Will Flitefest 2020 be cancelled due to corona virus?

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
I don't know. We've been seeing an increase in infection here in San Diego, where we have had temps in the mid 60's and low 70's. Right now, many events that were supposed to happen at the end of April and beginning of May are currently postponed, possibly cancelled. The San Diego Comic-Con and the San Diego County Fair, the county's two largest money making events, are considering cancelling/postponing, but haven't said for sure yet. The County Fair starts in June and runs through July 5th, and Comic-Con starts the night of July 22nd; if either one of those is cancelled, I'd definitely say that FF2020 will be cancelled too.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Not only is everything canceled, but all flying areas and clubs are closed around the Seattle area including lake access. So I have been park flying in a couple of spots and I also know a little pond where I can can fly at that is not fenced in. I cant fly any of my big birds though until things open up again.
 

Flite Risk

Well-known member
I’ve already paid for my tickets and camping fee. I hope that as many people as possible can put a little money at risk by registering early to ensure that FF does not have to be canceled because of low registration. Hopefully we will be past the health risks and stay at home requirements and we can continue to have a great FF this year, even if attendance is lower this year (not by too much I hope).
Great idea, ill get on that ASAP!
 

varg

Build cheap, crash cheap
If it's cancelled it won't be because FT did it out of disappointment in numbers. It'll be due to "orders" of the state or just the seriousness of the situation for all involved in the time leading up to it.
 

Ryan O.

Out of Foam Board!
The short answer, it depends. The long answer, Will the SARS COV-2 virus strain weaken in the summer, or will it not? Hopefully it will, but there is no gurantee, and it certainly won't be erradicated until there is a vaccine and people you know [cough cough] get vaccinated, and even then a vaccine is at least 11 months away, unless we take the Boris Johnson route to immunity ;), and rushing it without a proper trial is both reckless and unethical. I've heard that the proposed drug doesn't work, and one of my family members took it once and it does some weird stuff, and if not in the perfect dosage is deadly. I'm hopefull that FF will happen for now, but I wouldn't place any bets on it :cry:
 

"Corpse"

Legendary member
If it's cancelled it won't be because FT did it out of disappointment in numbers. It'll be due to "orders" of the state or just the seriousness of the situation for all involved in the time leading up to it.
That's what I'm betting on. They just don't seem like the kind of people to shut down by themselves.
 

"Corpse"

Legendary member
Flitefest is the highlight of my year and I'd hate to see it cancelled. I've got some designs I want to showcase and a monster plane I wanna rip, so hopefully they keep it on.
I've got a MEGA cub that I decked out with barbecue skewers on the leading edge. I'd hate to not send it into combat this year.
 

Liam B

Well-known member
I'm hoping not but SEFF, Joe Nall and the 2020 MultiGP season have been postponed or cancelled, so it would make sense for FFE 2020 to be cancelled as well.

That being said I was planning to drive out the whole 1800 miles with my RV this year (first time bringing my own planes) so I'd be a little sad.
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
I don't know how accurate these numbers are but Sweden's, approach appears to be working, for now anyway. Sweden did minimal social distancing, nursing homes & colleges. Pretty much everything else remained open, their idea was to build heard immunity. Only time will tell if their approach was better.

Figures don't lie, but a liar always figures.
 
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The Fopster

Master member
I don't know how accurate these numbers are but Sweden's, approach appears to be working, for now anyway. Sweden did minimal social distancing, nursing homes & colleges. Pretty much everything else remained open, their idea was to build heard immunity. Only time will tell if their approach was better.

Figures don't lie, but a liar always figures.
I'd be careful comparing figures - Nordic countries are very different to (for example) USA or indeed Spain or Italy. The Swedish death rates look much higher than their Nordic neighbors who instituted lockdowns. It's a high price to pay for the hope of a future potential herd immunity that may never come.
Stay safe everyone - we're going to need pilots to fly all the new scratchbuilds made in the lockdown!
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Well, since I last posted, the San Diego County Fair and San Diego Comic-Con, the two largest events for the summer in San Diego, have been cancelled.

Those things getting cancelled are HUGE, and I think that FliteFest cancelling would be the prudent and safe thing to do. I know it's not going to be popular with some people, but I truly think those people are in the minority, and safety for all would be smart. I know we want to enjoy flying, but until this thing is licked, I don't think we can trust in large scale events like FF or Joe Nall.
 

SlingShot

Maneuvering With Purpose
At this point, I think the best thing you could hope for would be an offsite FF later in the year. Even that looks like a longshot to me.
 

OliverW

Legendary member
I was in talks with a Kid through insta who said that him and one of the guys from FT were messaging each other. He said that the guy from FT said "FliteFest sadly has to be cancelled. We're going to upload a video about it shortly." I'm not sure whether to trust this kid or not lol. He goes by FoamboyRC on insta
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
I was in talks with a Kid through insta who said that him and one of the guys from FT were messaging each other. He said that the guy from FT said "FliteFest sadly has to be cancelled. We're going to upload a video about it shortly." I'm not sure whether to trust this kid or not lol. He goes by FoamboyRC on insta

I would say in the world of Internet rumors, don't believe anything until you hear it direct from FT. That said, I think it's an all but foregone conclusion it will be postponed or cancelled.