John, You ARE NOT OFF BASE, but RIGHT ON!!! Okay, how many young kids have joined LOFT in the last 10 years? Who is our youngest member? I started with LOFT in 1978 at age 27. I think Jeff Friend ( Bill's son) was about the youngest I recall at about age 14. How about we tap the club treasury, or we all throw in a few bucks, invite some kids out, and have RAFFLE for a 2M Fling? Okay how about Phil donating an inexpensive radio setup? Give these kids something to show up for! Or let's COMBINE modelling and the EAA YOUNG EAGLES program , and take it into the schools, show some videos of modelling and what it's all about. OR let's make some very strong CRASHABLE FOAM 2M sailplanes, if they wang it, we can get them back in the air in a few minutes. They may not be pretty sailplanes, but very workable demonstration sailplanes, and fairly cheap to produce.
I have a Tekoa foam cutter setup we can use, I have 3 bows, thermal power supply, and several of the accesories, circle cut, etc. Okay guys send me your thoughts! Blue skies! Ed From: John <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: 2006/08/01 Tue AM 10:53:42 CDT To: Jeff Steifel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Ben Wilson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: LOFT <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Soaring <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [LOFT] [RCSE] Further 2-Meters thoughts Jeff, I may be way off base (and I'm sure you all will let me know) but I thing a revival of the one design low cost model contest would do more than anything we are now doing to get new and young pilots into the hobby. Even if it was a Spirit, Vista, or Fling 2M ARF type of model that would be an affordable entry for the new blood. If AMA or LSF would promote the idea of clubs having a once a week or month one design fly/contest it would give a venue for the new flyers. It could also be a real eye opener for the completive fliers. It would promote a leveling of the field to see who is the best pilot and thermal reader with the same basic low cost equipment (no pic's). It would be nice to see who can fly without a voice in the ear telling them where the lift is. John P.S. If anyone in LOFT would like to start a Wednesday night one-design fly let me know. I see where Tower Hobby has several entry-level ARF's that would be an easy and fast way to start. -----Original Message----- From: Jeff Steifel [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 10:45 AM To: Ben Wilson Cc: Soaring; LASS Soaring List Subject: Re: [RCSE] Further 2-Meters thoughts Ok, lets dispel the cost issue. There is a minor difference in cost for a RES two meter vs RES unlimited. either can be inexpensive or expensive (AVA like) There is a minor diff in cost for a full house 2m vs a full house unlimited. apples to apples. there is a larger diff between a res and anything full house. Competition makes you a better pilot. Competition can be great fun if you understand you will win and lose. Not everyone will be JW's or DP's, get over it and have some fun. THE HOBBY NEEDS MORE YOUTHS!!! Ed Wilson and the rest of the LASS club have done a great thing in supporting Lee. There is a good amount of time and effort being put into that young guy and it doesn't go unnoticed. I think we are all appreciative. Lee may be the next generation of fliers to carry the torch that allows the legacy of soaring to continue... Ben Wilson wrote: > I don't think that 2-meter is in jeopardy, though I would like to make > a few points to reinforce it's importance in the overall soaring world: > > 1. This hobby needs more youth(s) to continue to grow. > > 2. Youths (and many new soarers) don't have the experience or the > money to fly big ships. > > 3. Soaring is and will remain a hobby where competition is part and > parcel of the experience. > > 4. 2-meter at the NATS allows those new fliers to compete at a > national level in an event that they alone (and not their plane) are > the determining factor. > > Ed Wilson achieved something special this year: he mentored a young > dude with a small ship (but big dreams) with the intention of taking > him to the NATS. It's a great goal, and one that we think will keep > Lee and others like him in this hobby. 2-meter at the NATS is the > perfect event to show new fliers what soaring is all about. > > Since we already have, and will hopefully continue to have, a 2-meter > competition -- all we need is more Lee's, right? :) > > -- Jeff Steifel RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format _______________________________________________ LOFT mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.loftrc.org/mailman/listinfo/loft_loftrc.org RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format

