[LASS Soaring] An argument for handlaunch.

[Ben Wilson]

So y'all have probably heard my whining about the lack of 2 days of 
handlaunch at the NATS, so let me pitch you my argument for it and for 
better attention paid to handlaunch by soaring in general. This is the 
product of a number of discussions I've had with a number of people 
involved with soaring at different levels over the past couple of years, 
so here goes:

AN INTRODUCTION

I've been in soaring since 2003, and have been to the NATS the last 4 
years in some capacity or another. My first love is handlaunch, but I'm 
also a big fan of RES and Unlimited stuff. I also got the 
international-style bug last year towing for an F3J team at the NATS.

Second, let me state that I have helped Denny Maize over the last 3 
years organize his Polecat Challenge. In those years, it's gone from a 
pretty well attended contest (40 pilots) to last year, which had 93 
registered and paid pilots.  Around 80 or so flew. (Yes, we managed to 
top the IHLGF this year, but that might just be a statistical "wobble", 
or it could be the Red Bull girls, pig roast or huge soaring raffle).

As I was intimately involved with the registration of the pilots and the 
gathering and reporting of information about that contest as well as the 
NATS last year, I've got a somewhat unique perspective into handlaunch 
and soaring.  I stress "handlaunch and soaring" there, because the 
crossover between HL and TD is pretty well delineated. There are a lot 
of people doing HL and more doing TD, but there is only modest 
intersection between the two.

SOME NUMBERS

At the Polecat Challenge, out of the 80-some pilots:

13 of them were "Novices", meaning that they hadn't flown a contest before.
29 of them were Sportsmen.
The rest were experts.
The average age for handlaunch competitors skews much younger than 
soaring in general (this is empirical)

Last year at the NATS when I did the coverage for the NATSNews, I had to 
hunt and peck for guys who were new to soaring or the NATS - and that 
was out of 100+ pilots. I think I counted maybe 5 or 6 that were new to 
soaring or to the NATS.  Many of them were in handlaunch (I brought at 
least two of them with me). I'm not covering the NATS this year, but 
attendance is the same as last year, but with RES attendance way up, so 
I'm assuming things stayed the same.  Someone contradict me on that if 
I'm wrong.

I spoke with a number of the new guys at the Polecat and a large number 
of them had never flown sailplanes before getting into handlaunch - but 
they had flown some sort of R/C. Helis, electrics, some gas, etc.  
Handlaunch is drawing people from other R/C niches to soaring.  That's a 
good direction for us.

WHY TWO DAYS AT THE NATS

Well, frankly, because when I tell handlaunch people to "come to the 
NATS," they all say "I would, but only if it's a two-day contest". And I 
swear to you I didn't put that quote in their teeth! I will lay a $5 bet 
that the first two-day handlaunch contest at the NATS draws at least as 
many pilots as 2-meter, and maybe even as many as RES. I've spoken to at 
least that many people - and the handlaunch community is pretty damn 
tight - we'll support it. Period.

Now, about the recent German contest - the German Open this year (just 
last weekend, same as NATS HL) drew away at least a half dozen of our 
top handlaunch pilots FROM THEIR OWN NATIONAL COMPETITION. Oleg 
Golovidov, Phil Barnes, Paul Anderson and Bruce Davidson, all past IHLGF 
or Polecat winners, didn't go to their own NATS because there is a 
better contest -- in Germany. 112 pilots from all around Europe, Sweden, 
Norway, Ukraine, etc etc. Huge. Beer on tap *at the field*!

We've now got two serious and large contests - the IHLGF and the Polecat 
- but we don't have a "NATS" that is worth going to, and therefore isn't 
considered a "National" contest by anyone in the HL community.  I don't 
want to get into that whole "Is the NATS a fun-fly?" argument again, but 
I would like to make Handlaunch at the NATS worth going to...

SUMMARY

* Handlaunch is attracting more new pilots
* Handlaunch is attracting a younger audience
* Handlaunch is acting as the "gateway" into soaring in general

If you hold it, they will come.
If you bring more handlaunchers to the NATS, you are bringing more (and 
more young) people into soaring.
If you bring more people into soaring, it is a good thing(tm).

And finally - F3K is "official" now and is going to have it's first-ever 
World Champs in 2011. It is never early enough to start supporting it.

Some of you on the RCSE have already heard this before and I appreciate 
you listening! I am happy to say we *are* making progress on it.