 |
Matronics Email Lists
Web Forum Interface to the Matronics Email Lists
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
lee.logan(at)gulfstream.c
Guest
|
 Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 8:02 am Post subject: RVSouthEast-List Digest: 2 Msgs - 11/26/06 |
 |
|
Guys: For the record, it is true that we did not have an index speed for
the Waco that participated and had to take his word for the speed his
airplane was capable of. That was true for two others in the race as well
(I would have thought that with 420 indexes I would have had them all, but
no such luck). That was our first year with the "Race" and we had a few
things to learn. One is that people are competitive and really like to
win!!! That is why this year it will be mandatory to contact us before the
race with the model and engine information on the airplane they will be
flying so we can ensure that we have a "factory" number for every index.
There was one RV that was right in there and a Grumman Tiger which flew
right on his index as well. Very well flown aircraft and probably the
aircraft that actually performed best relative to their true factory
performance figures. I believe this year we will have most of the bugs
worked out of the model and will be able to "judge" the event
better----those without a certified "book" factory 75% cruise speed to race
against will be welcome to race but will not be scored. And just so you
know, as a practical matter it will be aerodynamically hard for any
airplane to achieve an average speed faster than their index. We will
look very hard at times turned in that are significant average beaters.
One solution to the problem would be to have all airplanes come to
Ridgeland first to be mounted with portable GPS devices or something
similar, but that would be an additional hassle for racers that we are
hoping to avoid. I will publish the handicapping formula on our website
well prior to the race (it is in the process of being refined at the moment
by the senior performance engineer at Gulfstream Aerospace), so that racers
will know both their "index" target and how their actual flying performance
will be scored.
In any event, we have no desire to drive people away from what should be a
truly fun event by fouling up the details. We are adding trophies all the
way through 5th place this year and with the other changes we make as we
learn more about how to manage this relatively unique event, it should help
us to make it both a more challenging and an even more exciting event.
Please take a look at our website: www.racetoridgeland.com for the latest
details. I've just added an "Info/FAQ" section that will help those who
have general questions and will be glad to answer specific inquiries
directly. The really neat thing about the Race to Ridgeland was that
between: The race, the Spot Landing Contest and the practice for it, the
antiques that flew just for show, the glider flights, and some just plain
fun flying, there were airplanes in the air over the airfield all day long.
I greatly appreciated Palmetto Flight's participation and enthusiasm last
year (which was matched, I think, by the enthusiasm of the crowd who
watched it!) and personally I'm very much looking forward to your
participation again next year. While I can't guarantee a perfect race and
I certainly can't guarantee that very fast aircraft like RV's will
necessarily perform closer to their indexes than slower aircraft (or not),
we have put no small effort into creating a formula that is as close to
fair to all as we can make it. It may eventually work out that one or the
other class or model of aircraft come to dominate just because their
manufacturer's published speeds are truly conservative and actually
attainable while others are not. If that happens, perhaps like NASCAR,
we'll have to make some adjustments. In the meantime, the idea is to
accept a challenge, hone your flying and navigational skills, and above
all, have fun!
P.S. Radomir: There will be a local "official photographer", but since
your work is "nationally recognized", I'd love to have you take all the
shots you'd like as well. We'll use some of the best for our website for
the 2008 event.
Lee...
| | - The Matronics RVSouthEast-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RVSouthEast-List |
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
N777TY
Joined: 09 Apr 2006
Posts: 69
Location: Charlotte, NC
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
flyguy
Joined: 04 Mar 2006
Posts: 325
|
| Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 7:41 pm Post subject: RVSouthEast-List Digest: 2 Msgs - 11/26/06 |
|
|
BTW Lee, how's that Rocket coming along? any chance
we will see it fly in next yr. or so? also, 3rd annual
New Yrs. Day lunch is clsg in on us. Lets find some
unique centrally located venue since NMB likes to
close down thjat day...any suggestions welcome.
RenoRed.
--- lee.logan(at)gulfstream.com wrote:
| Quote: |
lee.logan(at)gulfstream.com
Guys: For the record, it is true that we did not
have an index speed for
the Waco that participated and had to take his word
for the speed his
airplane was capable of. That was true for two
others in the race as well
(I would have thought that with 420 indexes I would
have had them all, but
no such luck). That was our first year with the
"Race" and we had a few
things to learn. One is that people are competitive
and really like to
win!!! That is why this year it will be mandatory
to contact us before the
race with the model and engine information on the
airplane they will be
flying so we can ensure that we have a "factory"
number for every index.
There was one RV that was right in there and a
Grumman Tiger which flew
right on his index as well. Very well flown
aircraft and probably the
aircraft that actually performed best relative to
their true factory
performance figures. I believe this year we will
have most of the bugs
worked out of the model and will be able to "judge"
the event
better----those without a certified "book" factory
75% cruise speed to race
against will be welcome to race but will not be
scored. And just so you
know, as a practical matter it will be
aerodynamically hard for any
airplane to achieve an average speed faster than
their index. We will
look very hard at times turned in that are
significant average beaters.
One solution to the problem would be to have all
airplanes come to
Ridgeland first to be mounted with portable GPS
devices or something
similar, but that would be an additional hassle for
racers that we are
hoping to avoid. I will publish the handicapping
formula on our website
well prior to the race (it is in the process of
being refined at the moment
by the senior performance engineer at Gulfstream
Aerospace), so that racers
will know both their "index" target and how their
actual flying performance
will be scored.
In any event, we have no desire to drive people away
from what should be a
truly fun event by fouling up the details. We are
adding trophies all the
way through 5th place this year and with the other
changes we make as we
learn more about how to manage this relatively
unique event, it should help
us to make it both a more challenging and an even
more exciting event.
Please take a look at our website:
www.racetoridgeland.com for the latest
details. I've just added an "Info/FAQ" section that
will help those who
have general questions and will be glad to answer
specific inquiries
directly. The really neat thing about the Race to
Ridgeland was that
between: The race, the Spot Landing Contest and the
practice for it, the
antiques that flew just for show, the glider
flights, and some just plain
fun flying, there were airplanes in the air over the
airfield all day long.
I greatly appreciated Palmetto Flight's
participation and enthusiasm last
year (which was matched, I think, by the enthusiasm
of the crowd who
watched it!) and personally I'm very much looking
forward to your
participation again next year. While I can't
guarantee a perfect race and
I certainly can't guarantee that very fast aircraft
like RV's will
necessarily perform closer to their indexes than
slower aircraft (or not),
we have put no small effort into creating a formula
that is as close to
fair to all as we can make it. It may eventually
work out that one or the
other class or model of aircraft come to dominate
just because their
manufacturer's published speeds are truly
conservative and actually
attainable while others are not. If that happens,
perhaps like NASCAR,
we'll have to make some adjustments. In the
meantime, the idea is to
accept a challenge, hone your flying and
navigational skills, and above
all, have fun!
P.S. Radomir: There will be a local "official
photographer", but since
your work is "nationally recognized", I'd love to
have you take all the
shots you'd like as well. We'll use some of the
best for our website for
the 2008 event.
Lee...
Click on
about
provided
www.buildersbooks.com
Admin.
browse
Subscriptions page,
FAQ,
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RVSouthEast-List
|
| | - The Matronics RVSouthEast-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?RVSouthEast-List |
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
|
Get Email Distribution Too!
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
One glitch we encountered was that there was no one to take our official time at Ridgeland (of all the places... 
