Neil Lawson of whiteplanes, died yesterday

If all competition were held away from spectators and
other potential traffic then the participants should
be able to decide for themselves if the risks are worth
the rewards. Since however that is normally not the
case, at least not here where public airports are often
used and spectators are encourged, just letting the
FAI and local competition committees make the call
would work about as well as the ball clubs and their
governing bodies have handled the doping problem here
in the US.


At 17:12 12 August 2005, Andrew Warbrick wrote:
At 16:42 12 August 2005, John Sinclair wrote:
Jeremy, Andrew & Bill,
Your remarks are clearly aimed at discrediting me and
my views on how we should finish a sailplane race.

On the contrary, I personally keep an open mind on
the matter of whether we should change the finish line
system.

I am agreeing with the sentiment that we find it distasteful
that you have jumped on this incident to further your
agenda before all the facts are in the open, and, no
I don't know what happened, I wasn't there, were you?

I note that none of you accepted my offer to discuss
a serious problem that exists in sailplane racing today.


Precisely because:

1. Now is most certainly not the time.
2. RAS is not the place, the FAI and local competition
committees are the appropriate place.

Many of us here in the US have been waging a 5-year
campaign to abolish the Finish Gate and go exclusively
with the Finish Cylinder (500 feet & 1 mile) centered
on the runway. We have had numerous Finish Gate accidents,
including fatalities over the years. We feel its time
for a change. Your recent tragic accident just renewed
the controversy.

Yes, I ask the hard questions. I believe someone should.

JJ Sinclair