Changes to USA Nationals System

On Jul 1, 2:41 pm, Orion Kingman wrote:
On Jul 1, 12:43 pm, Paul Cordell wrote:



On Jul 1, 12:33 pm, Orion Kingman wrote:

On Jun 30, 5:45 pm, wrote:

On Jun 30, 6:43 pm, "Kevin Anderson"
wrote:

Tim,

Obviously you do not fly a 1-26, World Class bird, or a open class bird.
There are different birds for different taste and wallets.

The 1-26 Championships (Technically the North American 1-26 Championships)
is sponsored by the 1-26 Association,www.126association.org
and is the original one design competition.. It has been held yearly since
1965.
This year will make the 43rd contest. We have 21 1-26's competing with 24
pilots,
3 are flying team. Last year we had 27 1-26's with 6 teams. Last year we
were joined by the
World Class, and they were such a good fit with our group that they are with
us
again this year, with plans also to be together next year.

The requirements for entering are not as stringent as some of the other
national contest, but the competition is great and the group of people is
even better. Some have been flying the same 1-26 for over 40 years, while
some are relatively new pilots. New pilots are mentored and brought along.
I went to my first 1-26 Champs in 2001 and have not looked back.

Some 1-26 pilots also fly other gilders, including advanced glass birds.
This is a
great source of completion, and some of the US National Champions have
competed in the Championships in the past.

The 1-26 has a loyal following and is a GREAT WAY for someone to get started
in cross-country soaring, competition, and records. The cost of a 1-26 is
about what
a fiberglass trailer cost these days. Would you rather have the glider and
trailer of your
own, or just fly club ships until some date in the future where the time and
money all finally
come together so you could fly high performance. For some it will never
happen.

The Association keeps regional as well as national records and has a
Cross-country
Sweepstakes that goes back to 1969. (This predates OCL by quite a few
years.)

39 pilots have accomplished all of their Diamonds in the 1-26, with quite a
few 500K
flights in the little bird.

The 1-26 Championships was the first place in the US to use GPS during
competition. Trying going to a competition anywhere without one now.

So, we are not going away, and we even invite you to buy or borrow a 1-26
and come out and fly with us. This year the Championships are at TSA in
three weeks.

Please see the 1-26 Association web site and join the group. Membership is
$15
a year and includes a copy of the LOG which is the history of the
Association
along with records and accomplishments that have been achieved over the
years.

Kevin R. Anderson
President 1-26 Association
Double Diamond 1-26 Pilot
SGS 1-26B 192

"Tim Taylor" wrote in message

...

It is time for a major overhaul of the US Nationals system. With time
constraints and cost it is making the single national approach
outdated. We have discussed the idea of super regionals or multiple
nationals. I think it is time to seriously look at these
alternatives. We have to recognize that the country is nearly 3500
miles (6000 km) across. Traveling coast to coast is time and cost
prohibitive.

This thread is to kick off a discussion of alternatives. I will throw
out two possibilities and look forward to other ideas.

1. Two nationals in each class a year, one east and one west. The
points will be the same as our current nationals, 100 points to the
winner. We could reduce the nationals from 10 days to seven to make
it possible to fly in a week rather than taking two weeks for a
contest. These can be combined with a regional similar to Sports and
Region 11 this year.

2. Super regional system, points would be 96 to 98 for the winners.
This would encourage more pilots to fly and provide a place to have a
higher level of competition to improve the US soaring skills overall.
This years Region 9 at Parowan was highly competitive and I think it
pushes all the pilots to improve their skills. Super regionals would
be by seeding list similar to the nationals. Again the seven day
contest would work well for the Super Regionals.

I think we need to address the class creep issue as well soon. We
have too many classes, it is time to eliminate some classes. I vote
to kill World class and strongly consider the end of Open class and
1-26. That would put us down to four classes; Std, 15M, 18M and
Sports 9 (Club).- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

well put Kevin. I often have wished I could make the Cherokee an
"honorary" 1-26 so I could come down to the 1-26 contest. Those guys
know how to have fun! Ever see them at the convention?? They are ALL
SMILES.

[sarcasm] I prefer to maintain the scowl of an Open class pilot, all
alone with no friends. [/sarcasm]- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hey!! Not if your Open Class Ship has 2 seats!!

... and your one of the "open class" pilot that thermals too.
Remember Paul, "To turn is to admit defeat."