Take a pill, Michael. We've gone over this issue at least four times in the last three years on this list so please understand if we're a bit bored with the topic. Some of us have discovered that "surprise!" the same guys win. Sure, equipment is important, but having fun is more so. I don't think John was slamming you, it's not his nature. Rick Hallet was just having a bit of fun. You are the one doing the slamming. Get a sense of humour or get off the list. You compete with improper equipment, you lose. You compete with better fliers, you lose again. Quit being so anal and don't tell us your sour grapes stories, tell us your successes instead. Like " I competed with a crap plane and managed to place 10th, pretty good, huh?" Thanks ________________________________________________________________________ Eric Weder, P. Eng. Calgary, Alberta, Canada Kenonic Controls Ltd. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Work: (403)258-6237 Cell: (403)607-9617 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Home: (403)289-8844 -----Original Message----- From: Michael Neverdosky [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: March 23, 2000 12:14 AM To: RCSE Subject: Re: [RCSE] << Quit stressing out about equipment. Go fly. >> Oh come on now! Thinking about choice of equipment is a perfectly valid part of the soaring game. How many pilots here will just pick up any old glider kit off of the shelf at the local hobby store and fly it in contests? While in RC sailplanes, equipment is not the most important thing it is a very important part of the equation. For those pilots who have never flown outside of So Cal. try going somewhere where the lift is not so hot before decideing that pilot skill can overcome the sinkrate of a lead sled. I will give an example from F3E, anybody here remember F3E? That was what we called F5B when it was a new and experimental class. In the first international F3E contest, held at HSS I flew an oversize, underpowered (for the class) plane that was not up to the competition. I also logged 1 to 2 hours of practice every day for a month before the contest with my contest plane in the exact configuration that I used for the contest. Anybody want to guess what the outcome was? I ended up 10th out of 30'something. Had there been no throwout round I would have moved up to about 7th. I also had the most consistent scores of anybody in the contest scoring between something like 395 and 400 for 4 rounds in nasty conditions (for SoCal), cold, windy, with intermittant rain. Now who wants to tell me that the equipment is not important? There is at least one other pilot on this list who was in that contest who could add a thing or two about the importance of equipment. The pilot is still the one who flies the plane buy you MUST HAVE A PLANE THAT GETS YOU INTO THE BALLPARK! You can't win a Winston Cup race with the family car. Constructive comments are welcome but simple slams should be be kept to yourself. Anyone who has won a major F3J, or F3B contest in the last two years flying a Paragon has the right to tell me I am completely full of it. You people flying shiny glass slippers (even if only one) should think about why you picked that particular plane before you slam my quest for more information. Richard Hallett wrote: > > But John tradition has it that we are supposed to "BLAME" Now who are you BLAMING? > Next thing you know we will have to be "RESPONSIBLE" RESPONSIBILITY is a two way street. What are you trying to hide from? > "OH DEAR!!" What 's the world coming to? Same thing it has always been. Hey folks, what is so wrong about helping other pilots make good equipment choices? Didn't someone help you when you were starting out? I guess that no one knows the answer to the question; "Just how much difference is there between a float optimized F3J plane and a search optimized F3J plane? Sinkrate, L/D, flying speed, etc." There is no shame in not knowing. Slamming someone for asking the question is pretty lame at best. michael N6CHV AMA 77292 RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
