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<DIV><SPAN class=020540503-10012005>Troy,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=020540503-10012005> Good points. I understand what you're
saying. Sorry, I'm an Engineer so sometimes I have a hard time explaining
things that appear logical and obvious to me. All I was trying to say was
that if we worded the rules so that "Weight - Ready To Fly" really meant what it
said then you would weigh an electric with the batteries in it (charged) and a
glow / gas plane with a full tank of fuel. The way it is now, it's open to
interpretation - which fosters the type of behavior we see happening now. I'm
not trying to start trouble, just make everyone think and be more careful when
we draft and / or accept rules. In Engineering we work to a spec. When we're
done with the first prototype, the design either meets the spec. or deviates
from it in some way. This is all duly noted during the release process. When you
write a spec. you try to accomodate Marketing's interpretation of the spec. This
is called covering your a##. You have to make it immune to interpretaion as much
as possible. This is to avoid working on weekends (when you should be at the
field, not in the lab). Because of this, I've developed a fairly good sense of
what will hold water and what won't. This rule doesn't hold water. When 3
people can read it and come up with the answer they want to hear, then it needs
to be fixed / clarified. Here's some more "out-of-the-box" thinking: What
is the purpose of the weight limit? Safety I would think. Why is it a MAXIMUM
limit. Lately it seems we're trying so hard to build BIG, light airplanes that
some parts aren't strong enough (like wing tubes). In R/C car racing there's a
MINIMUM weight rule. Since I don't think anyone purposely sets out to build
a heavy plane, it just ends up that way (at least that's the problem I always
run into) why do we even need a maximum weight rule. Maybe this works for
"scale" models but I think it should be different for pattern planes.
Lighter weight is an advantage. Maybe, if what you really want is light
airplanes, have a MINIMUM weight rule. Everyone will try to work towards minimum
weight. End result - same as with a max. weight rule BUT no more "unfair"
advantages. Sure, some planes will be lighter than others, but none will be
shaved to ribbons trying to be "legal". Does this make sense, or am I
missing something? I understand that we're trying to keep things "safe" by
limiting the amount of potential damage an 11 lb. airplane can cause when the
wings fold, but...</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=020540503-10012005>
<P><FONT size=2>John Pavlick<BR><A href="http://www.idseng.com/"
target=_blank>http://www.idseng.com</A><BR> </FONT> </SPAN><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
discussion-request@nsrca.org [mailto:discussion-request@nsrca.org]<B>On Behalf
Of </B>Troy A. Newman<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, January 12, 2005 4:14
PM<BR><B>To:</B> discussion@nsrca.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Technology and
Paticipation<BR><BR></P></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>