EVENT INTRODUCTION by Frank Tiano:
COMING: March 17 - 20, 2018
Red Flag is, and will be, a lot of things but it may be easiest to explain some things it is “Not”, or “Will Not” be! For example, it is not for the timid, it is not for the procrastinator; it is not for the average guy and is not for “non-competitive” modelers.
RED FLAG is a second year ALL JET event coming to Lakeland Florida’s Paradise Field this March. It will be a scored event, meaning a competition, with the emphasis on Aerobatics with some attention on craftsmanship and appearance thrown in. It will be an invitational, but people who think they may be qualified may “ask” for a slot to compete. Or, pilots may be recommended by others. (We don’t know everybody in the World) There will be a purse, not enough to buy a new car, but enough for Bragging Rights. Nice Awards too.
Red Flag will have 4 classes, Scale Pro-Aerobatics, Sport Pro-Aerobatics, Individual Free-Style and one for Team Demo Flying. Maneuvers will be flown from a list; some of them mandatory and a few will be pilot choice .Takeoffs will not be judged but landings will. Maximum planes in the air at one time? That would be 2. It will be a Saturday thru Tuesday event with all awards given out Tuesday night as part of the Red Flag award dinner. Florida Jets will start to following day Wednesday March 21, 2018.
Ray Labonte is Co-Contest Director, and he is helping with logistics, scoring and sits on the Board of Directors who make the initial decisions. He has produced an overview of exactly HOW Red Flag will work. We realize that there will be some who agree and some who do not agree with the rules and procedures, and we sincerely sympathize, but for the second year, that’s too bad.
We will make every effort to blanket the World with information and keep everyone posted!
Frank Tiano
RED FLAG 2018 EVENT OVERVIEW:
50 Pilots Invited Overall
The Aerobat Category will be the foundation of the event with a total of 50 pilots split into two
groups. You may choose to fly in the Scale Jet Class or the Sport Jet Class with our goal of
accommodating 25 pilots in each class. This category features competitive precision sequence flying
similar to “ole school” pattern.
Objective:
• To create an event which presents a challenge for participants by judging precision and flow, all
while emphasizing spectator appeal.
• Use of a predetermined list of maneuvers with various levels of difficulty and reward helps
encourage individuality by participants.
• Maneuver selection which allows for a variety of aircraft (combined length and wingspan greater
than 120”) being used which does not favor any particular type of airplane.
• Graduated levels of difficulty to allow pilots to operate within their comfort range while
rewarding those selecting a more difficult sequence of maneuvers.
• An airshow presentation to minimize “dead time” yet proves challenging and rewarding for
participants, while enhancing spectator appeal.
Individual Freestyle Category: 10 - 15 Pilots Invited
The Individual Freestyle Category allows for pilots to “strut their stuff” as part of a highly
competitive class of Jet flying. The objective is to promote choreography & individuality, with
showmanship and entertainment being paramount. This class may be viewed as the “best of the
best” pilots attending Red Flag 2017.
Team Demo Category: 4 – 8 Teams Invited
The Team Demo Category provides for a competitive class of Team Jet flying, using a minimum of two,
maximum of six, pilots flying a choreographed routine for the sake of spectator appeal. The goal is
to get the crowd involved by using them as the judging panel that will ultimately select the
winning team.
Additional Information: www.franktiano.com
More detailed information regarding each of the competitive categories listed above are available
by email to rplabonte727@gmail.com . If you’re interested in participating in this second year
event please return the attach d Invitation Request form ASAP. We intend to send out
formal invitations to those
interested shortly.