Over the years, I have seen something happen at contests that always baffles me. When it was done by newcomers to contest flying I have understood that it was due to the fact that they do not yet know how the system works. It has baffled me when I have seen seasoned contest fliers do this over the years and several of them have had MANY years of contest flying experience.
Here's the scenario. The flier will get his airplane and go out to the winch line and wait to fly. As he is next in line or stepping up to get the line he begins to call out, "Timer. I need a timer! What do I have to do to get a timer around here?"
It's not the contest directors job to provide each flier with a timer. It's not the host club's duty to assign timers. it is each fliers responsibility to arrange for a timer. The time to do this is not while you are hooking the winch line on your plane. This should be done between flights, before you pick up your plane to go to the winch queue. Many people have certain people who they like to have time for them. They will usually time for each other during the contest. At some contest, they require you to use a different timer for each flight.
Another one of the timers duties is to be aware of what is happening during the landing. At times during the contest the landing area can become very active and crowded no matter how many tapes are out. If you have a period when there is down air all over, you will have many planes coming in at the same time. The timer should help make his flier and other fliers and timers aware of the situation and the timers should be prepared to mark the landing and get the plane out of the landing area as quickly as possible. The landing should be measured after the traffic has cleared. This is a problem that usually cannot be avoided and is just part of contest flying. It is unfortunate to see planes damaged and landings missed because the timers were not on top of the situation and the fliers panicked when they shouldn't have. Flying contest is a team effort and we have to work together.
P.M.
