For the last several years we at the Soaring League of North Texas (SLNT) have been developing a competition format we call the Class-A Scramble using 50 meter upstarts. The upstart is 25' of 3/16 natural yellow rubber (~$40 for 100' at Tower) with enough monofilament to make 50 meters plus a color coded parachute. We set out four identical upstarts side-by-side on the field with matching color cones set at a distance measured for a four pound pull. Flight groups of four models launch together and fly until the last is down. Points are awarded based on one for first down, two for second, up to four for the last guy down. We run a watch on each flight group so all flyers still in the air at the end of five minutes get four points. If a model lands out of bounds, he gets a zero and all the others in the group get credit for beating him regardless of when he landed.
Each flyer flies the same number of rounds (usually six or eight). The scramble part comes from the fact that flyers can fly whenever they want. Eventually, if someone is way behind on flights he will be asked to step up, but otherwise each goes when he wants. It helps if there are no frequency conflicts so we ask guys to come prepared to change frequencies. We keep track of the flight group results so ties can usually be resolved based on head-to-head matchups. If there is an uneven number or someone drops out, we have dummy flyers fill out the last flight groups. The dummies are volunteers from those with the lowest total scores. To make dummy rounds competitive, a dummy can use the result of the dummy round to replace his lowest score. Usually, in the beginning, guys look to fly against those they think they can beat. Eventually, however, they see they have to try to fly against those they must beat. The strategy gets exciting at times. This format has proven so popular that we are doing it eight or nine of the twelve contests per year. We usually attract 10 to 15 flyers per month. Of these, more than half are in their 60's and 70's and are quite competitive. The contests move along quite quickly and are easy to run and score. An eight round contest with 12 flyers takes about three hours. There isn't much sitting and visiting going on. If you are ever in the Dallas/ Ft Worth area on the third Sunday of the month come on out and join us. 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.
