FLY RC MAGAZINE  Judging the E-TOC

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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!

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.