Best Times

[ScottMaurer19]

Sorry, maybe I should have clarified my statement. I meant that 2:00 was a competitive States time. Definitely upwards of 3 minutes for a Nats medal. On another note, what was the winning time(s) at Ohio?

Ah ok. The winning time from Ohio is going to remain classified until post-nationals . I will however share that mentor probably would've gotten third had their helicopter run the ~3 min that they were getting in practice

Oh well. Given Mason's performance at MIT for their Heli, my guess is that (assuming things don't happen) Solon and Mason will likely medal at Nats. What was the venue like, out of curiosity? And what happened to Mentor/Mason's helis?

The venue was very nice with a ~14' ceiling. No obstructions, sprinklers, lights, etc. The room was also very large to allow for some degree of movement during a flight.

From what I've heard, Mentor's first flight was short due to a rib breaking off of the device. The second flight last 14 seconds I think and they weren't sure why. Then I believe both of Mason's helicopters broke (correct me if I'm wrong) early during the flights. And then we broke 2 of 3 sets of rubbers before we got a flight off which made the coaches a little nervous. Between the wasted time in the beginning due to the broken rubbers and the fragility of the heli we decided to only do one flight.

[sciencegirl03]

Does anyone know the best scores at the Michigan State competition? I know someone who got 2:00 with a Chinook. They said that they had all bonuses and no penalties, yet they were listed as 20th place. They were absolutely expecting a medal, so I'm sure they would like to know how the competition was. Maybe everyone was just that good...

While I have no idea what the scores were at Michigan State (sorry), I do know that from what I've seen around the forums and such that 2:00 seems about a benchmark for a competitive helicopter in the nation. However, I do know at least one team in Michigan was capable of 2:30ish times during the season and it's not hard to see that setting the tone for the rest of the teams.

Everyone who placed at Michigan State was higher than 2:45 raw time!

[daydreamer0023]

Does anyone know the best scores at the Michigan State competition? I know someone who got 2:00 with a Chinook. They said that they had all bonuses and no penalties, yet they were listed as 20th place. They were absolutely expecting a medal, so I'm sure they would like to know how the competition was. Maybe everyone was just that good...

While I have no idea what the scores were at Michigan State (sorry), I do know that from what I've seen around the forums and such that 2:00 seems about a benchmark for a competitive helicopter in the nation. However, I do know at least one team in Michigan was capable of 2:30ish times during the season and it's not hard to see that setting the tone for the rest of the teams.

Everyone who placed at Michigan State was higher than 2:45 raw time!

Wow! What was the venue like?

[bjt4888]

The teams I coached this year at Michigan States:

Raw times:
1st - Haslett HS 3:35.3
2nd - Holt HS 3:33.5
3rd - East Lansing HS 3:10.8
5th - Okemos HS 3:08.3

All bonuses were obtained on top of these times.

Ceiling Height 21 ft and a few inches, flat ceiling tile, old gym with no air circulation issues.

All four teams were capable of flying 3:30+; some minor rubber issues lead to lower times for 3rd and 5th.

Brian T.

[Unome]

The teams I coached this year at Michigan States:

Raw times:
1st - Haslett HS 3:35.3
2nd - Holt HS 3:33.5
3rd - East Lansing HS 3:10.8
5th - Okemos HS 3:08.3

All bonuses were obtained on top of these times.

Ceiling Height 21 ft and a few inches, flat ceiling tile, old gym with no air circulation issues.

All four teams were capable of flying 3:30+; some minor rubber issues lead to lower times for 3rd and 5th.

Brian T.

...this would explain the high times. Definitely didn't expect to see five or more teams over 3 minutes, even if MI States typically has better flight times than Nationals.

[coachchuckaahs]

Congrats Brian. Your mentoring is an inspiration to coaches around the country! I hardly have time to coach one team of WS and Heli!

Coach Chuck

[Private Wang Fire]

Then I believe both of Mason's helicopters broke (correct me if I'm wrong) early during the flights.

Yeah pretty big understatement here. Catastrophic failure is more like it. Also we had 3 helicopters but 1 broke on transport and we never fixed it because we weren't really planning on breaking even one... Was the last of our wood too So fortunate to have an amazing team to carry us through that one--definitely not going to happen again.

Placing times at nationals will probably depend on ceiling height, but I think the cutoff will definitely be over 3 minutes (as long as the 'ceiling' is not 2 feet off the ground or something).

[bjt4888]

Coach Chuck,

Thanks for the kind words. I had great students, teachers and parent volunteers working with me.

You're doing great science with your students too. Time to retire so there’s more time for SO.

Brian T

[daydreamer0023]

Congrats Brian. Your mentoring is an inspiration to coaches around the country! I hardly have time to coach one team of WS and Heli!

Coach Chuck

I would second that wholeheartedly (except that I'm not a coach haha). Rubber powered balsa events are one of the most stressful things I have yet endured due to the fragile nature of the event. The fact you can get four teams in the 3:30 range (even if they didn't all perform that well at States) is amazing. And you're incredibly helpful too...

[coachchuckaahs]

With the help of coaches like Brian, our teams (B&C) have gone from fearing builds to embracing them. They have done a great job taking LOTS of data, adjusting variables and taking more data. The builds have become more predictable due to sound building techniques and careful data taking. Brian has always been patient to dig in to our issues and help find solutions when we don't understand something. The kids are loving the improvements they can see as they progress.

I hope all coaches on here take note! And Yes, Brian, I will retire, and I plan to take on more schools to make the flying events more competitive in New Mexico.

Coach Chuck