An ARF Event

The ARF event is another issue. Seems like the best way to handle this would be for the sponsoring club to supply a plane, say the ARF Nobler, complete and ready to fly. Everyone in the event posts a $90(or whatever) bond. If you crash it, the wreck is yours, you forfeit the bond, and the sponsors roll out another plane to continue the contest.

That would be kinda fun as an "unoffical event". But not everyone would like a specific needle setting, trim, line spacing, blah blah...

There were near 80 posts bemoaning ARF's in that other thread. Quality, well built PA arf's at a reasonable price are here, so what do we do with them?

One response is nothing. They are fully allowed in PAMPA Skill Classes. You can bring an ARF Nobler, ARC Oriental, or a $1500 Czech plane to any contest right now.

One plane for everyone is another approach. It certainly levels the playing field and lets the pilots show their stuff flying the same plane. Would be fairly easy to do to. One design/one plane would simplify the rules. No question about modifications, etc. But everyone could get one to practice with at home, so they would have a pretty darn good idea of how they would want to run and fly it.

Phil It sounds great, but who will build ARF'S for the event, I know how I put mine together and its really a lot of work to do it properly. Now we could have a Nobler , Flite Streak event , but when all the other ARF'S come out it may be too many events . So we can have an ARF event with only ARF's no matter what size plane or engine as I see it the wave of the future. One can not go to an RC field without seeing many ARF's as the working American has no time to build.I have an Kaz Minato Next Day ( ARF) Extra with an MDS 18 that really out performes my Noblers, and its small and easy to transport. A nice event could be like the Junk Yard wars With the Flite Streak built at the field( by a team) and the first in the air with an Stunt Pattern wins. Well all I have is Ideas and I can See ARF as a real boost to Control Line Flying just as in RC ARF,s Flies in All Events. See Ya NEAL B. ARF Baby Clown Races from Planes built at the field, one could go on and on.

A few years ago Dave Midgley had an Ares that a whole bunch flew in Classic....most used his handle, but a few used their own. Mostly, because the thing was really pretty, it was the top flyers....mayhaps eight? It was a fun thing.

I regularly lend my OTS aeroplanes to folks....who regularly whip up on me, too.....it's kinda embarrassing to be beaten by your own aeroplane!

I do this for fun.

We've voted and decided that you can be the $100 aircraft provider.

See Ya

I guess it's been a year or so since this idea first surfaced. I think a Everybody-flies-this-sucker! event would be a lot of fun, it's just that no single person or club--that I know of--has stepped up to the plate from an investment and labor standpoint.

There is a rather ratty O.S. 20FP-powered ARF Flite Streak always clanking around in my van, and I continue to foist it off on unsuspecting folk who are surprised/amazed/stunned (pick one, depending upon the flier) at the performance so easily obtained from a stupid ARF and an entry-level motor which is "too small" to begin with.

Would I volunteer its use for a one-design contest? Thinking about it...

Dan, we tried this very thing at our big annual contest in the Twin Cities last year, only to have it crater when the foam wings of the chosen planes all turned out warped beyond redemption. The level of interest was high and several people signed up to fly. With ARFs, the quality control issue is mostly history. With Streaks on sale for $50, we can scrounge plenty of stuff from the club to put it on. I don't know if we'll try again this year, but I hope so. I think as long as we don't spend too much time bleating about it and just put it on for fun-why not?

At the last Nats where C*x sponsored the event, we flew the Super Stunter ARFs. What we did was assemble 20 of them the night before (in the Lee's motel room. Thanks guys!!) and then started with one, and let each contestent fly it. When that one "wore out" we would bring out another one. The pit crew did all the starting and tuning, so the performance was pretty consistent. We actually had 15 planes left over after 20 contestants, some of whom were rank beginners with someone helping them fly.

We did pretty much the same thing with P-39s in a kids 1-design mouse race. The carnage there was about the same. Lots o' kids went home with a plane. Including one 3 or 4 year old girl who demanded about 5 flights. If she grinned any wider the top of her head would have fallen off....

I suspect that 3 or 4 Flite Streaks would do for a very sizeable crew of intermediates and above. Beginners might do quite well too, as a properly set up 'Streak will probably prove to be the best plane they ever flew.

A 'Streak, LA 25, tank and prop would probably cost about $110? I would buy them out of the club treasury, charge $10 to enter plus a $100 deposit. The club will come out harmless if a plane is crashed, and go some to pay off the planes that remain intact. The crashee gets to keep his wreckage, of course. Probably won't have trashed the engine, so he isn't out completely. Over a few events, you end up money ahead in the treasury, and should drag a few "I got nuttin' to fly" dudes out of the woodwork.

I am convinced that you DON'T want the contestants messing with the engine settings. That way you don't crash planes due to flameouts or inadequate run, or crisp an engine. Set it, forget it!

This would be a true test of the pilot's skill compared to others. Eliminate all the variables. The ultimate anti-BOM contest.

Having given this further thought, this one-design sort of idea is one where, as a group, we think too much. (My current thoughts are that I think that is a hilarious line, by the way. Ditto.)

But here is what can easily happen: Some goof sticks his hand up at a club meeting, suggests a one-design contest. He further makes an excellent suggestion that Flite Streaks be the design, ARF versions the most practical.

Pretty soon one isn't enough, gotta have spares. Then somebody wants Fox 35s for power for some insane reason. Another has heard of my 20FP-powered Flite Streaks, that's what he wants. In multiples, of course. If Larry Renger is in the room, he wants at least one to have a diesel. Larry Cunningham will want one powered by an old Sazook 400, as the motor didn't work in supplied chassis.

Nobody wants that much work. So nothing happens.

I say the club buys one ARF, one 25 LA, one 3-ounce Hayes tank, six APC 9-4s, a gallon of SIG 10% Champion fuel, one decent wheel, and a set of 60' x .015 stranded lines.

A volunteer assembles the one model. He flies it enough to remove any warps, get tip weight close, elevator travel ditto, tank position set. Should all of this magically come together in two flights, and it might, he would be expected to put on enough flights to confirm the thing really is set to go and reliable.

While the model, engine, prop, tank and fuel would not be able to changed in any way, contestants could supply their own (legal) lines and handle. And they can set the needle the way they want it, or leave it from previous flight.

Or be more liberal about this, but set a time limit. If the next contestant has four minutes until he is expected to be flipping the prop he probably won't change much.

I suppose there are a lot of really good ways to see the club make a profit on this deal, but I would like to suggest there be a flat fee per flight instead of a standard entry fee, three attempts to get two flights situation. I can easily envision Bruce Hunt being just a few points ahead of me after we each put in a couple of flights, whereupon I would be throwing all my money at the CD just to get in "one more flight; I know I can beat that whack job if I can just get one more crack at him."

As to crashing the sucker, I think all entrants must agree that if someone plants the model, the club expects the entire package to either be replaced, repaired or paid for.

If our boy doing the building and test flying knows his stuff, this shouldn't be much of an issue.

In fact, in this area, I see the distinct possibility of the club making its money back first time out (30 flights times $5.00 per flight), going on to make a nice profit for as long as the model lasts.

Oh, and don't make it an "official" part of a bigger contest. Run this deal off to the side, maybe on an unused grass circle. Let people come and go as they like.

Or do it in the evening. It's too late now, but I think it would be fun, at a contest like the NW Regionals, to dedicate a circle to "Let's See What Ya Got, Big Boy!" flying with a single example of above described model, proceeds to a suitable group, maybe even a charity.

And guess what? These sorts of discussions always have as a subset the issue of what to do with the experts. Well, the true experts at the Regionals will not touch anything other than their own model while at a contest like this. So there would be no problem...

There have been several ARF contest that I know of, put on by people who just went and did it, not waiting for all our pontification on the matter. Good for them!

>Everyone in the event posts a $90(or whatever) bond
Several potential entrants were turned away from entering the recent OKC contest as they could not come up with the $10 cash for first event.
Are we continuing to price beginners and fence sitters out of at least getting a taste of competition?

All this discussion about an additional event in stunt, if implemented, will add more judging and addtional circle time. I might compete in such an event, however, it is difficult enough to become familiar with my own planes.

There is a place for ARFs right now. I crashed my number one plane prior to VSC and had only a couple days prior to the contest. Enter the ARF flight streak to save the day. I competed in the contest with the rest of the also rans and had a great time. It is better to fly and participate with something rather than to sit on the sidelines and commiserate about "if I coulda shoulda stuff". There is a place for ARFs and that flight streak really does fly well.

Bob Smiley
A Lancair 360 builder/pilot trying to be a modeler.