[LASS Soaring] "Little Lee Gifts,RCSD, LSF, Your Club in 07, USA Teams...A Christmas Story"

[GordySoar at aol.com]

For those of you who don't know the story behind the "I Beat Gordy Buttons"  
I won't go all the way back to the Nats where Butch (first LSF mascot) ended 
up  waddling around looking for mice wearing an "I Beat Gordy"  T-Shirt, but  
rather I'll remind you of what it evolved into.
 
Lee is 10 years old and a member of a single parent family, as we all know  
its tough to raise kids with two parents, but credit to his mom, she saw the  
value in model airplanes and saved up to get him one of the Firebird electric  
variants from Horizon Hobbies.
 
She'd bring him up to the field while we were flying sailplanes and he'd  
always be crashing the thing because they had no idea about how to trim it  etc.  
It was very annoying so I wandered over took it from him, threw it on  the 
ground and stomped on it, er, no that's a different story :-)  I got it  trimmed 
out, took it up high and was amazed myself at how well those darn things  
actually can fly.
 
In any case Lee got to see the possibilities of it too and with a very  small 
amount of coaching he was flying and landing.  Which of course I  really 
liked because I wanted to get back to my girls (Superior, AVA) :-)
 
This went on for a few times and club leader, great guy and mentor to  little 
Bruce D, decided that little Lee was pretty serious about rc  planes.  He'd 
talked to Lee's mom some and found out that Lee was having  the usual acting 
out, lazy school work challenges and it was getting  worse.  So Ed rounded up 
the kid and got him flying our club 2m  trainer.....and got him signed up on LSF 
tasks....which diabolically meant that  Lee would likely be out to go for 
more tasks.
 
Finally when he had the kid addicted, er I mean Lee was really into the LSF  
tasks and soaring, Ed made the deal....'improve your grades and I'll build  
you a sailplane".

That lead to Ben Wilson evolving the button thing into a way all of RC  TD 
soaring could get involved in helping the mentor thing for Lee.   Obviously mom 
doesn't have the finances to spend on that kind of thing, so since  that time 
you guys have really stepped up... outside of the buttons (which  raised about 
$200+ so far -my winning lately kind of slowed that flow ;-) But  special 
thanks to all who earned the buttons, because while the tarrif was $3  per, most 
donated a lot more per button!
 
Chicago JD donated a 9303 and RXs
North Jersey CR donated 6 new Hitec Servos to out fit the full house molded  
Vandal donated by
West Chester PA JB 
West Chester PS JB also sent along $300 
Likely they aren't the only ones but spent about 12 hours in aiports last  
nite, a little foggier than usual. Sorry
 
Okay sweet story, but what really drove it all was RCSD.  As a past  long 
time regular columnist, I'm not afraid to admit it was RCSD that hooked me  from 
power rc to soaring.  When I found the first little mag at a swap  meet, the 
next day I was on the phone to Judy Slates (the true "Mom of RC  Soaring") 
ordering every back issue she could dig up and paying for three years  
subscription in advance.
 
Judy passed away, but lets make sure she is NEVER forgotten for her  
dedication and contributions to our hobby.  There would be no Supras, no  Perfects an 
likely we wouldn't have retrievers, winches or sophistication of  programs we 
have in our TX today.  RCSD was/is the mixing pot and meeting  place of all 
ideas, the Journal of RC Soaring.  Great ideas were printed  there for all the 
other great minds of our hobbies to test, challenge and  amplify.  Foam wing 
cutting, heck just how to make templates, heck computer  programs to be able to 
create the patterns and foils themselves....ALL came to  us because of RCSD.  
We miss you Judy....and are thankful for Bill and  Bunny who have taken up the 
standard and brought it to the next medium....send  that $5 your aunt still 
puts in your Christmas card, invest in your hobby.
 
And if RSD has been and is the continuing source of all that is important  in 
RC Soaring, the League of Silent flight program is the source that inspired  
the founding of RCSD.   A bunch of soaring king pins, god fathers, and  
chemists, got together outside the eyes of the FBI, and concocted the highly  
addictive task program.
 
Riddled with subliminal habit forming tricks designed to guide sailplane  
pilots into gaining control of their sailplane's nose and forcing them to learn  
to read air cues , and ultimately to have them develop a thirst for  thermals.
 
It is LSF Task Program that makes the hobby that much more fun and its  the 
LSF task steps that help sportsman class fliers move their skills toward  those 
contest wins.  LSF is a great club builder and gives the guys  something to 
do while 'practicing'....an since each task takes witnesses, they  get to do it 
together.  

Proclaiming a club goal of everyone making it to a group LSF task  number 3 
(at least) for next year could be a fun goal and a great club  builder :)
 
Imagine being able to put the nose of your sailplane with in 5' of a mark,  
every time you fly, and knowing that you can at least keep your model up in the 
 air for at least 30 mins, or more....could be a nice feeling and keep you 
from  the repair shop too ;-)
 
THE ELITE, it means that there are guys who are in our hobby who have  worked 
to achieve a skill set that makes them do better in contests than most of  
us. On a local level its the guys who have the Supras, Sharons, Perfects and end 
 up with the most points at the end of a local contest.  They don't always  
have the incomes to justify that kind of equipment but they do what it takes to 
 get them but mostly they do what it takes to justify owning them...practice, 
 study, question, discuss, think, work...and have the MOST fun of all of  
us...because they are doing more of the hobby than us.
 
LSF is what drives our competency in the hobby, that competency is what  
drives American rc soaring pilots to want to show those skills by representing  
the best in all of us on an international field....THE international  
field....F3J and F3B World Championships.  Each of the guys who earn their  spots at the 
Team Trials each year spend a bunch of their own hard earned money,  money 
that like the rest of us should likely be going to mortgages, car tires  etc.  
But that's THEIR decision so NOT our problem.
 
However when those guys distinguish themselves by showing us that they have  
worked and spent to be recognized as the best we Americans have to offer on 
that  Team Trial day, then its our OPPORTUNITY to reward them with more than 
just our  respect and admiration and (jealousy:-), by ganging up, joining 
together,  holding them high for volunteering to face the world's countries 
best...and to  toss some of our glue cash in the hat in order to carry them and their 
equipment  in the finest style to show the world how proud we are of our 
soaring  friends.  ( I sent an email to Apple asking Gates if he'd foot the whole  
team bill but I have yet to get a reply:-(.
 
IF we all were to just drop $5 in an envelope to the Team managers when the  
times come, we'd not only feel good but we'd each individually feel part of 
that  event's daily result.  Team managers would take the time to post daily 
logs  to the exchange to let all of us investors know how 'WE' are doing.

Get off your butts, get out an envelope and drop a fiver into it, to be  
mailed to which ever Team is being sent to battle.  Be more than an  American, be 
part of America.  TEAM USA is us.
 
So here's the question?  Are you going to have a Merry  Christmas?  Okay but 
what about a Happy New Year...because that would  include knowing that you 
have chipped in to the hobby, mentored some new or up  and coming pilots, 
planning on contributing some tip or trick, or gimmick to  push forward the hobby, 
and are will be chipping in to support our USA  Teams.
 
I will :-)
Gordy
In the rain in Louisville, Milwaukee or bust
 
 











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