- Details
- Written by: Doug Pilcher
- Category: Club Business
Present: Mike Karnes, Gil Major, Phil Vance, Samantha McKinney, Doug Pilcher, Brad Davy, Clark Hymas, Steve Sides, Alex Dreiling, Adi Kochav, and Jeff Marsuchek
Meeting began 9:00 p.m. EST.
Rules Change – Brad Davy
There were 3 RFAs that members sent to the BOD and the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee reviewed each RFA and submitted their recommendations for Brad to present to the BOD.
RFA 10 was intended to promote electrics in IMAC competition. With this RFA, electric pilots would be able to choose between a 1-sequence and a 2-sequence round. The committee recommended rejecting this RFA due to the fact that there should bot be differing standards on propulsion. Another RFA has been presented to the committee that would allow a CD to choose between 1-sequence or a 2-sequence round, but must be published 30 days in advance.
RFA 11 is where there are three judges in the round. If one judge gave a zero and the other two judges scored the maneuver, the judge who gave the zero, would be overruled. The judge that gave the zeroed score would be changed to an average of the other judges’ scored maneuver. If a judge gave a zero, they might simply resort into giving a 0.5, instead of a zero. The committee believed that this RFA isn’t fair to others in the competition, assuming some judges may not understand the rules completely and believed this RFA would be too easy to work around. They believed that judging needed to be kept as an independent act.
RFA 12 was proposed a rewording of the snap rule criteria, by removing references to the word “autorotation.” This would create issues for pilots that did received zeroes. If a judge was having difficulty with the current wording, then the new wording would be more complicated.
President Karnes called for the vote on these RFAs. A motion is made to reject all RFAs presented to the BOD, RFA 10, 11, and 12, by Brad Davy and seconded by Doug Pilcher. For RFA 10, with a 10-1 vote, it is rejected by the BOD. For RFA 11, with a 10-1 vote, it is rejected by the BOD. For RFA 12, with a 10-1 vote, it is rejected by the BOD.
The RCPs are not ready to be posted to the BOD for review. There is a couple more that need to be written out and then they can be posted. The RCPs will be posted on the BOD forum for review. Once completed, the Rules Committee will post to the BOD forum for review. The Rules Committee will have these completed by Wednesday or Thursday. Steve is in disagreement with 13.5, turnaround figures. Currently, 13.5 state that turnaround figures are positive in nature and must initiate in upright flight. Steve believes that we don’t need to do this. A motion is made for Mike to present the RCPs to the membership as written was made by Brad Davy and seconded by Doug Pilcher. With a vote of 10-1, the RCPs will be presented to the membership as written.
World Ranking Tab – Clark Hymas
Clark addressed concerns that he had with the “PP Data” tab that showed up on the IMAC website. It was agreed on by the BOD that “PP” was only being set up for the International region. This was also an option on the score program that could be turned on/off if needed. Clark is concerned what the end game is.
Right now, this tab means nothing. This is just information that members can compare themselves to different pilots in different regions, and currently the members really like it. “PP Data” is based only off the known rounds. Unknown rounds are not considered. Every contest is not hosted/directed the same way. The unknowns cannot be compared because not everyone flies the same unknowns each weekend; the knowns are the same for everyone. This tab has absolutely nothing to do with regional points. Adi believes that this was a good idea.
Clark’s point is that the BOD did not have a discussion about this issue before it was posted to the IMAC website. Brad believes that is misleading with the World Ranking Tab name. It was also mentioned that we will lose confidence in judging. All the pilots in the SW love this new tab that was added.
The webmaster implemented this feature because we have many pilots who wanted to see it. He simply added that panel for the guys who want to see how they compare to the other pilots in their class.
Jeff likes the tab, but believed that the BOD should have voted on it before it was posted. Brad wanted to be able to discuss the method being used. Brad would like the name of the tab changed from “ranking.” It needs a better title to explain what the data is trying to present. Gil believes that this will affect sponsorships for the pilots. He also mentioned about adding normalization scores as well, but International does not use normalization. Gil moves to table this discussion and move it to the BOD forum for further discussion. This would give the BOD more time to discuss the methodology. It was in agreement of the BOD to change the name of the tab.
2018 Worlds Update – Steve Sides
Steve has been contacting sponsors after the emails he initially sent. There are mixed results. Power Box systems are on board. The issues on Facebook are hitting our sponsors. One sponsor is providing less stuff than was initially talked about. Steve is wondering if sponsors are being contacted from, and being told not to sponsor. All sponsors are from the U.S. Adi is speaking with some potential sponsors overseas. There are some negative comments from the sponsors there as well. It is currently an uphill battle. Jeff has been in Contact with Extreme Flight.
Update on Splash Video - Doug Pilcher
The Splash video was submitted to Red Bull. Red Bull rejected funding the World’s event as they don’t sponsor events unless they create them. They did mention to get back with them 5-6 weeks before the event and they would possibly provide product for the event. It was mentioned to possibly contact Pepsi or Coca-Cola on potential advertising or sponsorship. Jeff will reach out to a friend who works for Coca-Cola. Steve hasn’t contacted anyone that is non-aircraft related.
ISC Librarian – Mike Karnes
Mike has currently taken over being ISC librarian. He has contacted a few people who he thought would be interested and hasn’t received a response yet. If any issues arise with the unknowns, please contact Mike. If Mike flies a contest on a particular weekend, Jerry Haley or Ty Lyman will send out the unknowns.
On-line Scoring School – Samantha McKinney
Many members and non-members have requested an online score training. Samantha will get with Mike and get a weekend day and a weeknight scheduled before the end of February.
Brad will be hosting online judging school starting in April.. There will be 6 sessions, which will be around an hour and a half. Anyone can schedule to attend these sessions, but NE members will take precedence. There is a limit to the number of members who can join, due to the limitations of the meeting software.
Treasurer Report – Phil Vance
As of December 31, 2017, the current balance is:
Checking – $26,474.32
PayPal - $17,408.90
Total - $43,883.22
As of January 15, 2018, the current balance is:
Checking - $24,012.80
PayPal - $20,564.11
Total - $44,576.91
Phil will email out the 2017 year-end financials to the BOD for review. He will also send out the RDs financial reports.
Other Regional Issues – All RDs
In the SW region, Alex is adding contests to the schedule. The first contest has 37 pilots. There is a contest in Arizona that might have close to 50 pilots.
The NW region is doing well. Their judging school is in 6 weeks. As of now, there are 15 guys signed up to attend.
In the NC region, Jeff is working on the schedule with the contest directors. As of right now, he has lost 2 contests from a club in Southern Indiana. Ray Morton had to move his contest, so he reserved one of the open dates available. The regional championships are scheduled for September 15 at AMA.
The SC region currently has 10 contests on it’s schedule and they are working on 2 more. They also have a judging school on the calendar.
The SE region currently has 3 judging schools scheduled. He is waiting on CDs to confirm dates of contests.
The NE is still working on their schedule.
The International region now has an IMAC member in France. Manrico is going to fly to France and Spain and help with the IMAC boot camps. Luiz is flying to Paraguay and Mexico to do a judging school.
Meeting adjourned 11:04 p.m. EST.
- Details
- Written by: Doug Pilcher
- Category: Club Business
Operating Statement for the year-ended December 31, 2017
IMAC REVENUES
Membership Dues $ 21,848.67
IMAC Regions 740.00
Red Book Sales 494.00
AMA NATS 2,296.50
IWC Registration 2,820.00
IWC Sponsorship 3,605.00
IWC Website (Test of PayPal Link) 425.00
TOTAL 2017 INCOME $ 32,229.17
IMAC EXPENSES
AMA Nationals $ 8,684.51
GoToMeeting Account 295.00
IWC 159.00
IWC Website Test (Test of PayPal link) 425.00
National Judging School (2017) 6,525.77
Office Expenses 97.11
Postage/PO Box Fee 167.82
President’s Awards 102.00
Printing 397.00
Regional Expenses 5,569.09
Regional Judging Schools 158.68
Shipping 40.80
Software/Upgrades 139.99
Trade Shows 1,932.27
Website (Maintenance) 3,531.00
Website(IMPACT Software – link) 119.88
TOTAL 2016 EXPENSES $ 28,344.92
2017 SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) $ 3,884.25
ADD: 2016 RET. EARNINGS $ 39,998.97
12/31/17 END. BALANCE $ 43,883.22
- Details
- Written by: Doug Pilcher
- Category: Club Business
Present: Mike Karnes, Phil Vance, Samantha McKinney, Steve Sides, Doug Pilcher, Brad Davy, Alex Dreiling, Clark Hymas, Adi Kochav, and Jeff Marsuchek
Absent: Gil Major
Meeting began: 9:00 p.m. EST
Rules Committee – Brad Davy
The Rules Committee has 4 RFA, request for action, proposals they are working on. The first one is about turnaround and positioning maneuvers, Rule 13.5. There has been a lot of discussion. The Rules Committee is
recommending adding some more words. All turn-around figures are considered positive in nature and must initiate from upright flight. The language is modified in the half-cubans and the reverse half-cubans. Altering the single 1/2 roll on the 45 line the pilot may omit the 1/2 roll to establish inverted entry line and this exception permits the outside 5/8 loop. The language is similar for the 1/2 loop up with single 1/2 roll on exit or a 1/2 loop down then have to do the single 1/2 roll on entry. If they eliminate the 1/2 roll, the pilot must establish an inverted entry line or reduce altitude following sequences on high inverted exit and can pull immediately. They are adding pull to vertical up or push to vertical down line with an upright exit from the line. The single 1/2 roll is permitted on this vertical line only if the required to orient the aircraft properly for entry for the first maneuver. Also, it is added that following an inverted exit from a sequence, a pilot must perform any of these maneuvers to get to an upright flight attitude. They can do a single 1/2 roll to upright; push to vertical upline with a push to upright; or they can do a pull to a vertical downline followed by a pull to upright. They have tried to get rid of the ambiguity on what can and cannot be done.
The second and third RFA goes together. They are recommending a modification to the resumption of scored flight. Right now, this is currently discussed in two different places, and the discussions are different. It has to do with the performance of a prior maneuver. The language isn’t consistent. They are recommending that a new section be added, 10.3, which will be added to the rules. They are recommending removing the resumption of scored flight from 10.1 and 10.2. Now, it requires the pilot to perform the last scored maneuver before resuming the flight, even if this maneuver was scored at a 0. This would be required in all situations.
The third RFA that is connected to the last one, they are trying to clarify the rule about the break-in-sequence. This was discussed at the last judging school. They are recommending a modification to the discussion where “A break in the sequence in characterized in a total departure of the sequence being flown. When a break-in-sequence occurs, the figure currently being flown shall be zeroed and a break penalty will be assessed prior to the normalization. The judges must determine when the break-in-sequence occurred.” They are changing it to where a “typical” situation pilot may perform an incorrect maneuver limits of 6.3.c.1, figure 10. After a pilot exits the initial figure, they have entered the following figure.
If the pilot then exceeds the corrective maneuver limits, they are now in a break-in-sequence and the break-in-sequence now occurred at that following maneuver. They are recommending an addition that says: “A pilot or caller may verbally declare a break-in-sequence before exiting an improperly flown maneuver and a break-in-sequence occurs when the judges hear the verbal declaration. The judges will be the sole determiners of if or when they hear a verbal declaration.”
The fourth RFA proposal is to permit the single sequence rounds for more than just time constraints. They are recommending that they change Section 11, the Number of Flights, to say than an official flight or round, that the CD may opt to use single sequence rounds for the contests. This must be published in the contest announcement. The CD may permit single sequence rounds if time constraints limit the 2 sequence rounds. This give the option for the CD to try and encourage more electric flights and without having to get a deviation from AMA. They did not want to have power specific rule.
There were more RFAs that were submitted. One had to do with single sequence rounds, which is already being addressed. One proposal was for sound. RFA 11 wanted to improve the determination of a zero with three judges. If one judge scored a zero, the zero would be changed to an average of the other two judges. Another proposal was for the judging of the snap maneuver. They wanted to remove the word “autorotation” and simply put in “rotation.” The committee believed that this created more confusion.
Brad says that these proposals are ready to be posted to the BOD forum for vote. Then, they will need to be posted to the membership in January 2018.
2022 World Hosting Proposal – Mike Karnes
Mike sent out a proposal template to the BOD for review on the 2022 IMAC Worlds Hosting Proposal. Mike would like to post on the Worlds website in January. The BOD recommended that there should be a submission deadline. Mike suggested the end of June 2018. The 2022 Worlds Host will be announced at the 2018 IMAC Worlds Banquet.
2018 Forms – Mike Karnes
The only form that was discussed was the new sign-up sheet for contests. The new sign-up sheet will have a column for receiver compliant. There were no changes to the other forms.
International Interests – Adi Kochav
Adi has been talking to Dan Carroll about Australia possibly pay affiliation dues to the IMAC organization to become members. Australia is organized much like the U.S. for IMAC. They have a sanctioned club and ASAA. The affiliation dues would be paid for the whole group, not as individual members. To become affiliated with IMAC, this would require a By-Laws change; to be released to the membership for review; and require a membership meeting. Australia would consider the affiliation as receiving full benefits an an individual member. Australia pilots currently pay three membership dues. There are 4 regions on the continent. They currently have around 100 pilots. The BOD would like for Australia to come up with a proposal on what they expect; the right and benefits to ASAA members; and the benefits to the IMAC organization overall.
Adi has been in conversation with some individuals about the leadership of the IMAC organization. There are some international members that believe the By-Laws should be changed to only allow executive officers only be nominated from the United States. These individuals believe that the IMAC organization was developed in the U.S. and that is where the executive BOD should remain. Brad is not certain that his provision would be legal in the By-Laws. It is discriminating and prohibits someone from serving due to the country of origin.
For the 2018 IMAC Worlds, Adi wants to know if the international pilots can borrow planes, etc. from pilots or companies in the U.S. At the 2014 Worlds, Jtec provided airplanes for the U.K. team. Mike is currently looking see if this is even a possibility. Mike has also spoken with Greg Alderman and he is going to make sure that the hobby shop in Muncie will be stocked with batteries. The Worlds staff will make sure that they have what they need to compete, but providing airplanes could be tough.
Adi wondered where we stand on the freestyle criteria. It was the consensus of the BOD that we spend a little bit more time on the criteria and make it more readable. There is merit and principal on what they are trying to accomplish, but we don’t need a complete departure from where we are. It was mentioned to pen this up for discussion in the forums and see what the membership thinks of the proposed change in criteria. This would also allow the membership to weigh in on the other changes that need to be made.
Score Program and PP for International – Doug Pilcher
It was decided last month the U.S. will stay with IRPS. Many pilots have requested that PP, percentage of perfection, be added to the score program and we have it in the new version, 4.25.1. This hasn’t cost anything to IMAC to show PP. The new version of score will be released in a week. There will not be an IRPS for International, only a PP.
In the Box Newsletter – Doug Pilcher
Doug has posted to the BOD forum that template for the newsletter. Rich Whitlow, from South Central, is willing to head this up. It is going to take everyone to generate the content, along with some members. Rich has listed potential content, such as articles written by members, financials, and secretary report, etc. The newsletter could be released via social media and have it linked back to the website. One of the concerns of the BOD for the newsletter is generating content. Brad recommended that a committee be created to be responsible for generating the content.
2018 Worlds – Steve Sides
Mike and Doug are working on several different things. We need some profile information on some people. Phil has spoken with Roy and he will be able to get the same trophies as 2014.
It has been discussed on what we could do along with the Worlds to recognize the sponsors. Doug mentioned that we could put their banner on the IMAC website. This recognition would show appreciation towards our sponsors.
Treasurer Report – Phil Vance
As of December 18, 2017, the following is our current balance:
Checking $27,103.69
PayPal $15,629.72
Total $42,733.41
Regional Issues – All RDs
The NW region is going well. The region has been invited by the SW region to do a contest in California, which could potentially create a conflict. Currently, they have one contest in Western Oregon/Washington area. They have lost several contests on this side of the region in the last 3-5 years due to housing development. There is a potential for 2 contests in Western Washington and 1 in Western Oregon. There is a lot of interest right now and they are waiting for winter to get over with. Clark is looking at having a contest in Eugene, which hasn’t had a contest in at least the last 5 years. There is a potential of 5-19 members from that part of the region. He currently has ARDs in every state except for the Dakotas.
In the SW, Alex is still working on the regional awards and trying to clarify some scheduling.
In the NC region, Jeff has sent out emails to all CDs. He would like to get a majority of the contests scheduled before the end of the year. The Osh Gosh contest is scheduled for the weekend before in Wisconsin. There will be a basic primer near Cincinnati. Two contests were cancelled this year and they may not reschedule for 2018. Currently, none of the Michigan contests are scheduled. Jeff has been approached to see what he thinks on improving the America’s Cup. The America’s Cup is between the U.S. and Canada with the 4 contests around the border. They want to improve it, but cannot get feedback from anyone. Jeff did get his date for regionals at Muncie. The awards from DA and HiTec were very well received at the 2017 regionals. The Nats Warm-Up contest will be tight this year, due to the Nats beginning on Tuesday.
In the SC region, Doug has 8 confirmed contests, and working on 3 more. Alex and Doug have been working together with an “On-the-Border” contest (SC-SW Smackdown) which will be held in El Paso.
In the SE region, Steve has a couple of judging schools and contests scheduled. He has lost one contest due to the President. He was working on a waiver, but they are within the 30 nautical miles for when the President comes down.
In the NE region, Brad had nothing new to report.
Meeting adjourned at 11:17 p.m. EST.
**Addendum:** The RFA’s were reviewed and discussed in December 2017 meeting. These were then posted to the BOD forum for vote. The formal RFA’s confirmation of rejection vote was made in the beginning of the January 2018 BOD Meeting.
- Details
- Written by: Doug Pilcher
- Category: Club Business
Present: Mike Karnes, Gil Major, Phil Vance, Samantha McKinney, Doug Pilcher, Brad Davy, Steve Sides, Adi Kochav, Clark Hymas, and Jeff Marsuchek
Guest: Alex Dreiling
Meeting began at 9:02 p.m. EST.
SWRD Resignation – Mike Karnes
Since the last meeting, Charles Lewis has resigned his position has SW Regional Director. Brad wrote up an article to the membership explaining the situation and it has been posted in the “Member’s Only” forum. The judging school in Denver, Colorado will continue and there will be qualified instructors sent for their school.
Appointment of Interim RD – Mike Karnes
Alex Dreiling is stepping in as Interim Regional Director for the SW Region. Alex was recommended and agreed to take it. A motion was made to appoint Alex Dreiling as Interim RD for the SW Region by Brad Davy; Gil Major seconded this motion. Motion passed unanimously. For 60 days, he is the Interim RD. The region can open a forum and start nominations for this position if they choose to.
How to be a Better RD – Mike Karnes
Steve had mentioned a document that Tim Attaway did a few years ago on how to become a better RD. Mike has sent this to everyone on the BOD. We might want to put it on the website; this way people can see what is expected and involved as an RD. The membership will also know the process of what is going on. Some things can be added, such as a scheduling document, how to schedule contests, etc. to help transition new RDs that are elected. Mike believes that this is a good time to get all regions to schedule their contests the same.
IRPS and Score – Doug Pilcher
Doug has been working on the International version of our RPS system. It is going to work off the percentage of perfection, PP. Doug has been working with the Java programmer and Kurt Koelling on the mathematical calculations. We are making progress. The achievement date is January 1, 2018. The United States/Canadian regions will still use the normalization of RPS and International will use PP. The reason they are different is because of the vastness of the geographical distance between countries. We want three regions as an end result. Gil suggested we need to add a new column for percentage of perfection for everyone, along with the IRPS system for everyone. The consensus of the BOD is that we need to go back to square one and relook at this issue with the webmaster.
Gyros and Freestyle – Adi Kochav
Adi has a concern about pilots using gyros in their airplanes. Because of drones, the technology is getting very sophisticated and small. Most of the manufacturers are making receivers with a default gyro inside. Adi doesn’t see the advantage on the higher classes, but it can affect the lower classes. Right now, they are prohibitive. The CD has an option of inspecting a competitor’s plane. One option mentioned that we could adopt a standard practice, or an expectation, that at every contest the competitor’s plane will be inspected after every contest. This would validate that the competitor’s plane doesn’t have built-in gyros in the receiver. If they do, the pilot would be disqualified. The consensus of the BOD didn’t like this approach. Another option would be that they agree that they are subject to random inspection or sign a sheet and acknowledge that they aren’t using the gyros. Currently, gyros cannot be onboard the plane; it doesn’t matter if it can be turned on or off. The problems is trying to keep up with technology. Adi would like to open this back in about 6 months to a year, to see where technology has progressed. This is also something to consider for next year’s worlds.
With the freestyle criteria, there is a enormous difference between what our rules are and what is actually being flown. The criteria are too complicated and there are many things that are being repeated. Adi has been speaking with Manrico from Italy and he suggested to make the criteria simpler and more obvious; to increase the criteria from 5 to 6. Most of the K factors need to be with the harmony of the music and program choreography. The continuous flow of figures and the “wow” factor is what is being used now. Many of the flights are repetitive. The other criteria are more divided into reasonable K factors. Adi is suggesting this as a rules change proposal for the 2019 rules cycle. Brad recommended that this be researched by the Rules Committee and see what changes they might recommend.
Manrico has submitted a freestyle criteria proposal to Adi, but Gil says that is has a lot of similarities to the current freestyle criteria. Gil believes that this new criteria is more for 3D, instead of freestyle. Brad believes that the problem is not with the definition of criteria that we are using; it is that we aren’t judging by the criteria. Judges have to hold the pilots accountable.
2018 Worlds – Steve Sides
Steve received an email from Dean Bird. He has taken himself out of the judging team and he will be competing on the team. Steve is still looking for the Italian and Israel judge. We need to start filing in our judging slots. Steve would like to see 3-4 more US judges, just in case we don’t get all the International judges. He would like to have a total of 25 judges for the Worlds. This would allow for 3 judges on each line. Brad said that he would be available to judge, and Jeff said to put him down as tentative.
We have had a few sponsors come in. We have Desert Aircraft, and Clover Creek Aerodome. Phone calls and personal conversations are working a lot better, than emails. We also have a commitment from Power Box. Mike said that there is now a sub forum for the Worlds Planning Committee. Mike will send out an email and get a date set within the next couple of weeks for an initial meeting with all the current staff.
A few of the BOD asked if we are blocking off the weekend before and after the 2018 World Championships. The BOD is not recommending to block this weekends.
Treasurer’s Report – Phil Vance
At the end of October, the balance was:
Checking $27,089.51
PayPal $ 8,749.88
Total $35,839.39
Currently, as of November 20, the balance is as follows:
Checking $26,909.52
PayPal $12,942.42
Total $39,851.94
The current balance in the Worlds account is $4,443.10. We have received one golden sponsor towards the Worlds.
Regional Issues – All RDs
Brad reports that the NE is working on their 2018 schedule. Steve is working on shipping the awards out for the SE region. There are a couple of judging schools on the schedule for 2018. Steve is going to try a different format where the students will have the classroom at the field. Gil will get with Steve on this format because this is what they use at Clover Creek. In 2018, the Florida judging schools will be combined.
The NC is also working on their 2018 schedule. There is a lot of talk about a possible IMAC contest before or around the Osh Gosh event Wisconsin. The SC is finished with their 2017 season. There is a potential for an El Paso contest. Doug will be in contact with Alex to make sure that there isn’t an interference with other events in the SW. The SC officer forum is pretty active. They are talking about moving the RPS finals around to have the finish premier event available to the nicer weather fields. Judging schools are being worked on. Doug may do an online school. Brad had 15 people last year that done the online judging school. We could possibly ask for a discount at contests with proof of going to a judging school, such as a $5 discount.
In the NW, Clark has a new ARD for the Western Oregon position. He might have a Eugene, Oregon contest this next year and two new contests on the West Side of Washington as well. There are quite a few contests on the schedule for 2018. In the SW, Alex has reached out to all the ARDs. They would like to get something scheduled online for those who are interested in doing the score program. Mike and Samantha will put some dates together and get back to him.
In Israel, their Nats are coming weekend. He is in contact with all his ARDs on a daily basis.
Meeting adjourned at 11:08 p.m. EST.
- Details
- Written by: Doug Pilcher
- Category: Club Business
Present: Mike Karnes, Gil Major, Phil Vance, Samantha McKinney, Doug Pilcher, Steve Sides, Brad Davy, Charles Lewis, Jeff Marsuchek, and Adi Kochav
Absent: Clark Hymas
Meeting began 9:02 p.m. EST.
Response to Member – Gil Major
Gil has responded with an email to the member that had sent an email to the BOD on a forum post on the website. Gil has tried contacting this member a couple of times by voice and he was out of town. Gil tried today and left a message on his personal phone. This member is currently out of town. Gil sent him an email, and copied the BOD. The email states that there was no preferential treatment and the CD allowed this deviation and it was provided to the entire class and not just the one individual. Gil hasn’t heard back from him. There was an answer already given on the forum post that referred to this situation, but this member needs to know that the BOD was all in agreement on how it was handled. Steve believes that we can’t second guess the CD on this matter. We as the BOD cannot make this call, since we were not there. This was made within the CD’s judgment, due to it being a safety issue. There has already been discussion in the Rules Committee to get this wording clarified.
World Qualifying Rule Explained – Mike Karnes
Mike wanted to clarify the World Qualifying Rule for the Regional Finals. If the top 5 pilots in the region cannot make it to the contest or the top 2 doesn’t want to go to the Worlds, only the remaining pilots within the top 5 in the region for IRPS have the chance to qualify for the World team. Steve had a situation come up in the SE unlimited class. Steve has an unlimited pilot that placed 4th at the 2017 NATS. This pilot will fly at the regional qualifier to try and make the team. Steve’s question is which takes precedence, the regional qualifier or the 2017 NATS. This pilot placed 4th at the 2017 NATS; so if this pilot wins the regional qualifier, this take precedence over the 2017 NATS. If another region does not send a pilot for a given class, then the vacancy rule applies and this spot will be replaced from the 2017 NATS. Vacancy rule states they will fill the spots out of the 2017 NATS. In Steve’s scenario, this unlimited pilot will be sent as the regional qualifier. The top 5 in IRPS are the only pilots who can qualify at the regionals. If any of the top 5 cannot attend or do not want to participate in the qualifier, the RD cannot go to the 6th or 7th pilot in a given region to make a class of 5. At the end of the year, we will look and see who is going to commit and come to the Worlds. There is one in North Central that is going to fall open. Once commitments are given, we will look at filling the rest of the team. If we cannot fill a regional spot from the top 5 in a class from the region, then the vacancy rule applies and we will fill the remaining team spots out of the 2017 NATS. The pilots who qualified for the team must pay their registration fees on time or they lose their spot.
Phil asked if we will be having a team meeting soon. Mike said we will, but we still have a couple of positions to fill. There are some judges on the fence from the United States, along with International judges.
2018 Worlds Shipping Document – Steve Sides
Adi has completed the shipping document for reference to the International teams. Steve was wondering if we could get this posted on the website. This is just an informational document. The BOD recommended a few changes, so Adi will make the changes and send back to Steve. Steve would like to see this posted as a bulletin on the website. The FAA registration part of the rules has already been changed, and Steve thought we should do a bulletin on this as well. Though currently this could be changed or overruled again. The question was raised when they will be ready in Muncie to start receiving shipments. Phil doesn’t believe that they have a specific time. We need to go ahead and speak to AMA about the golf carts. Currently, there are 7-8 pilots coming from Italy. They are shipping their planes across the sea, using a Conex. Phil believes that we should forewarn AMA to know what is coming and where they want to put it. Some of the pilots kept their planes in the farmhouse. Mike will talk with Colleen at AMA. It was recommended to let the countries figure out which shipping companies they want to use. The informational shipping document is the best information on how to pack the plane and what is needed to be done. The main issue today is the batteries. Every airline has different regulations on carrying batteries on board. Batteries must only be carried in their carry-on. The issue with the batteries is the milliamps.
Sponsorships – Steve Sides
Currently, we only have one commitment from one sponsor for the Worlds. It was a cash commitment. There have been several inquiries. We need to start getting some major commitments. Steve will talk with some vendors while he is at Tucson. Steve would like to have Gil and Phil speak with some sponsors from the 2014 Worlds. Steve has contacted everyone on the list with emails; he might have to follow up with phone calls. Mike wanted remind the BOD that we will also take product for sponsorships, not just monetary funds. It was also recommended to talk with pilots who are sponsored to see if their sponsors would be interested in donating product.
2018 NATS – Doug Pilcher
Doug believes that the 2018 NATS head count is going to be extremely affected by the Worlds being a couple of months later. He would like to have an evening of music on the tarmac and purchase some fireworks for a show as well. Doug has spoken with AMA and gotten approval. We can do fireworks as long as there isn’t a burn ban. Doug is able to get them at cost, cheaper than what we can at a stand in Muncie. He is asking for $400-$450 to purchase fireworks for the NATS. We can put this in the NATS budget. This could be a possible incentive for the pilots and their families.
Tee Shirt Fundraiser – Mike Karnes
Mike is wanting to do a T-shirt fundraiser for the Worlds. This wasn’t done in 2014. The fundraiser would earn some money to be put towards different expenses for the Worlds. Mike presented the T-shirts that he had designed just for the fundraiser. These are cotton T-shirts. Mike found a company online that would do these for around $15 an shirt. Mike has spoken to different individuals saying we could see these ranging at $20-$25 a shift. This is a Worlds fundraiser. Team USA could have a different fundraiser. It was asked if we could change the T-shirts to be unique to each country, but this would be too expensive. We would probably need to make more than one order of shirts. AMA also let us sell our product in the museum. There needs to be a non-US logo on the front to sell to the different countries. Mike will come up with something to replace this logo. Adi will come up with a different logo and send it to Mike. We need to think about shirts, hats, souvenirs, etc. also.
Adi asked about where we stand on the coin. He has put up the design on the BOD forum. AMA has an IMAC banner on their website, but we need to do something for the IMAC Worlds. Mike will check on the cost. Colleen hasn’t responded back to Phil. The banners on Flying Giants were too expensive. We don’t want the ad to hit until June in the magazine, a 1/4 page ad.
Go-Fund-Me is setup and at some point there was a 30 day window that we had to link to a bank account and that window was missed. We currently cannot access our Go-Fun-Me account monies. The steps to setting up the account were not completed. Currently, there is $250 in the account. If we delete the account, the money contributed will go back to the individuals. The options are to delete and start over from scratch or just strictly go back to PayPal. If we stay with Go-Fund-Me, it needs to be started and finished all in the same day. Steve would like to start soliciting to AMA members and point them somewhere. PayPal is 2.99% plus .30 each transaction. Go-Fund-Me is 8%. Go-Fund-Me must be connected to the bank account at time of creation. This will take a couple of hours to completely finish setting up the account. Phil and Doug will work on completing this. Free one year membership will take effect when the money is received for their pilot fee. If already a member, than an extension will be added to existing membership.
Phil cannot give anything unless they are registered on the website as a member. We have retained around 20-25 members for a while after the 2014 Worlds. Phil can no longer put members in himself. Phil wants this added to the contact form. Phil has all records from 2014. There was around $6,900 left from 2014. The banquet is not cheap. At the end result, it costs a little over $5,000 for food. The $6,900 should be earmarked for the Worlds cause that is where it came from. AMA didn’t charge us for anything. They setup both sites for us.
Incorporation Papers – Samantha McKinney
Samantha has posted the articles of organization to the BOD forum to review. One recommendation was to add the physical address, and then change the mailing address to the PO Box. She will make this change and post it out to the forum for BOD approval. Once approved, she will get into contact with Phil and get the documentation sent in.
Treasurer Report – Phil Vance
The current balance as of October 16, 2017 is as follows:
Checking $27,410.51
PayPal $ 8,112.32
Total $35,522.83
We have received our first pilot fee for the World Championship. IWC received a $300 donation. Phil has written a check for $159 for part of the IMAC website for Weebly software 2 year renewal.
International Issues – Adi Kochav
Adi is in close contact with Manrico. He is doing a tremendous job in Europe. Poland had their first IMAC gathering and have been talking how to make IMAC better in Poland. We have received some emails from the Sequence Committee saying that they had some requests for Unknowns, although the CD or specific country didn’t have any IMAC members. We need to approach these issues and get them resolved. We need to enforce International countries to have registered members in 2018. IN 2018, Manrico and Adi are going to take more steps to enforce membership, but in some countries, this will not work. Australia has 6-8 members; other countries has 4 members; Scandinavian countries have 2 members, just to list a few. If we want more International members, we need to tell them that they must register as IMAC members. Latin America questions the IRPS. Adi believes that we need to make regional points for the International community. More pilots will register and will give the pilots more ambition to make the contests for the Regional points. Doug mentioned that we had to hit a target to approach this with the webmaster. The biggest reasoning with the webmaster is how you quantify points from different pilots to pilots in different countries. We currently have 73 pilots internationally which is equal with NE and higher than the NW and SC regions. We should be able to give them IRPS for the membership fee that they already pay. This is something that will unite all IMAC members. Adi sees himself as a support member because he doesn’t have IRPS. Regions are split up by the USA 6 regions. The current IRPS system as understood from the webmaster, works based on states. As an International member, they don’t have a state; they have a country. The webmaster would have to change what is designated as International. We have designated regions throughout the International community, which eventually will become their own region. The eventual goal being 3 different International regions. When final goal is reached we will have 1) Latin America, 2) Europe, and 3) Asia. Doug will contact the webmaster to begin creating and IRPS system for the International region and to see what will be involved in achieving this for International region. The BOS is unanimous in moving forward with creating a single International region with all International as one region to start for IRPS system and the target for this is January of 2018. The split to 3 regions for International being the end goal to follow.
Other Regional Issues – All RDs
The NE has completed their season for 2017. The results for the World Qualifier is listed separate on their page. The NC has also completed their 2017 season.
The SE had an issue with some pilot’s score that wasn’t correct on the website. This pilot had 3 out-of-region contests and was all three counted for IRPS. The webmaster has said that it has always been this way and the RDs have to manage it. Steve wants the BOD to have the webmaster fix this issue, along with adding the region field to the member’s profile. Gil had this problem while he was RD. There was a drop-down field where you selected your region to determine your points. Many members don’t fly 2 or more contests outside of their region. It has always been this way, but has always kind of worked out. Steve proposes to the BOD to have the region field added back to get the IRPS to add correctly. Steve wants to propose to the BOD that we get the region field back and get the scores posted correctly. SE has regionals coming up.
The SC has regionals weekend after next in Shreveport.
The SW is going well. They have regionals in the next couple of weeks.
Mike wanted to remind the RDs that if a member moves up before your qualifier, they have lost their chance at the World Qualifier.
Meeting adjourned 11:07 p.m. EST.