June, 2013
Shakespeare wrote: "The law has not
been dead, but only sleeping."
And so it was with the L.E.S.
The purpose of the L.E.S. has not changed,
but the technology of electric sailplanes advanced so rapidly and became so expensive, it
was difficult for the isolated e-sailplane flier to keep up.
Then should the flight achievement
regulations be modified for the new technology would have resulted in a too wide a gulf in
modeling and flying skills (and budgets).
The L.E.S. must mirror the LSF and now, it
can again and be independent of types of planes, motors, and batteries. It is back
to being about the pilot and soaring!
This opportunity for updating came with the
new altitude limiters that remove motor power when the sailplane reaches a predetermined
altitude. I am using a Sky Limit system. It is easily switched between
models.
Those fliers who have been participating in
the program will maintain their current levels of achievement and will see very few
changes in the regulations.
I am sorry for the increased cost of this
sort of flying, but it is still far cheaper than what some are flying without altitude
limiters. The cost of the limiters will certainly come down and there is still a
provision in the program for those without altitude limiters.
I will post other links to altitude
limiters as they become available.
Sky
Limit
For a detailed explanation of its
operation, Download
PDF.
Ken Cashion, Recorder