My name is Tom Trivitt, and I am the 2016 President of the Southern California Soaring Clubs, or SC2 (S-C-Squared).

If you aren’t familiar with SC2 we are a collection of local soaring clubs that hold a series of competitions throughout the Southern California area on a monthly basis. This year we have a rules change that I want to make any pilots who might be interested aware of. For the 2016 season we are an unlimited competition series.

Unlimited means that a pilot can fly a winch-launched model at a contest, an electric-launched model, or a combination of the two. Instead of being separated by launch type, pilots will compete in the existing classes of Sportsman, Intermediate, Expert, or RES-Woody. A pilot in the Sportsman class can have an Xplorer as his primary plane and a Radian as his backup. A pilot in RES can have an AVA and an AVA-E and switch between the two.

If you used to fly SC2 but stopped because you didn’t want to deal with the winch anymore, this will allow you to compete against your friends again. If you are a new sailplane pilot you can start small with a simple foamy, then if you want to get something else, winch or electric, you will still be competing in the same class for the year.

I invite interested pilots to visit the official SC2 thread here on RCGoups at

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=2572561

Thanks

Tom

Hi All,

Here are the rules for the 2016 season of SC2. We have tried to combine winch-launched models and electric-launched models into a mixed-launch format that is as equitable as possible. Like anything new I'm sure we will find out what works and what doesn't as time goes on and adjust accordingly.

Tom

Here is the announcement for our first contest, February 28th at the SWSA field in Azusa, CA.

The SWSA field is one of the “trickier” fields in our series, with a small landing area of artificial turf and rocks everywhere else. It can be intimidating for a new pilot. If you were thinking of coming just to check us out it is the perfect contest to see what SC2 is about without the pressure of actually flying. It is what I did when I started.

However if you are thinking of coming out as a new pilot to our series, don't worry, we will make sure someone shows you the ropes. A successful contest is one where all the pilots and their planes go home intact .

Tom

With our first contest just a little more than three weeks away I would just like to remind our pilots that they need to have their AMA memberships in place and current before the contest.

As part of redoing the scoring program for SC2 I needed to bring the pilots list up to date. There were pilots who haven't flown SC2 in many years and even some who have gone on to soar in the great beyond. So our pilots list this year is made up of anyone who flew any contest last year. As part of this update the program will notify the scorekeeper if a pilot is either missing an AMA number of if their AMA has expired. After entering the pilots and their AMA numbers for last year, and after verifying the AMA numbers with the AMA web site, I am left with 21 pilots for whom I don't have AMA numbers, and 10 pilots who's AMA membership has currently expired.

The missing AMA numbers are mostly accounted for by new pilots to the series, and for their information not being entered. However, there are names there that most who fly our series would recognize. Likewise there are names on the expired list that most would recognize.

A pilot can always give us their AMA information at the first contest they attend. Once the information is entered they should not have to give it again unless something changes.

So again, just a gentle reminder to make sure your AMA is current. We want our series to be a pleasant experience for everyone and we would hate for that to be marred because of an oversight.

Tom

The pilots who have flown with us before are aware that SC2 assigns Pilot ID's (PID). These are assigned by class:

Expert = 100s
Intermediate = 200s
Sportsman = 300s
RES = 400s

The PID is what the scoring program uses to find the pilot and enter the scores. Our pilots are also aware that their numbers could change from year to year. An expert's PID could be 110 in 2014 and 113 in 2015. Even though these numbers are arbitrary, some pilots might like a particular number. If you would like a particular PID, let me know and I will see if I can accommodate you. Even though it is a small thing, if it can be done, why not?

However, there are some exceptions to this numbering scheme starting this year, exceptions that I hope will make it more interesting and motivating for everyone, and also give recognition to our top finishing pilots.

I have assigned our top five finishers for 2015 the PIDs of 1,2,3,4 and 5. That way when you do better than one of these top pilots at a contest you will have concrete proof for your family and friends of your accomplishment. And besides, they earned these PIDs.

Hopefully these small changes will make our contests more enjoyable and fun for everyone.

Tom

In preparation for the 2016 season the SWSA club has replaced their landing carpet. Therefore only carpet friendly noses are allowed at the field. You can read more about it here.

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...6&postcount=23

Tom

Just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow is our first contest, to be held at the SWSA Fish Canyon Field in Azusa. Come out to fly or come out to watch, either way it should be fun!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/38...ba8b3d3ff02b0d

Tom

SC2 - Be there and be Squared!

Here are the contest results from our first competition today at the SWSA field. A nice turnout and some new faces. Hope everyone had a good time and congratulations to our winners!

Tom

SC2 - Be there and be Squared!

An error has been discovered in the scoring of yesterdays contest.

For SC2 contests we score 950 flight points, and 50 landing points per round. At yesterdays contest 100 point landing tapes were used. The scoring program should have been set to compensate for this but wasn't. As a result the landings were given up to 100 points. Unfortunately correcting this has resulted in changes to the outcome of the top 3 in a couple of classes, Expert and Intermediate. 3rd place in each of those classes has changed. The other class winners remain the same.

There has also been some reshuffling of the overall contest results.

I take full responsibility for the error, it was not the fault of our scorekeeper. I set up the program.

I apologize for the mistake and any inconvenience or disappointment this might have caused.

I have attached the updated results. Please let me know if you find anything else wrong.

Sincerely,

Tom Trivitt
President, SC2

I have posted some photos from our SWSA contest at the main SC2 Thread

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...3#post34139772

Tom

Originally Posted by Imageek2

I have posted some photos from our SWSA contest at the main SC2 Thread

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...3#post34139772

Tom

Very nice pictures.

Just a reminder that our next contest is March 20th at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa. I have only been there once but I remember it being challenging. It is also an actual park so it is a perfect opportunity to bring the family!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/fairview-park-costa-mesa

I will be posting the contest flier as soon as it becomes available (there was a slight delay). Hope to see everyone there!

Tom

Here is the flyer for our second contest, to be held at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa.

Come down and have some fun!

Tom

SC2 - Be there and be Squared!

I have been told by Jim Hanson, the CD for our upcoming contest that they are putting down some sod in the landing area. That is good news for those of you with still pretty airplanes!

Tom

SC2 - Be there and be Squared!

Just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow is our second contest at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa. Hopefully the fog stay away or lift early. Should be interesting!

Tom

SC2 - Be there and be Squared!