Helicopters B

[Bazinga+]

Does anyone have any clarifications on the single rotor- 10% bonus, like can you just put one side of a two bladed rotor onto one side of the motor stick, and the other side of the 2 bladed rotor on the other side of the body, so it is like a 2-bladed rotor but not connected... would you get +20%?

[jander14indoor]

Go to the clarifications on the NSO site, there are official responses to what a single bladed rotor is and even a test to verify it.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[Bazinga+]

May i please have a link? Im having trouble finding it.

[jander14indoor]

http://www.soinc.org/frequently_asked_questions
Click on div B events, click on helicopters.
You will see a bunch of FAQ responses, several of which address single bladed props.
Currently the second one posted Jan24 provides a test at the end of a long explanation.

Direct link is currently: http://69.36.47.6/node/828 but I'm not sure if that isn't some sort of dynamic link that changes over time.

Regards,
Jeff Anderson

[ThatRoboGuy]

In my opinion, single bladed rotors are a way to throw off competitors and waste their time, distracting them from the old and reliable design.
Conspiracy.

[1nxtmonster]

In my opinion, single bladed rotors are a way to throw off competitors and waste their time, distracting them from the old and reliable design.
Conspiracy.

Yeah. A lot of events have those built into them, for example the tiebreakers are often by something that will hurt you. So for rotor egg drop, for example, do you keep your lightweight design and hope that it will be .01 seconds better than the competition, or add a small amount of weight to try to win the tiebreaker, when that weight may in fact cause you to lose in the first place? Kind of a complicated 'trap' system to get kids to build theirs heavier.

[Bazinga+]

Very true. I see no advantage, even 10-30 % by doing single bnladed rotors. I was just wondering if maybe you could attach like a tiny 3 cm rotor to your body to get a free 10%... that would be nice.

[lovescience]

If you are an Ohio team headed to States on April 26th and you do not think that the French Field House with its rafters, cross-breeze and 48 ft. ceilings are an ideal venue for true performance rather than a game of chance, please consider expressing that concern ASAP. It appears no one has suggested that the venue is not ideal and so a change of venue is not being considered. It would be great to have the venue moved somewhere with a lower, unobstructed ceiling to allow for everyones hard work to determine results. Please consider requesting a change, and soon.

[ThatRoboGuy]

What's a petition site that is notable? (Something that is respectable)

[jander14indoor]

Probably speaking out of turn since I'm from Michigan, but...

We've found racquet ball courts work very well for helicopters.
Generally smooth ceilings.
Reasonably high.
Generally viewer friendly (not quite as nice as a big gym), but easy to limit inappropriate coaching. Especialy those glass walled ones.
No rafters to eat helicopters
Easy to have totally separate practice and timing areas if you can get a couple lined up side by side.
Smooth ceilings.

One issue, seems harder to get facilities to cut off air, but at least that's the same for everyone.

At the Michigan State Tournament we have a gym with a smooth ceiling that we use. Not the tallest gym, but preferred by most teams to limit helicopter eating rafters.

Now next year when gliders go to B and Wright Stuff comes back to C, you'll definetly want those tall, large sites back.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI