Hi Jim.
I think you bring up the appropriate issues.
Here are answers to your concerns:
...without skegs that there will
be more dorked landings, not less...
The contest format
can encourage landing skill, and discourage dorked
landings. Rough landings can
objectively be identified, and scored
appropriately.
For
example:
The ASA (Albuquerque Club) does a
little contest here each month. Precision TD (4 minutes) and Precision Landing. We call it Hiss & Boink.
The objective is improve skills.
A landing for score must point in the
direction of landing. A good landing hisses. If you point the nose into the
ground ("lawn dart", or "power
dork") and stop abruptly, that's a zero score. If you end-O, that's a
zero score. You can slide 20 feet or 50 feet--that's okay. We've all seen
that. It takes time for an aircraft to bleed off energy. There's no subjectivity here, and that
helps preserve a good contest.
By the way, in many years of monthly
contests, using a 10' tape (as a runway--full score is obtained by putting the
nose on the runway), no one has ever maxed all three times and
landings. Not for without trying. Challenging tasks are good for
contests.
Compared to the tape, I like the FAI circle best.
I think it's more fun, and certainly more generous than a
runway.
Energy
Management
Taking away the
skeg encourages the pilot to manage energy better, and careful energy
management is the key to a precision landing. Again, let's not give a score for
a lawn dart or an end-O. Just a smooth soft hiss, controlling your planes energy
so you end up in the circle.
If everyone
else is using skegs...
I absolutely
agree--at a contest with skegs, I'm going to use them too. I want to see how I
do against the task, in comparison with others who are facing the same
task. That's the fun of the game!
An old
debate...
I appreciate
that this is an old argument, conducted by friendly soaring enthusiasts who have
passion about the hobby. So I don't mind disagreement at all. I think the
debate is healthy, and will evolve to ever more interesting tasks for us to play
with. Thanks for your feedback.
-Aradhana
----Original
Message-----
From: James V. Bacus [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 10:09 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [RCSE] Emphasis or de-emphasis on landings
From: James V. Bacus [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 10:09 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [RCSE] Emphasis or de-emphasis on landings
At 10:17 AM 10/29/2003, Aradhana Singh Khalsa wrote:
Well, now I've entered the great debate with one of our best glider guiders, teachers, and debaters. Thanks for the response, Gordy! Okay, here goes...
First, if you don't like skegs, fly FAI events... (but guys still power dork the landings without skegs)
Second, if you don't like skegs, CD a contest and prohibit them. We do just that at our stop on the OVSS circuit, the Fred Fredrickson Memorial contest held by SOAR. (Guys still power dork their landing without skegs)
Third, if everyone else is using them at contest, I advise that you do too...
What will happen if we lose the skegs?
- Fewer violent landings (less *splat*).
Nope.
- Fewer damaged sailplanes.
Nope.
- Pilots will better learn to control their plane's energy, landing accurately without them.
Maybe... most will continue to dork, even harder now without the skeg.
- Better landing skills result.
I doubt it... just a different variation of the skill set.
I am not trying to be argumentative here, I have just been around this block several times and have competed in many contests with and without skegs. It's not the skegs, it's the landing task that drives us to this. 8-)Jim
Downers Grove, IL
Member of the Chicago SOAR club, AMA 592537 LSF 7560 Level IV
ICQ: 6997780 AIM: InventorJim R/C Soaring blog at www.jimbacus.net
