Rant XFC Nightfly Complete Embarrasment

[MCART]

Thought I would wait to see what others had to say first but no one has yet so I guess I will.

I was really looking forward to the nightfly event, especially with the cool videos and list of participants on the XFC website. Apparently the XFC and AMA forgot to notify the participants on that list to show up.

Where do I start. First while waiting for it to get dark and the place packed with kids, they decided to play music on the PA system with sexually explicit lyrics. What could the AMA be thinking? Even the adults looked uncomfortable as the words pump that ass and what you gonna do with those breasts up in that shirt wrang out through the speakers.

Then finally when the flying started, it consisted of a total of 4 flights, one at a time. Thats right 4. Two helicopters and two airplanes. The airplanes went first and they had what looked like the glow sticks that were passed out to the kids taped to the planes they were so dim. One of the planes seemed to be a foamy or small electric, the other was maybe a 50 cc gasser.

Finally the first helicopter flew and it had some nice bright lights and it was the only flight that was to be combined with the fireworks / pyrotechnics that the web site hyped up so much. The helicopter was supposed to fly through a big ring of sparklers but its blades hit them as it passed through and it wrecked. The rest of the fireworks went off with nothing flying, then a pause while some didnt even go off, and then more went off until they stopped, still nothing flying because the helicopter had already wrecked. That was it for the pyrotechnics.

Then the second helicopter flew and it had great lights, even on the main and tail rotor blades. Finally, one great lighted sucessful flight that really showed what night flying is all about.

Anyone who went to Joe Nall knows how great night flying can be. There were 5, 10, and maybe even 15 or more planes and helicopters flying all at the same time with great lights.

The XFC site listed 7 participants for the night fly including Yuri Higuchi who put on a spectacular show at Joe Nall, maybe even some of what the video on the site showed. Somehow this list of participants was just fabricated to hype the event.

Hope others that were there will give some thoughts on this too. The AMA should formally apoligize to all the parents there with kids for their choice in music. Maybe next year (as they anounced at the conclusion of the night fly there would be a $1000 first place award) some well lit planes will show up but I might think twice before making the 5 hour round trip to see.

Mike

[Dr. Sandy Frank]

The AMA did not produce nor direct this event..

located at the AMA/IAC yes...

partially sponsored ( read that FUNDED ) by the AMA.. Yes,

but neither produced nor directed..

[ILv2Xlr8]

I totally agree with your assessment. I brought several people up for the night fly and we were all really disappointed. Only 4 participants, and only one of the helicopters was truly setup for the night fly. The other helicopter did not have illuminated blades which made it hard to watch from any distance. The airplanes, a foamy and a reactor, only had glow sticks taped to them. Definitely a big disappointment compared to last year. There was a better night fly showing at E-fest indoors. Not sure why there were no participants in the night fly, but perhaps it should be a requirement to have a night fly aircraft if you want to compete at XFC. At least the fireworks show after the flying was good; although the timing was off during the start.

The competition during the day was great tho. Some new moves in the helicopter ranks that I haven't seen in competition before. There was a mishap with a helicopter crash that injured the father of one the competitors sitting in the front row, but hopefully he is ok. A great decrease in the amount of vendors present, but understandable with the current state of the economy. The addition of the band did help the time pass between the end of competition and night fall.

[WreckRman2]

Mike,

I could not agree with you more! I summed it up in one word... PATHETIC!

It was hyped up so much... AND NOTHING. They even ran TV ads local to Indianapolis hyping it up too. Last years show was sooo much better.

[DonJuan]

As an older guy and a father of 3 I can say "XFC we Love you, we're just very very disappointed in you right now".
The Hype was huge the show was NOT. If something happened like some of the guys couldn't show for some reason you might want to tell us that. Or if for some reason you suddenly weren't allowed to put pyro on the planes you might want to tell us that as well. And BTW, where was Russian Thunder? Maybe I just missed it but I was there half of Saturday and all of Sunday and nothing was said about the missing Yak. Just tell us what happened. We'll understand. OK, I'll take the last one back. I could have just asked someone to get an answer.

[batusaix]

Nice read.

[Dr. Sandy Frank]

lets blame everyone in sight.............

Not the AMA nor the XFC promoted the YAK...

being there...

BUT

lets blame everyone in sight.............!!!

the YAK was on its way flying from the West Coast

and lost 2 Cylinders...


YES Jim B.was there.

everywhere on his golf cart...

I even saw him flying models at site 4 with M.Ramsey and the Muncie Skyhawks.


and YES I did ask Jim where I could see it....

he said it was on the left coast with its engine being removed...


I did ask...!!

but lets all RANT w/o asking !!! it is far more FUN !!!

BTW the Muncie Skychiefs and M.Ramsey had about 50+

beginners on the buddy box during the XFC !!!

Thanks to Futaba who provided the trainers and other stuff...

[GMRO]

BLAME?

I wouldn't say blame. Poor planning is all it was. Yes things happen, blown cylinders etc, everyday that can keep the hyped schedule from going on as advertised. That little phrase that relieves liability - "scheduled to appear" - just doesn’t get it when you drive miles to an event and you feel short changed IF the event does not live up to the hype.

BUT not having a "filler" for any appearance or event that didn't go as hyped? No Plan B - yes poor planning.

Was this a commercial event? Was a spectator fee collected per car or person at the entrance gate? Then there are responsibilities by the organizers to the attendees, paying attendees, to have a good show and a backup plan. Especially if the event was advertised to provide such. IF NO fee - well then you get what you get.

End result is it’s a shame for anyone who drove all that way, based on the hype of the event, and didn't have the fun they had hoped.

I sure hope the injury to the gentleman in the front row is minor. We don’t need this type of publicity for certain.

___________
Best Regards,

Ron Osinski
aka - GMRO

[in2glow1229]

I also agree, the night fly was the most disappointing part about the XFC, especially compared to last year's NF.

I think that song might have been on the radio, so they couldn't have just changed it like a CD, but I don't know why they didn't just turn it off! (all the other music was good though)

From what I heard, Bobby Watts was supposed to light the heli on fire after flying around for a bit, that would have made it a lot better.

But everything else was AWESOME (in my opinion) this is definitely NOT going to keep me from going next year!

[Skaluf]

Originally Posted by MCART

Thought I would wait to see what others had to say first but no one has yet so I guess I will.

I was really looking forward to the nightfly event, especially with the cool videos and list of participants on the XFC website. Apparently the XFC and AMA forgot to notify the participants on that list to show up.

Where do I start. First while waiting for it to get dark and the place packed with kids, they decided to play music on the PA system with sexually explicit lyrics. What could the AMA be thinking? Even the adults looked uncomfortable as the words pump that ass and what you gonna do with those breasts up in that shirt wrang out through the speakers.

Then finally when the flying started, it consisted of a total of 4 flights, one at a time. Thats right 4. Two helicopters and two airplanes. The airplanes went first and they had what looked like the glow sticks that were passed out to the kids taped to the planes they were so dim. One of the planes seemed to be a foamy or small electric, the other was maybe a 50 cc gasser.

Finally the first helicopter flew and it had some nice bright lights and it was the only flight that was to be combined with the fireworks / pyrotechnics that the web site hyped up so much. The helicopter was supposed to fly through a big ring of sparklers but its blades hit them as it passed through and it wrecked. The rest of the fireworks went off with nothing flying, then a pause while some didnt even go off, and then more went off until they stopped, still nothing flying because the helicopter had already wrecked. That was it for the pyrotechnics.

Then the second helicopter flew and it had great lights, even on the main and tail rotor blades. Finally, one great lighted sucessful flight that really showed what night flying is all about.

Anyone who went to Joe Nall knows how great night flying can be. There were 5, 10, and maybe even 15 or more planes and helicopters flying all at the same time with great lights.

The XFC site listed 7 participants for the night fly including Yuri Higuchi who put on a spectacular show at Joe Nall, maybe even some of what the video on the site showed. Somehow this list of participants was just fabricated to hype the event.

Hope others that were there will give some thoughts on this too. The AMA should formally apoligize to all the parents there with kids for their choice in music. Maybe next year (as they anounced at the conclusion of the night fly there would be a $1000 first place award) some well lit planes will show up but I might think twice before making the 5 hour round trip to see.

Mike

All- if there was a piece of music played (non-flying) that was inappropriate, I'll take responsibility for it. I can assure you that was not my intention however. I don't listen to this type of thing and would never intentionally play it for the public.

I did generate a great deal of music for the XFC (8 hours of it) to fill dead time. I tried to get a large variety and thought I had screened everything in advance. It's hard when you don't listen to a certain genre to know all of the lyrics.

Again, I do apologize and if someone can let me know what song it was I'll be sure to delete it from the record case.

Steve

[rgoble]

This was the first night fly I've made it to and I enjoyed it. I wish there would of been a few more pilots but things happen. I could see how you were disappointed if you only watched the night fly.

My guess is that the fire works for Bobby Watts flight were on some sort of timer, so once they started it they had to let it finish even after he crashed. I somehow doubt they would let somebody run around on the other side of the runway with a lighter while he was flying

I've got a few pictures for anybody who missed it. Just keep in mind its almost impossible to take a non blurry picture in the dark with no flash and no tripod of a moving rc model. It does make for some neat effects though.

Robert

[rgoble]

Originally Posted by Skaluf

All- if there was a piece of music played (non-flying) that was inappropriate, I'll take responsibility for it. I can assure you that was not my intention however. I don't listen to this type of thing and would never intentionally play it for the public.

I did generate a great deal of music for the XFC (8 hours of it) to fill dead time. I tried to get a large variety and thought I had screened everything in advance. It's hard when you don't listen to a certain genre to know all of the lyrics.

Again, I do apologize and if someone can let me know what song it was I'll be sure to delete it from the record case.

Steve

I do remember hearing it, my guess was it was the Black Eyed Peas - My Hump. All the rest of the music I heard on Saturday was fine.

[jbourke]

It's important that attendees feel safe presenting their take on their experience. If we use that information in a positive way it will make the event better. There is no reason for a defensive reaction from anyone involved.

I can see that we didn't explain Russian Thunder's status to the crowd well enough. Some of that is because I was still reacting to the change in events.

As for the nightflying, that is simply out of the XFC's control. People show up to attend according to their own interest. Some years there will be a lot of attendees. Some years there will be a few. That's competitions for you.

On the music, it is good to know that there is some sensitivity out there, but attendees need to expect that contemporary songs like "My Hump" will be played. The XFC is not a concerto - it is a gathering of mostly young competitors who fly routines set to the music they like. This means edgy flying and edgy music. It's important for individuals to know this in advance so they can make a fully-informed decision to attend.

Jim

[MCART]

Originally Posted by jbourke

It's important that attendees feel safe presenting their take on their experience. If we use that information in a positive way it will make the event better. There is no reason for a defensive reaction from anyone involved.

I can see that we didn't explain Russian Thunder's status to the crowd well enough. Some of that is because I was still reacting to the change in events.

As for the nightflying, that is simply out of the XFC's control. People show up to attend according to their own interest. Some years there will be a lot of attendees. Some years there will be a few. That's competitions for you.

On the music, it is good to know that there is some sensitivity out there, but attendees need to expect that contemporary songs like "My Hump" will be played. The XFC is not a concerto - it is a gathering of mostly young competitors who fly routines set to the music they like. This means edgy flying and edgy music. It's important for individuals to know this in advance so they can make a fully-informed decision to attend.

Jim

Sorry Jim but I couldn't disagree more. If the participants for the night flying event are out of XFC's control then they should not post the list of the nightfly participants on their website. They should say "it would great if the people on this list were the particpants but we dont know and were just making this list up". Here is the list I am talking about:
http://www.futaba-rc.com/xfc-rc/night-fly.html

Secondly, what does edgy music have to do with edgy flying? Everything that I heard all day Saturday was appropriate except for that one song. (Alright, maybe the Buffet song lets get drunk and screw.) Fireworks attracts families with young children. The AMA wants to attract young people into their organization. That song was not acceptable around young children. If the XFC site warned parents that "edgy" music is to be expected, then the parents can make an informed decision to leave their kids at home. Does the XFC want to be considered for adults only?

My problem wasn't so much about the music though, it was that the video and lists of participants on the XFC website provided great expectations and what we saw totally sucked. Here is the video from the XFC website:
http://video1.hobbico.com/gallery/xf...ght-flying.mpg

[jbourke]

Originally Posted by MCART

They should say "it would great if the people on this list were the particpants but we dont know and were just making this list up".

(snip)...what we saw totally sucked.

It seems like you feel you were mislead, and that is the crux of the problem for you. I agree it is unfortunate that some of the competitors didn't make it, but I feel you are placing blame where it doesn't belong. The XFC organizers wanted those competitors to appear just as badly as you did.

Jim