LarryJolly wrote: Snip...
Regardless the real discussion is whether dismantling the LSF Bylaws to accomodate a handfull of eflyers that really have little appreciation for the organiztion is a reasonable thing to do.. Because of the tone of the eguys that have responded I have now changed my mind on this subject. When this measure is voted down, I will do all I can form a movemnt of interested LSF members to remove LSF as the SIG for electric soarers. This whole episode has been damaging to the LSF
and will prove to be a huge waste of the LSF's time. LJ
Larry,
I don't understand you statement about LSF being the SIG for electric soarers.
How could LSF possibly be the SIG for electric soarers when LSF won't admit electric soarers to LSF?
I see nothing about this on the LSF home page, nor any reference to this in the bylaws nor in the introduction to LSF page.
On the introduction page it says, "
The LSF is now the SIG to the AMA for Soaring " but based on everything else on the LSF web site it is clear that really means only certain forms of soaring.
Saying LSF is the SIG for e-soaring would be like our club, the Long Island Silent Flyers, being the Long Island representative for AMA for giant scale gas pilots, when we don't allow any liquid fuel flying at our field.
Larry, I find more and more that I don't understand your posts.
Let me add this link and this information.
LSF level achievements by year up to 2011. The numbers just keep dropping and dropping. 2012 was not listed.
www.silentflight.org/images/documents/ls...istory%20-%20pdf.pdf
in 1981 there were 393 new LSF members, new Level 1s and 121 went on to complete level 3
In 2001 there were only 68 new LSF members and only 23 new level 3s
In 2011 there were only 22 new LSF members and only 8 new level 3s
And we see that about 2/3 of the new level 1s never complete level 3.
We can only speculate the numbers for 2012 and 2013. Perhaps they have continued on a downward trend as more and more of the soaring community goes electric.
In the 2013 Soaring Nats Unlimited, the biggest event, had 61 registered. (Down from 109 in 2011)
I believe 2013 was the first year that ALES was an official event. It had 33 registrations, more than 50# of the unlimited event. And I would bet that many of the ALES pilots also competed in the pure glider events.
www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats/regstats.aspx
If we consider new membership as any kind of an indicator, I sense a trend here that speaks to the shrinking relevance of LSF within the soaring community.
WHAT CHANGED TO CAUSE THIS TREND?
It is interesting to note that the new member numbers have been on a steady decline since 1980. However it was holding pretty steady from 2000 to about 2009, at around 60 new members per year. Around 2009 the trend really started to go down.
There have been e-gliders around for decades but they were heavy and had very weak climbs. But in 2006/2007 that started to change.
In 2005 the Multiplex Easy Glider is selling and very successful in both pure glider and electric glider form. Many Parkflyer pilots purchased the Easy Glider electric and started to discover soaring. When they came out with a brushless upgrade to replace the weak Speed 400 motor this e-glider really started to sell!
2008 Parkzone started shipping the Radian and it is wildly successful among new pilots, experienced soaring pilots and growing number of electric pilots who are interested in giving soaring a try.
2009 is when Soaring Circuits started showing the CAM units that are the basis of ALES.
In 2010 Don Harban purchased a bunch of CAM units and offered to loan them out so clubs could try this new form of soaring competition that we now know as ALES, Altitude Limited Electric Soaring.
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t...hlight=altitud+limit
In 2011 Polecat aero replaced the annual Polecat DLG contest, which was huge, with the Polecat/Soaring Circuits 2K11 ALES Open Soar contest. And ALES contests were popping up all over the country. For 2014 Polecat has put a cap on registrations at 72 pilots.
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1394711
I believe it was early 2012 the ALES National League was formed and ALES got its own forum on RCGroups.
www.ales-league.org/
In 2013 The ALES League listed 76 contest that were advertised as open contests. This does not include the growing number of club contests being held. We have an ALES contest every month but it is not listed on the ALES League site because it is for club members only.
So, with a shrinking enrollment, who is LSF representing?
And with e-soaring excluded, how can LSF be the SIG for e-soaring?
I think it is time for LSF to embrace e-soaring.