I think it's really strange that this rule is coming up at the same time that AMA is easing up on 55lb planes (see the AMA website). I think there is no comparision of risk here. I seem to recall being hit by foamies and slow flyers but these were all non-events. It's the hits on people by hard airplanes that are memorable. THe details of the flying site, parking, where people are standing, etc. are what determine safety in slope combat. Perhaps I haven't been around the really intense events, but it seems to me that an injury from a Zagi is a pretty far fetched event. The only way to be completely safe from injuries is preemptive suicide. And that's assuming one does a thorough job!
The scary events and injuries I've seen in aeromodelling involved: propellors (very common), pilots out of control with relatively heavy, fast airplanes, flying over people with hard airplanes (often due to lack of awareness of where the plane is), and structural failure (a wingless sailplane fuse falling from winch height is a very scary spear, especially if you are close enough to hear it) . (I'm not counting the time we had a man carrying craft dead stick onto the field during a contest.) I'll bet within a few years we will see soft, bounceable, pusher slow flyers that would be perfect for combat (electric Zagis have already been used this way). The rule will be really absurd if it bans 5 oz planes going 10mph. BTW, has anyone confirmed this proposal or is it a rumor? I haven't sent out my letter yet as I don't want to cry wolf. Martin Usher > Don't forget that combat foamies are not just foam slope planes. They have > to have nothing hard like the battery or servos within about 2 inches of the > front of the plane. They're going to hit things, we just want to make sure > they don't hurt what they hit. > > While everyone's thinking about this topic it might be a good idea to cloak > those Web sites that show movie clips of DS planes trying to break the sound > barrier while flying right in front of everyones' noses. The AMA might get > the idea that's its dangerous. (It isn't, is it?) > > Isn't it typical. Everyone knows that all the really fun stuff in life is > either illegal, immoral, fattening or just plain dangerous. Its amazing that > the human race has survived as long as it has. > -- Lincoln Ross RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
