dog fighting

Somebody was having indoor EPP combat with electrics, I think.

They rented out a golf or tennis dome late on a Saturday night.

Marty

Noah, I flew controlline combat in the '50 with the cheapest plane I could build. Flew on a McCoy .09 and we had bunches of crashes. That was the point of the cheap plane which was light and could fly like hell with the .09. Loved it and never had a problem about rebuilding that 'skunk' plane after it dug a hole in the turf. Dave

Then I grew up and realized we could have just as much fun while minimizing the risks.

Ghu another nanny attitude...can't stand that attitude from ANYONE. G'bye nanny...

Well, minimum risk would be to sit in an underground steel vault, in the dark, padded walls, wearing a nerf suit, eating only soy, drinking distilled water, thinking only happy thoughts. Phooey! And I refuse to grow up anyway so neener neener neener.

... | The slope gliders have a form they call combat where you try and knock the | other gliders out of the sky ... | | All it takes is more than one willing combatant and an agreeable set of | rules, one of which is that the parciticipants should expect their plane to | be demolished sooner or later as most forms of rc combat involve close | interaction with the planes.

Slope combat isn't really about `knocking the other guy out of the sky'. What usually happens is that two planes bump into each other and then they race to complete a loop or a roll. The first one to get that done wins, which usually means that the guy with the most speed and/or is going in the best direction after the hit wins.

However, ever once in a while you get a chance to smack somebody else hard, when they don't have enough speed or altitude to recover, and their plane goes down. It's rare, but great fun when it happens.

Almost never, no matter how hard the planes hit, does a plane get demolished, because it's usually done with the foamie flying wings. Even the hardest hit can usually be repaired with tape. Sometimes you strip a servo if you didn't use a metal gear version (and apparantly even the metal gear ones have a nylon gear that can be stripped, but saves the rest of the servo.) Sometimes you'll knock off a wing tip (which I think is generally worth points too) but the plane usually keeps flying.

(Yes, people do bring crunchies (non-foam planes -- fragile!) out to the slope, and fly with the foamies. The foamy pilots usually do try to not hit the crunchies, but accidents do happen ...)

One thing that having lots of people flying on a crowded slope teaches you is just how _hard_ it is to hit somebody's plane in the air. Even when you're trying. But it's fun!

My friend, that is why I refuse to fly combat with anything larger than a .25. And then only with other stringently enforced safety rules. Too many mid-airs with running planes exiting the fray sans control.

I'm sure you're right.

But twice in my life I've said, after both ribbons were cut, "Let's just fly at each other and skip the ribbons."

Both times we mid-aired shortly afterward.

I've stopped inviting people to fly at my planes. :o(

Marty

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 06:28:11 GMT, "Six_O'Clock_High"

Marty,

My worst moment was when someone took out 1/2 of my right wing on a .25 sized three channel combat bird (QB-15 from Pilot). We were right over the runway and my plane made this turning dive for the pitts and a crowd of people. I could not stop the turn or the dive and the distance was too short to plant it early, but I managed to guide it over them and into the parking lot where it damaged an easily repariable (just cost $) car. I will never forget the sick feeling that it was going to drop out of control into the middle of a bunch of folks. THAT cured me of any desire for larger engines and insured that any further combat would be at wide open places where the spectator set back was a good LONG distance. A few years later folks started doing R/C combat with 40 sized and larger engines.

Jim

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 16:10:45 GMT, "Six_O'Clock_High"

not sure how it is done elsewhere, but in so cal combat contests, points are only awarded for kills, which means the pilot knocks the other guy to the ground, while continuing to fly. the "victor" must complete a roll right away to earn the point. it is a whole lot of fun and will make anyone a better pilot.

as far as safety, i have been hit twice in the side of the head by combat wings, once by my own airplane, and with the exception of an increased appetite for chocolate chip cookies, i don't think there were any long term effects. i like epp leading edge, and white foam for the body, and all my wings come from bob mellen at