I think it depends on how the phrase Personal Achievement is viewed.
Personally, I view it just the way I read it Personal Achievement
If people are truly interested in promoting rc sailplane interest, it will
have to be done at the club level and it doesn't have to have anything to do
with contests. Let's get a little creative. The dying soaring clubs are
not a result of LSF, they are a result of poor management and self interest.
The folks that enjoy contests are not necessarily the same folks that enjoy
fun flying, in my view we are talking two different personalities here. And
one doesn't understand the other's view very well.
The contest type are the guys that fly much more, practice landings, spend
more money on travel and sailplanes and in general are very serious about
their Personal Soaring Achievement. Many (if not most) of the contest guys
are doing the work required to put on contests. This group needs new blood
to continue having meaningful contests and they are the ones that will have
to come up with the ideas to promote new blood. I believe they will have to
get serious about club management and promotion if they want contestants at
their contests.
The sport flyer is just that, doesn't fly much compared to the contest guys,
views the hobby as a hobby and when he flys, his goal is usually to see how
long he can stay up doesn't need a club, a public park or private
field will do. This group doesn't set performance goals or have any desire
to measure their flying skills against someone else or group.
There is a third group. the in betweeners ... they want recognition,
but are not located near contests, or don't do well in contests, or don't
have the money required to compete. This is likely the group interested in
a no contest required achievement program.
The new curve (challenge) to clubs and soaring contests is the electric
powered sailplane flyer, now you have a mass interest in rc flying that
requires no club, no large field to put up a winch or hi start, no contests
( they hate contests) and they can learn all they need to know on the
internet..
So where are new people going to come from ?
Ray Hayes
http://www.skybench.com
Home of Wood Crafters
- Original Message -
From: d. o. darnell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: soaring@airage.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:50 PM
Subject: [RCSE] LSF - a personal achievement program for Don Quixote?
The LSF is said to be a personal achievement program. If this is so, how
come you have to beat 20 (at level 5) other people in a contest as a
requirement? Not exactly personal. With the number of interested parties
declining in R/C soaring, and the current structure requiring some number
of contestants (defeated) being the metric of the contesting component of
the LSF, it seems unlikely that the program will grow. More
realistically, it will decline as the necessity to seek out a contest with
enough contestants just isn't practical or maybe even possible in most of
the country. And it's been that way for a long time. We have the choice of
ride it till it dies or adapt and overcome.
Soaring is fun because of the lack of rules. Contesting injects both
structure and rules and is fine for those of us who need it. But for
anything, a program, a sport or a government to survive, it must adapt to
suit those involved. In my opinion, if the LSF (task structure
philosophy) remains arrogant enough to decline change, in the end the
accomplishment program will either be ignored or just won't exist.
D.O. Darnell
LSF 249/4 (since 75?)
.
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