Frequently Asked Questions

We are very fortunate to have a lot of new pilots show interest in SCSR's local races. Along with new pilots come new questions. We love questions! We love questions that we know the answers too even better :-) Below is a short list of recent questions that we've been asked. If you have a question that's not answered here, please send an email to one of the Club Officers and we'll be sure to help you out.

 

What events will SCSR be having this year?

This year SCSR will continue the regular monthly F3F and MoM events.

The MoM events are 60" foamies & 60" crunchies on the same day, OR, they are Unlimited class only, depending on the schedule.  The Unlimiteds are mostly during the summer months with higher percentage of flyable lift cycles.

Special events this year include the 2006 Viking Qualifier (NorCal) in April, Mammoth Mountain Alpine F3F in July, and the popular 2 day Unlimited MoM event at Grass Mountain in August. The 2 day MoM at Grass counts DOUBLE for annual SCSR League season points!

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Is there a pattern to the racing schedule?

No not really. The 2006 Calendar is very different from previous seasons. This year there are events on both Saturday and Sunday, and there are many more events than we have held in the past. But only a percentage of these events count towards final points. This allows the individual pilot to plan well in advance what events they can attend, while still balancing family and work schedules.

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What planes can I race in F3F?

 

Definition:
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"Normal" F3F is always open to planes of any size, any material. This is sometimes referred to as 'unlimited class" or "open class", both of which mean that there are no major exclusions to prevent you from flying your glider. There are a few rules, but they are so open that we've never had a situation where a plane had to be disqualified.


Explanations:
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F3F: It's open to whatever you have. If all you have a is 48" Zagi, then come on out and give it a try. Just know that your overall score may be on the low side, but your fun factor may be very high indeed! If you have a more conventional racing foamie, such as a Bluto, Gulp, M60, etc... you might actually be competitive. It has happened before.

Now, if you have a modern 60" slope racer, the potential for you to do well is quite high. At one of our recent Parker Mtn. events, 85% of the pilots lost a round to a 60" Banana and a 60" MiniBlade, both of which were turning in 40.xx times, whereas guys flying purpose built 3M F3F racers got 42's…

In light lift, the 60" planes do even better against the big 3M planes. A few years ago, I placed in the top 5 against 30 pilots, and I was flying a cheap 60" Victor. Light lift seems to equalize wingspan, because the bigger planes never really get on step.

Here is the catch. In normal F3F, your scores will be counted along with everyone else's. So your Zagi will be scored in comparison to the hottest Trinity, Nyx, Acacia, Pike, etc…

Now, here is where some of our newer pilots might say, "But what about the rest of the guys just flying 60's? I only want to be scored against them!"

Have no fear! We've got you covered! In this year's SCSR F3F series, we are scoring all 54" - 60" gliders in two different ways:
  A > Scored with the rest of the group
  B > Scored separately against other 60" gliders only.

What does this mean? It means that if you show up and fly a 60" glider at our normal F3F comp, you will receive TWO SCORES at the end of the day. One score will be your overall ranking against all the pilots, the second score will be your ranking among the other 60" pilots only. Cool eh?

Now, some might ask, "What if I enter with a 3M, but have to finish the comp with my 60" backup?"
Answer: You will only be scored with the other 60's if start the comp with a 60. Otherwise it's not fair to the other 60" guys.
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Why an emphasis on 60" F3F scoring? Some guys who haven't come out and raced with us yet may be a bit intimidated competing against the latest $1500 F3F screamer flown by a seasoned F3F veteran. We understand. It wasn't too long ago that most of us felt the same way, so this new 60" F3F class is for you!

The Euro/dollar exchange rate is making Unlimited class gliders more and more expensive, and there is a wide array of excellent and relatively inexpensive 60" gliders in the market. Consequently, there have been a large number of 60" sales over the past year or two. SCSR has great hopes that this 60" F3F class will help put all those shiny new slope racers to good use!

The 60" F3F scoring will be limited in size to planes like the Destiny (54") - up to MiniBlades, Nemesis's, Birds, Vindicators, Banana's, etc…which are all 60" (1.5M) sized gliders. The intent of this scoring category is to group planes that are similar in performance to heighten the racing excitement and enjoyment. However, we also are hoping to see a surge in growth in slope racing in general, and to help accomplish that goal, Foamies will be allowed in 60" F3F. But there is a big asterisk with that statement. Only "Racing Foamies" will be allowed, and they must fit the size criteria of 54" - 60"

This is a partial list of pre-approved foamies:
- Gulp (SR or DS)
- M60
- Boss 60
- Bluto 54
- JW 54 or 60
- LEG "One-D"
- RedbackEPP
- Eraser 60
- Electron DS 60

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I don't get how F3F is scored, what do the numbers mean?

We received an excellent question about F3F scoring:
"Can you explain how the scoring works. I'd like to understand more about it-- consistency doesn't seem to mean much? Is it purely the fastest time? And how do safety's effect your final score?"

F3F scoring is straightforward, but the implications of the system are complicated.

The straightforward part:
- A minimum of 4 rounds are required to count as a competition.
- Each round has a winner, the person with the best time. That person is awarded 1000 points for that round.
  Everyone else's time is factored against the winning time.

Example:
Pilot # Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
Pilot A: 55.00 - 61.00 - 57.00 - 65.00
Pilot B: 60.00 - 57.00 - 58.00 - 59.00

Results per round are:
Pilot # Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
Pilot A: 1000 - 934.43 - 1000 - 907.69
Pilot B: 916.67 - 1000 - 982.76 - 1000

Pilot A Total: 3842.12 out of a possible 4000
Pilot B Total: 3899.43 out of a possible 4000

Implications:
Both pilots each won two rounds, and Pilot A went the fastest at 55 seconds, however, Pilot B won.

This means that going fast is important, but WHEN you go fast is also very important. Pilot B never lost by as many seconds as Pilot A did, and earned the victory because of that.

What do Penalties do?
They count 100 points against you, and are factored in at the end of the tallies. In this case, if Pilot B had a Safety (100 point penalty), his score would be 3799.43, and Pilot A would get the win. Ouch!

But that's the point. Don't fly dangerously :-)

Homework Assignment:
You can play with your own spreadsheets and comparisons all you want. Download one of last years comps from here:
http://www.sloperacing.com/results/scsr.htm

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What are the Rules for F3F and/or MoM racing?

SCSR uses the Rules posted by the American Slope Racing Organization (ASRO). Click here for a direct link.

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I'm new to Racing, what plane should I get?

Answer: Ideally, one that is slower than mine :-)

We get this question a lot.  In foamies, the selection is limited to only a few mfr's that build high quality racing foamies, such as SteveDrake.com and NCFM, F3X, and CaliforniaSailplanes, Bowmans Hobbies, and LEG.  There are others of course, but these are the ones we typically see.

With "crunchies", the selection is vast and diverse.  For F3F ships, we usually recommend getting a used one to start with.  In Man on Man, repairability or spare parts availability are sometimes important factors along with speed and ballast capacity. 

For Unlimited MoM, you want a plane that can hold more ballast than you may think possible.  These planes can fly at a max all up weight of 11 lbs (that's 176 oz!), and as the course is quite long, large wingspan and high visibility are common traits.

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What slopes do you fly at?

We fly all over Southern California. Our "range" includes Whitaker to the north, Tehachapi to the east, San Diego to the south, and several coastal sites to the west. We occasionally compete with the Northern California Slope Soarers at Los Banos in Central California, but these are not considered "local" events for our season points.  A list of our commonly used slopes is here: www.socalsloperacing.com/locations.htm

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I don't have AMA membership, can I still race?

Nope!  We require that all competing pilots have AMA coverage for their own protection, and ours.  Additionally, this helps the club successfully negotiate with land owners should the use of our slopes become questioned.  AMA membership costs about the same as a servo, and gives you a magazine to look at every month...or to use in your shop as masking paper for painting projects :-)

Visit the AMA website to learn more about becoming a Member.

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Can I fly a 48" plane in the 60" Man on Man?

Yes! You can enter anything that is 60" or smaller in the 60" MoM classes, both Foam and Crunchy, but only in their respective categories.

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Can I fly a foamie in the 60" F3F scoring category?

Yes! You are welcome to fly a competitive 60" racing style foamie for consideration in the 60" scoring breakout. Please refer to this FAQ item listed above.

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Where can I get more info on how to race, tune my plane, etc...?

There are some excellent and helpful guides, tutorials, and set-up tips written by some of the most successful slope racers in the world, and they are freely available online!
  - Trimming & Setup of a full house glider By Erik Dahl Christensen (Denmark)
  - How To Set-Up a Racing Glider by Kevin (Knewt) Newton (UK)
  - Slope Racing Clinic: Some Basics By Paul Naton (USA)
  - Slope Racing 101 by Tom Copp (USA)
  - F3F Improvement — Have a plan! By Craig Toutolmin (USA)
  - How to be a Contest Director sponsored by ASRO

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