I am an LSF Level V aspirant who sat out for about 20 years. I'm retired and I'm back at it. It is my intention to pursue it with all the vigor I can muster. Realistically, my chances of attaining it are remote. Frankly, the flight tasks are not intimidating to me in the least. The competition tasks are another matter. I figure that if I practice at least 10 or 12 hours a week, I _might_ hone my skills to where I could complete those tasks in 30 or 40 attempts. Where I live, this necessitates traveling a minimum of 270 miles one way to the nearest qualified events. To get into 6 qualifying events per year will require another five trips with minimum 1000 mile round trips each.
Now I'm not complaining at all about the daunting prospect that poses. I have the time and I have the will to do it. (in fact I will do it). I love travelling and meeting new people. Those of you familiar with the thread on this over in RC Groups know that I am an advocate for a second "Sportsman" achievement award system -- If you're curious as to what I would like to see, check it out. Why am I interested in this alternative program to LSF? Surely because I believe that it will improve the experience for some of the people out there who might get as hooked on this sport as I am but can't make the kind of committment that I can. But more importantly, and selfishly, I would like a program to work with while I am spending all that time at my home field practicing. For me its not a desire for a "replacement" challenge, but for a challenge that is relevant to my remote location and which will be consistent with my desire to continue to improve my skills (contest and otherwise). I'm sure that there are detractors who take the position that "real men" compete -- that people who are seeking an alternative are simply looking for an "LSF Lite" badge. I can't speak for everyone, but I am seeking a challenge comparable to the existing LSF challenge that I can work on with a small club which is remote from the Soaring world at large -- and not a replacement for LSF but as an activity that will capture my attention on the many flying days that are not 500 miles away. Don Harban -- dharban ------------------------------------------------------------------------ dharban's Profile: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=31927 View this thread: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=566533 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
