This is my first summer at really trying combat, I must say it is a blast! I had my best night on record so far on Monday with 5 kills in 4 rounds. I could barely fly from the excitement of having multiple streamers on my wings....what a thrill. Here are the mishaps that I've encountered thus far:
1) First night of combat, 10 seconds left in the second round and I nosed my TA in almost at full throttle, the only damage was stripped servos in the wing. I was really lucky the damage was so minimal.
2) 3rd night of combat a friend and I had a head on mid-air in the middle of the last round. I was flying my JKA TA and he had a JKA Jug. His nose punched my wing and took me out. He was able to recover and keep flying (barely), he needs a new wing as well. I have since rebuilt the wing and it is flying better than ever.
3)Not a mishap, my wife went into labor right after the second round last month. 15 hrs later our daughter was born
4) That's it so far, this stuff is a wicked thrill!

Eh, so-so.

I've had a few good rounds, but I'm really being inconsistant so far this year. I haven't managed to score over 500pts in a round yet this year either, though I am on a pace to put up more 4-500pt rounds this year than last, even if I can't manage to keep it together though an entire contest. It's all mental, sometimes it "clicks" and I can cut anything, other times I just can't zero in on things. A tad frustrating, but hey ,that's the way it goes sometimes. RCCA NPS-wise, I'm doing pretty well, but it's way too early in the season for it to mean anything.

Montague,

I think you are being a little hard on your self. You flew this weekend but did not have many pilots show up because of the weather. I think everyone should now that we will fly in between the rain showers if we have to and that they should show up regardless. I wached you fly at the Dixie nats and I have been watching your scores since then. Why you ask, because Swampboy and I are the father/son team that are coming up behind you. In order for you to jump in the standings, you will need to start posting some 700 point rounds. I know that it is real far but the event in Smithville MO will have lots of airborne streamers, and of course the Nats.

Kurt,

I love the JKA kits but you may want to get a plane with a 64" wing, that will make those cuts easier. Congrats on the new addition to the family, have you bought her a transmitter yet? I started both of mine early and my 15 year old is 7th in the national points standing. Sorry but the proud father in me had to come out sometime. The person that he is reaching for is Montague.

Bob Mayle
"Tank"

Bob,
Actually, I keep an excel spreadsheet of my scores in the various classes, so I have a pretty good idea how I'm doing compared to last year, which is most important to me.

Last year, I finished in 7th in Open Overall last year, but there are guys ranked this year who weren't last year, like Don Howard and Lee Liddle, and some of the guys from last year have obviously stepped it up a notch. Locally (where I do most of my flying, after all), several guys have picked it up a notch from last year as well, so that means less streamers left late in rounds, and a harder time getting the "big round" posted.

Last year, my average was a 415 for my top 20 open rounds. I struggled a lot in B last year, but I'm doing better there this year. I'm hoping to finish the year with a 450 average for my top 20 rounds. I can do that with out the 600+ point rounds, but it will be hard. Last year, I had 1 700pt round and nothing in the 600 range. So, you're right, I could use a few 700+ pointers. But they are hard to get, espeically since the vast majority of heats I fly in have 5-6 planes (including mine) in them. I think Nats will be the last contest for me this year where I can expect to see 8+ planes in the air.

Standings wise, I figure a 450 will be around 8th-12th place at the end of the year. So, I expect to finish with a higher point average, but lower standing than last year.

Oh, if you were watching me at Dixie, you saw a prime example of how "streaky" I can be. My B scores were:

160 20 240 540 -400 480 400 240

Clearly, I started the contest with two "futility" rounds where I couldn't get anywhere near a streamer. Then I got my brain in gear and things clicked for me in round 4. (the -400 was traced back to a loose crystal a little while after the contest. Stooopid! Boot to the head for endangering folks with badly preped gear.)

The funny thing is that I am too inconsistant to be a threat to win a "major" contest. I've never been able to keep it together for 8+ rounds at once. Everyone has a low score round here and there, but I get too many of them. But I get enough high rounds that by the end of the season I should have enough high point rounds to get my average up there.

(btw, I'm a computer programer and database guy with a serious streak of "number geek" so I can spend a lot of time playing with NPS scores and the like. But it's all for fun, I really don't take it that seriously)

Anyway, here's a way to look at NPS. After NE Nats gets posted, my low score in the overall Open categegory will be a 220. That means any round below that "doesn't count", and if I post a 540, my NPS score will go up by 320 points. I have 8 of my 20 rounds currently under 300pts. So every time I score 400+, I go up in points a noticeable amount. But, and here's the kicker, if I get hot at Nats, my upwards progress will slow way way down for the rest of the season, as I start to do things like replace a 260 with a 340 for example.

Oh, and after NE Nats is posted, I'll move up just under 200pts, to 7236. Not enough to jump a spot, but close.

I just dropped your son's scores in to a spreadsheet, and I see that he's in pretty good position right now. After NE Nats, he'll be about 700pts behind me, but you have a number of low score rounds that will drop off, raising your score quickly at first. A single 900pt round will put him above me, as I think the low score is a 170something.

There are really two keys to doing well in NPS.

First, the more rounds you fly, the more high point rounds you pick up. It's possible to get high in NPS by being "streaky" and posting the high round here and there while never coming close to winning a contest. Last year, less than 1 round in 10 for me was over 400pts. But I managed 7th, go figure. (so far this year, 1 round in 4 is 400pts or higher (open classes only), a good sign for me)

Second, you have to fly enough rounds with enough targets available to get those 7+ cut rounds. One round in that area can really make a huge difference. Ben (whom I think is a better pilot than me) has a 900+pt round. If you take that away and replace it with a 500+ pt round, he goes down 400 NPS points and drops from 4th to 6th. That's a big impact from one round out of 60-80 most of the top NPS scorers flew last year.

Anyway, NPS is fun, but not a perfect measure of pilot skill, that's for sure. BUT, and this is key, I don't think it needs to be changed or should be changed. It's fine the way it is. RCCA went though a huge mess getting it the way it is, there is no reason, IMHO to go though it again.

So, after all that, how am I doing this year? Well, I'm still streaky as all get out. I still have equipment problems that come from lack of enough preparation, and I have a few key design problems with some of my planes that I need to work out. I figure if I get my stuff all together, I can really be dangerous in 2004. We'll see.

ps, Kurt is flying 2610, not Open. You should try it, it's different than Open. You don't get 64" wings in 2610. (Yes, I know it's possible, but I hope it doesn't come to that)

Montague,

I am in the process of building a CNC foam cutter and I have been taking care of the Swampboy, so I have not been flying in any of the events. Heck it is hard enough to keep one pilot in the air, two pilots and it becomes a real bear. So the Swampboy and I have decided to split combat. He gets open class and I get scale and ssc. I will start building my fleet of scale birds as soon as the CNC cutter comes online. We also will be moving to the Savannah GA area within a month, so my plate if full. Next year you and I will meet all up and down the east coast. Just promise that you will take it easy on me the first couple of times.

Bob