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Aerobatic FAI F3C Contest > Nats

rapidity
Heliman
Location: ohio

I know the dates are 7/15-19, does anyone know which days class 1 actually flys?

01-31-2008 01:21 PM

RCHelicopterGuy
Veteran
Location: Michigan

I think all the classes fly concurrently. If I remember correctly, Class 1-2 are on one end of the field, and Class 3-FAI are on the other end, with several hundred feet of separation between the two groups.

01-31-2008 03:02 PM

w8qz
Veteran
Location: Walker, MI - USA

That's how it was last year (2007) - Class 1, 2 & 3 were on the west end of 'site 4', FAI on the east end. The scale guys were way off to the east. Didn't seem to be any big problems with flight paths - that were complained about, at least.

This year, RC pylon is scheduled for the same time slot - at the center site. I wonder if frequencies will be a problem?

Maybe Craig Bradley will chime in here!

edit: On the other hand, 5 days seems like more time than is needed. I think there was 3 days of official flying - enough to get several rounds in for each class. Which days will end up as the actual flying rounds - may depend on weather, in part.

Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups.

01-31-2008 03:15 PM

RCHelicopterGuy
Veteran
Location: Michigan

I believe that at the Nats, frequencies are allocated depending on what you're competing in. In other words, instead of all pilots being allowed access to all frequencies all the time, a block of frequencies are used for helis, a block for pylon, etc..

01-31-2008 03:24 PM

Dr.Ben
Elite Veteran
Location: Richmond, VA, USA

All classes fly on all days except for scale. The number of rounds per day per class can vary sometimes.

Frequency allocation is used.

Ben Minor

01-31-2008 03:54 PM

ErichF
Key Veteran
Location: Odessa, FL 33556 (Tampa Area)

Quote
Didn't seem to be any big problems with flight paths - that were complained about, at least.

Yeah, there were. The F3C guys kept complaining that the AMA classers were crowding their box. Unbeknownst to the F3C guys, they were doing the exact same thing to the AMA classers. I recall over-hearing a couple "discussions" over the radios about it.
There was never any real danger, just a few annoyed pilots from the distraction. If you ask me, distractors are part of competition, deal with em. When I flew fixed wing Scale Aerobatics (IMAC), we always flew two lines together, and sometimes the maneuvers overlapped. That's where a good caller comes in, to advise you to deviate for traffic. There is no penalty for breaking off if you fear a mid-air.

Anyways, Class I flies every day among Class II and III. I think this year, the concensus is to actually USE the four days alloted to us, rather than have the marathon iron man contests of the past two years. This is partly because a big portion of the US F3C team selection will involve the Nats finals this year.

01-31-2008 10:38 PM

RCHelicopterGuy
Veteran
Location: Michigan

I remember seeing that at the 2005 Nats (I went down just to spectate). I remember hearing complaints in the FAI crowd about Class 1-2 flying into their approach areas, but I dinsinctly recall a couple FAI pilots flying so far outbound that they actually flew right over the Class 1 box. Of course, I don't remember anyone in Class 1 having the intestinal fortitude to go complain about it

(Not a comlplaint or criticism... just one man's observations with a smile on his face.)

01-31-2008 10:42 PM

Wayne Mann
Senior Heliman
Location: United States of America

Hi guys,

The over flying of the flight boxes at the Nats is nothing more than a slight inconvenience, unless you actually have a mid air collision, which we have never had, to the best of my memory. On the years in which the Nats is part of the Team Trials it becomes a little bit more than an inconvenience as the pressure on the Team Trials competitors is extremely high. Typically during a flight your blood pressure is through the roof, your sweating like a pig and your just praying for the end of the flight to come with no failures or botched maneuvers. Sometimes people on both ends may make a bigger deal out of the situation than they should or say things that they wouldn't normally say if they would just take a few seconds to think about it before giving someone a piece of their mind.

With that said, it is a little harder on the F3C guys because a lot of the pilots in the lower classes are not that experienced and their flight path lines up and down the field are all over the place and often their turn around maneuvers are different from one pass to another, so it is very difficult trying to guess where their helicopter is going to actually be when the two machines get in close proximity. It does get the blood pumping though.

Wayne Mann

02-01-2008 07:47 PM

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Aerobatic FAI F3C Contest > Nats

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