RC Aerobatics
Rick Allison discusses the evolution of judging in radio control aerobatics, highlighting both improvements and persistent issues in competitor-judged events. While judges are now more knowledgeable, biases and subjective grading remain challenges that need addressing for fairer evaluations.
Alpine Xtreme Adventure 2003 - 2004/03
ONE OF THE THINGS I like best about this hobby/sport of ours is
that there is always something exciting and new around the bend,
under the sun, or over the next hill—and all three of these clichés
apply to the Alpine Xtreme Adventure 2003, held July 16-21 in
Oregon’s Wallowa Valley country.
Radio Control: Aerobatics
ONE OF THE BENEFITS of this job is that nothing in your modeling experience is wasted. The occasional triumph can be shared, and the trials and troubles recycled. It's like bleeding in public so that everybody else remembers to buy Band-Aids. A lesson learned (or re-learned, in this case) can be a lesson shared. If you smell a small tale in the offing, you're right. But first, I think we'll start with the lesson. "Straight and light" has been a righteous litany with Pattern pilots and builders for many years now, with good reason. Straight, light airplanes simply fly better. The straighter an airplane is, the easier it is to trim. The lighter it is, the better the power-to-weight ratio, which means more vertical and better acceleration.
Radio Control: Aerobatics
LIKE ALL OF CAESAR'S Gaul, the 1995 AMA Nationals was divided into three parts. And like Gaul, the division may become a lasting one. The Pattern and Pylon portion of the meet took place at the Mid-American Air Center in Lawrenceville, Illinois July 8-16. The 1990, '91, and '93 Pattern Nats and the '92 N-PAC were run at Lawrenceville, for two simple reasons: 1) for now, the Mid-American Air Center is the premier Pattern site in the country, and 2) it is centrally located in regard to population density.
Radio Control: Aerobatics
It is early September as I write this, and the US FAI/F3A team is already in Japan for the 1995 World Championships. What they do there will soon be duly recorded, analyzed, published, enjoyed or agonized over, and then consigned to the dusty stacks of Pattern history. (Editor's note: Full report next month.) This is a tale pulled from those same stacks; partly a story of other World Champs 30 summers and more past, but mostly the story of one Pattern modeler: Ralph C. "Doc" Brooke. Some of you noted his recent selection to the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame. A few others still active may have flown with him. Most who will read this are likely unfamiliar with his name, and that situation deserves correction.
