Is there a minimum/ maximum number to make up a team?

Would be a bit more enthusiastic if I had a better idea of whats involved and got to try some of the tasks? Best way to do that is probably to arrange some events here, to allow people get a feel for what is involved? Its one thing for indivioduals to join in at the UK Nationals, which seem to be very open and inviting to 'newbies', and another thing to send an 'Irish Team' to represent the county!!

We have had good advice and support to getting going thanks to Jason for setting up last years MC event and Cathals weekend this year. We just need to get out and try some of the tasks now.

What about a few Navigation tasks for starters this weekend if the weather holds, as part of the Powers the Pot weekend?... Michael..?
I can bring along color photocopies of the OS map of the area if it helps? Let me know what is needed, if we want to give it a try? Would be a nice way to get to know an area I have never flown?

Oisin



Oisin

Hi Oisin
As far as I am aware the minimum number of pilots is 4 , not sure on the max, Jason may know.
As far as practicing goes, the 500 foot spot landing with engine out is something which can be done on EVERY flight( very usefull if you ever get an engine out knowing you can land exactly where you want to), the navagitation tasks have a few different variations, the task catalogues are available on the net ( I will take a picture of the map I used in the UK and post it which may explain a bit better), the fuel economy tasks are ones which we can all practice on flights, working out a flight plan and calculating how much fuel you will burn and how long it will take , taking into consideration wind speeds aloft and your best fuel burn rate ( polar curve MCJ spoke off at the weekend).
My thinking on the whole thing was first for anyone who wants to be involved( may need ground crew also) to come forward and put their name in the hat, then we can organise a few training sessions together which should lead to us practicing on our own turf anytime we wish, if we had a good few pilots interested we could run a qualifying league where we have maybe 3 sessions with the best 2 scores to count, so one round can be dropped in case anyone cannot make one of the rounds, ( only throwing a few ideas in the air here, would be good to get some feedback/ opinions from Jason and Cathal who have also competed. we have to start somewhere).
Who else is going to represent the country??? we all are the pilots- if we are good enough to qualify for the team and its done in a fair manner wheres the problem ...
If I dont qualify then I will be the van driver
If the weather is flyable I will be down at the weekend, we can set out a navigation task very simply, just for the craic, it will make the flying more interesting...
Dean

hi dean,
sorry for not responding earlier in the week,had a lot of running around to do this week!..i also think its time to set-up a team for next year,its time to get on with it!i dont really know why it didnt happen last year,michel carnet has brought this very question up with me and others every time we have spoke either by phone or in person???now mathieu is asking the same question!!..i am going to give it a go for next year,after being over at the worlds this year with martin and declan we all said we should of been there flying the flag!all we need is team work!!and remember there is no "i" in team!!so lets give it a go and see how we do over the next 4-5 months and take it from there!!!
cheers...cathal.

Maybe a good start would be an evening 'workshop' on the whole subject of competitions? Slide shows/ video footage of this years UK and worlds?? Bring along the maps etc, and run through the tasks?? Demonstrate map holders etc?

I can bring a projector along, if it helps, maybe some scanned maps and maybe a powerpoint on the tasks to give some idea of what is involved?

How to set-up competition bottles etc?

If we do as Pascal did last weekend, and record the key issues, we can share it with whoever is not available to join in? Would be a good evening anyway!

Oisin

Cathal/Oisin
I rekon if we can get anyone who is interested to come forward and express an interest we can soon get the ball rolling, get together for a wee introduction to competition flying and tasks then it will all become very clear to anyone who has any reservations about taking part and explain all in a bit of detail and have an in depth explaination of the tasks and the scoring systems.
Once we all know the general format of comp flying theres no problem with practicing in our own areas and having a few gettogethers to iron out any difficulties...
This whole part of it is relatively simple, all we need is names of those who are interested in taking part so we can work out whos in which areas and who can put in some training together!!
Dean

Hi All,

Its great to see the drive now in Irish pilots to make a start in what i would imagine being a fantastic road to be on. I have always expressed my wishes in forming an Irish team but it didnt happen for what ever reason. I would love to be involved and would have some knolwedge on competitions to share with my team mates. As Cathal has said there is no "i" in team. I have kept all the maps from previous years comps and most of the tasks involved. When we meet up I can bring along and to get the ball rolling that some have already started.

Jason.

Yes- It would be great to see everyone on board for selection on the Irish team... THe more experienced pilots, that have participated in other competitions the better... Transferring knowledge/coaching other potentials will be a part of the process- the key aspects, gaining skills and having a bit of fun. If all gets going we should have a sizable pool of capbable pilots from which to make the team selection...

GD

Michael made a good point on another thread about getting together for a few fly-in type practice sessions, so even if someone who is not interested in comps can still come along and fly and have the craic....
How about the weekend of the 10th October for the first get together, that will give us 3 weeks after the Coup ICare to earn some brownie points with the boss (her indoors)
How about going to a new venue- Kildare is central, but we dont want to get up the local folks noses by flying there all the time, what about Mayo or Clare, somewhere fairly central with some costal breeze???
Any suggestions???
Dean

Yes- Dean the coast makes sense.. Maybe Clogher Head? (Martin?)
As you say- even if you're not interested in participating in the comps, some help at the sessions would be good- for lap timings, laying out kicking posts, etc...

Mayo would also be a good bet- fi anyone know if there are any fields availble please make some suggestions... Perhaps our newest member 'rtcw37' might know someone?????

What about Portlaoise? That's probably as central as it gets in terms of roads access?

Athlone... Birr? Maybe Someone might know a big site near there?

I wonder what the chances are of getting permission to fly on the Curragh? I always though that would be a great site to fly!

Oisin

Thanks Dean and Jason, who brought the maps from the UK Nationals along to Powers the Pot, to share their experiences. We need to set-up a few of these navigation tasks next time we meet!

Oisin

I'm not sure about a paramotor team I'm scared.Nobody told me about these scary men.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5fwa3dvLMU

Michael.

Guys
We spoke with Michel Carnet in Coupe ICare and had a chat with him about setting up an Irish team, he was extremely positive about the whole thing and thinks we would be crazy not to enter a team, he has offered to help in any way he can and if we get ourselves a few training sessions under our belts he will come over and give us some help and advice on competition flying, the European Championships, and the world championships.
We also spoke ( and had a few beers - a good few !) with Andy Phillips who is the competition director for the UK championships for the last few years, he has also offered to help in any way possible and will help us out with some training tasks and has even offered to score an Irish section seperately in next years UK comps, so if we want we can go over there and will have a seperate score sheet to use to select an Irish team from, an Irish paramotor championship run in conjunction with the UK championships!!!
I couldnt get over how helpfull these guys were in relation to all of this
How about a get together in the next few weeks for anyone interested in taking part in this?
Dean

hi dean,
all of the guys in the uk and beyond are very willing to help us over here,they have been saying it for a while now,all we have to do is "get the finger out" and get the ball rolling.i think if we concentrate on our own team selection over here and maybe set up a small "irish nats"and get michel,andy or mathieu over to guide us through the points system.if there is going to be a team for the european championship i think that we should work towards it in both training and funding,i have been told that we will not get any funding from the sports council for an irish team because of the position in which our sport sits at the moment(up in the air,pardon the pun)so its going to come out of our own pockets to fly for country.the talk is that the euro champs will be held in italy next year maybe around september,so its a bit away but not everybody will be able to take the time for both uk nats and the euros comps but i know which one will be the best weather!!!
cheers...cathal.

Hi Cathal
It would be great to have our own Irish Nats here, but we would need marshalls, someone to organise and score tasks, loggers etc, at the minute it seems that we barely have enough interest for a team, let alone any of that, if we had a few guys interested in helping out then they could come over and help out and learn the ropes.
As far as the funding goes, I doubt there will be any so we will have to stump up ourselves, IF we were to go to the UK or Europeans then we could send all the gear out in a van and book the flights real early, cheap, so the cost would be minimal, maybe hire a caar at the other side and the van meet up. If this is all organised in good time it will not run into any great cost and we will have plenty of chance to try and put away a few euro towards over a few months, if done this way surely we can do both, the trip last year to the UK didnt cost much, Coupe Icare was also a very cheap weekend-€144 for flights, €50 for car hire and diesel, just food and drink then....
I rekon if we really want to do it then we can do it, unfortunately I am grounded at the moment with my shoulder, and lack of a machine, but hope to get back to full strength asap.
Wot about having a wee dummy run when this meeting takes place, we need to get the finger out on both accounts, how about a date for both and get the ball rolling, if I am not flying by then I will do whatever needed on the ground, maybe we could set up a few real simple tasks just to give anyone interested a little taster, a few spot landings, maybe the skittles landing, a shot on the kicking sticks and maybe a very simple triangle to fly to reach a few turnpoints, just to get used to holding and reading the map whilst airborne.
How about the 11th of October?? we will get a venue organised handy enough, all we need is an expression of interest....
Dean

Great u-tube clip Michael, I only just looked at it!

Should be no problem getting a team together! Funding other than possible small sponsorship would not be easy for more than one reason. To secure any public funding the funded team would probably have to be selected/ nominated by well organised Irish selection competition, organised by ?? who.. more of the same problem? No Irish organisation to organise and select/ nominate a team.

Its best to forget about funding, and just try to round up about ten interested people as a minimum if possible, and go for it. If we have loads of interest, then we might need an irish ' qualifier' event, but first time around, with the interest so far, this is not likely to be a problem. I know there are about 8 who have expressed interest so far... almost there already, maybe enough already?? With a team of about 10, we might be able to get some small bit of sponsorship. ( ferry fares etc)

I am keen. I think it would be great to combine a training session with a meeting on the 10th October if weather allows.

It would be great to try a few of the tasks.

Oisin

This all looks like a great start, well done to those who have been the drivers behind this. We have the pilots, we have the time, now all we need is the commitment.................looks like we have that also

There are plenty of tasks as Dean mentioned that can be carried out with little effort or complications.
All it takes is a little practice and we will be well on the way to having a team worthy to represnt us at international level.

Lets not loose sight of the fact that most pilots who enter comps do so as to learn new SKILLS and most of all, have FUN.

Jason.