Conference vmszoo::rc

    
    	In responce to the original intent of your note I think that
    AMA is in the process of transitioning from a club into a business.
    The past structuring and administration of the AMA was similar to
    a club format. If one realized the origin of the group one can 
    understand. Is the past couple of years the organization has
    started the move to a business. In all businesses there are faults
    that exist. I think thatas these faults surface the AMA need to
    look at where they are where they are going and if a change is
    position.
    
    	I'll start this section off with PATTERN,
    
    	As of last the Fai has adopted a new routen that is an
    attempt to pilot RC planes in a similar manor to the real thing.
    They are not attempting this as in measuring the "G" forces that
    an RC plane takes but rather in a visual display of how the model
    is piloted. The US is one of the few remaining countries that 
    still feels that the world's ideas and OK for the top pattern
    flyers but not for the general membership. Problem with that is
    that if you don't have a continual influx of new blood into
    the FAi ranks then sooner or latter these ranks will be no longer
    competitive. I think that if one looks at the dwindling attendance
    at Pattern contests withen the "Masters" ranks then one should
    be able to realize that the pattern flyers have already made their
    choise. I also think that someone within the AMA should be charger
    with the responsibility of chairing a rules committee that will
    set up a plan to get the RC PATTERN classes changed towards an
    FAI style of pattern. There are three of us here in western mass
    that are into pattern and we presently practice our classes
    manuaver schedule and they practice the FAI schedule. 
    
    
    						Tom

Well said, Tom.  A similar thing is going on in other classes, such
as free flight, where the FAI ships are so sophisticated that our
AMA class ships are non-competitive.  Some of this has to do with
the fact that all our world team eleminations are done in Taft,
California, where the conditions are so perfect that they are
unmatched except in one or two places in the world.  Thus when our
team goes to world competition in say, England or France, the
relatively non-complex ships that performed under the perfect
conditions in Taft are no match for those that were selected in
less-than-perfect sites to compete in a less-than-perfect world
competition site.   By the way, the leaders in all forms of high
tech free flight are centered around the communist countries, namely
China and the Soviet Union... 

I mention the above for information, and because I understand that
the RC glider folks are up against a similar problem; hi tech models
and our selection process.  Funny that we should be beaten in high
tech, since we have availability and money that is unheard of
elsewhere.  An interesting background on this was the series of
articles that Stu Richmond has been writing in Model Builder
concerning his modeling tour behind the Iron Curtain.  I know I'd
give up if I faced the obstacles those guys are up against.

As I understand it, there are some issues around scale competition,
too, and I would be pleased if someone up on scale could fill us in
on them.  Part of it has to do with our penchant for large scale
models in this country, but I think there's more than that.

Anyway, the issue that's coming up is that the Nats, and AMA
competition in general, is poor training ground for world class
fliers.

Strangely enough, considering the few people who do that sort of
thing in this country, we are VERY competitive in all classes of
indoor, though...

    From the 1989 AMA Supply and Service Catalog,
    
    The certification statement,
    
        "I hereby certify that while a duly enrolled AMA member, I have
        personally caused a model aircraft to become effectively airborne
        upon at least one occasion during each month of the applicable
        calendar year.  I further certify that I" [am paying money].
    
    You are to send "your declaration with your club secretary's signature
    (if you do not belong to a chartered club than [sic] include another
    adult member's signature) together with" money ($2.50).  This signature
    would seem to be more of a notarization than an endorsement.  There
    is no mention of any written diary or of other records.
    
    Note the reference to "calendar year".  Dan Snow called the AMA about
    this today.  He was told that if you fly 12 consecutive months, you
    qualify. 

I recieved a copy of an AMA sanction certificate in a contest 
announcement. Stamped at the bottom was:

This AMA Sanction is void if the same event
is sanctioned by any other organization not
recognized by the AMA.

I assume this would be SFA but I wonder about other organizations 
like LSF?