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Tom Krogger, founder of the E-TOC, assembled the judge panel.
by
Thayer Syme • photos by Tom Atwood
JUDGING THE E-TOC AND E-X GAMES
Judging any competition fairly is a challenge, and doubly so
with the fast-paced action and intimate audience environment of
the E-TOC and E-X Games. Primary consideration must be given to
the official judging criteria, which will not always be obvious
to the audience. Chief Judge Fred Johnson, along with judges David
C. Baron and Greg Poppel offered the following insight into their
world.
Fly RC: How long have you been
involved with RC? How long have you been a judge?
Fred Johnson: I have been involved in modeling
for over 50 years. I began with control line and went through the
stages of RC from single channel escapement to today's high technology
radio systems. I began competing in pattern in the early 1970's
when I became concerned with the lack of judging standards and
rules. I was a charter member of USPJA (United States Pattern Judges
Association) which later became the NSRCA. In the late 1970's I
began competing in full scale aerobatics and realized the need
for standardized judging nationally and world wide. in the mid
1980's while serving as an officer of the IAC (International Aerobatic
Club), I helped set up their national judging school system and
standardization program which is still in place today. For the
past 20 years I have been very involved as a judge and Chief Judge
at the TOC (Tournament Of Champions). It was only natural to carry
over full scale judging to scale model judging at the TOC. I am
presently working on the same type of program for the International
Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC).
ETOC judges had front row seating. In addition to chief judge Fred Johnson, Dave Baron, Roy Barrow, Brian Hueffmeier, Baron Johnson, Mark Jorgenson, Jim Malek and Greg Poppel judged at the event.
Greg Poppel: I learned to fly RC over 40 years ago, and
have been judging for the last 15.
David Baron: I
have flown RC for 36 years, and have judged others on many occasions
for 25 years including the Nationals in Muncie, as well as last
year’s E-TOC.
FRC: How did judging the indoor
events differ from other competitions?
FJ: The limited flying area and completely
different airplane designs make it unique. The small, light, and
highly agile airplanes are a different challenge to judge,
GP: Indoor
flying is choreographed more tightly to the music. The faster
response of the smaller models really makes a difference here.
It’s pretty easy to see who practices
and is well versed with their music.
DB: It really puts more pressure on the pilot.
In outdoor events, elbow room and safe space is all around you.
Extra space means so much, such as starting and ending maneuvers
on your own timetable, and keeping your routine centered on the
judges! Indoors, the choreography challenge is confined to the
vertical and horizontal, as well as to the clock!
FRC: What were you personally looking
for when judging a routine for technical and artistic merits?
FJ: I look specifically at the flight based
on the defined judging criteria, see below.
GP: I look for the technicality that makes
polishing the maneuvers difficult, for instance keeping the one-roll
rolling circle on a uniform plane. I also watch how maneuvers flow
and whether the transitions are smooth.
DB: Smooth maneuvers, and smooth transitions.
All the pilots really know the precision side of the maneuvers,
so the difference for me is in the grace of the performance.
FRC: How influential was the crowd
reaction during the flights?
FJ: The
judges could tell the difference in the crowd reactions to different
situations and maneuvers as opposed to someone having their own "cheering section".
GP: The
crowd scores were only 10 percent, so it isn’t that important.
However, I often found myself reacting along with crowd, the
flying was that good. The crowd is often looking for other stuff
than what the judges need to see, so keeping that straight can
be a challenge.
DB: Most
of the crowd’s reaction was felt
where it is due. We witnessed some amazing feats of piloting, some
that no one had ever witnessed in competition before. To be honest,
I had to really restrain myself from clapping after many of the
flights!
Greg Poppel judged at both the ETOC and the E-X Games. Here he shown giving the go-nogo on completion of the knife edge slalom portion of the E-X Games obstacle course. MC Bob Sadler called Greg the "Hanging Judge," "Wall of Death" and other humorous names because he was a very demanding judge. He had the crowd alternately booing and cheering.
FRC: How important was the choreography
and timing with the music?
FJ: It
was very important, as can be seen by the "k" values in the judging criteria. The "k" values
represent the weighted values of the different criteria, just as
in pattern or scale aerobatics judging.
GP: Very important. I use the timing as an indicator
of how prepared someone is. Beyond exceptional hand eye coordination,
a pilot really needs to anticipate the radio and aerodynamic response
times to keep the maneuvers well timed to the music. This can only
be done with a lot of practice
DB: It is a tremendous challenge to the pilots.
There are a few tenths of a second of lag time, from when you
start to command a maneuver, to when it actually begins for the
plane. For a maneuver to actually follow the beat of the music,
the pilot must be putting in their inputs ahead of the beat.
Some of the pilots did this better than others, and the scores
reflected this.
FRC: What type of potential do
you see for variable pitch propellers?
FJ: I see them as standard equipment in the
future, not only for the indoor foam and lightweight aircraft,
but all models. Technology simply has to catch up with the demand.
And it will. It always has!
GP: I
think you’ll see 50% or more of
the people using it at E-TOC 2006, not necessarily to the degree
of stopping and backing up. Instead I expect you will see more
pulsing of the flight path to the music, and with a more subtle
fitting of the flying to the music. I think VP props have found
their place and will continue to grow.
DB: It is as big as the switch from open cockpit
to enclosed, or maybe even from the propeller era, to the dawn
of the jet age!
FRC: What differences have you
seen in competitive flying with the onset of the foam E-TOC type
models?
FJ: Thereare
a lot of new and innovative models, well as maneuvers that one
could only imagine before today.
GP: The
confidence and capabilities of even the best pilots have been
profoundly affected by these models. They allow you to try different
maneuvers and music down low where it matters, without worrying
about the money meeting the ground. You can come up with a new
concept, then just go try it in your back yard and immediately
say “Okay, this looks good or it
doesn’t.” Beyond that, indoor flying means year round
flying. With approximately 70% of flyers suffering bad winter weather,
those who fly indoor will shine every spring with sharper thumbs.
DB: We
are seeing a quantum leap in piloting skills. Anyone who can
put together 20 dollars worth of depron with some accuracy can
build and practice with a plane that will really perform. Look
at how far we have come in what we call aerobatics, in just 5
years!
FRC: This year TNT added the E-X
Games on Saturday night. What were your initial impressions of
the event and the course?
FJ: Basically,
the E-X Games are a very "fun" event.
Patterned after the full scale Red Bull series of aerobatic racing,
it has a lot of crowd appeal. At first glance, the course appeared
fairly easy, but it soon became quite apparent that is was very
difficult.
GP: As a judge I thought it was absolutely
fun. It truly tested the skills from every angle. No one knew what
was going to happen, and the course proved a real equalizer, bringing
out the best in everyone. We saw great flying, great sportsmanship
and a great sense of humor all around. Perhaps we should add a
few more awards for these factors as well, and not just what the
clock said.
DB: It is a natural offshoot from the E-TOC.
The best pilots aren't always the guys who do the precision aerobatics,
they are often the ones who amuse themselves by trying to fly between
the rails of a fence inverted!
FRC: What design characteristics
do you think are required for the optimum obstacle course flyer?
FJ: Such a course demands a small, light and very maneuverable model
that can also be stable. Now that's a challenge in itself!
[an error occurred while processing this directive]GP: I think they will have to be small, baby AXI type models.
Maximum throws on smaller airplanes coupled with light weight allow you to
generate massive amounts of drag when needed to keep control of the airspeed.
DB: Based on the events at Toledo this year,
the plane needs to be small, light, and have great pitch and yaw
stability and control.
FRC: Who do you think had more
fun with the E-X Games; the pilots, judges or spectators?
FJ: The E-X Games was more a race against the
clock with no aerobatic judging per se. The course judges simply
gave or deducted points for obstacles missed or made and the stop
watch stopped at the end of the course. I think it was fun for
everyone.
GP: I think the spectators had a great time.
The pilots had a lot of fun, but they were still under the gun
with the ticking clock. The crowd could just sit back and enjoy
the evening.
DB: As
far as the audience goes, the judges have the best seat in the
house, and often can detect when there is a difference between
the intended maneuver, and the result of the attempt! The pilot
must always be concentrating on flying their models, the judges
have much more opportunity to enjoy the show as they critique
single aspects, such as position, altitude, consistency, and
choreography.>
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