[MT-ALES] FW: AMA/ALES League Rules to Ponder

[CURTIS SUTER]

Ford wrote:
If I enter a contest with people with variometers and skegs, I’ll not compete against them.  If I don’t choose to use those tools, then I can’t compete fairly.  I don’t choose to have the option of telemetry and don’t choose to put a skeg on my Supra...so for that reason, (to quote a Shark Tank star) “I’m out!”.


Ford,
  I'm sadden by this response.
    It  has been determined that Skegs gives little advantage to a pilot.  In the 2016 Season one pilot's landings were all 40 or better except for one.  That's for an entire season of landing without a Skeg!  So unless you're already making your flight time 100% of the time, I'm not, I dropped two rounds in the last Summer ALES on Saturday.  Sunday I made them all.  Sof for me the the option to use or not use a Skeg is a mute point as I'm not making my times yet!  Oh, I'm not using a skeg FWIW.

To say it another way.  Why do you come to the contests anyway?  In other words at the end of the day what do you want to have achieved?
I attend for the camaraderie, the smiles, the chance to see how well I can setup and fly my airplane and detect lift/sink amongst my friends.  If I'm not first then I can reflect for a day as to what I could have done differently.  Oh the primary goal is to have the plane in one piece!  That's it for me.  If it weren't for the wonderful group of people that attend;  I wouldn't show up.

So if we restricted skegs and someone showed up from a club that allows skegs then we'd have to turn them away.  That's not what we want.  We want folks to fly their model and at the end of the day go home smiling.
So the club will restrict Varios as they can easily be turned off but Skegs will be optional.

Now for the Montana Summer ALES big dance in August on the day I'm the CD I have not fully decided but most likely Skegs will not be allowed.  Folks will have plenty of time to figure out how to remove their skegs.  For our monthly contest does it really matter?

Curtis
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