Strat2003

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I don't know if there are any SAM competitors in this forum, but I'll ask anyway....

I've learned that Foxacoy won't be contested at the 2006 Nationals in Muncie. Anyone have any ideas why? It seems like a good entry class to oldtimer competition. The airplanes are big enough to see, the engines are cheap and easy to find, and the max is challenging enough to make 12-flyer flyoffs unlikely.

rainedave

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Sorry I can't answer your question, but I Googled Foxacoy and the first result is a link to your RCU thread showing your Kerswap. That's a fantastic looking plane, and highly visible, I'll bet!

Maybe I should glue up a Stratostreak to go head to head.

s. wallace

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I'll take a shot at an answer, and I have flown in 5 SAM Champs & been RC co-CD once (2000).

SAM has a lot of "basic" events they have to fit in, as well as many "special" events that have built up
a following. They try to limit each day to 5 events, so the schedule fills up fast and doesn't leave much room left for newer events. It is very difficult for a newer event to get added, especially if you are not among the SAM elite.

Foxacoy to me seems a neat event, and one worthy of having. In my opinion there are several events that are "turkeys" they could drop and add Foxacoy, but I am in the minority. A Texaco is one, with specialized .09-.15 diesels running almost the length of the 15 minute max it is really just a contest not to lose your plane during the flyoff. There are some others but I digress.

I believe any airplane legal for Foxacoy could also compete in C Glow but you would get your clock cleaned
by guys running ST 35's or Nelson's in the same sized airplanes...

SAM has such a lot going for it with some outstanding core events, but sometimes shoots itself in the foot
with its decisions. If it were up to me I would limit the whole thing to 2-3 events per day with a blend of the
easier and harder events, and keep a sane mix of ignition, glow and electric. Time to really enjoy each day instead of a mad rush to get all ones flights in.

rainedave

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Low Rider. I admire your position on SAM events. I've never made it to a Champs, but I, myself, have no interest in the "locked-up" events using diesels or Nelsons, etc.

One event which is of the same flavor as Foxaco that seems to be popular is the Ohlsson sideport .23 ignition event. I guess the glow crowd is mainly interested in using their super-hot engines, so a Fox .35 seems boring. Who knows.

This is really getting off subject, but I feel like scaling just leads to the tayloring the old designs to suit modern engines, instead of aiming to make the original designs perform well by selecting the best engines to fit them. Just my own opinion.

s. wallace

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Rainedav, I agree- scaling shouldn't have been allowed. The Free Flight side of SAM doesn't allow it.
In RC it just means most (not all) competitors fly different sizes of the Lanzo Bomber or Playboy. The trouble is that it has been allowed & no one wants to legislate models as "illegal"- people would quit flying SAM.
I prefer the Ohlsson sideport event where the planes are bigger and fly well- the .23 event has never been overly popular.
If I were king for a day I would make it simpler: No scaling (except for 1/2A), no modern glow engines(except 1/2A), no modern diesels (Elfins, etc ok)...
Events would be:
Texaco
1/2A Texaco
Brown Jr
Ohlsson Sideport
Limited engine run-ignition (classes ABC combined)
Limited engine run-glow (classes ABC combined)
Foxacoy
Electric LER
Spirit of SAM (electric event for models that were originally rubber powered)
1 special event per SAM Champs

Something for everyone, 2 events per day and more time to socialize with other fliers. Would certainly see
a wide variety of designs.

Again, back to the point of the thread- where is Foxacoy flown at the local level? Usually a SAM chapter
pushes to have its "new" event added after demonstrating its appeal on the regional level.

Strat2003

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Thanks for the kind words about my Kerswap, raineday. It does show up nicely in the air. It's a nice flyer although it's probably not as good as a Bomber or Playboy. I built it because I've done three Bombers and five Playboys in the last few years and was getting tired of them, lol!

I get a big kick out of the high powered SAM events so I don't quite agree with the other guys about returning to the "purer" forms of the sport. Good Ohlson .23s are harder and harder to find and a McCoy .60 or a Shilen Torpedo cost as much or more than the Jett .35 I use in my C Glow Playboy so I don't think eliminating the glow classes is the answer. Foxacoy just seemed like a really good way to get into this kind of flying. A 788 sq in airplane like my Kerswap would be a small C Glow airplane (I think it would need like a .32, it's not big enough for a .35) or a large Class B, where it wouldn't be competitive with my 600-something sq in Playboy. Without Foxacoy it's an orphan, I'm afraid.



I do appreciate the crowded, hectic nature of the nationals. I flew at Muncie in 2004 and the flightline was just plain scary with different classes of airplanes blasting off all around you, a dozen planes in the air at one time and guys wandering all over the landing area. It's not going to get any better with the increase in interest in the electric classes, either.