Originally Posted by
speedracerntrixie
Well Ollie, when I ran silver I think I had more breakouts then I did heat wins. When I made the decision to go gold I gave in and went YS. I have never really been a 4 stroke guy. That being said I knew the the YS was going to give me the consistency to dial in the fuel/prop combo so that a clean race would get me in the 1:27-1:30 range. That is something I was never able to do with the 2 strokes. However of racing with no breakout, I have lots of room for more speed. At SAMs I run relatively low nitro and only a 13" pitch prop. More nitro and pitch as I was running in Morgan Hill in October resulted in a huge speed increase. Had I not thrown a prop blade I just may have beaten Mick who was running really well that day too.
Shawn,
I know exactly what you meant: plaque (more) easily obtainable by someone purchasing one of your Macchi kits offered for sale, so they too, could go blazingly fast. Yes, I was "busting your balls", but with a deeper purpose in mind.
You’ve known me for years now, and most people that know me well have come to understand that if I don’t have strong feelings about something, I tend to keep my mouth shut; and let those that do, dominate the floor. I am not someone who always feels the need to throw in his two cents to regularly be heard. But, if someone directly asks my opinion, or like in this case if it is something I am truly passionate about, I will speak my mind. If I am going to take the time to speak my mind, people who have “figured me out” know that there is usually a worthwhile message behind what I am saying. Hopefully that is true in this case.
My comments were not simply a demonstration of our brand of smack-talk; and it most certainly was not meant as any kind of slight against you or your accomplishments. (We have become good friends, and I truly was very proud of you; it was a long time coming, and you deserved every bit of it!) Within that message I had intended other layers of meaning that I hoped to more or less almost subliminally begin to introduce to the Gold pilots (most of the pilots behind this initial effort) for consideration, as our discussions progressed and the timing seemed more appropriate; but may now just have to risk just jumping right in with. So, here it goes:
The last few years have seen the pilots and CDs of the various series engaging in conversations regarding the various decisions and reasoning behind the criteria we each developed as the framework for our formats. It was obvious that many wanted to see a standardization, hoping for a better cross-pollination and level of mutual support. It has taken someone as dedicated to the sport as Marty (and Richard, as well), to actually take the time to participate and meet everyone at the various events and clubs, and to be as well liked and respected by all to be able to serve so well as an ambassador (or “ambassadors” counting Richard) to bring us all together. We are on the cusp of finally realizing this goal, and the repercussions of our decisions now, will likely have a long-term impact on our sport.
Remember what happened to SWRA . . . Our various formats rose from the ashes of SWRA and have worked for our various “niche markets” and local club clientele for nearly 20 years. Potentially changing our formats, even partially is risky. But, I believe worth the risk, so long as we carefully consider all impacts and contingencies with an open mind as to what truly is best for the sport overall, rather than what gives individual clubs and racing classes more of what they want in the short-term.
I am so passionate about this sport that I will support any effort that further promotes it whether I ultimately am able to actually participate in it, or not. That being said, I think it is important to define exactly what our aims are.
Initially, Marty made it clear that his vision is for a two-class event - Gold, and Unlimited. My question is, “If we are able to come together to successfully put on such an event, is that where it stops?” Specifically, is it worth a potential rules rewrite for Gold and Silver classes (changes that would most likely affect Bronze, as well) for each of our respective series’ to hold one Warbird Racing Championship Event . . . all this in preparation for a presentation with the goal “to see it in Muncie as a NATS event . . . [with] 180 MPH warbirds making the ticket . . . for a national 2-class event in Muncie”, only to eventually leave out both Silver and Bronze altogether, in favor of an Unlimited class, when eventually presenting the event to the Nats officials?
If we “[might] even open it up to Bronze pilots” as “the key reason for this event would be to attract all the different warbird series into one event as well as see how well this pans out to present it to the Muncie officials for consideration”, does that mean this moves beyond just the originally-proposed two-class event? Originally I didn’t think so. But, it seems somewhat insensitive to encourage Silver’s and especially Bronze’s participation to build-up initial successes towards a series of events that would eventually have no place for them. Furthermore, that latter question may become even more relevant now that the Unlimited class does not appear to even be continuing in the one series that had been running it to this point, and Silver represents the majority of participants.
All this is in the earliest stages of gestation, so I fully expect there will be some initial confusion and that the "think tank" needs time to carefully plan for all contingencies. I am still "all-in", even though I am unclear exactly what I am offering to get myself into. Likewise, based on having received a few emails and calls from a local race worker, 2 Bronze and another Silver pilot, all since last night, and all asking me exactly what this means, I am not the only one. There are definitely some strong feelings out there about what others think this event should be, and who might be left out. As this is not my proposal, I don’t have the answers for them. So this fact, and wanting to ensure I didn’t hurt my buddy Shawn’s feelings, gave me the impetus to just pose these questions outright for consideration.
(And I’m already bracing for the comparisons to a Tolstoy novel from Jake! 
)
Last edited by Iron Dog; 12-07-2014 at 11:08 PM.