I would never enter a contest because......
 

Just wanting to see what it is about contests that prevent pilots from getting involved. I will start with something I heard a fellow pilot say. This pertains to any and all events.
IMAC- "I do not want to sit around all day to only fly twice".

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

That is a common statement concerning contests. Scale contests fly rounds which can be 2 or 3 a day depending on how many pilots are flying. When you are not flying you are sitting or visiting or helping. It all depends on your level of dedication to the aspect of RC that you are involved in. Good Luck, Dave

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

I enjoy flying for the sake of flying. I have no intention of ever entering a contest. Why do I need to pit my flying skills against others? I just like flying the way I want to fly without feeling pressured. And, be able to bring to the field whatever beat up old plane I happen to have flyable at the time.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

Good one Longdan. my sentiments exactly...it's bad enough on your nerves just flying a new model and getting it sorted out without having to end up competing with your mates to see who can grab the most points in a competition.
However, there are those modelers who thrive on the cut and thrust of competition flying and in many ways they push the boundries and we all win in the end with better motors and airframes......To each his own.

Cheers.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

G'day Falco5. Hope you had a nice ANZAC weekend.
I know what you mean about competitive people. It happens in all kinds of situations. A guy I work with rides his 10 speed to work. Another guy who does bike racing is always trying to get him to come racing with him and can't understand why the guy doesn't want to race. It's the same for me.
I've never tried competitive flying and I don't feel that I'm missing out on anything. As an earlier post said - you sit around all day waiting for your chance to fly.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

i want to learn to fly pattern but as a small business owner and having 2 young boys i don't have time to fly enough to learn pattern let alone compete. maybe someday.

david

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

Many contests are two day events. It can be very difficult to sacrifice an entire summer weekend when it doesn’t include the rest of the family. Also, unless you live near Muncie, there might be one maybe two contest that are within a reasonable drive. Other wise overnight lodging is necessary to participate.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

I measure myself against other flyers by height.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

Contest fliers tend to take this hobby much too seriously. I fly for fun. My flying buddies and I laugh a lot while we fly. You don't see much of that at a contest.

Jim

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

Flying competitively (or bicycling, bowling, kite-flying, tiddly-winks) is just too much like work! I have hobbies to RELAX, and relaxing certainly doesn't include listening to some peckerhead brag about how much he paid for some gadget or how studly his xyz skills are. Bah!

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

This is an interesting comment. You should spend some time on the start line at a pylon race. We joke and rib each other more than I have ever seen sport flying. This comment is a misconception and I think you would be surprised to find competitors more helpful and generally better mannered than the sport pilots.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

The only time I have personally heard comments like this were while sport flying. The most expensive aircraft at our field are large hoverbatic IMAC type planes that are never flown in competition.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

I hope more pilots will chime in on this thread as to me it is an interesting topic. I have been involved in many differant types of competitive flying in the 26 years I have been a pilot. To be honest, I need competition to keep this hobby interesting. Just flying around with no goal or objective gets boring. But, we are all in this hobby for different reasons and there is nothing wrong with a single one of them.
I have flown C\L stunt, combat, racing, scale, R\C pylon, R\C Combat and am currently working on my first R\C scale entry.
The best people I have met in this hobby were my fellow competitors and one even eventually being the best man at my wedding.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

So, you're saying that the fliers that you compete with have a "fly-for-fun" attitude rather than a "fly-to-win" attitude. I have flown competitive pattern, scale and "fun-fly", and I can guarantee that none of the people I competed against cared about anything but winning.

You have been very lucky in your choice of competitive venues. Actually, what you're doing sounds more like sport flying around pylons to me.

Jim

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

Only one descriptive word for me................UNDISCIPLINED.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

I haven't yet been involved in any competition as my flying skills (I believe) are still lacking. I'd like to someday compete in R/C Scale (Top Gun really turns me on), but my budget is still lacking:D.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

Of course when we enter an event we all want to win or at least improve. There is nothing wrong with that. Competition is the driving force for improvement. It eliminates stagnation. But we still have a great time with one another. Never winning at the expense of others feelings. I have flown in so many events I doubt that I have been lucky by my experience, on the contrary I think you have been unfortunate. For that I am sorry.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

You will get there eventually. Good luck

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

Really? We sure have a disconnect here regarding what "competition" and "contest" mean.

What you describe is not a Contest. It is a bunch of guys who like to fly a certain way, with a certain type of airplane, taking over a flying field for a weekend and not letting anyone else fly. Why don't other people enter your "contests"? Because consciously or subconsciously, you are excluding them.

Jim

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

I've flown in numerous fun-flys'. Yes, I go to compete and maybe take home a prize, but I also go to see old friends, have a good time and hopefully win something in a raffle. There's always some good natured ribbing if you screw up or even if you do all right in an event. My club just had a fun-fly this weekend with events designed for novice pilots as well as the experienced ones. The spot landing event showed that even the best pilots won't always win. The other events were taxi type events. The winners were in one of those events were two novice pilots that had never competed. Sure, its fun just to fly around during the weekend, but sometimes you've got to get out there and see how well you can fly. I have a feeling that many people don't want to compete because that are afraid that someone will say something to get a laugh from those around them or that they feel that their flying skills are not up to the "experienced" pilots skills. I think that a good fun-fly should have events that allow both sides to be able to compete on a equal basis. Events like limbos tend to be scary, but make events that even a trainer plane can compete in can be lots of fun. I'm already trying to make up events of the next fun-fly that will meet the fun types for everyone.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

I'm not sure, but maybe you're question is directed more toward real competition events versus "Fun Fly" events. "Fun Fly" events are supposed to be just that... FUN. The more competitive events are more serious by their nature. I always played a lot of sports growing up, but at some point I realized I just wasn't good enough to be competitive beyond my high school years. Now if I play any sports, it's merely for fun. Someday I would like to participate in scale competition, but like I posted earlier, I have some work to do before I feel like I can be competitive. On several weekends at the field, quite a few of us get our .40-.60 size sport planes up for some impromptu pylon racing (minus the pylons). Sometimes aircraft get damaged or destroyed, but it's fun and we harbor no hard feelings about it. It's that kind of impromptu flying that creates the desire to formalize such an event, and thus a competition is created and ego's along with bragging rights come into play. I'll shut up now, I'm starting to get long winded on this subject.:D

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

One thing competition will do is force you into a routine and structure your flying. This will improve your sport flying and make you a better pilot generally. Mechanically your planes and pit equipment will improve. Your ability to tune engines and get better performance from your aircraft through trimming and prop selection. The list goes on and on as to the benefits.
We have run fun races the last several years and we just stood up 2 poles at the ends of the runway. This generated a tremendous amount of interest and was quite succesful. It actually prompted me to organize the real AMA events which are now being held annually. Nothing like flying inside the real triangular course!

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

I fly competitive Pattern, I have seen both the fun side and the competitive (ultra serious) side of my fellow pilots. We get alot of time to
BS and joke around in between rounds. Competition isn't for everyone and I don't believe that flying in competition makes you any better
of a pilot than a person who practices the same way I do. IMO you don't need to compete to add structure to your flying. I know alot of
pilots at my field that fly the pattern schedules and have not and never will enter a competition. they just like the discipline of practicing
a set routine.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

You are right, IF they practiced the same way you do. That is generally not the case though. The pilots at your field I believe are an exception.
One thing I notice, I do not care about wind as much as the other club members. When at a contest you are forced to fly in the wind so when out sport flying it is no big deal given the right airplane.

RE: I would never enter a contest because......
 

In reading over the above post the attitudes seem to be evenly split between those who are competitive those who aren’t and some that were non-committal. You can put me firmly in the competitive category.

In my mind I have often wondered why some will join in the fun at a club fun fly and some that won’t. About 10% of the members will participate while the remainder will either not show up at all or if they do attend they will just sit on the sidelines. I am a member of two clubs and the ratio is about the same at both. In talking with the non-participating members I have noticed that some similarities in their backgrounds.

When they were kids in school they never participated in any sports. (I don’t consider band a sport). If the neighborhood kids choose up sides for baseball, they were always the last ones chosen and when at bat they usually struck out and when in the field they dropped the ball when it came to them. From that experience they decided at an early age that the best way to eliminate that kind of embarrassment in the future is not to play at all.

Another common thread is that most all were never in the military. Unless they were drafted, they avoided the military at all cost. They did not ever want to get into a confrontation with anyone. While sitting around the shed in a BS session I have ask these guys if when they were kids if they had ever been in a school yard scrap. To a man they all said no.

I think the spirit of competition is a good thing whether it is in the workplace or at the flying field. First it is fun and has the additional benefit of improving your skills. In addition, the competitive flyers in the club are elevated to a little higher status than the rest. When a member wants someone to check out his brand new bird, they always go to the guys in the competitive camp instead of the non-competitors. Most of the non-competitors would not risk flying someone else plane anyway.

I am not the best flyer in my club I am probably down to about 5th or 6th place. During any competition I do not expect to come in first place. Age has taken the toll on my skills, but I still get a kick of giving the young studs a run for their money. I love competition, it is all good!