Zone 2013 Afterthoughts

[slyhawk57]

Hi all,

Just thought I would say well done to all the pilots I saw fly at zone. Totally amazing skills and such an enjoyable weekend.

Flying teams and organizers did such a great job is makes me very proud to be involved in this sport!

I must say though unfortunately the guy working on the stall with Scorpion motors and Edge blades was a total disappointment I arrived with the express intention of getting a new motor for my 450 and a set of blades for the 6HV after not being flush enough last year and he completely put me off single handed with his cold patronizing attitude, others I spoke to on the day seem to have had the same experience. It is always a disappointment for me to see this attitude towards other pilots from people who are supposed to be representing this sport at such an important time.

I just really felt this was worth mentioning as if it was only competing pilots that purchased all the expensive gear then these companies would not exist very long and I think they really should have more time for the less professional flyers.

In the end I bought a cracking set RJX of blades from the one of the other stalls, they were more than happy to help

Really looking forward to next year and I would love to get more involved in any way possible.



Happy flying!

[Geek]

Thanks for the kind words sorry about the other bit

first video I have found
Zone Format 2013 - YouTube

Can't wait for next years

[slyhawk57]

It was a great event anyway, I wonder if there could be a place for simple (15-30min) workshops like 'Control basics' or 'Helicopter Setup' etc. during the course of the weekend so people can take away some knowledge and useful tips, I think there would be a surprising interest in things like this. It would be a great way to get people really involved and excited. It could also be incorporated into the simulator stand although it would need to be running on a better machine and ideally with a few more stands so more people can play - I think it would be great if people never having flown a helicopter could leave the weekend feeling as though they had a proper introduction to RC flight on a simulator

[Boggy]

Thanks for the comments. Sadly there are some things we can't control.Individual stands content and staff,the museum layout,and airfied restrictions,as many saw yesterday with air traffic control moving the goal posts every couple of minutes.
the simulator mentioned was actually john knobbs own lappy set up as part of horizons display.

[tomatwalden]

It was the Climb-Out stand you mention that had the Scorpion stuff. Funnily enough I can picture exactly the man you spoke about as I walked away from that stand for the very same reason. However, there were two people working there, and his colleague was much more helpful as I found out later on when I spotted the deal they were doing on Spin Blades.

No reflection on Zone at all however, which really was brilliant! Even the weather agreed!

[tomatwalden]

Thanks for the comments. Sadly there are some things we can't control.Individual stands content and staff,the museum layout,and airfied restrictions,as many saw yesterday with air traffic control moving the goal posts every couple of minutes.
the simulator mentioned was actually john knobbs own lappy set up as part of horizons display.

Tell you what would be cool though Ron (like slyhawk57 mentions) - a masterclass from one of the pros ... kinda like the auto-rotation class from Curtis Youngblood that you can find on YouTube.

Appreciate time is tight mind..

[slyhawk57]

Well good work to John Knobs for lending it! I have flown with him on Phoenix loads of times haha now it looks like I played with his laptop

Some sort of class would be really great, it doesn't even really need to be a superpro masterclass (although that would be amazing....) I'm sure the people on some of the stands must fly themselves, they could easily invite people to come and talk about technique around a simulator stand. Or even just get a couple of people with reasonable flying skills themselves to do a Q+A session, perhaps with someone they can call on if there is a smart-arse hanging around asking about the intricacies flight physics lol

I would be more than happy stood next to a simulator all day pointing people in the right direction to get the skills they need to progress without too much damage and start really learning the sport. I love to talk about RC flying with other pilots, I think we should do more if it at these events in future

[Boggy]

Wrong john nobbs . I will give a much more comprehensive reply to all the above when i finish work.

[slyhawk57]

Wrong john nobbs . I will give a much more comprehensive reply to all the above when i finish work.

oops

[Big A]

Thanks for the comments. Sadly there are some things we can't control.Individual stands content and staff,the museum layout,and airfied restrictions,as many saw yesterday with air traffic control moving the goal posts every couple of minutes.
the simulator mentioned was actually john knobbs own lappy set up as part of horizons display.

the BMFA Simulator trailer would probably be available if booked early enough for next year, 2 large screens running either Pheonix or Aerofly. Contact the office on admin@bmfa.org as soon as you have dates for next year. It had it's first outing at Rougham and was very well received. It's also available for club events and open days.

[tomatwalden]

the BMFA Simulator trailer would probably be available if booked early enough for next year, 2 large screens running either Pheonix or Aerofly. Contact the office on admin@bmfa.org as soon as you have dates for next year. It had it's first outing at Rougham and was very well received. It's also available for club events and open days.

To be truly representative of real life, it would need 3D surround sound with a bunch of loud frenchmen shouting "Kiiiiiiiilllllllllll iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit - kill that *&%$!!!!" coming from the speakers behind you ....

[Big A]

Re: Zone 2013 Afterthoughts

There is a soundbar with each screen, the sound is pretty amazing!
Im sure a frenchman or two could be rounded up too!

[slyhawk57]

That sounds like it would work really well. More of a drive towards people having a go at flying in between the flights. The trailer sounds amazing!

[Rich_H]

To be truly representative of real life, it would need 3D surround sound with a bunch of loud frenchmen shouting "Kiiiiiiiilllllllllll iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit - kill that *&%$!!!!" coming from the speakers behind you ....

Along with....'LOOOOWWEEEERRR'

fantastic event though, some truly stunning flying. My congratulations to the organisers and the SW team for an extremely well run slick event.

Lovely to catch up with some of you again would love to have stayed for the night flying but sadly couldnt. Next year will book a hotel and do both days though..

My thanks also to the sponsors and the generous raffle prizes, Lucy won a Blade MSR-X in the raffle which she is truly delighted with!!

Roll on Helifest!

Rich

[Boggy]

Firstly let me make it clear these are just my thoughts and I'm not speaking officially for anyone else connected with zone.

so first point. As I said above individual traders and stalls are controlled by themselves,I Think most that have been around heli's for a while know exactly who slyhawk is talking about so thats a matter for them to put right.

second point. Workshops? Space in the museum is at a premium as most of you that visited would have seen so i'm not sure where that could be done there would certainly be no chance of flying there.,however on the saturday we did have a field and facilities available which was named " zone village" from 9 in the morning we were there until well after dark, competition pilots were practicing and it was also open to have a fun fly.If anyone wanting advice on setup or even a buddy lead flight if anyone had approached us I have no doubt we could have helped i could have provided a raptor 30 and I'm certain either james or paul could buddy lead. As a side note to that Jason Platts was there from ultimatebuildandfly.co.uk. This sort of thing is his profession and good at it he is too! ....so maybe next year we can sort something along these lines even if its just at club level from us.

third point. Simulators. Again space is at a premium inside,so I doubt this would be viable ( lets not forget this is a world class helicopter 3D competition, your there specifically to stand and watch in awe as these pilots defy the laws of physics) . I will mention the offer of the BMFA trailer to Zone BigA thank you.I think it would be great to have stood out front of the museum.


Slyhawk....and anyone else in the soutwest. SWRCH would be happy to help you on an individual basis anytime thoughout the year, please feel free to contact any of us that have the swrch logo in our signature or the " go big or go home " moto above our avatar.come and visit us bring your heli or arange with me I would be happy to let you buddy lead fly my raptor if you just want to see what its like before taking the finacial plunge into oblivion!