<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2722" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am convinced, totally. That it's definitely
advantageous, quieter, cleaner, and still way too expensive and unreliable for
guys like me. You guys have fun with it, I'll join in when the technology
catches up to the desire. Maybe.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now don't get me wrong....I am NOT anti-electric at
all. I think it's great that people are willing to spend that kind of money and
exert that kind of effort so eventually it will be a reasonable alternative for
the rest of us. But as you said earlier, technology is moving fast just like
computers, and it's just a question of where/when/ or even if to jump in.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm totally convinced that when running correctly,
a YS 160DZ is a superior engine (performance-wise) to what I have been running
for years, an old OS 140 beater. But I simply don't believe I can get the kind
of reliability and service out of the YS that I want and need to be competetive.
Hence why after all this time I'm still running the exact same power set up I
ran at my very first contest years ago. Because it's reliable and it works, for
me. And compared to eitehr a YS OR electrics (especially), it's cheaper. By a
long shot. If and when the day ever comes that that small edge of performance
becomes more important than 10 cases of burned fuel for me, I may make the move.
I am not there yet. And I would hope there are others on the fence that would
come to the same conclusion, for now.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here's my concerns, laid out flatly. I know
electrics are the new thang. Everybody sees it coming, and most are going to do
whatever it takes to get any (even if not real) competetive egde. We hear
constantly about how great electrics are, but rarely do we hear in detail the
dark side. I know it's all still in development, I understand that. But my first
concern is how many people will spend a huge amount of money and find out they
are in a deep hole and have to learn AND spend thier way out. How many may quit
out of frustration? A few, not many though. Hopefully by now they know what they
are getting into.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Secondly how many are looking at the current state
of affairs with electrics booming down the pike and seeing WAY too many dollar
signs? And how many will quit in frustration? How many quit when we went to
large 2 meters? How many quit when we changed to turnaround? Not the same thing
exactly, but if you look closely you may see the underlying culprit is change
itself, not the specific change in question. Again how many may we lose? Not
many. But a few.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Lastly, and most importantly, I HOPE an electric
judging bias doesn't raise it's ugly head. But you know as well as I do, in some
(hopefully RARE) instances, it will. Let's face it, right now they are cool. And
hey, a cool plane doesn't affect judges does it now???? Sometimes. Once is too
often. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Put it all together, and you have the makings of a
small, and yet substantial hit to pattern. Temporary I'm sure, and hopefully not
too pronounced, but there. POTENTIALLY. No it's not going to kill pattern, the
sky is not going to fall, but in the short term I wonder if it might not do more
harm than good by pushing this stuff before it's really ready for full tilt
pattern use by average guys. Because make no mistake, average guys are going to
be some of the first to jump in the fire. looking for that edge and following
the leader.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Lucky for us, some people (Jason Schulman comes to
mind) have been extremely forthcoming with both the pros AND cons of electrics.
A while back I asked on RCU about the bottom line on this stuff, Jason said
"it's not for everybody, the technology is moving but still in the early stages,
and you really have to want to do it...but it is cool". THAT is a fair assesment
I think. Chad from Canada has been pretty informational, both good and bad, as
well. I simply can't say that for everybody, and I'm sure a lot of it has to do
with the dreaded "S" word. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Now with all of that being said, the day will
probably come when I go electric myself. I have the good fortune to be building
2 planes for a friend that are both electrics, and so I get to learn a ton
without spending too much of my own money =P Hehe. But you better believe I am
researching everything I can find because I want to know everything I can to
prevent his transition into electrics from being a bad experience...and it helps
me too. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Honestly I just wish I could throw some icewater on
this "GOTTA HAVE IT NOW OR WE MIGHT AS WELL NOT BOTHER" attitude that seems to
be forming in some circles. I have lost count of how many times new technology
was pushed before it was really ready, and the average guys ended up paying
dearly due to simple lack of information. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My message in all of this: Slow down and do your
homework guys. It's good stuff, but it has a dark side you NEED to be prepared
for. That's all really.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And with that I'm off to bed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-Mike</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=ccmlbuck@comcast.net href="mailto:ccmlbuck@comcast.net">ccmlbuck</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=kerlock@comcast.net
href="mailto:kerlock@comcast.net">Mike Hester</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=discussion@nsrca.org
href="mailto:discussion@nsrca.org">discussion@nsrca.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, September 28, 2005 11:38
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Electrics</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I know Robert has been flying electrics for a couple of
years now. He has learned a lot. The first year he wasted 3
battery packs. He has better batteries this year but still not the
latest that just came out before the Nats. He has had a motor and a
speed control fail. I know not all is perfect with electric but all you
have to do is fly his plane for 2 minutes and you will be convinced.
Whatever trouble he might have had in the past, he flew 6 rounds at the D4
finals without a flameout. Craig</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=kerlock@comcast.net href="mailto:kerlock@comcast.net">Mike
Hester</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=ccmlbuck@comcast.net
href="mailto:ccmlbuck@comcast.net">ccmlbuck@comcast.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=discussion@nsrca.org
href="mailto:discussion@nsrca.org">discussion@nsrca.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, September 28, 2005
10:05 PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Electrics</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>That's funny, when I talked to Robert at the
Nats about his electric Eclipse, all he did was complain about how much
trouble he'd had with it. Then again, he beat me by 10 points
=P</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>-Mike</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT
face=Arial
size=2></FONT> </BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>