JET NEWSLETTER
SA MASTERS
The qualifying rounds for the first ever masters competition for jets have been completed. Please find attached the results of the three competitions. I hope to see a stronger participation in the following years qualifying round for 2005/2006. The first 5 pilots on the list have qualified for invitation to the SA Masters.
SA NATIONALS
All of you have received an entry form for the Nationals, please don't forget that the closing date is at the end of February. Entry forms are also available on the SAMAA website as well as the SA Jet site.
GRAAFF REINET
For those who are interested to attend the fly in at Graaff Reinet please contact Ross Leighton to enter asap his email is ross@mweb.co.za
Another place you can get accommodation is at Aloe Lodge 049 892 4630/ 083 3822433. They offer units that sleep either 4 or 7. For 5 nights they charge R120 per adult and R70 per U12 per night.
You can also try Heathers B&B 049 8924000
Or Mossievale 049 891 0296
Please do your bookings as soon as possible as this is a long weekend and you don't want to be disappointed.
SAMAA MEMBERSHIP
Please make sure that your SAMAA membership is paid up befor you set out to your local field to fly. If you are uncertain if you are paid up please contact Bob Skinner 011 907 4652 and he will give you an up to date report on your membership.
At all future jet events SAMAA membership will be checked so to avoid embarrassments make sure you are a paid up member.
SA JET SITE
Phil de Bruyn is currently working on re vamping and updating the SA Model Jet site. If you have any contributions of interest to model aircrafts please forward them to Phil with details so we can make the site interesting and exciting.
ELECTION OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Don't forget the AGM for the Model Jet Association will take place at the Nationals, the exact time and date will be confirmed. If you cannot attend the AGM you can send in a proxy vote for the new committee to be elected please send in before the end of February.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Monday, February 14, 2005
Louw Smit replies to Claude on Aerobatics
Hi Claude
I have two issues which arises from previous 'Aerobatic Stuff'. Firstly, I commented vociferously a while back on the merits of synthetic versus castor oil. Well, I suppose one can say that the proof may be in the pudding, or in this instance, in observing and comparing two OS type F plugs. These two plugs have both reached the functional end of their respective lives. Both were used in nearly identical (aerobatic) kites, where one is powered by an OS 90, while the other is powered by a similar Webra 90. The one on the left of the attached image, has had to fight it's way through clouds of castor oil fumes and residue, while the one the right was exposed to clean-burning fully synthetic oil-based fuel. I wish to suggest that the condition of any used plug will present a fair reflection of the state inside the combustion chamber where it come from. All I can therefore say then, is that I am very pleased that my combustion chamber does not look like the one on the left... I rest my case.
Secondly, it seems that I have a bone to pick with MAASA. After the 2004 Nats, I queried why there was no super-duper write-up in any ensuing SAMAA newsletter about this event. Although a tongue-in-cheek send-up from you was published somewhere (I seem to recall), I was hoping to see a more in-depth article on the whole event, complete with listed results and hopefully some pics etc. Nix. Zip. Fo**ol. I am sure that a lot of aerobatic and other interested pilots were also seriously disappointed. Then-editor John Godwin responded by saying that he could only consider material for publication which was actually submitted, but that nothing was submitted. The question to MAASA is: Why not? Then we subsequently had the 2004 Masters event, which we could not attend because of Josh's exam commitments. We were therefore eagerly looking forward to the latest SAAMA newsletter, fully expecting to read all about this supposedly prestigious event and it's results. Again absolutely bugg*rall. Guys, what on earth is going on? The only way we Colonials in this neck of the woods can know about these things, is to read about it - how the hell else can we know what is going on? Communication should be the name of the game...
Claude, hopefully you can elicit some official (MAASA) response and/or comment?
Regards
Louw
PRF Cape Town
PS I noted that Marcel Viljoen posed the question regarding MAASA membership and eligibility to participate in (regional) aerobatic comps. This I believe is a stated requirement for provincial events and the Nats and Masters, but is it actually required at regional level? Bear in mind that there will be pilots starting off in this sport who may not proceed to provincial and higher events...
Friday, February 11, 2005
Jets at Graaf Reinet -- Boet Denysschen
GRAAF REINET
A fly inn at the municipal air field in Graaf Reinet has been organized. The event will be over the long weekend of 30th April to 2nd May. The Wednesday 27th April is also a holiday, by taking the 28th – 29th off work you can have a long weekend. The flying field will be available as from the 27th April till the 2nd May.
The fly inn will be for large-scale aircrafts as well as jets. There will be very limited full size activity during this period, which makes for very few interruptions.
Accommodation can be obtained from the caravan park 049 8922 136 or Burchells Guest house 049 892 4013. Alternatively contact Brian Jones on 082 564 4190.
The event will be limited to only 40 pilots so that everyone will get a chance to fly. If you are interested in attending please contact Ross Leighton on 082 881 3183 or email him on rossl@mweb.co.za.
So far about 15 pilots have already registered. Please remember only paid up SAMAA members will be allowed to fly.
A fly inn at the municipal air field in Graaf Reinet has been organized. The event will be over the long weekend of 30th April to 2nd May. The Wednesday 27th April is also a holiday, by taking the 28th – 29th off work you can have a long weekend. The flying field will be available as from the 27th April till the 2nd May.
The fly inn will be for large-scale aircrafts as well as jets. There will be very limited full size activity during this period, which makes for very few interruptions.
Accommodation can be obtained from the caravan park 049 8922 136 or Burchells Guest house 049 892 4013. Alternatively contact Brian Jones on 082 564 4190.
The event will be limited to only 40 pilots so that everyone will get a chance to fly. If you are interested in attending please contact Ross Leighton on 082 881 3183 or email him on rossl@mweb.co.za.
So far about 15 pilots have already registered. Please remember only paid up SAMAA members will be allowed to fly.
Claude (again) on aerobatics
PATTERN MANEUVERS SIMPLIFIED
Complex maneuvers don't look so intimidating when broken down into the elements that comprise them. Practice each of those elements and then combine them into whole maneuvers to avoid mistakes and get those high scores.
RC AEROBATICS BY RICK ALLISON………..Re-typed by Claude MacKrill
Change it is said, is the only true constant The universe is inconstant Flux at every level of observation; nothing is fixed, nothing is immutable and whatever isn't busy advancing is busy declining Generally, pattern pilots would much rather advance than decline. It’s built into the breed.
There are many reasons for participating in this sport (RC modeling is a hobby, but pattern is a sport!). If asked, most of us would probably say for the fun, for the competition, or for the camaraderie but nearly all of us would say to learn to fly better, to advance our level of skill. In this country, the rules system is set up to actively encourage advancement. In fact, all the way up to Masters class, we even mandate it
Our system of tiered advancement is purposely designed to teach aerobatic flying. From Pre-Novice through Novice Advanced, Expert and finally Masters, each pattern class exists to teach the skills necessary to advance to the next level. You might think of it as a correspondence course in learning to fly properly Complete Lesson I and go on to Lesson 2, and soon, until you pop out the end of the tunnel, fully armed and dangerous and ready to enter the FAI wars, where you can really start to learn. It's a good system, and it produces excellent pilots, If you enter the system, spend the time and do the necessary work, it will produce you.
For many of you who are already "works in progress," the time between competition seasons (called "winter" in most places) is the time for making the jump to the next level, whether it be Novice through Advanced, Expert or Master. This transition has always been a little bumpy and unsettling, but with the number of levels now reduced by one with the departure of Expert class, the skill gap between each class is even greater than in previous years. The average flight time and amount of practice needed to bridge that gap successfully have increased substantially. Just going out and hacking around at the new maneuvers won't get the job done fast enough anymore.
The system is built around the idea of progressive flight elements or tasks being introduced by order of difficulty. For instance, Novice class might appear in a hypothetical course catalog as Introduction to aerobatic competition. Survey of basic flight skills with emphasis on straight and level flight parallel to the flight line. Basic inside looping maneuvers, beginning axial rolls, and introduction to the stall turn. Advanced might look like this Beginning Turnaround. Intro to trimming pattern aircraft. Multiple Rolls, Outside Loops, and Beginning inverted flight skills. Flying in the aerobatic box And soon. Upright flight skills are covered before inverted ones, inside square maneuvers are introduced before outside square maneuvers, axial rolls before slow or hesitation rolls, stall turns before Figure Ms, etc.
The only thing not spelled out for the to absorbing all the great aeronautical education offered between the covers of that SAMAA Rulebook Item One in the my guide is to isolate and identify the specific new elements involved in the new schedule you are trying to learn.
Notice that I didn't say "new maneuvers.' The element and the maneuver are not the same thing, any more than atoms and molecules are synonymous. As atoms comprise molecules, maneuvers are composed of element combinations. In any complex new maneuver, you will find a lot of familiar elements from maneuvers you already know and do well, along with one or two new skills. The idea is simply to first master the new fundatnental element before attempting to master the maneuver, which contains it.
The traditional method of trying to learn the element is to do the whole maneuver (usually very badly), which contains it an enormous number of times. This does work in most cases, but it takes a lot of time and fuel, You might compare it to cooking a spaghetti dinner one noodle at a time, while washing and drying the pot between each noodle. You eventually get there, but you aren't exactly a model of modern efficiency enroute.
For an example, one of the many new elements involved in the transition from Advanced to Masters class is the outside square corner, or outside partial loop, if you prefer. This element doesn't appear in any sequence before Expert, but it is performed twice in the Square Loop with 1/2 Rolls (K=5), twice in the Reverse Top Hat (K=4), once in the 1/2 Square Loop with 1/2 Roll (K=2), and four times in the Square Horizontal Eight (K=5). This is obviously going to be a very important skill to learn to perform properly if you want to score well in your new class. To do this efficiently, isolate the task- the square outside corner- and practice it alone, until you can do it well upright to a vertical down line, inverted to a vertical up line, and from the vertical up and down lines to the horizontal.
I like to use learning exercises or routines when working with new elements. For example, for practicing the outside square corners above repeated whole outside square loops would he a good learning exercise.
Only when you have the new element down pretty well do you go to practicing the specific maneuvers, which contain it. You'll find that the complex new maneuver that looked so difficult before is now user-friendly, and takes many less reps to master than it would using the old-fashioned "Beat It to Death with a Fuel Can" method.
Once the new maneuvers all look pretty good, put them in sequence. Run through the new sequence until you come to a rough spot. The rough spot usually marks an element you still don't do very well. Stop, go back to the element practice, then back to the maneuver practice, and finally back to the sequence practice.
With every ruie you get an exception or two. Sometimes you will run into a maneuver that has very few familiar elements. The Six-Sided Outside loop comes to mind.
The new element in this one is a 60 degree outside corner; it appears nowhere else in the pattern, and the maneuver is nothing more than the element repeated through 360 degrees. Obviously, the easiest route to success here is doing whole maneuver repetitions.
The process remains the same, however.
First, analyze the new sequence, breaking the maneuvers down to elements or tasks.
Second, identify the new elements, isolate them, and work out an efficient practice exercise for learning them.
Third, put the new elements into the new maneuvers, and Practice them. Fourth, put the sequence together and practice.
When you come to a problem area, stop, analyze the difficulty you are having, and go back a couple of steps to cure the root cause.
If you have a problem holding concentration through a long sequence, break the sequence down to mini-sets of three or four maneuvers each, practice those until things flow well, then return to the full sequence. This is also good for curing the type of problem with a specific maneuver that only seems to trouble you when the maneuver is flown in sequence. The difficulty here is almost always on the entry or setup to the maneuver, and the mini-set allows you to work out the problem in context without wasting the time and fuel to fly through the entire sequence each time.
Call the whole thing a piece-work strategy if you like. Things aren't too tough if you go a class at a time, an element at a time, a maneuver at a time; piece by piece, skill by skill. The method just outlined builds good habits, and good habits mean faster progress because each succeeding lesson builds on an increasingly solid foundation of skills.
Conversely, bad habits mean slow going. They are the natural result of practicing mistakes, and flying a brand-new maneuver badly a large number of times in succession is certainly a prescription for practicing mistakes. Besides all the wasted time spent learning bad habits, there is all the wasted practice time which must be spent in the future to unlearn them. Who needs to work that hard? Use the lazy man's approach, and get it done a piece at a time.
Complex maneuvers don't look so intimidating when broken down into the elements that comprise them. Practice each of those elements and then combine them into whole maneuvers to avoid mistakes and get those high scores.
RC AEROBATICS BY RICK ALLISON………..Re-typed by Claude MacKrill
Change it is said, is the only true constant The universe is inconstant Flux at every level of observation; nothing is fixed, nothing is immutable and whatever isn't busy advancing is busy declining Generally, pattern pilots would much rather advance than decline. It’s built into the breed.
There are many reasons for participating in this sport (RC modeling is a hobby, but pattern is a sport!). If asked, most of us would probably say for the fun, for the competition, or for the camaraderie but nearly all of us would say to learn to fly better, to advance our level of skill. In this country, the rules system is set up to actively encourage advancement. In fact, all the way up to Masters class, we even mandate it
Our system of tiered advancement is purposely designed to teach aerobatic flying. From Pre-Novice through Novice Advanced, Expert and finally Masters, each pattern class exists to teach the skills necessary to advance to the next level. You might think of it as a correspondence course in learning to fly properly Complete Lesson I and go on to Lesson 2, and soon, until you pop out the end of the tunnel, fully armed and dangerous and ready to enter the FAI wars, where you can really start to learn. It's a good system, and it produces excellent pilots, If you enter the system, spend the time and do the necessary work, it will produce you.
For many of you who are already "works in progress," the time between competition seasons (called "winter" in most places) is the time for making the jump to the next level, whether it be Novice through Advanced, Expert or Master. This transition has always been a little bumpy and unsettling, but with the number of levels now reduced by one with the departure of Expert class, the skill gap between each class is even greater than in previous years. The average flight time and amount of practice needed to bridge that gap successfully have increased substantially. Just going out and hacking around at the new maneuvers won't get the job done fast enough anymore.
The system is built around the idea of progressive flight elements or tasks being introduced by order of difficulty. For instance, Novice class might appear in a hypothetical course catalog as Introduction to aerobatic competition. Survey of basic flight skills with emphasis on straight and level flight parallel to the flight line. Basic inside looping maneuvers, beginning axial rolls, and introduction to the stall turn. Advanced might look like this Beginning Turnaround. Intro to trimming pattern aircraft. Multiple Rolls, Outside Loops, and Beginning inverted flight skills. Flying in the aerobatic box And soon. Upright flight skills are covered before inverted ones, inside square maneuvers are introduced before outside square maneuvers, axial rolls before slow or hesitation rolls, stall turns before Figure Ms, etc.
The only thing not spelled out for the to absorbing all the great aeronautical education offered between the covers of that SAMAA Rulebook Item One in the my guide is to isolate and identify the specific new elements involved in the new schedule you are trying to learn.
Notice that I didn't say "new maneuvers.' The element and the maneuver are not the same thing, any more than atoms and molecules are synonymous. As atoms comprise molecules, maneuvers are composed of element combinations. In any complex new maneuver, you will find a lot of familiar elements from maneuvers you already know and do well, along with one or two new skills. The idea is simply to first master the new fundatnental element before attempting to master the maneuver, which contains it.
The traditional method of trying to learn the element is to do the whole maneuver (usually very badly), which contains it an enormous number of times. This does work in most cases, but it takes a lot of time and fuel, You might compare it to cooking a spaghetti dinner one noodle at a time, while washing and drying the pot between each noodle. You eventually get there, but you aren't exactly a model of modern efficiency enroute.
For an example, one of the many new elements involved in the transition from Advanced to Masters class is the outside square corner, or outside partial loop, if you prefer. This element doesn't appear in any sequence before Expert, but it is performed twice in the Square Loop with 1/2 Rolls (K=5), twice in the Reverse Top Hat (K=4), once in the 1/2 Square Loop with 1/2 Roll (K=2), and four times in the Square Horizontal Eight (K=5). This is obviously going to be a very important skill to learn to perform properly if you want to score well in your new class. To do this efficiently, isolate the task- the square outside corner- and practice it alone, until you can do it well upright to a vertical down line, inverted to a vertical up line, and from the vertical up and down lines to the horizontal.
I like to use learning exercises or routines when working with new elements. For example, for practicing the outside square corners above repeated whole outside square loops would he a good learning exercise.
Only when you have the new element down pretty well do you go to practicing the specific maneuvers, which contain it. You'll find that the complex new maneuver that looked so difficult before is now user-friendly, and takes many less reps to master than it would using the old-fashioned "Beat It to Death with a Fuel Can" method.
Once the new maneuvers all look pretty good, put them in sequence. Run through the new sequence until you come to a rough spot. The rough spot usually marks an element you still don't do very well. Stop, go back to the element practice, then back to the maneuver practice, and finally back to the sequence practice.
With every ruie you get an exception or two. Sometimes you will run into a maneuver that has very few familiar elements. The Six-Sided Outside loop comes to mind.
The new element in this one is a 60 degree outside corner; it appears nowhere else in the pattern, and the maneuver is nothing more than the element repeated through 360 degrees. Obviously, the easiest route to success here is doing whole maneuver repetitions.
The process remains the same, however.
First, analyze the new sequence, breaking the maneuvers down to elements or tasks.
Second, identify the new elements, isolate them, and work out an efficient practice exercise for learning them.
Third, put the new elements into the new maneuvers, and Practice them. Fourth, put the sequence together and practice.
When you come to a problem area, stop, analyze the difficulty you are having, and go back a couple of steps to cure the root cause.
If you have a problem holding concentration through a long sequence, break the sequence down to mini-sets of three or four maneuvers each, practice those until things flow well, then return to the full sequence. This is also good for curing the type of problem with a specific maneuver that only seems to trouble you when the maneuver is flown in sequence. The difficulty here is almost always on the entry or setup to the maneuver, and the mini-set allows you to work out the problem in context without wasting the time and fuel to fly through the entire sequence each time.
Call the whole thing a piece-work strategy if you like. Things aren't too tough if you go a class at a time, an element at a time, a maneuver at a time; piece by piece, skill by skill. The method just outlined builds good habits, and good habits mean faster progress because each succeeding lesson builds on an increasingly solid foundation of skills.
Conversely, bad habits mean slow going. They are the natural result of practicing mistakes, and flying a brand-new maneuver badly a large number of times in succession is certainly a prescription for practicing mistakes. Besides all the wasted time spent learning bad habits, there is all the wasted practice time which must be spent in the future to unlearn them. Who needs to work that hard? Use the lazy man's approach, and get it done a piece at a time.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Thoughts from Claude MacKrill
Just some thoughts from Cape Town
Thursday, 10 February 2005 (late at night)
Now that we have MAASA looking after the pattern flyers, we as the Pattern flyers of the country should reciprocate by looking after MAASA…… One has heard from various corners of the fraternity…. bitching about everything…… then sitting back & wanting to know what MAASA is doing about ……everything…… Now, to all those that do all the bitching & criticizing, remember if u feel that u can do better …… u are welcome to join the hard working band of idiots (in your view, of course) that hold office - a thankless task…. If it wasn’t for this merry band of ‘idiots’, we who looooove Pattern flyers would have no competitions to fly at… no Nationals to go to…. no Masters to be invited to…… So now that I have upset a few…..lets get down to business.
PS they have to be idiots – in the nicest possible way - to be prepared to put up with all the cr*p
So before I go any further I would just like to personally thank the following: Thanks 2 Eric & Lindsey Ousman, Savas, Ivan Olivier & Pierre.M, & all the members of the past & present committee that I don’t know - your work is appreciated by all…. thanks once again…..And to ALL the judges around the country that sit for hours in the burning sun or sometimes in bitter cold, and don’t moan….A heart felt thanks……………….
To Ivan Olivier ‘The Donn’ & all the other ‘Donners’………..judging is such a thankless task if ever there was one…..so next time u want to bitch about a bad score, be glad that this merry band of ‘Donners’ were prepared to sit out there to give u a bad score.
Now some thoughts that I wish to communicate……. These are my thoughts, so please feel free to criticize, amend, snigger at, express amusement at, discuss, condemn, knock, censure, show disapproval, (hurling not allowed unless in the privacy of your own bedroom or over a model helicopter), improve, adapt…. Get my drift?
About our grading system: As it is right now, only the SA team members get a blazer or ‘colours’. Now I, a lowly & low scoring pattern pilot, will never have a chance to get one. However, should there be a provincial ‘colours’ system in place, then the ‘colours’ can be spread a bit more widely, don’t you think? The details for this must of course be worked out…. For example, provincial colours will be awarded to someone if he has flown in all the local provincial/regional competitions, and had an average score of more than say 55.7% (as ratified by MAASA)…. This will give us lowly flyers at least a chance to be recognized in some way……. Just a thought, hey?
Next: The provincial bodies must try & make the provincial competitions more financially viable. By this I mean, give the running of these competitions to people who can also make a financial success of it. Be they modellers or not…… What I’m saying is that we need corporate sponsorship, provincial & nationally…. But this is not going to happen if we continue to run the bigger comps as they are presently run….. There is nothing more boring than watching pattern flyers fly for hour after hour…. Even pattern flyers get bored! Sooooooo what to do? It was suggested that we get a good spin doctor or 2 (Louw’s suggestion) to sort out our problems… Such a guy can have a fresh outlook at the ‘THING’ and then come up with a ‘business plan’ that will make corporate entities WANT to give us some serious dosh to be associated with pattern events …… Maybe we need side shows, jumping castles……. mud wrestling… … or even link up with other activities…. like, ……..I don’t have the answers……. Come on guys, work with me here………. use that grey matter you were given….. Don’t be scared to be criticized or laughed at ( remember they laughed at the thought that heavier than air craft could not fly)……. just come to the table with your thoughts….. Remember that a lot gets done if you don’t care who gets the credit…..our sport (erm - obsession) will be the winner… and so we will all win…. Maybe we should take a good hard look at gholf. If ever there has been an ‘elitist’ ‘sport’, then that’s it (it must be obvious that I do not care about big men chasing little balls and hitting the sh*t out of them……). And not only is it elitist, but also absolutely boring as hell… like watching paint dry… And yet, just consider the amount of sponsorship, TV audiences, etc that this lot attract…… Who and/or what makes their so-called ‘sport’ better than ours??? It is all a matter of ‘spin’, say I…
Once we get the right spin on this lot, then money made at these events could be contributed towards the transport costs etc for competitors who attend the invitationals - after all, they would be the provincial reps…… Some money could also be raised to promote our sport at the schools…… and when we become hugely successful, this dosh may also then also be used to sponsor the national team in international events…… we can even sponsor international events locally…… Come on guys, who says this is impossible? Ain’t our motto ‘the sky’s the limit’???
What I’m saying is that the provincial bodies should stop bitching at MAASA’s central committee, we should get off our very fat butts & do ’IT’ for ourselves at provincial level, & then once we have done that, we would have a well oiled machine going soon ,……..& if we are lucky we will end up also being able to pay for some of those overseas pilots to come & grace our shows (shores)………..Many thanks to Savas for bringing over Marco Benicasso, the Italian, a few years ago…it was 1derful watching this man fly ……..we want……………. need more of this, but this won’t happen if we sit around on our bl*rry hands & bitch all day……Once again 3 cheers for Savas..
As I say, & at the risk of repeating myself, stop bitching, get off your butt (a sizable one in my case) lets get in the spin doctors that will heal all our ills….even if we pay them a %tage of the takings…. its a commercial venture remember ….. We need the best people for the job……….. Leave the flying to us & let them & those of us who are capable 2 run the show……… Please - I desperately want my provincial colours……….If u come last all the time as I do, the only way I’m going to get mine is if I poison the other competitors & bribe the judges……….
Regard to all,
Claude MacKrill
(Passionate Muddler from Cape Town)
PS this is a chain letter if you do not respond to the comments made in this open letter within 24.78 hours a bad fate will befall U …..On your 6th flight your elevator servo will fail & your aircraft will go crashing through your front windscreen & out of the back, and to top it all, your wife will find out about all the lies u have been telling her about the price of the aircraft parts, she will then proceed to jump on all your other models then divorce u, & you will have to sell your favourite radio to keep up with maintenance payments……so there…….u may respond by e-mailing me or Savas or ‘The Donn’ or a friend….the important thing is that you respond….the future of our sport is in your hands…..Do something….anything……but on a serious note……any bad grammar used in this letter is done purposefully…so now stop bitching about the grammar…..it’s the contents that’s important……
Thursday, 10 February 2005 (late at night)
Now that we have MAASA looking after the pattern flyers, we as the Pattern flyers of the country should reciprocate by looking after MAASA…… One has heard from various corners of the fraternity…. bitching about everything…… then sitting back & wanting to know what MAASA is doing about ……everything…… Now, to all those that do all the bitching & criticizing, remember if u feel that u can do better …… u are welcome to join the hard working band of idiots (in your view, of course) that hold office - a thankless task…. If it wasn’t for this merry band of ‘idiots’, we who looooove Pattern flyers would have no competitions to fly at… no Nationals to go to…. no Masters to be invited to…… So now that I have upset a few…..lets get down to business.
PS they have to be idiots – in the nicest possible way - to be prepared to put up with all the cr*p
So before I go any further I would just like to personally thank the following: Thanks 2 Eric & Lindsey Ousman, Savas, Ivan Olivier & Pierre.M, & all the members of the past & present committee that I don’t know - your work is appreciated by all…. thanks once again…..And to ALL the judges around the country that sit for hours in the burning sun or sometimes in bitter cold, and don’t moan….A heart felt thanks……………….
To Ivan Olivier ‘The Donn’ & all the other ‘Donners’………..judging is such a thankless task if ever there was one…..so next time u want to bitch about a bad score, be glad that this merry band of ‘Donners’ were prepared to sit out there to give u a bad score.
Now some thoughts that I wish to communicate……. These are my thoughts, so please feel free to criticize, amend, snigger at, express amusement at, discuss, condemn, knock, censure, show disapproval, (hurling not allowed unless in the privacy of your own bedroom or over a model helicopter), improve, adapt…. Get my drift?
About our grading system: As it is right now, only the SA team members get a blazer or ‘colours’. Now I, a lowly & low scoring pattern pilot, will never have a chance to get one. However, should there be a provincial ‘colours’ system in place, then the ‘colours’ can be spread a bit more widely, don’t you think? The details for this must of course be worked out…. For example, provincial colours will be awarded to someone if he has flown in all the local provincial/regional competitions, and had an average score of more than say 55.7% (as ratified by MAASA)…. This will give us lowly flyers at least a chance to be recognized in some way……. Just a thought, hey?
Next: The provincial bodies must try & make the provincial competitions more financially viable. By this I mean, give the running of these competitions to people who can also make a financial success of it. Be they modellers or not…… What I’m saying is that we need corporate sponsorship, provincial & nationally…. But this is not going to happen if we continue to run the bigger comps as they are presently run….. There is nothing more boring than watching pattern flyers fly for hour after hour…. Even pattern flyers get bored! Sooooooo what to do? It was suggested that we get a good spin doctor or 2 (Louw’s suggestion) to sort out our problems… Such a guy can have a fresh outlook at the ‘THING’ and then come up with a ‘business plan’ that will make corporate entities WANT to give us some serious dosh to be associated with pattern events …… Maybe we need side shows, jumping castles……. mud wrestling… … or even link up with other activities…. like, ……..I don’t have the answers……. Come on guys, work with me here………. use that grey matter you were given….. Don’t be scared to be criticized or laughed at ( remember they laughed at the thought that heavier than air craft could not fly)……. just come to the table with your thoughts….. Remember that a lot gets done if you don’t care who gets the credit…..our sport (erm - obsession) will be the winner… and so we will all win…. Maybe we should take a good hard look at gholf. If ever there has been an ‘elitist’ ‘sport’, then that’s it (it must be obvious that I do not care about big men chasing little balls and hitting the sh*t out of them……). And not only is it elitist, but also absolutely boring as hell… like watching paint dry… And yet, just consider the amount of sponsorship, TV audiences, etc that this lot attract…… Who and/or what makes their so-called ‘sport’ better than ours??? It is all a matter of ‘spin’, say I…
Once we get the right spin on this lot, then money made at these events could be contributed towards the transport costs etc for competitors who attend the invitationals - after all, they would be the provincial reps…… Some money could also be raised to promote our sport at the schools…… and when we become hugely successful, this dosh may also then also be used to sponsor the national team in international events…… we can even sponsor international events locally…… Come on guys, who says this is impossible? Ain’t our motto ‘the sky’s the limit’???
What I’m saying is that the provincial bodies should stop bitching at MAASA’s central committee, we should get off our very fat butts & do ’IT’ for ourselves at provincial level, & then once we have done that, we would have a well oiled machine going soon ,……..& if we are lucky we will end up also being able to pay for some of those overseas pilots to come & grace our shows (shores)………..Many thanks to Savas for bringing over Marco Benicasso, the Italian, a few years ago…it was 1derful watching this man fly ……..we want……………. need more of this, but this won’t happen if we sit around on our bl*rry hands & bitch all day……Once again 3 cheers for Savas..
As I say, & at the risk of repeating myself, stop bitching, get off your butt (a sizable one in my case) lets get in the spin doctors that will heal all our ills….even if we pay them a %tage of the takings…. its a commercial venture remember ….. We need the best people for the job……….. Leave the flying to us & let them & those of us who are capable 2 run the show……… Please - I desperately want my provincial colours……….If u come last all the time as I do, the only way I’m going to get mine is if I poison the other competitors & bribe the judges……….
Regard to all,
Claude MacKrill
(Passionate Muddler from Cape Town)
PS this is a chain letter if you do not respond to the comments made in this open letter within 24.78 hours a bad fate will befall U …..On your 6th flight your elevator servo will fail & your aircraft will go crashing through your front windscreen & out of the back, and to top it all, your wife will find out about all the lies u have been telling her about the price of the aircraft parts, she will then proceed to jump on all your other models then divorce u, & you will have to sell your favourite radio to keep up with maintenance payments……so there…….u may respond by e-mailing me or Savas or ‘The Donn’ or a friend….the important thing is that you respond….the future of our sport is in your hands…..Do something….anything……but on a serious note……any bad grammar used in this letter is done purposefully…so now stop bitching about the grammar…..it’s the contents that’s important……
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Bart Diaz on conspiracy
We are lucky indeed to have in our membership a man of such hawk-eyed vision and deep insight as Spies Knuckles.Without him we would have fallen prey to two diabolical conspiracies hatched by the SAMAA Management Committee.
The first of these was The Great New Constitution Scandal. Spies identified a loophole that would have given the committee unfettered access to the members' funds and perpetual seats on the committee. This loophole was so subtle that I was unable to find it even after a careful scrutiny of the document. However Spies saw it and blew the whistle. We shall be forever in his debt.
The second, even more sinister conspiracy, is The Sixty Megahertz Frequency Affair. Here, without notice and at the stroke of a pen, the committee has replaced sixteen spots on the 60MHz band with 52 on the 35MHz one. A fiendish blow against the importers and suppliers of the original 60 MHz equipment. What would we do without him?
Word on the grapevine is that Spies is so annoyed that he is planning a break-away group of flyers who will continue to operate on 60 MHz. Good luck to you Spies and all your kind.
Bart Diaz ( member 30108)
The first of these was The Great New Constitution Scandal. Spies identified a loophole that would have given the committee unfettered access to the members' funds and perpetual seats on the committee. This loophole was so subtle that I was unable to find it even after a careful scrutiny of the document. However Spies saw it and blew the whistle. We shall be forever in his debt.
The second, even more sinister conspiracy, is The Sixty Megahertz Frequency Affair. Here, without notice and at the stroke of a pen, the committee has replaced sixteen spots on the 60MHz band with 52 on the 35MHz one. A fiendish blow against the importers and suppliers of the original 60 MHz equipment. What would we do without him?
Word on the grapevine is that Spies is so annoyed that he is planning a break-away group of flyers who will continue to operate on 60 MHz. Good luck to you Spies and all your kind.
Bart Diaz ( member 30108)
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