I guess it works for them because it's a small area that they fly in.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2002 2:45 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [RCSE] "SAILPLANER" Frequency Control Freq Board System
The LNSSG has an even simpler system. Their board has parallel pieces of
wood with slots cut in them and mounted on a backboard. The parallel
pieces are mounted so that an AMA card (or business card) can be bowed
and inserted in the slots and over the proper channel number. Since
they're bowed, the tension holds the cards in place. I don't know who
thought this up but it works pretty slick, is very simple and has less
chance of breakage than the clothes pins.
THAT is the way Sailplaners should never do it. Why cuz the
'sailplaner norm' is this:
Have the pin, have the channel.
Systems used by power clubs are used by them for a reason. They fly
different than sailplaners.
When a power guy comes to the site, he puts his card (usually AMA) in
the frequency slot, then sits down at the table and argues politics,
prattles on about full size fighter planes or bombers, the past world
wars and how much more expensive props and fuel is at the hobby shop
than from tower. When some one decides they actually want to fly for a
change, they walk up to the board to see if the slot is full, when they
see it is they look at the name and yell out, "Hey Jerry, you gonna
fly?" And Jerry yells out "Maybe later, go ahead!"
Sailplaner's travel. To contests and other places, so the first thing
that happens with the card system is that we end up leaving our AMA
cards all over the place. Sailplaners don't stand on flight blocks, we
tend to roam around, if nothing else we are out near the landing tape,
or have walked over to the car for a quick fast charge.
HLG guys maybe be off on the edge of the field looking at how to get
their plane out of a tree. When we show up at a 'sailplane' site, we
all know that the only way you turn on a TX is IF you have the pin. Its
why we use clothes pins, they cost nothing, and only need a majic marker
to replace the one I, er I mean, someone drove off with.
The only times I have had planes shot down was with the 'card' system.
How's this one for confusing? The club had a Freq board in which the
system was to 'put YOUR pin on the freq to 'block' it. Course someone
walked up and saw that the pin was there, hooked it on their Tx and went
over to set up their plane. A plane went in and everyone was mad. The
guy who took the pin (claimed the freq) did it the sailplaner's way.
The other guy did it the way the club had it set up (power club, they
decided to use pins instead of AMA cards cuz too many AMA cards were
being left on the board).
Sailplaner's take the pin and own the freq. You see this system used at
Visalia and while you get guys roaming around on practice day yelling
"Who's sitting on 36?!!!?", you don't see guys getting shot down, and
pretty much all 50+ channels are used at most times.
And that's all I have to say about that :-)
Gordy
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