to accept coaching ( I always do!) many will give you tips that will help you improve your flying.
You should be able to land with reasonable control, but don't worry if you can't spot land, we have a large field so there is plenty of room to land. Believe me, I take advantage of it all the time. Feel comfortable bringing your Gentle Lady, Sig Riser, Easy Glider, Spirit 100, Tower Vista, Bird of Time, R/E, RES, full house, foamy or other sport glider. If you have something more advanced, but your skills are not up to the expert class, register for sportsman.
If you have never used a winch, or are not confident on the winch, no problem! We will launch the plane for you. I launch light planes from winches all the time.
The Multiplex Easy Glider does very well on the winch if you extend the tow hook a little. My Spirit Select has made many trips up the winch line. I have that easy touch that Gentle Ladies just love. :-) In my first competition, people launched my Sagitta 600 for me both days, and no one minded a bit! In many cases your timer may be able to launch for you. You can bring your own timer or we will arrange timers for you. It is all part of meeting people.
This is about fun and good times and learning how to improve your skills. And when you get really good, you can push yourself into serious competition, but you can be comfortable that our competition is held in a friendly, laid back atmosphere of fun and good sportsmanship. I have seen competitors loan planes to each other so that a pilot can finish the contest. Does this sound cutthroat, or like a bunch of guys you would like to know?
I have not seen any women pilots at our events but they are certainly welcome. Come on ladies, show the boys how it's done!
Photos from a previous ESL event:
http://eslphotos.shutterfly.com/action/?a=8AaMWLRw2Ys2eA¬ag=1
There is a link to a map to the field on the LISF home page:
www.lisf.org
Picture of the flying field:
http://www.lisf.org/Pictures/29070035.jpg
For the full calendar of ESL Thermal Duration and Hand Launched contests, visit
http://www.flyesl.com/calendar.asp
What to bring?
Bring your plane, radio and your AMA card. Bring whatever you normally bring when you go flying. There are no vendors or parts suppliers, so bring what you need. Bring some suntan lotion, a chair and anything else you might like to have at a picnic type site. I like to have a tarp or a blanket so if I drop something I don't lose it in the grass.
Umbrellas, Easy-ups and the like are welcome. This is a big open field. Don't forget your camera. RVs are welcome but we do not have hook-ups and you can't park on the field overnight.
We do have a Walston plane finder receiver for Walston Channels 1-16, so if you have a Walston, bring it. Bring a stop watch so you can help with timing for other pilots. Nothing fancy required, a $10 Radio Shack stop watch is fine.
The LISF/ESL FORMAT
This is a two day event. Pilots can fly one or both days.
The contest director will declare a task, say 7 minutes. Pilots launch in groups of four so that the pilots can hunt for lift. The goal is to stay in the air 7 minutes and to land exactly on the 7 minute mark.
This group of 4 are scored together so that a group launching in poor air are not penalized because the next group launched right into a lift. This is called Man on Man scoring. Its a very fair system, similar to grading on a curve. The person who gets the best time in that group gets the full set of points and everyone else gets a % based on their time. If the task is 7 minutes and the best time in the group is 4:00 minutes and you got 3:55, you are doing great!
Bonus points are awarded for landing accuracy.
Two classes - sportsman and expert. This way the very best pilots compete
against each other. The newer pilots compete as a group.
One class of plane - unlimited
Fly what you have. Wing spans range from 1.8 M, about 72 inches, to 3.6 M, or about 144 inches and beyond. No motors please, this is a pure sailplane soaring event. Construction ranges from built-up wood, wood and foam to bagged wings and moldies. If we can launch it on the winch, you can fly it! All are welcome.
Often experts time for sportsman, which gives the sportsman the benefit of expert advice during their flights. Sportsman often time for the experts so the sportsman get the benefit of watching the masters at work. (Would you caddy for Tiger, just to watch him play?)
There will be awards for first, second and third in Sportsman and Expert for each day. There are no money prizes. This is for the joy of it!
Lunch is available for a reasonable price of around $5. Contest fees are typically $17 for one day or $30 to fly both. See the ESL site for actual fees.
Pilot's meeting is around 9 am with first launch around 9:30. Field opens around 8. The last launch is usually no later than 3:30 pm, depending on conditions. :-) Even intermittent rain doesn't stop us. We had two days of on and off rain for the June ESL/LISF event and we got in two full days of contest flying. It was wet, but it was fun!
Come on down! :D
What? You still aren't sure? :confused: Long Island is beautiful in September! You gotta see it!
Post any questions and I will be happy to answer them! ;)