Well the first thing is to get a CD license, or to find an AMA member with a CD license who will help you. You will need this license if you want the contest to be AMA Sanctioned. We would recommend this approach unless you plan only a local club event. A CD license is available from the AMA after successfully passing a short open book exam. Regardless, it is necessary that you read and understand the section on "Radio Controlled Aerobatics" from the current AMA Competition Regulations Manual. Get it and study it thoroughly!

Next, examine the calendar for possible dates that will not conflict with another contest within a day's drive, or within 300 miles. Call, write or E-Mail your District NSRCA VP for a suggestion on a date. It is his job to coordinate the scheduling of contests within his district. Once you have a date, or better, several possible dates, go to your local club and work with the membership for one of the dates. If the Club approves, you're set to fill out the AMA Sanction paper work and send it in for AMA approval.

We need to mention the role of the local club in putting on a contest. The local club will probably make a profit on the contest if you have enough contestants show up. The Club should receive the entry fee minus the expenses and all the profits from the food concession. This promise of profit will help most clubs decide to give up their field for one weekend.

Well, what do you do if your club refuses to let you use their field for a Pattern Contest. Search to see if there is another club that might be willing to help you. If you are not successful in that endeavor, then you will need to search for other sites. For this, you will need your imagination. Check out some local small airports, or sod farms, or public land, parks, farms, etc. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. The advantage of not having a club sponsor is that you may be able to charge a lower admission fee, since there will be no one to split the receipts with.

Make arrangements for someone to run a food concession for the contest. You will need all the general refreshments, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, soda's, etc. You might also plan on something for Saturday evening after a day's flying. Many fellows enjoy having a time together after a busy day of flying for food and fellowship.

Also buy a "Scoring Program" (see note at end) or write your own. If you're good at it, you can use Microsoft Excel to compute the scores. Find a computer and operator who can input scores for you during the contest. If you think you may have a small contest (less than 20) or if you are good with a pocket calculator, you can score the flights with a pencil, a pad of paper and a calculator. Many CD's have done it before the days of the home computer, so it can be done. We'll talk more bout this later.

Produce some nice advertisement handbills for your contest. Circulate these handbills to other local clubs and hobby shops. Pass out these handbills at other contests, at model air shows, and at model swap shops. You can also get a set of mailing labels from the NSRCA secretary to use in mailing a flyer to all the NSRCA members in your district and neighboring districts. IMPORTANT! Include on the literature a list of local motels, with phone numbers and local places of refreshment.

Estimate the costs that you will incur so that you can set the fees correctly. We do not want to make profits, but we don't want to lose money either. Also remember to include a profit for the club if you are using their field.

One important consideration is workers; how many and where to get them. If it is a club function, you will need members to help with the food concessions. Then, if you can line up any more helpers, it is nice to have some volunteers to serve as "scribes". You will use the pilots as judges, but when judging the higher classes, it's very important to have a scribe that can write down the scores as the judge calls them out. Then, you may need a helper for the impound, or running the computer and carrying score sheets back to the scoring team, or what ever else you may find that you need. Now, if you have to run a contest at a non-club site, then you may have to ask friends and family for help. Several of us have been doing this for some time, and we found out that it will work. Just be nice to the wife and kids if you expect them to cooperate with you for the contest. Then expect to return home that night very tired, because you will work.

If you are planning any changes to the standard contest maneuvers, and /or procedures, be sure to include this information in the AMA sanction application and also in the advertising literature. For example, some CD's will allow over weight planes in the entry level class. This needs to be announced ahead of time. If you are planning on flying a special class, also announce that in the AMA Sanction. Remember, the information you provide the AMA will also be printed in Model Aviation Contest Calendar.

* Scoring Programs: a free one is available at www.rcpattern.net/scoring.asp