[Patch]

Actually, the WWII rules state that the cowl must be present at the beginning of the event, not the beginning of the round. Since it's not really a safety issue to be missing a cowl, I wouldn't have a problem with it. Allowing a plane to fly held together by elastics is another issue though. Were the safety inspections not being done after midairs or dirtnaps?

[Bob Byrnes]

I sure don't mean to start a slanging match nor do I intend any offence by my comments. I just think that if there is a rule it should be applied, sometimes there can be too many rules however. I really feel the contest is in the air and combat is about cuts. I agree the WW 1's can be tricky to land just like the real ones were but the points awarded are too high. A guy can win just by keeping a streamer and having good landings, that's hardly combat. Just my 2 cents worth. I still have fun flying the rounds. I don't have the same time to spend as most of the other participants and maybe one class will be good enough for me. I will choose WW2 probably so I will keep my opinions on WW 1 to myself henceforth. Just home from Myrtle Beach, weather sucked, golf was OK. Ate and drank way too much, had fun. take Care see you soon.
Bob Byrnes.

[Cross Check]

Hi All,

Here are some things I learned and think(my opinion) about WW1 combat after CDing Bloody April:

-Somehow we need 'good flying weather' for the WW1's. This means luck on the part of CD's and/or alot of raindates, which complicates attendance, and field availability.

-If some pilots did not like the balloons we could have easily stopped using them after the end of any round. Seemed to me that most pilots enjoyed the extra challenge. (of the 4 'pops' counted, two lost their streamers trying ! I lost a streamer trying with no 'pop'...doah!)
This is a very easy 'rule' to 'fix'...no more balloons!

-Rubber bands holding a plane together? Do we need a 'maximum number'? Sure Alex's Dr-1 was rough looking and should have had an intact cowl to start. It is a prototype and has 'dirtnapped' many times so far. His plane was safe to fly(If you had any concerns you should have talked to me, the CD) and he 'retired it' after 3 rounds. I'm sure he will be better prepared next time. It looked like a Fokker Dr-1 to me from 15ft, and was not trying to 'streatch the rules'.
Do we need 'scale bonus points' to set a 'standard'? Or should it be 'pilot majority vote' to allow an 'iffy' looking plane to fly?
Obviously any unsafe planes will be grounded.

- I think 100pts. is fair for a good takeoff/landing.(50/50 instead of 25/75?) If these points are 'minimized' too much then we will all end up flying with very light, 'non functioning' landing gears and just hand launch, and get launch on time/full round pts. with a lighter better performing plane...(my wheels/gear weigh 7oz.)

-I figure Gary's Albatros, Bob's S.E 5 and the D-7's were the 'performance standard' we are looking for. Without the wing struts I thought my SpadVII was a bit fast, even with a K&B .20... I'll be adding the 8 'Starbucks stirstick' struts for next time.
I got a good diving high speed run at the radar gun and got 48mph with an APC 10-3 spinning 12.500RPM(max. I got on the ground was 12,300)
I also got a 'comfortable' slow speed run of 28mph. I flew the combat rounds at 3/4 throttle.

-I estimate it took me more than twice the time to make my WW1 than a WW2. (landing gear plus the extra wing/cabanes) I like building as much as flying though. I enjoy the challenge of designing and scratch building. I really like my SpadVII because it flys great and I am much more likely to 'sport' fly it. After I get my WW2's 'dialed in' I basicly just store them till the next combat match. With a WW1 I can enjoy 'regular sport flying' as well as scale ralleys and funflys... I'm going to build more WW1s.

-I really liked the 25ft strings and 30ft streamers with the orange 'kill marker' at the string/streamer joint. It was easy for me to see and it 'hanging well back' enabled me to attack the streamer rather than 'just behind the plane'. I got plenty of good streamer 'crosses' but my depth perception was off that day...
I found WW1 combat really fun to do. It is different than WW2. I found I had much more time to attack/defend. Any 'extreme' manouvering really slowed me down and I would be vunerable... I thought there would be more escape/climb and diving attacks but most of us stayed low and level and tried out turning each other... I had fun.

If you have any suggestions/comments about WW1 please feel free.
Bloody April was all about learning how to make WW1 Combat work.

Cobble Hills is next on June 5th.
I'll see if I can get some 'WW1 combat time' at the OMFC Scale rally on Sept. 17th.

I hope I can get some of you guys to help me with a WW1/WW2 scale combat demo at the OMFC Airshow on June 12th.

Take care,
Have fun,
Dave'crosscheck'Fallowfield
Maac 6437
Unabashed Combat Team