In a message dated 11/10/01 6:09:38 PM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> there is no way RES can > compete in the long haul with the ships of today. If you go with the slick > airfoil, you do not thermal, you get a great thermal airfoil you do not > penetrate, both cases relative to the full span camber changing wing. I > love the RES/NOS contests, and I fly an ancient one with nothing special, > but those days are past. Even on the day that the air is great, the odds of > an RES ship beating the Unlimited ship even in the circle landing task is > slim, JMHO. In 1997 I won the Nostalgia Class at Visalia. The event was actually misnamed--it was in reality RES. I was flying a nearly kit-stock, 19 year old Craft Aire Viking Mk.1. This ship easily gave up 300 ft. of altitude on every launch--but thermalled very well. It was difficult to land, enhanced by the fact that I had been flying modern planes most of the time. The plane had a score which would have placed it 51st overall in the open class. That old $65 plane beat 230 planes that weekend--most of which were kilobuck masterpieces. I agree with Marc that a RES ship cannot beat a modern glass slipper in the long haul but disagree that is cannot EVER beat a modern ship. Besides that is not the point. RES and NOS should not be expected to beat Hera's, Icons, Psychos and the like. The RES planes should be less expensive and easy to fly. The Nostalgia planes should only be nostalgic. If you want to consistently beat a bunch of Addictions you better get one and practice a lot (and borrow some genes from Joe). Most avid and true spirited Nostalgia flyers would rather do well with an unusual, rare, or old sailplane than win with the best design available for the class. RES is a bit more competitive but I think the planes should still be built up to keep the costs down. I think Visalia has the right idea here--their RES contest in May is for "Builtup Bentwings." I may be a bit "pollyanna" here but I hope RES and Nostalgia become popular for the pure joy of flying the planes and not the competition. Mike Clancy LSF V 92 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
