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<DIV><FONT size=2>Ed, welcome to the list and into pattern. I hope you
enjoy both to the fullest.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Dan Curtis</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Ed_Alt@hotmail.com href="mailto:Ed_Alt@hotmail.com">Ed Alt</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=discussion@nsrca.org
href="mailto:discussion@nsrca.org">discussion@nsrca.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 24, 2004 12:46
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Artistic Aerobatics</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi all:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm new to this list, having decided to get into
pattern in '04 after about 7 years of IMAC competition. I find
the comments on Artisitic Aerobatics very interesting, especially
coming from this background. There are some fun aspects of the IMAC
Freestyle that can certainly spice up a competition, but it can also become
the center of attention by a CD and materially interfere with the
quality of the precision sequence flying, which is all that most IMAC flyers
usually participate in. I never even competed in Freestyle until '03,
when we were socked in by low ceilings at a contest and the only flying we
could do was down low, hence my plunge into the event. I could never
really get my mind around how to properly coreograph a performance to
music, so I stayed away from it in competition. I also didn't much
like the idea of the pure subjective nature of the event, the way pure WOW
factor could spell a win over superior flying etc.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Later in the year, I took one more whack
at Freestyle and actually won the event, but I couldn't rationalize
why. I thought my performance was mediocre at best. After that, I
think I finally made peace with myself over this and figured that it was just
another chance to put the airplane up, show off if you are so inclined and
generally have some fun. FWIW, if you can approach it this way, Artistic
Aerobatics could be a nice addition to pattern events if you don't want to be
too serious about it. </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>A few will be able
to really do it right, i.e., coreograph something that somehow captures the
mood of the music, accentuating it as much as it accentuates the flight of the
model, displays precision where it seems like precision should have been
achieved and fully exploits the performance envelope of the model at the right
moments. They should rise to the top.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Incidentally, there may be a misconception that
the IMAC freestyle is mostly about low torque rolls and dragging the tail in
the grass. That trend is well past. Excessive time spent doing
TRs, or for that matter staying in a pure 3D flight mode and not showing the
full capabilties of the model, displaying precision aerobatics at least part
of the time and making good use of the aerobatic box is generally not a
winning formula anymore. Lastly, although I can't say that
I'm intimately familiar with what's being proposed for AA, it
seems that one challenge that deserves much attention is to try to
have as much objectivity in the judging criteria as possible. That's not
an easy thing to do and is probably not fully achievable. IMO, if you
can accept the idea that your scores may be strongly influenced
by moods and style preferences, then it seems that you may be able to
enjoy Artistic Aerobatics.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ed
Alt</FONT></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>