Paper Airplanes

[Headphones]

As a rookie, how old is the tradition of throwing paper airplanes onto the Einstein field? I have seen several references to it dating back to 2003 or earlier.

The reason for my curiosity is that I was the person who scored a plane into the pyramid goal just before the Robowrangler's match. Pure luck, but quite awesome

[Bill_B]

It was the wrong color to score for the blue alliance.

[fb39ca4]

IDK, but I am already thinking of plans to make a rapid fire paper airplane launching robot for next time I go to St. Louis!

[connor.worley]

I remember seeing it in 2012 but not 2011.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by connor.worley

I remember seeing it in 2012 but not 2011.

It was definitely there in 2011. I remember getting hit by one or two while waiting for Einstein to start.

[Michael Hill]

I remember it in 2004 in Atlanta

[CENTURION]

I heard of it being around in 2011, and saw it in 2012 and (of course) 2013.

But I didn't see any paper airplanes flying in Atlanta in 2010. Then again, in The Georgia Dome, Einstein was on the long side of the arena (where it should be!), and all the teams were able to fit on the main stands and first balcony, so there was nobody up in the nosebleed seats.

[wilsonmw04]

The paper airplane thing was total embarrassment. Yeah, it was cute to see them fly onto the field and stage. Did you get to see the complete mess it made of the dome? There were paper airplanes covering the stands. It's a mess that someone else has to clean up. I feel sorry for the crew that had to come behind our students and clean the dome all for the sake of a quick laugh in between matches. I wonder what they think of FIRST after World? What does that say loudly about us?

[LeelandS]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

The paper airplane thing was total embarrassment. Yeah, it was cute to see them fly onto the field and stage. Did you get to see the complete mess it made of the dome? There were paper airplanes covering the stands. It's a mess that someone else has to clean up. I feel sorry for the crew that had to come behind our students and clean the dome all for the sake of a quick laugh in between matches. I wonder what they think of FIRST after World? What does that say loudly about us?

Seconded. The whole thing was childish. Clouds of paper airplanes flying through the air, hitting other spectators (it may just be paper, but that doesn't mean it's pleasant to get hit with), landing on the field, hitting FIRST personnel and guest speakers. I felt so much shame. I really hope this is gotten under control in the coming years. I only heard of it happening last year, and it should not be continued.

The poor custodial workers, having to pick up hundreds of paper airplanes.

[seg9585]

It was funny at first but should have ended by the time presentations and speakers were starting. I saw very large planes made out of cardboard (st Louis maps) that could have hurt people, and people were tearing up their Championship programs which is a shame.

Having said that, has anyone ever seen a remote controlled (electric) plane around in the dome at that time? It would seem like a fitting group to pull off that sort of stunt.

[Mike Marandola]

I was especially surprised that they didn't even address it on the PA system. I saw many planes still being thrown even during the final Einstein matches. If one had gotten onto the field it could have been a problem.

On the cleaning up part - those paper airplanes are jobs. Less cleaning may save some FIRST funds, but it's not a burden for the cleaners. It would be different if FIRST volunteers were required.

[cgmv123]

Originally Posted by marandola316

If one had gotten onto the field it could have been a problem.

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.

[runneals]

Originally Posted by seg9585

It was funny at first but should have ended by the time presentations and speakers were starting. I saw very large planes made out of cardboard (st Louis maps) that could have hurt people, and people were tearing up their Championship programs which is a shame.

Having said that, has anyone ever seen a remote controlled (electric) plane around in the dome at that time? It would seem like a fitting group to pull off that sort of stunt.

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

[Alexa Stott]

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.