I like the idea of a weak-link. If you want a level strength playing field for launches and don't want to remove the winch tap skill or add new equipment just try this. Make up short weak-link loops (ahead of the first contest make 50 for the year) to attach between the line and the ring. If you use 250# winch line, use 200# weak links. If the line breaks you get a re-launch. If the CD sees that the weak-link is what is broken, then the pilot is docked a % (CD option say 15%) of the flight time. Simple but effective! I'm sure that you would not have many re-launches.
John -----Original Message----- From: Daryl Perkins [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 4:12 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Soaring@airage.com Subject: [RCSE] re:contest launch equipment vs large models Mike Smith pretty much hit the nail on the head. The problem isn't the line. The problem isn't the size of the model. Our TD style winches are unnecessarily strong. I'd love to see the winches restricted at major contests. I'm always going to fly large wingspan models at an UNLIMITED thermal duration contest. I like the way they perform. Period. Sorry, but my newest model is 3.9M or 153.5". It wasn't designed for F3J. It was designed for US style UNLIMITED thermal duration. I often hear CD's complain about guys launching hard. I understand your need to keep the contest moving. But blaming the competitor for being competitive???? Ummmm... it's a CONTEST!!! We're competing. You can't expect a competitor to back off on his competitive spirit. He needs to be allowed to do whatever he feels he needs to do to gain a competitive advantage. Using the line as the "weak link" is not only unfair, it's dangerous. Limiting winch power is a great way to guarantee winch equality across the board. Visalia's winches are unbelievably weak, and they have very few line breaks. SWC winches are usually pretty strong, but are inconsistent from one winch to the next, and change over the course of the day. The NATS has the strongest winches I've ever used, and they use rope line to keep things going. I know... the darn things ruined a perfectly good Insanity. Don't limit the models. Don't limit the line size or perceived breaking strength. Limit the available winch power, and you'll begin to see models optimized for that available power. Darylperkins.com LLC. 1600 McCulloch Blvd. 5B Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403 www.darylperkins.com RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
