Jim, Thank you !!! the voice of reason compels it self to be heard. Jack At 07:23 AM 12/9/2001 -0800, Jim Thomas wrote: >I've been an active competitor and regular volunteer at the Nats for a >number of years. The single biggest change that the location of the >Nats at Muncie allowed us to do on a regular basis was the multiple man >on man format with a reasonable landing direction. There have been >times when it wasn't optimal, but this generally occurred mid-round and >was left unchanged until a round completion. > >Do we really want to give this up and go back to the "great" local sites >such as were allocated to soaring in 1986 (Lincoln), 1988 (Lake >Charles), and 1989 (Richland)? These sites were all terrible, and >partly why the LSF Nats finally broke away from AMA to establish a more >stable, contestant-friendly operation. > >Visalia is a great operation. I've flown all three of their sites in >the last 12 years. The Fall Soaring Festival is the epitomy of a well >run TD contest that can efficiently process 300 contestants through 4 >rounds a day. How many full time dedicated volunteers do you think it >takes to run this contest? Ask Larry Taylor, I'm sure more are involved >than you might think. The Visalia site does not lend itself to the >format that has been so successful at Muncie, man on man using 12 >winches with flight groups of 6 to 10 pilots (depending on number of >participants and the matrix). Nor does Visalia work very well for >south, east, or west wind directions. It might work for small (4 or 5) >groups, but that would severly limit the amount of flying that could >occur in a day. If man on man is to be scrapped for the Nats format, >then by all means Visalia is a great choice for a western site. > >If those that participate like what the Nats has evolved into, then a >venue capable of supporting that format must be found. I haven't seen >too many sites in 20 years of flying that allow multiple launch/landing >directions, as many winch set ups as you care to use and a HL golf >course 4 miles away. > >Instead of dwelling on what is wrong with the Nats (you will never >please everyone all the time, so do the best you can), concentrate on >what works well and try to make it that much better. > >Jim Thomas > >RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" >and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Jack Strother LSF President Loveland, OH LSF 2948 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
