You could read the writing on the wall at last years International HLG contest. Things were going to be different...... (see my film HLG 2000 for details.) Many fine pilots who never did well at contests due to lack of throwing power (javelin, baseball, spear chucker, shot-putters, coconut tossers, lobbers, spit-ballers, head-hitters, wing blowers, hail-mary passers, etc.) did far better when launching side arm/Greek God discus style. This included many "over-the-hill" guys whose rotator cuffs have long since torn, but whose thermal-catching brain cells are still very much intact. Now that Joe and others claim 1:30 hang times and the Europeans doing just as well and 2:00 dead air times just a few designs away, the usual contest tasks my have to be redesigned. The 2 minute drill could be won without catching a thermal........ The provisional F3K rules may be obsolete before they are law. In the increasing flight time task, (:15,:20,:25, etc.) who will have the faster turn-around times? I saw many of the discus (COW PATTY FLINGERS?) guys having to also javelin throw also to cut the relight times and not launch too high for the shorter times. Another thing that worried me about this side arm thing was the high velocities at launch. I had my head almost taken off during a round by a nameless big-bellied man, the planes wake almost took my hat off, no shit. During another round my timer ducked in the nick of time avoiding sure decapitation just as the plane of another nameless chain-smokin Austrian's plane blasted past at over 60 mph. Often there is little separation of pilots and in the heat of relights, a pilots aim is not always true! I saw quite a few times where the side armer just missed nailing someone, and sometimes the plane fired up right through a low level gaggle like a SAM missile. Helmets?? Kevlar vests??? So what are your thoughts on all of this.......discuss amongst yourselves........... While these light little 400 buck HLGs are the smack for contests, I get my kicks by flying the heaviest HLG I have, my trusty old RG-15 Climmax Pro, topping the scales at whopping 18oz. It goes up when there is lift and is a speed burner with any altitude and actually has some kenetic energy for extended aerobatics. The good old days.......... Paul -- Paul Naton president-Radio Carbon Art Producers of High Quality R/C Silent Flight Videos http://www.radiocarbonart.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] Tel: 541-752-9661 Visa/Mastercard Accepted RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
