Re: Paper Airplanes
 

Not as bad as you might believe. The match just stops and is started over due to an "arena fault", just like what happened when the nets got clogged or the Rhoomba incident last year.

That said, I agree that no airplanes should be thrown during speeches or rounds, but to stop it entirely would be a bad idea.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

Really??
Wow... I bet your parents like cleaning up after you as well.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

That's not really how it works. Just because it will get cleaned up doesn't mean it's okay to leave a mess.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

I think the idea of paper airplanes is pretty cool. This was my first time at Nationals and seeing all of the airplanes trying to make it onto the field gave our team a little bit of suspense between matches. Our team even got a few planes near the field (and wrote our team number on them :P). I personally didn't throw any airplanes when speakers or matches were going on cause i thought it was rude, but it is honestly something i'm going to remember about Nationals.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

Is it really that bad. The arena staff has to clean the stands from drinks, food ,etc. Its thier jobs so picking up paper is just part of it. Just imagine a full football game. They have to walk around the entire place cleaning. So what is a section of airplanes compared to that

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

More than that, you have some VIP's and very influential people speaking. If you were giving a speech, you would want all eyes on you, right? It's disrespectful to not give your full attention to someone who is recognizing the FIRST program for what it is.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

I agree that it is rude when people are speaking, or when matches are going. But during those intermissions it should be allowed

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

Yes, it is part of their job. It's not an easy job. For one thing, they have to deal with the trash cans (and their contents). They have to deal with containers that may or may not contain liquid and may or may not be open. They have to deal with potentially dangerous debris (say somebody breaks a bottle at a football game). And they have to do it over the entire stadium with a crew that's probably only about a fiftieth the size of just our participants (land we don't fill the whole dome).

If you were in that type of job, don't you think that you'd appreciate it if some of those folks who make a mess actually clean it up? Maybe at least put it in the nearest trash can, instead of leaving it for you to get hours later? It wasn't a brick that broke the camel's back, you know--it was a straw!

If we are to change the culture, we must BE the change--and you, sir, are not changing the culture.


Maybe I have no problem with making and throwing the airplanes (though I don't remember a single one in my time in Atlanta or Houston, or my one trip to Epcot for the Nationals--2003-2007 and 2000, respectively), but I do have a problem with people not picking them up.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

I guess I have higher expectation. My students pack out all trash in our area whether it was ours or there before we sat down. That included airplanes. I find it hard to swallow the idea of intentional littering should be celebrated and allowed someone else to clean up our mess should be justified.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

it happened in 2011, i remember 2137 team torc starting the throwing

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

I too thought I was seeing deja vu!

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

It would be cool to have someone fly a RC plane overhead of the whole arena that has a camera on it's belly & take photos and stitch together an Ortho image of the arena. Wouldn't that be cool? I see a HamR or RC enthusiast doing something like this, since we have the spectrum that wouldn't disrupt the field WiFi.

de KD0SET

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

As I posted last year, what saddens me about the paper airplanes is that, when they are cleaned up, they are most likely just tossed in the trash instead of the recycling. That's a lot of paper that could've been recycled. :(

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

No, it would NOT be cool. R/C aircraft--of any type--can be very dangerous. I actually have an R/C aircraft that would be perfect for flying in a dome (if it's repaired), and I wouldn't even THINK about flying over the stands, or Einstein, or any field that was being packed up--for that matter, over any field at all due to the overhead cables for the lights being a great target for stray planes, or the personnel on the fields risking being injured should something go wrong.

If I'm talking about my sub-1-lb ultramicro foamy not being safe to fly under FIRST competition conditions, then anything strong enough to carry a camera is going to be even worse--larger, heavier, more powerful, more likely to hit something or someone. I'm not saying it couldn't be done, but if I was to endorse such an idea, I would A) call in a professional, or at least somebody with a ton more experience than I do, and B) clear as many people off of the floor as I could, and C) put flags on every cable so they were more visible to the pilot. Oh, and D) listen to the pro when he told me it wasn't safe to fly.

Also, I should remind you that R/C pilots fly on 2.4 GHz. The field can potentially (and sometimes does) operate on that bandwidth, though it's usually on 5 GHz, but an awful lot of other stuff operates there too. I wouldn't risk it.

Re: Paper Airplanes
 

Robonauts helicopter anyone? Let's just make sure that if that happens, it gets a nice frisbee shield. :rolleyes: