Another idea is to make the NATS a national fun fly, which it essentially is anyway. A week of soaring anything you want, how you want, with whom you want. Scale funflys have been (off and on for over 10 years) drawing more people to event venues years than the NATS. Think of how many participants you could get if you dropped the façade of a "national champion contest" which it is not; and invited all soaring disciplines to Muncie for a week of friendly competition, fun flying, and camaraderie.
Supporting observations: 1. contest entries are down as a trend in recent years. 2. There is no tiered elimination system (i.e. scale masters et al) to actually say the NATS represents anything but another regional or national contest. Does anyone actually think it is representing a national champion based on a one day contest that anyone can sign up for? 3.From the banter on this exchange it would seem visiting with old friends, hand launch golf, and barbecue, hold the most importance to many. 4. embrace all forms of soaring every year instead of alternating some to a bi annual status. By de-emphasizing rigorous competition, volunteer numbers could be reduced and assigned to logistic roles such as an impound that actually scans all frequencies, monitors all channels in real time environment, and checks participants equipment for compliance at sign up. Creating a safe venue will draw more people. Instead of having a barbecue that is sponsored and invitation by word of mouth, organize a real feed, promote it in the official program. Offer a true raffle to all attendees, and get heavy industry support which will be easier if more folks attend, participate, and are eligible to win. For those who need to massage their egos with winning contests and holding some sort of national record, provide a few contests in FAI classes which have meaning world wide not just here in the U.S. Have days designated for team trials, if a long enough time slot at Muncie was available. Most importantly offer a National level venue for an exchange of ideas on all aspects of R/C soaring, to all kinds of pilots, not just an insular group of competitive diehards. I am sure to draw fire from those who will take exception to these notions, or feel threatened by them. The status quo rarely acquiesces to a mere suggestion of change, too many agendas both organizational and personal stand in the way. Rather than dashing off a knee jerk reaction, tuck this away for later and read it carefully with out preconceptions. JD Never afraid to challenge the status quo, and think outside the box. Endless Mountain Models http://www.scalesoaring.com email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -----Original Message----- > From: Flying High [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 2:44 PM > To: exchange > Subject: [RCSE] The NATS, Format: 2M, Unlimited, F3X, HLG, RES, NOS, > etc... > > > LET'S JUST GET OUT AND SOAR!! Looking forward to next > year! > > my 2 cents, > > Edgar > "The Soaring Junkie" > > > > > __________________________________ > Yahoo! Mail for Mobile > Take Yahoo! Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone. > http://mobile.yahoo.com/learn/mail > 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 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
