AEAJR

I am running this contest for the past 2 months on another forum. April will be the third. Anyone here interested? I could do it here too, but not sure there is enough interest.

Ed


The April Big Sky Longest Flight Contest for All Foam Wing Gliders
THE APRIL ALL FOAM WING BIG SKY LONGEST DURATION CONTEST -
THERMAL SOARING AND SLOPE SOARING

APRIL - 2011
Contest will run from 12:01 am April 1 to 11:59 PM April 30 Eastern US time.

The contest is for ALL foam wing gliders (and airplanes too) and is intended to help motivate you to develop your thermal and slope soaring skills.

You can only post one time per pilot per category regardless of what kind of plane you are flying, but you can replace a shorter time with a longer time any time during the contest. You can fly as many flights as you like.

Last month it was Radian and Radian Pro owners only and I must say the winning scores were impressive.

Goal - longest duration thermal and slope flights without use of the motor. I expect to see themal times in excess of 30 minutes and slope times in excess of an hour. But you are welcome to post any flight time you wish. Get your name on the list and be famous!


RULES

Rules about the planes:

* Any lectric Motor System
* Any wing controls and any wing span
* You can cover the wing in paint, tape, stick on decal or monokote type shrink covering covering, but you may not glass or sheet the wing in any rigid material. This is for foam wing aircraft not bagged or sheeting wings.


BIG SKY - THERMAL SOARING

1) From a fresh hand or ground launch you can run the motor for up to 45 seconds, then you turn the motor off and you can not restart it. Reclimbs are not permitted. If you restart the motor the flight time is no good.

2) Motor time starts as soon as you apply throttle. This is an LMR, Limited Motor Run contest with a pretty long motor run allowed so that the motor run itself does not provide much advantage to anyone. Many will choose to shut off the motor in less than 45 seconds. No credit for shorter motor runs.

3) Soaring time starts when the motor goes off. Either you time the whole flight and subtract the motor run or you use two watches, one to time the motor run and one to time the flight. I have multiple timers on my radio so I can do this with my radio alone. How you do this is up to you.

4) You can time your own flight if you wish. You are on your honor. Time is truncated to the second. No fractions and no rounding. Read the seconds only.

5) Landing must be within 100 feet of the original launch location or the flight does not count. Landing must be on the ground/grass or pavement. Landing in a tree, bush, structure or other elevated spot that would not normally be a landing spot does not count. There are no other rules around the landing.

6) Time stops when the Radian Pro comes to a rest. So the clock keeps running if you clip a branch, or go to land and bounce back into the air. When the plane stops, time stops.

7) You can launch as many times as you like but each flight has to be from a fresh launch from the ground/hand. No reclimbs permitted.

8) Report your best time of the day by posting here. You can post as many times as you like, but only the best one will count. You can fly as many days as you like to work toward your best time.


BIG SKY - SLOPE SOARING

1) From a fresh hand or ground launch you can run the motor for up to 5 seconds, if you need it to get into the lift. I would expect most slope flights will have no motor run but some sites need a boost to the lift. I have one site like this.

2) Motor time starts as soon as you apply throttle and is subtracted from the total flight time.

3) Soaring time starts when the motor goes off. Either you time the whole flight and subtract the motor run or you use two watches, one to time the motor run and one to time the flight. How you do this is up to you.

4) You can time your own flight if you wish. You are on your honor. Time is truncated to the second. No fractions and no rounding. Read the seconds only.

5) Landing has to be within 100 feet of the original launch location or the flight does not count. Landing must be on the same level as the launch. Landing down the slope or up in the trees does not count. You must come to rest in a "normal" landing spot and be able to walk over and pick it up. I realize this can vary by slope site so you are on your honor as to whether this was a normal landing.

6) Time stops when the Radian Pro comes to a rest. So the clock keeps running if you clip a branch, or go to land and bounce back into the air. When the plane stops, time stops.

7) You can launch as many times as you like but each flight has to be from a fresh launch from the ground or hand. No powered reclimbs permitted. If you restart the motor the flight does not count.

8) Report your best time of the day by posting here. You can post as many times as you like, but only the best one will count. Try as many days as you like to get your best time of the month.


For either contest you report the results via post.

Report Format:

Your Name - Real or RCGroup Name - your choice
Thermal or Slope:
Date and Time of flight:
Duration of flight:
Location: Nearest City and State or Country

Comments - You are welcome to report anything you like about the day, the flight. Pictures are welcome but not required.


I will maintain the thread and keep the second post updated with the top 10 Thermal and top ten Slope reports. Only one flight of each type will be recorded in the standings for each pilot. A new better time will replace the original.

I will make up a certificate for the top 3 at the end of the time period and e-mail them to the winners.

tobydogs

sounds like fun,to bad the skimmer dosn't count,i'v found certain days to be good at the rcrcc field ,clearly thermals pop and lift is there.

will be watching aas others join. stu

FlyWheel

It IS to bad the Skimmer doesn't count, as I have one in waiting, there is a lumber mill near her that uses wood fired boilers for power and it runs 24 hour a day...

Question though: You say motors can be used for 45 seconds then must be turned off, no restarts. I realize this is so no "free altitude" can be obtained or extra flight time to find another thermal. But what if your SP gets too far down field/wind/slope and it becomes necessary to power up just to get it back? Does this invalidate an otherwise perfectly acceptable flight?


Posted via Mobile Device

tobydogs

flywheel,the rules state if you cut the motor after whatever length of time stated [45seconds] to achieve altitude ,then thats it for the duration of the flight any added power whether to regain height or retrieve your plane from getting to far away ,or to use power to land 100'from where you launched would disqualify that attempt for a record.
of coarse we get to try again.

must say again that i'm disapointed the skimmer won't count as i bet foam gliders are much lighter with more chance of lift in a thremal,but then,what do i know about soaring....."o" really.

AEAJR

This month foam gliders. Next month ... we shall see.

Unstoppable RC Flyer

Cant wait to see how this truns out, curios to see the best time.

AEAJR

Not enough interest here.

Saddlebum

I love the idea and would play if I had a sanctioned field that had decent lift. Unfortunately, my field of choice shows limited slope type lift only a few times a year.

I'll try, but am not hopeful of any one motor run over 30 minutes for thermal.

...The Bum

firemanbill

I competed in the SEFF "No Excuses" LMR (limited motor run) competition and finshed 30th out of 46. Not bad for crashing on the 3rd flight and borrowing a plane with a dead battery for the 4th and final flight.

I am hooked as it was a blast! My problem is that our field is less than 2 miles from the local airport and we are limited to a 400' ceiling. It's hard to get any substatntial soaring in under 400'

Not due to lack of interest here for sure.

CrimzonRider

I know old thread, but I am really surprised this "contest" didn't take off. This is starting to be for me more attractive than going " one hundrezd milez per hourz".

I am doubtful that I can make 30 mins right now, but I will record my time after 45 seconds of power. As a proverbial "inter-beginner" My goal right now might be around the 15 min mark. Right now without too much experience or even really trying to find thermals I can easily double my flight time and I have come close to tripling during one flight last week. We shall see what I come up with......Let get this one started again. C'mon, if I am the only one posting times, does that mean I win..........

BTW Are "Dustnados" just really fast rotating thermals? I have seen several very close to me when flying. I live in a flat desert pretty much with rolling hills and they are abundant this time of year. Its common sense not too fly in them directly, but high above them where the rotation is wider and slower or around them.....Would that be a good idea or just plain stupid?

have a good one
cr

kenchiroalpha

Hi
"Dust Devils"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_devil
And i would steer clear of them
Take care dear friend
Yours Hank

CrimzonRider

But its so tempting........lol

have a good one
cr

Larry3215

I was thinking of entering the contest, but then I discovered that I start to get a crick in my neck after about 10 minutes.

I have had a few flights with my DLG recently where Im sure I could have stayed up as long as I wanted.

Turns out, the longest I was willing to stay up was just over 11 minutes before I nosed over and came down. That was more than enough for me.

You youngsters can go for the multi-hour long flights

CrimzonRider

I cant imagine flying even for 1 hour! The other evening after an a 18 min flight and a yank and bank 7 min flight and a couple warmup flights before I was ready for a lazy-boy! Course, at 37 maybe I am just a little tired at the end of a busy day on the farm! I only fly in the evenings.
Larry, at 11mins you would probably still beat me! Especially using DLG, I dont think I could ever get up enough courage to do that.

have a good one
cr

AEAJR

The contest is going great guns over at RCG since Feb. The winning time each month for thermal soaring has been over 45 mintues.

But the point is not necessarily to win, but to develop your skills to achieve new bests.

Anyone can put a glider into a booming thermal and sit there for an hour. But learning to move from thermal to thermal to acheive that hour is what the contest is really all about.

AEAJR

I can kick off a contest here but I need to see some interest and eventually I need someone to take it over after the first two months.

This is a great way to build interest in e-gliders and soaring, but I am not going to force it.

If we get 10 people who post here that they will participate, I will set it up and run it.

CrimzonRider

Yeah winning isn't everything......unless you lose all the time.....
It will be Good Clean Fun and my reasoning to do it is to set a goal and beat it!

I need a new challenge and I think this is my Huckleberry!

Good News AEAJR......will try it.......Number 1 of 10
Even if we can't get 10, I might still post in a new thread....

have a good one
cr

AEAJR

RULES AND INFO:

Contest will run from 12:01 am July 1 to 11:59 PM July 31 Eastern US time.

The contest is for ALL electric launched gliders or airplanes of all sizes, all materials and all controls. The contest is intended to help motivate you to develop your thermal and slope soaring skills.

The contest is open this to all e-gliders and, if you like, e-airplanes too. If it glides, it qualifies.

You can post as many times as you like using as many planes as you like, but only one will be counted per pilot per category regardless of what kind of plane you are flying. You can replace a shorter time with a longer time any point during the contest. You can fly as many flights as you like.

Goal - longest duration thermal and slope flights without use of the motor. I expect to see themal times in excess of 30 minutes and slope times in excess of an hour. But you are welcome to post any flight time you wish. Get your name on the list and be famous!

First, second and third place finishers in each category will receive an artfully designed, high quality, custom made, one-of-a-kind BIG SKY certificate of recognition including your name and/or moniker and the flight statistics you provide with your entry (including photo, video, gps or flight profiles).

THE PLANES:
* Any electric motor system
* Any wing controls and any wing span
* Any construction


BIG SKY - THERMAL SOARING

1) From a fresh hand or ground launch you can run the motor for up to 45 seconds, then you turn the motor off and you can not restart it. Reclimbs are not permitted. If you restart the motor the flight time is no good.

2) Motor time starts as soon as you apply throttle. This is an LMR, Limited Motor Run contest with a pretty long motor run allowed so that the motor run itself does not provide much advantage to anyone. Many will choose to shut off the motor in less than 45 seconds. No credit for shorter motor runs.

3) Soaring time starts when the motor goes off. Either you time the whole flight and subtract the motor run or you use two watches, one to time the motor run and one to time the flight. I have multiple timers on my radio so I can do this with my radio alone. How you do this is up to you.

4) You can time your own flight if you wish. You are on your honor. Time is truncated to the second. No fractions and no rounding. Read the seconds only.

5) Landing must be within 100 feet of the original launch location or the flight does not count. Landing must be on the ground/grass or pavement. Landing in a tree, bush, structure or other elevated spot that would not normally be a landing spot does not count. There are no other rules around the landing.

6) Time stops when the glider comes to a rest. So the clock keeps running if you clip a branch, or go to land and bounce back into the air. When the plane stops, time stops.

7) You can launch as many times as you like but each flight has to be from a fresh launch from the ground/hand. No reclimbs permitted.

8) Report your best time of the day by posting here. You can post as many times as you like, but only the best one will count. You can fly as many days as you like to work toward your best time. The goal is to achieve personal bests in the fun atmosphere of a contest.


BIG SKY - SLOPE SOARING

1) From a fresh hand or ground launch you can run the motor for up to 5 seconds, if you need it to get into the lift. I would expect most slope flights will have no motor run but some sites need a boost to the lift.

2) Motor time starts as soon as you apply throttle and is subtracted from the total flight time.

3) Soaring time starts when the motor goes off. Either you time the whole flight and subtract the motor run or you use two watches, one to time the motor run and one to time the flight. How you do this is up to you.

4) You can time your own flight if you wish. You are on your honor. Time is truncated to the second. No fractions and no rounding. Read the seconds only.

5) Landing has to be within 100 feet of the original launch location or the flight does not count. Landing must be on the same level as the launch. Landing down the slope or up in the trees does not count. You must come to rest in a "normal" landing spot and be able to walk over and pick it up. I realize this can vary by slope site so you are on your honor as to whether this was a normal landing.

6) Time stops when the glider comes to a rest. So the clock keeps running if you clip a branch, or go to land and bounce back into the air. When the plane stops, time stops.

7) You can launch as many times as you like but each flight has to be from a fresh launch from the ground or hand. No powered reclimbs permitted. If you restart the motor the flight does not count.

8) Report your best time of the day by posting here. You can post as many times as you like, but only the best one will count. Try as many days as you like to get your best time of the month.


For either contest you report the results via post.

Report Format:

Your Name - Real or RCGroup Name - your choice
Glider/plane name:
Thermal or Slope:
Date and Time of flight:
Duration of flight:
Location: Nearest City and State or Country

Comments - You are welcome to report anything you like about the day, the flight. Pictures, videos, gps plots, etc are welcome but not required.


I will maintain the thread and keep the second post updated with the top 10 Thermal and top ten Slope reports. Only one flight of each type will be recorded in the standings for each pilot. A new better time will replace the original.


THREAD CONTENT -

This thread is for contest reports and for discussion about the contest only.

Contest Records

Thermal:

Robert Hubbard
Duration:1:17:25
Date: 3/10/11
Location: Balloon Fiesta Park, Albequerque New Mexico

Slope:

Hunnerbunner
Duration: 2:33:14
Date: 4/26/11

CrimzonRider

Thank you Sir
cr

Larry3215

One question on the rules - would hand launch gliders or winch launch gliders etc quality or is it motor gliders only?

Im willing to play if my TopSky and Elf qualify.

I've got the motor out of my Siren (my only motor glider) in another plane and dont feel like moving it back

CrimzonRider

I think just motor gliders only. Though it would not matter to me.

have a good one
cr

Rolling Thunder

Id be in for the slope soaring.I think I could get a couple more guys in too

Larry3215

Thats what it looked like to me too but I was hoping for some leeway

I was out of luck on the first contest too - no foam wing gliders. This month I also am out of luck as no motor gliders .....

Just a suggestion, but it would let more people play if you allowed all classes of gliders to enter at the same time - just sort the entries by glider type and only compare like types.

You would get more people participating too by not excluding 90% of the crowd on any given contest

CrimzonRider

Guess Not......

Larry why dont you start up one, I am still a novice, otherwise I would.

Maybe two categories, Novice & Pro, then three or four sub-categories for DLG or Winch, Slope, Motor, Unlimited, .
Not a whole bunch of rules to eliminate peoples various types of sailplanes, but just enough rules to be serious about it.

have a good one
cr

Larry3215

I hate to hijack Ed's idea, but I think I will give that a shot and see how it goes

I'll post a link when I have the thread up.