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aeajr
477 Posts |
 Posted - 06/11/2009 : 10:42:09 PM
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Eastern Soaring League Newsletter – June 2009
2009 OFFICERS AND STAFF
President – Ed Anderson
Secretary/Treasurer – David Beach
Scorekeeper – Luis Bustamante & Anker Berg-Sonne
Contest Coordinator - Jose Bruzual
Web Master and Publisher – Jose Bruzual
Quartermaster – Steve Lucke
Newsletter Editor – Ed Anderson
ESL Historian - Anker Berg
Hand Launch Director – Doug Harnish
FROM THE PRESIDENT – Ed Anderson
The 2009 ESL season is now into full swing. BASS, TMSS have been completed. Both were plagued by bad weather on Sunday so each only got one day of competition, but from all reports, pilots had a great time just the same. I have included the contest reports later in the newsletter.
SKSS had two days of fantastic weather. I know because I was there. The food was excellent too. This was SKSS' first Man on Man contest. I can tell you things at the flight line ran very smoothly. The field was in excellent shape too. If you were not there you missed a great time.
This weekend is the Polecat Challenge. While Polecat is not an ESL event in the strictest sense, being one of the largest DLG events in the country we give ESL pilots the chance to register with the ESL before the contest so that they can have their scores count toward their ESL standings. Doug Harnish, our Hand Launch Director, will be there to sign up ESL pilots and to report their scores.
In a couple of weeks we have LISF 1 on Long Island. There are already 31 pilots signed up. I would say we have room for at least 15 more, so if you have not registered yet, there is still time. LISF flies Expert, Sportsman and Novice, so grab those newbies and bring them along.
If you look at the ESL calendar you will see that there is a contest scheduled almost every weekend, right through October. I would bet we are the envy of most of the country. Boy am I glad I live in ESL territory.
I hope you will have the opportunity to attend at least some of the contests. I have 16 contest days planned this year, both TD and Hand Launch. I hope to see you on the flying field.
THE ESL CALENDAR – Remaining Contests
http://www.flyesl.org/calendar.asp
HAND LAUNCHED
06/13 - 06/14 Polecat Challenge (HLG) - Bloserville, PA
07/11 - 07/12 CRRC Hand Launch Classic (HLG) - Sudbury, MA
08/01 - 08/02 Long Island Hand Launch Classic - LISF (HLG) - Syosset, NY
08/15 - 08/16 CASA (HLG) - Rockville, MD
09/12 - 09/13 SKSS Hand Launch (HLG) - Newark, DE
09/25 - 09/27 East Coast HLG Festival (HLG) - Wilson, NC
10/17 - 10/18 SJSF: ESL HLG EOS (HLG) - Marlton, NJ
THERMAL DURATION – UNLIMITED SAILPLANE
06/27 - 06/28 LISF 1 - Syosset, Long Island, NY
07/11 - 07/12 DBSF - Reading, PA
08/08 - 08/09 CRRC Soar-In - Sudbury, MA
08/22 - 08/23 ESL Mid-season @ DBSF - Reading, PA
09/12 - 09/13 CASA Open - Warrenton, VA
09/19 - 09/20 LISF 2 - Syosset, Long Island, NY
10/03 - 10/04 Reading ESL TD EOS - Reading, PA
DID YOU NOTICE THE DATE CHANGES?
The ESL officers have been made aware that a few people had not noticed some date changes in the contest schedule. Let me bring them to your attention.
The CASA Open is always held the weekend after Labor Day. However, because Labor Day is so late, the date was reported as September 5 & 6 in error. This mistake was noticed in the January/February time frame. The CASA Open is now correctly shown as scheduled for September 12 & 13, the weekend after Labor Day, as always.
LISF 1 was scheduled on June 20 & 21, the usual third weekend in June. However this year the US Open Golf Tournament is being held in Bethpage, just a few miles from the LISF field. And the finals are that very weekend. Every motel in the area was booked. So the contest date was moved to June 27 & 28 so people would be able to find motel rooms. This update was made in February, I believe.
SUPPORT THE F3B TEAM
http://www.flyesl.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=350
These guys will be representing the US this year and there are ESL pilots on the team. I am sure it is a great honor to be on the team but a trip like this is very expensive, so help ‘em out. They have great shirts, jackets and other stuff. And there is a raffle for some outstanding planes, radios and more.
TRAVEL CASE
Speaking of travel, if you are planning to travel and want to take one or two planes with you, having the right travel case is important. The Sportube series 3 is the one I use. Airlines accept it as luggage with no problems. It is commonly used for skies or snow boards and looks something like a hard shell golf club case. It is very strong and has good handles and wheels for easy transport.
I can fit my Supra and my Thermal Dancer at the same time. I use it in the SUV when I travel to contests too. It allows me to put the planes in the car fully protected while I pile stuff on top.
One note, it will not fit in the trunk of most cars with a 3M plane inside. However if you are traveling with 2M planes, the case adjusts in height and then it will fit in many trunks or in the back seat.
http://www.amazon.com/SporTube-Snowboard-Multi-Ski-Travel-Case/dp/B000F65RF2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1242820965&sr=1-2
ROOM AND RIDE SHARE
Just a reminder that we now have a ride and room share section in the ESL forums. Some people have also posted information on local motels.
http://www.flyesl.org/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=17
RC SOARING DIGEST IS AVAILABLE - FREE
RC Soaring Digest is a must read for anyone who loves soaring. Bill & Bunny Kuhlman do a terrific job of publishing it each month for our enjoyment. RC Soaring Digest is free. All you have to do is download the file. And consider making a donation to help support the magazine.
http://www.rcsoaringdigest.com
CONTEST REPORTS
BASS CONTEST REPORT
Randy Kleinert submitted the following report:
The 2009 BASS Handlaunch contest, The East Coast Handlaunch Classic, was held May 2nd and 3rd. Twenty-four pilots registered and nineteen participated - a good turnout considering the bleak weather conditions.
Sunday the 3rd was a washout. It rained all morning and we were able to complete only one round before calling the contest for the good of the pilots and their equipment. Saturday was a different story. With rain falling or threatening a good bit of the day we still completed 8 rounds. Even during the showers, flight times were high and competition keen.
Congratulations to Ken Sharp, Walt Leipold and Stuart Austin who finished First, Second and Third in Sportsman, and to Gerald Taylor, Troy Lawicki and Phil Barnes who were First, Second and Third in Expert. Well Done!
Thanks to all the pilots and supporters who attended. Thanks also to the BASS volunteers who helped run the event and to the generosity of following sponsors who contributed Merchandise and Gift Certificates to our sailplane raffle.
Cermark
FMA Direct
Eagle Tree Systems
Northeast Sailplane Products
Winged Shadow
And finally, a special thanks to Phil Barnes for bringing along the sound system for timing the flight groups.
Good luck in the remainder of the HL season, and we look forward to seeing you again next year.
Randy Kleinert, BASS
TMSS CONTEST REPORT – Submitted by Glaab, Josh
(Text and a few photos here. The rest of the photos can be seen at: http://www.flyesl.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=359
Howdy all from the southern-flank of the Eastern Soaring League!
The 2009 Tidewater Model Soaring Society's Spring Challenge kicked-off the ESL's Unlimited Soaring season this weekend and concluded amid soggy conditions on Sunday. ESL Quarter Master Steve Lucke was on hand to throw out the first sailplane. Despite the weather, this was a great event and there are lots of items of interest to report on.
Due to the efforts of many ESL-ers and TMSS members, we had a good weekend of soaring, even though we got rained-out (big time) on Sunday. While I have witnessed ESL members pitch-in and help run contests in the past, I think this was the most wonderful event I have seen. So many competitors and competitors wives pitched-in and made a HUGE difference. While we had about 8 TMSS members show-up to work/fly we had at least that many more effectively pitch-in and help. It was an impressive event since so many contributed to it. Of significant mention: Pete Schlitzkus not only delivered the 4 ESL winches, he also took them to the next contest (Delaware). Steve Lucke brought the turn-arounds and foot pedals (I think he brought the batteries too), and tirelessly worked to string the winches and set the field up (Fri, Sat, and Sun). Tony Guide re-worked the ESL winches over the winter and they were in AWESOME condition. Ask Luis who fluttered the heck out of his Perfect on launch and blew the elevator (3421) and un-glue his right aileron servo. After a lot of excitement and running, Luis got it down without any more damage and flew it Saturday. Tony Guide also helped setup the winches and the spot tapes, tents, and anything else we needed. Dawn Huffman and Joan and Luis Bustamante ran the scoring. In the recent past, it was asked "what does the ESL do for us?". Well, this weekend was a stellar example of what the ESL does for soaring: the ESL members delivered 4 winches, batteries, chargers, and winch-line, helped set them up, helped run the contest, and in a driving rain, pitched-in and put all the gear away! Not only helping run the contest, but creating an environment for the soaring community to get together and have a great time!
To start things off, we had a good day flying Friday for our F3J practice day. The objective was to fly some winch-assisted F3J rounds as well as do some actual F3J tows. We had about 16 pilots show-up to fly by noon on Friday. This was an excellent turnout for a practice session of this kind. We setup the 4 ESL winches, and even threw-in a 5th club winch to fly 5-man flight groups! We had a 10-minute F3J audio track playing that was interleaved with some Green Day to really create a festive soaring-partying atmosphere. I was also able to get a series of actual F3J tows from Steve Lucke and Luis Bustamante to boot. The weather threatened a little bit in the afternoon and we shut-down a little early (at 4pm), but a good day of flying was had by all.
The task for Saturday was 10-minute Man-On-Man thermal duration with FAI 100-point tapes (AMA landing rules, no Euro-trash flipping). Flight groups were generated using a unique method involving playing cards. Complete sets of cards that equaled the number of pilots flying were put in a box. Pilots then drew the cards to determine which group they were in to start the contest. In this case, Aces were group 1, 2-s were group 2, etc. In addition, the suit of the card indicated which winch/spot the pilot had (ie spades were on #4 winch/spot, hearts were on #1). When the pilot turned in his round score, he also turned in his card and drew another one from another deck. After a few rounds, everyone seemed to get it.
Saturday's contest started under threatening skies. This time, the ceiling was low (perhaps 700 ft) with some mist. The lift was very light and the relatively narrow field made finding lift and working it a challenge since the prevailing wind was across the field (making it hard to see your plane due to the tall trees). Sometime during the late morning the skies improved and the sun came out. The wind picked up a little and the lift got stronger, but still not widespread. The thermal conditions never got really good and we had a lot of low-altitude battles. Many rounds were won without making the max, which really worked well with the Man-On-Man format. A total of 17 grannies (ie 1000s) out of 40 (43%) were won with flight times less than 9 minutes, Lenny Strickland won one group with a 3:30 in Round 7! Frequently, thunderstorms would rumble through the area and miss us by a few miles. When it was all over, we had 8 rounds in the book and were off the field by 5:30pm.
The group then adjourned to the Smithfield Station for some Apres Soaring and a group dinner. We had about 15 people come to dinner and we had a great time.
Dawn Huffman and Joane Bustamante kept the scores. Luis Bustamante also pitched-in. These folks really helped keep the contest rolling smoothly.
As mentioned previously, the rain came in Sunday. It held off long enough for us to get our first flight group in the air however. A good effort to run the contest was put-up, but in the end, MOM nature said nay nay to MOM soaring.
We are definitely planning on running this event in 2010, so mark your calendars now!!
Many thanks for all the help!
Josh.
Pilot Class Total Score
Carr, Jeff Expert 7,982.78
Glaab, Josh Expert 7,765.15
Stahl, Gordy Expert 7,092.28
Proseus, Dick Expert 6,902.84
Guide, Tony Expert 6,871.87
Strickland, Lenny Expert 6,582.19
Schlitzkus, Pete Expert 6,303.41
Bustamante, Luis Expert 6,267.67
Roberts, Reid Expert 6,230.73
Whitney, Bob Sportsman 6,089.33
Lucke, Steve Expert 6,015.11
Beck, Duane Sportsman 5,695.03
Broeski, Tom Expert 5,386.56
Griffeth, Jim Sportsman 5,353.37
Cochrell, Kerry Expert 4,663.82
Richmond, Don Expert 4,307.12
Huffman, Neal Expert 4,253.69
Ewers, Scott Sportsman 3,966.21
Glaab, Josh Jr Sportsman 3,093.06
ESL REGISTRATION FOR NON-COMPUTER USERS
Some potential ESL contestants may not be computer users and therefore may have trouble registering for our contests. Did you know CDs can handle manual registrations that still takes advantage of the ESL web site? If you need assistance, contact the CD for the contest you want to attend. CDs, if you need help, contact our Webmaster Jose Bruzual
FOUND ON THE WEB
PROGRAMMING TIPS FOR DX7 USERS
http://rc-soar.com/spektrum/index.htm
WHAT DO THERMALS LOOK LIKE?
http://rc-soar.com/tech/thermals.htm
THE NOSE GALLERY
http://rc-soar.com/articles/noses/index.html
PLANE LOCATORS
Things that will help you find your airplane.
http://www.flyesl.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=239
GLIDER STANDS
Interesting ideas:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1048005&page=1&pp=15
ANTENNA EXIT GUIDES
If you are planning to move a carbon fuse plane to 2.4 GHz, many people recommended that you have the antenna exit the fuselage so the carbon does not block the signal. Among the posts are recommendations on how to extend 2.4 GHz antenna to make it easier to get them outside the fuse and guides to use to protect them.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=975869
HERE TO SERVE YOU
I hope you have enjoyed the ESL Newsletter. If you have ideas or input for the next Newsletter, please feel free to let me know.
Perhaps you have a quick tip to share. These little gems can make a big difference in competition. Why not pass them on. Extended length articles are always welcome and I would love to include your photos.
Send your notes, photos, compliments or complaints to Ed Anderson, ESL Newsletter Editor, at aeajr@optonline.net
U.S NAVY SILENT DRILL TEAM
If you love precision and professionalism in a military drill team, watch this video.
About three years ago, our US Navy Ceremonial Guard Silent Drill Team was invited to compete in an International Tattoo in Norway. The Navy competed against military units from all over NATO and won first place. Once you see the video you'll understand why they won.
http://www.whc.net/rjones/USN/USN_team.html |
Best regards,
Ed Anderson
Long Island Silent Flyers
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Edited by - aeajr on 06/21/2009 12:43:16 PM |
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ESL Newsletter - June 2009
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