That was discussed, and I think it will be in the works for next year.
FTFF 2014 was great EXCEPT . . . The offical(ish) constructive criticism thread
- Thread starter Craftydan
- Start date
That was discussed, and I think it will be in the works for next year.
As well as getting an on-site electrician instead of a voulenteer electrical engineer . . . so I don't get zapped again next year :black_eyed:
. . . hopefully . . .
I love nachos
Junior Member
Great event! I've been to events all over the country and the laid back family feel of Flite Test is nothing I have experienced before. Great job there. My only real advice would to maybe have a sign (or a few signs) explaining pilot etiquette and safety advice. The amount of people running out on to the runway and into the field unannounced was crazy to me! I witnessed one gentleman who flew his entire flight standing in the middle of the runway. I realize many of the pilots were newer and maybe not used to a "club setting" so I think just some rules posted or even a safety officer here or there to keep an eye out would be a good idea. I would hate for there to be some type of injury at such a great event.
Grenadapult
Member
Monkey, you kicked a bunch of boo-tay out there, so don't sweat it! The only problem I actually had without the shirt, was when other volunteers didn't know I was a volunteer when it was time to be relieved! LOL!
A dry erase board is a GREAT idea! You can change it on the fly, and volunteers would just have to try to keep an eye on it.
IF we could get the cell phone service really solid, text message alerts would ROCK!
Somebody make sure to not let Craftydan near any electric wires. That includes LiPos.
Yes, that means only gliders next year
TTMR
A leaf on the wind
Chicken
Somebody make sure to not let Craftydan near any electric wires. That includes LiPos.
Yes, that means only gliders next year
I'm good with gliders
Yes. Very.
I hate the feel of 60hz. Not the first time I've felt it, but I always hope it's the last
The power setup was safe when we were done, but while we were still wiring up boxes, someone plugged them in. Completely my fault -- I know better, I should have tagged-out the plug -- but like most accidents, we were in a hurry.
When Thursday hit we had only vague ideas what the build zone would become and no time left to acquire all we needed. Now we have an idea what it can shape out to be, and good concepts of what we need. Time spent planning for next year will mean we've got time to wire everything up, power it all properly and have a skilled tradesman on-site to keep us running
From what I've heard, Josh is planning 3 tents next year -- 2 for standard builds, one for giant builds (a team competition *might* be involved, *maybe* with assigned spaces -- details to follow if it happens, but it may just be 3 standard build tents . . . or more
) . . . and who knows? With three tents, perhaps Josh will get a chance to join us in slathering on Hot glue Like everything else, that's all tentative (pun intended). Those are the positive details of the future, for the moment . . . I'll post some of my "room of improvement" a little later. Keep posting what you've seen we can improve
Team_Monkey
New member
We only talked a couple times but I knew there was a reason I liked you Dan. I'm a registered EE myself.
I forget who makes them but I've seen ready to go, GFCI protected power distribution hubs on construction sites. You feed them 60+A and it has a few 20A circuit breakers for the individual receptacles. I was going to suggest that for the event but didn't want to seem pushy or "know it all".
Call Ohio Caterpillar, or I can call my Generac guy, for a generator next year. Ohio Cat is HUGE in this area but the Generac folks make a very nice product too that doesn't cost as much.
I forget who makes them but I've seen ready to go, GFCI protected power distribution hubs on construction sites. You feed them 60+A and it has a few 20A circuit breakers for the individual receptacles. I was going to suggest that for the event but didn't want to seem pushy or "know it all".
Call Ohio Caterpillar, or I can call my Generac guy, for a generator next year. Ohio Cat is HUGE in this area but the Generac folks make a very nice product too that doesn't cost as much.
Dang . . . would have been fun to geek out more with ya. Glad I could shake your hand and chat a moment or two, but so little time. As others had mentioned, it was just too short
Now's the time for suggestions like that. At the festival, the suggestion would have been appreciated but forgotten in the blur -- wouldn't surprise me if that actually happened more than once. Now we've got time to think it through to look into getting the right equipment/plan/procedure.
Maybe next year...
It looked to me as if there were a lot more tent campers, and that those who tent camped had more children and youngsters with them than those in the motor homes. But access to vendors, food, sound system, and most important...the build tent was closer to the motor homer's. That may have been driven concerns about which part of the flightline would support heavy vehicles and which part wouldn't. But if the "target audience" is really families and kids it seems that future parking assignments should take this years experience into account.
It looked to me as if there were a lot more tent campers, and that those who tent camped had more children and youngsters with them than those in the motor homes. But access to vendors, food, sound system, and most important...the build tent was closer to the motor homer's. That may have been driven concerns about which part of the flightline would support heavy vehicles and which part wouldn't. But if the "target audience" is really families and kids it seems that future parking assignments should take this years experience into account.
The RV locations were, as you said, driven by the weight of the vehicles. They were parked at that end of the field so they wouldn't have to cross the Furey's lawn. They would have torn it up real good given the rain that we had.
I suspect that there will be more vendors of all types next year, as the inaugural event was such a success.
@Craftydan: Come to Europe and enjoy the different feel of 50 Hz...
PS: ...but 230 V.
LOL Was going to comment this
One thing I think we did poorly in the build area was establishing and communicating ground rules. only had a few:
- Shoes required
- Prop or battery on your plane (never both)
- Soldering/hot-air only at specific stations
- Charge only at the charging table
- 1C charge rate max, and unplug your charger when your done
We *might* need more rules (like "clean up after yourself" . . . suggestions?).
On the whole a simple nudge was more than enough to get people to see how they;d be safer or better neighbors but we need to figure out how to communicate the rules so we don't end up telling people they've broken a rule they didn't know about . . . the first step toward becoming a rule nazi, IMO.
- Shoes required
- Prop or battery on your plane (never both)
- Soldering/hot-air only at specific stations
- Charge only at the charging table
- 1C charge rate max, and unplug your charger when your done
We *might* need more rules (like "clean up after yourself" . . . suggestions?).
On the whole a simple nudge was more than enough to get people to see how they;d be safer or better neighbors but we need to figure out how to communicate the rules so we don't end up telling people they've broken a rule they didn't know about . . . the first step toward becoming a rule nazi, IMO.
Post the build tent rules throughout the tent. Then if you have to "correct" anyone, a simple pointing towards the nearest should be sufficient to keep the tent fun and safe.
bitogre
Member
I might also help if we make sure all the volunteers know the rules. I knew about all but the "Soldering/hot-air only at specific stations" (I knew about the station for soldering but thought it was more a guideline for using a nice soldering iron and not an actual rule) and the "1C charge rate max". I would not have been surprised if other helping the the build tent knew even fewer of the rules.
That goes with the "didn't know what the build area would become" -- I was the only one formally assigned to the build area, so there was no schedule , and no briefing as new folks came on . . . and that's the cumulative list. Only rule we'd figured out by Friday morning was "shoes required", because the tent installers had broken some bulbs -- never quite sure all the glass got picked up.
Might all be good excuses why the ball was dropped, but good point -- communication needs to hit the volunteers first. Don't think this was hte only place that happened, but it was an issue here.
I'll lobby for signs, including posted rules, and lobby to add the build zone/charge station to any "what to expect" vid. Also, if I get roped back into this, I'll need to be more proactive with new volunteers coming online (as would anyone who would take on this job next year).
Any other creative ideas to pass the rules along would be welcome, as would any missing sensible rules.
Might all be good excuses why the ball was dropped, but good point -- communication needs to hit the volunteers first. Don't think this was hte only place that happened, but it was an issue here.
I'll lobby for signs, including posted rules, and lobby to add the build zone/charge station to any "what to expect" vid. Also, if I get roped back into this, I'll need to be more proactive with new volunteers coming online (as would anyone who would take on this job next year).
Any other creative ideas to pass the rules along would be welcome, as would any missing sensible rules.
Similar threads
