How did Wright Stuff become so hyper-comp

[mosloudo]

I have a question. How did Wright Stuff become so hyper-competitive?

[WrightStuffMonster]

I have a question. How did Wright Stuff become so hyper-competitive?

I did not find it to be significantly harder to win than any other event. If anything its a bit easier because there are so many people who are willing to help ou out in the indoor community. Science Olympiad in general gets pretty competitive at the upper levels.

[mosloudo]

I did not find it to be significantly harder to win than any other event.

But then you're the WrightStuffMonster!

So I guess it is a multitude of strong hobbyist/enthusiast mentors who are driving the high standard of quality.
I mean, this event seems to be THE most-discussed topic, and discussions go into highly technical detail that I normally wouldn't expect a middle school student to know.

Conclusion: Good, good. Now, how do you attract an indoor community to your area?



(please excuse my questioning; I'm a recent graduate trying to figure out how to make my old school more competitive - we went to nats last year and did rather poorly in building events. It's unlikely but I hope the middle school would start doing SO and thus create a supply of experienced SO students for high school)

[jander14indoor]

I'm one of those passionate mentors, and one who probably drives the high level of conversation. I'm a parent/engineer, and have always believed that students questions should be answered to the greatest degree their understanding permits, and maybe a little beyond. I want them to understand why things work, not just follow rote instructions. I want them to be able to figure it out when people like me aren't around.

Besides, I don't think I've met an SO competitor yet who typifies their grade level in terms of what they know or are interested in.

Now, I used to try to preface my answers with a statement about what level of audience they were aimed at. Its been awhile, so I'll state it again. First, I believe unless you have a plane that FLIES you can't even begin to get at the heart of this event, which is really about test and evaluation. Not aircraft design or aerodynamics. That's just a fun way to do test and eval.
- That said, my most basic level of audience and answers is aimed at getting students past the race to the ground and FLYING. Not very complicated really, and gets boring when repeated. It's there in past messages so not discussed much. But I and others will answer again or point to the appropriate message.
- The next level is intermediate, where the plane flies at least occasionally, but not above 30 seconds to 1 minute. Here there are still only so many questions and answers and they've mostly been covered. You might have to look back away to find them, but their there. Follow that guidance and your planes will fly two to three minutes and be competitive in almost any regional, and at most states.
- The highest level is advanced fliers who consistently fly 2:30 to 3:00 minutes and are trying to squeeze the last spec of performance out of their planes. Questions are detailed, answers sometimes complex. And they tend to drive forums like this because they look for and find sources like this and ask questions.

So, don't sweat the complexity any given thread. Ask your questions, you'll get answers.

As to help, where are you (in general, city and state, not a street address)? Maybe there are appropriate enthusiasts/hobbiest nearer than you think and you only need ask. And we're very available on the web. Ask here, we'll help.

If your question is how to get started on Wright Stuff as a coach, describe where your team and you are at in the process and we'll help.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

PS, we're actually the second busiest event on this forum. Elevated bridge has almost 100 posts more than WS and they get just as technical at times.

[StampingKid]

I actually do not think it is any more competitive than any other event as at any invitational there are kids even more passionate about individual study events. Wright Stuff and bridge though lend themselves to greater avenues of discussion on these forums because they are quantifiable and you know whether there is room for improvement and further discussion. And each has so many variables that you have to keep coming back for more.

[mosloudo]

So sorry, I'm a busy college freshman and actually had no idea what was going on. I'm asking advice on something that almost seems to be wishful thinking.

I figured asking about WS, which seemed to be the event with the most technical and freely available information, would yield strategies applicable more generally.

I'm supposedly mentoring someone for mousetrap vehicle, but lost contact. There were very few events at regional and mousetrap vehicle was not one of them, so it probably didn't have much priority. Last I checked (about 2-3 weeks ago) he said the vehicle was partially complete.

Like jander14indoor, I also
"want them to understand why things work, not just follow rote instructions. I want them to be able to figure it out when people like me aren't around."
Because of this, I figured they should be taking the initiative; I shouldn't be the one constantly nagging them. But once in a while I get worried enough to make a phone call.

I found out just now that the regional contest was two weeks ago...
See:
http://www.hsso.org/leeward_regional.htm
Coach told me it was on the 20th - they must have moved it up.

It appears my (formerly) middle school has entered SO for the first time ever. However, they did not make it to state.

I'm from Mililani, HI, but I don't think I can be a coach...yet.

[jander14indoor]

Certainly you can be a coach, just need to find a team that's interested in your support. No special requirements, except willingness, time and enthusiasm.

As to who takes the initiative, kind of works both was. This is voluntary on the students part, if they are interested, badgering won't help. On the other hand, part of a coach/mentor's job is to spark that enthusiasm.

With WS its either easy to do, or won't happen at all, in my experience. I've been giving lecture/build sessions for years now. Couple of key points.
I/YOU have to have fun at this as a coach. Be enthusiastic, its catching.
The students have to experience challenges AND success early. When I'm coaching a dedicated set of kids I start the first session with a simple model and get them flying the FIRST session if possible. That shows them they CAN make a plane and it WILL fly.
I also show them what a good WS model will do. Then we get into the harder slog them building a competitive WS model.
Make sure you make time to fly regularly with their first model till the good WS plane is finished, them make sure they have time to fly the good plane.
I also make sure not to touch their models. This is AMAZINGLY hard, but important. I build right next to them, and demonstrate frequently, but never touch theirs, or give them my cast off parts. Kids don't understand how much they can do till they've done it.

Good luck and keep up your efforts at coaching/mentoring.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI

[mosloudo]

Thank you jander14indoor! Good insights.