National Free Flight Society

SEN 3172

  1. Fab Feb Signup Link
  2. About Time – Part 2

Fab Feb Sign up link

The online entry link for Fab feb is at https://forms.gle/imvxr7Xj6AL8Lc1x9

This is for all the FAI events.  World Cup, including F1e and the Mini Events.  But not the AMA events in the Ike.  You must sign up got the FAI Events but you do not pay until you get to Lost Hills.  You pay for all the FAI events at one time .  Big sign up is on Friday 9 Feb at the Lost Hills Community Center from 9 A to 3 PM.  If you don’t arrive until later  you can sign up later.  If you need to correct your entry after entering send an email to lindy_murrell@gmail.com.


About Time – Part 2

Flight Recording Test
At the 2024 Fab Feb World Cup contests we will be conducting a Flight Recording Test The test is based on the technique currently in the Sporting Code that lets a sportsman use a certified altimeter to contest the time recorded in a flyoff.   But it is using the Neuron as a flight recording device not as an altimeter

Detailed information from this test will be reported to the FFTSC and reported in specialist press.

Note that we are calling this a Flight Recording Test and not using the word altimeter as that can be misleading.

In this test the models will be timed in the normal fashion as described in the Sporting Code. The person doing it is called the Timekeeper in this SEN.  The models will also be recorded using the onboard Flight Recording system and that will be operated by the Flight Observer who will watch the entire flight.    The Timekeeper and the Flight Observer may be the same person, but they must perform those functions as independently as possible. In particular information from the onboard Flight Recorder should not be used to influence the time recorded by the Timekeeper and vice versa.
It important to understand that this is not just checking  can the device time the flight but also understanding how it would fit into the whole process of running an event from the event sign up, model processing, during each round , during fly off, reporting results and writing the Sporting Code changes.

This is how the test will work.  [Participation in the test is voluntary and should be indicated during the on-line registration process.]

* The model must be fitted with a special version of the Neuron system software. This will be used to time all flights in the contest, both regular round and fly offs.

* The serial number of the Neuron on the model will be written on the timecard before each official flight.

* The flyer will indicate to the Neuron, the Flight Observer and the Timekeeper that he is about to make an official flight. [The details of using this version of the Neuron will be shown in a later document. ]

* The Timekeeper will clock off the watch when he loses sight of the model or when it lands. That will be the official flight time and follows the normal Sporting Code process.

* The Neuron is capable of determining when the model  has landed and will show that on the App.

* The Flight Observer will use the Neuron App (supplied by the sportsman) to confirm  the model has landed and time should be recorded. .  Note that this version of the Neuron App can supply the time of the flight in 2 ways. One is to send it to a server on the internet by pushing a button on the App  where the Organizer can fetch it.  The other way is to press another button on the App which displays the time on a panel on the Neuron App where the Flight Observer will write it on the timecard.  This latter display can be shown to an official later if required.

* The official time for the event will be the time from the manual timing unless in a fly off flight the sportsman elects to contest the manual time and use the time from the Neuron in accordance with the Sporting Code.  There will be a space on the timecard to record extra information that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the test.  The timecard must be handed in each  round as usual.

The Timekeeper handles anomalies and events such as over runs and attempts in accordance with the Sporting Code.

In About Time part 3 there will be more important back ground information.