Kris^

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I just got back from my 4th Joe Nall. Some Impressions:

First off. . Safety Issues. After a lot of bitter complaints, broken planes and near-misses, the staff at Joe Nall knuckled down on the "Knuckle Heads" and FORCED these Ya-Hoos to take their little torque-rolling fun flies OUT!!! No more hovering in front of the flight stations, no more gaggles of buzzing funflies near mid-flightline obstructing the airspace from 100 feet all the way down to the runway, and no more collisions, heart attacks, or scowls because 5-10 irresponsible people can't play nicely or have respect for the $15,000 turbine planes or $3-8000 Giant Scale planes (from Cubs to Camels to IMAC birds) that NEED that airspace. After several incidents on Wednesday and Thursday (Including a 33% Composite-Arf {$3500. . . .} that was already landed and on landing rollout cutting one of these funflies {$250} in half with a wing panel) the after-hours madness was addressed. As well, all the guys with the big stuff who like to TR and flip and flop in mid-flight pattern, as well as the "Lake Torque Rollers" were told NO MORE!!! MC Bob did a GREAT job of clearing the air over the runway for the last two days of the event, and the entire staff at Joe Nall should be applauded for stepping forward and addressing the concerns of the majority over the bad behaviour of a few.

Second. .Weather. . Except for a brief cloudburst on Wednesday, the skies were about the BEST you could have asked for. Light wind, good conditions, partly coudy-sunny, and not too hot. . Another GREAT week for flying (I'm beginnning to think they have connections "up top").

Third. . Airplanes. My GOD!!! there were so many beautiful and unique planes there this year. People are starting to branch away from the "IMAC" Influence (though it was still very heavily represented) and a lot of one-off models were present. The care and details on the majority of planes was just fantastic!!!

Fourth. . Innovation. From the "Flying Guppy" FRENZY funfly, to Karl-Heinz Ruf's new plane (They built a model, than built a full-scale just like it. . ) to the Hartness Crews 40% Electric Extra, Mac Hodges B-29, Radial and 4-cylinder engines (in greater numbers than ever), new gadgets and interesting power and control systems, the level of expertise, technology and new thinking has just taken another step forward this year. Techno-fanatics were in heaven.

Fifth . . Full Scale. . You want BIG Airplanes. . get the real things into the act!!! 3 Full Scale acts were on hand, and the Chapman Cap, Mancuso Extra, and Johnson T-6 gave the crowd the full spectrum of Aerobatic performance and showmanship. Everyone loved them and we hope they will return next year.

Last. . Comaraderie. . Everyone made friends. . Everyone pitched in to help if things went wrong. . you needed something, all you had to do was ask and SOMEONE on that flight line had it. . the Triple Tree crew were always there to answer questions and set things right, and the Hangar was used many times to get a slightly damaged plane repaired and back into the air the next day. I cannot thank the people at Triple Tree enough for their help and expertise and for getting things done in such a professional, yet fun manner.

This hobby cuts right across every social barrier we have. There is no stigma for race, color, creed, background, or education. We ALL fly, build, enjoy, and help eachother. The Joe Nall fly-in exemplified this better than any place else I've ever flown. To Pat Hartness, the Members of the Confederate Air Farce, and ALL those volunteers who put on such a great event, I can only say. . THANKS. .

Let's do it again next year.

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

Chris..... Where are the pictures!
It is good to see that someone stopped the Heli want to be's.
I am sorry I missed it.

mvigod

kris,

can you copy/paste that into the official joe nall thread in the giant forum please?

tailskid

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Great report! Thanks from those of us who couldn't attend....

Jerry

Chris-_-Memphis

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the prices are outrageous, this was one of the lowest turn outs ever (ask the vendors) turn out has been dropping fast the last few years.. i know alot of ppl who will not be attending next year.. and they know quite a few ppl who wont also ..joe nall will be nothing in about 5 years if the owner doesnt get off his butt... <end rant>

goliath-RCU

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I went down on friday and had a good time ,i didnt fly. It looked like 600 pilots and the same 30 flying over and over. The staff needs to crack down so more people can fly and to improve the safety. i saw the cops there. one guy i talked to said his and others planes were stolen. i also heard that the gps on Bob Violets jet came back with nearly 300mph on it!

Four_Stroker

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"Prices were outrageous"

I don't know what prices you were talking about. Yeah burgers were about 4 bucks but hey they have to make something. My girlfriend and I went. It cost 5 bucks for both of us to get in. That even included a airshow performance by Matt Chapman. You can bet I will be back again next year.

P-51B

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I think it's great you address the safety concerns here, but I don't see what the price of a plane has to do with. Just because someone has a plane that costs 15K that doesn't mean they have more right to the airspace. I have seen plenty of ya-hoos with 4K 40% planes that pull the same garbage you describe by guys with $250.00 planes...price doesn't matter.

jongurley

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I had a great time and and I will stay the whole week next year,, it was a awesome show, I will never miss another one if possible.

heli001

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Chris,

I am also a bit curious as to what prices you thought were outrageous, as I am one of the staff members that help with the event. Also, I am wondering about the "turn out" numbers that the Vendors gave you, as they would have No knowledge of the gate receipts. If for some reason their products weren't selling, it is really not a very good indicator of the amount of people in attendance. I did ask the Vendors and they said it was one of the best years they have ever had.

BTW, the owner (Pat Hartness) built that facility, out of his own pocket, for modelers and the hobby, and I would be glad to pass along any request that you may feel are necessary to get him off of his butt. Triple Tree Aerodrome is probably the finest RC flying facility in the world.

DBCherry

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jongurley

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ChrisHays sounds sort of bitter, its funny that he is the only one I have heard that feels this way,, he must have crashed his plane down there at the NALL

Bladeflyer

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Hey W. C. Fischer,
If you get a chance to talk to Pat Hartness tell him thanks for the facility. There will always be a few bad apples in the crowd and they are the exception not the rule. I overheard Pat talking with Don Anderson of Great Planes trying to get some backing for the Don Lowe masters. Pat didn't want to talk business at the time just put a bug in his ear. Sounded like he wanted to have a T.O.C. type competition at Triple Tree down the road.

The facility looked great and the addition of the hanger facility and the paintings on the wall were great. The place was clean as far as I could see and with few exceptions everyone had a good time. If there was a way to inpound everyones radio as they enter the gate. That would solve the radio hits.

Again pass along to Pat thanks for keeping up the Joe Nall tradition, look forward to next year.

jongurley

My Feedback: (29)

I think that the facilities were first rate, clean restrooms, bathhouse's great, as far as the inpound area BLADEFLYER that is a great idea, but as we know I could my tranny's in my motorhome on the trunk of a car, suitcase, there is really know way to stop that, I don't really know of anyone that got shot but I was only there 3 days, but I had a blast and all the flyers acted with the utmost respect, I heard some comments on how the Joenall staff acted alittle to laid back/nonchaulatte but guys, don't you think that people respond better to that and act more comfortable than abunch of strict lawman acting people, I know they are not strict but everyone just feels more at home with it that way.. do you guys feel the same...

ROGER RUSSELL

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I camped out from Monday night to Friday night, left early Saturday morning.
Cooked out all my meals, took showers at the bath house (they even supplied the soap and shampoo)
Between those times I took my cahir down to the flight line and left it there and walked around, etc...
took my 35mm camera with me and on occasion left it on top of my chair as I walked around....
left my 33%er and all my equipment in my camping area, un locked, etc....
I guesse what I am talking about, is I never had anything stolen.
Am I to trust worthy of my fellow flyers, maybe, but then again I have had stuff stolen out of my van in my own back yard

I want to thank all the people who help put this on, all the participants, all the vendors. all the flyers.

I had one heck of a week, a blast.

Will I be back, YES, I wish it was next week.

THANKS

heli001

My Feedback: (5)

Roger,

I have no actual information on the thefts other than a police report was filed. To my knowledge, this was the first report of anything being taken since I have been involved with the event. The two carts were taken by people that were not involved with or attending the event.

It would be impossible to impound the radios at the gate. We use the honor system and trust the pilots to do the right thing. All we can do is to try and improve the system each year, but there is no perfect frequency system that I know of, if it was, it would have been invented 25 years ago. As for shoot downs, yes there were several when we went to the honor system and the pilots pulled their own pins. The only mishap that I know of during the "controlled" frequency part of the event occured because a number was transposed by a pilot. We had a scanner set up that scanned all of the active frequencies and showed the "active" ones on a laptop. This new system saved several aircraft, as we compared the frequencies asked for to what was "hot" on the screen. There will be much more improvement next year, such as logging out when a pin is taken so we can get it back in a reasonable time, hence stopping the pin hogging. If you were flying you know the system. If you are wondering how I know, I was one of the two frequency coordinators controlling the pins. I must say that ALL of the pilots that we encountered were helpful, extremely friendly and generally understood the logistics of controlling the frequencies with 500 pilots wanting to get to the flight line.

I left the site around lunch time today and I can tell you that there was a Futaba 8UAFS in it's case, left at the gazebo lost and found table with a bunch of sunglasses and other minor items. I was onsite from Wednesday the 5th through today. The CD will contact the owner of the radio and get it back to him.

Kris^

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WC has it dead on. . the Staff did the best they could do, considering they were outnumbered about 100-1 by the pilots and people with them. Add in the spectators and locals and you can see where this sort of event could become a real nightmare. A lot of "Volunteerism" from the pilots and attendees went a long way to getting over some rough spots. People were helping with the Transmitter Impound, walking the flightline and just lending a hand, and the general attitude was one of cooperation and helpfulness. Another thing I forgot to mention was that the planes were MUCH quieter this year, there was a lot less prop ripping going on, and a lot of improved muffler/canister systems were in use.

P-51B, the reason I mentioned the cost of the two planes involved in the mid-air/ground is that it shows that a cheap plane can still take out your very expensive model if you are not careful. The 33% Composite-Arf was mine. It may be a total write-off because repairs add a lot of weight. To me it seals the coffin on Funflies in close and low, and on anyone blocking flying airspace with ANY plane, no matter who is at the controls.

I'd also like to make one comment about something I saw at JN that really disturbs me. I arrived on Monday night, went to the Gazebo to hang out, and there was a proud father talking up his son's flying ability and bragging on the young lad. Since I am always eager to have GOOD flyers grab the sticks on my 28 lbs, BME powered 40%, and give it a wringing-out, I offered to let the kid fly the plane. As it turns out, mine was the only plane the kid DIDN'T crash that week. He broke his own plane, broke another pilots 3.3m Yak TWICE (the second time was terminal) and was basically a PITA the entire weekend to the staff and other pilots with his in-close shenanigans and disregard for safety concerns or presence of other people. On Friday he was dressed down on the flightline by a concerned pilot. .I was watching it happen and ready to jump in and give him hell as well. The only problem with this whole little story is that his father repeatedly made excuses for his bad judgement, tried to play the kid up even in the face of a destroyed and very expensive plane, and would not come to grips with with the situation and straighten his son out. In a mere 3 days that father had gone from being a hopeful man, proud of his son, to someone in denial and desperately trying to protect his son from his own mistakes, no matter what happened to other people or their equipment. It is sad that this happens, yet it is all too common in this hobby. Prodigies abound, yet their lack of maturity and good judgement scares me, no matter how well they can tumble a plane and get away with it. I can only hope that after this dismal performance, a lot of chewing out by people, and even "heavies" at a number of events stepping in and grounding this boy or even ejecting him from events, that someone will get the message and do a re-think about their modelling priorities. Believe me, it's not personal, but it does need to be addressed. Young pilots are the future of this hobby. . training them correctly, with a very heavy emphasis on safety and consideration for other flyers, is very necessary if they are to help promote this hobby in a positive way.

Now, if we could get those yahoos to shut up and let us sleep at 6:00 a.m., JN would be perfect, right WC?

P-51B

My Feedback: (5)

Kris,

Sorry for your loss, it always sucks losing a plane, especially a nice one. Your first post came off a sounding as though people with expensive planes have more of a right to airspace than those with cheaper planes, which obviously I don't agree with.

However, reading this post leads me to believe we are actually in agreement that the problem is the attitude, lack of judgement, and lack of respect exhibited by some modelers towards their fellow modelers.

heli001

My Feedback: (5)

Kris,

The young man that you mention in your third paragraph was admitted to B J Workman Memorial Hospital on Saturday afternoon and remains there as of this morning. I will not discuss his illness or say it had anything to do with his flying ability during the Nall, but our prayers should be with him and his family for a speedy recovery.

Update:

I just talked with him on the phone, and it looks like he will be heading home this afternoon. Anything that lays you up in the hospital for four days, is serious in my book.

bob_nj

My Feedback: (62)

Since we don't know his name anyway, and not violating any HIPAA laws, what happened to him?

iflyj3

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Just look at his name: "21 y/o professional prop breaker!"

He's probably at JN expecting that silver spoon he grew up with!

rw Guinn

Nonsense, Sirrah!
At 21, I knew everything too! Since then all I have done is get more and more ignorant...just exactly like everyone else has done

jongurley

My Feedback: (29)

I didn't know that that was him, when I said he must have crashed at Nall, I was trying to be funny, how did he crash the three planes was he 3Ding or what., and P>S> If I wanted to have someone ring out my 40%er I would hand it to Chip or QueQue or Jason S. or etc.....

heli001

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Jonathan,

CrisHays is not the person that was described in Kris^ post.

jongurley

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OH well anyway how did the mystery kid who was suppose to be so awesome crash...