Forecast for the Wrecker but Flying on Mickey's

For a long time I have been meaning to have a look at EM style for F3F. A number of conversations with Simon, Martin and Mark have revealed that I would have to change my current setups before I could start to even have a look at this style.

So after a evening of playing around with my Ascot settings with some sound advice form Martin I was ready to go. Why the Ascot? Because she has a ballast tube in the fuselage it gives an easy option quickly to move the C of G to see what effect it will have on the technique.   

The forecast was for a nice 10 mph on the Wrecker which would have been ideal. However when I got there John the Taxi was flying his electric model at the Wrecker car park. Why the electric well slope lift was coming and going all the time as there only a slight breeze.

A wonder up the highest point didn't help either. The windmills over Treorchy were still indicating north easterly direction and the new windmills at the far end of Mickey's were suggesting the Crest, but what wind there was at the top was now feeling more like the back of the Wrecker!

John had now landed so I headed over for a chat hoping the conditions would build a bit more as flying of the Back of the Wrecker in very light conditions were just not holding any attraction what so ever!

After half and hour I wondered back up the top the Treorchy windmills were still indicating north easterly but the new ones at the far end of Mickey's were showing southerly and standing on the edge of the Back of the Wrecker the breeze had picked up a bit more but there was quite a bit of west in it by now.  No forecast I had looked at suggested any hint of south westerly with nearly all of them shown the wind moving from north easterly though east south east over the next twenty four hours.

With what wind there was still quite light, I much rather be on Mickey's than the back of the Wrecker even though it would mean a long walk, so over I went. By the time I got to Mickey's the wind had picked up a bit more and was smack on Mickey's proper. Wind speed was now hovering around 6 or 7 mph and occasionally picking up to around 10 mph, although I suspect this was more to do with thermal activity.

A quick fly with the Ascot dry proved that the air was quite buoyant so I landed and put about a third ballast in. Even though the condition were light I spent a very enjoyable hour and half  playing around with my settings and trying to get the EM style to work.

Like everyone I have played with EM with my standard F3F setups but have found it very easy to kill the speed. Ever though the conditions were light the new settings seemed to be working and look like a good base to start from.

So what has changed? Well basically everything is a bit softer and I find running with a little more differential helps kick the plane back into the slope, although this might get wound off a little as in big air this might kick the model in to much.          

The next step will be to have a look at the effects of rudder inputs on the turn, but that is for another day and by now the wind had dropped right down again so it was time to go home.

Brass Monkey Champion of Champions

Well with all the fast times this year there was another first and this was cancelling an event because of the cold.

With Snow thick on the ground and 10 to 15 m/s blowing up the Wrecker it was so tempting to try to run the event. But with Simon measuring -16⁰C wind chill there was a very big concern for peoples welfare with dangers of hypothermia or even possible frost bite in these conditions.

  

Added to this we would now be moving towards the sort of temperatures that NiMh start to play up. The thought of a fully ballasted model heading back towards the slope at over a 100 miles per hour and then loosing control was all to worrying to contemplate! 

Not to mention the joys of landing a fully ballasted model  in these temperature. Freezing cold temperatures, glass and carbon fibre and lots of energy to dissipate which all add to a good recipe for disaster.    

  

There was a notable sigh of relief from everyone when it was called off!

Champion of Champions 2013 flickr.link

  

Thanks to Ian for organising the event.  Also thanks also to Traplet  Publications who provided a goody bag for all the competitors.  There was some discussion on departure about a possible rescheduling of the event. This will clearly be up to Ian and how we fit it in to what looks like a busy year this year, but it would be a shame to let this annual event slip.   

See you all soon

Andrzej

Waiting for the Wind

Well after the excitement of the last few weeks the wind decided not to play ball.  

I got there a tad late after a bit of a over indulgences due to the results of the pervious days Rugby match, to find all the competitors on the westerly of Mickey’s as this was the most likely direction from. However they had been there for a couple of hours with little or wind to even guess which direction it was going to settle, so it was called a day.   

Thanks to everyone who have supported the events and especially Martin and Simon who both helped out so much.

So the Champion for the 2012-13 SWSA F3F Winter League is Joel West with Martin Newnham as runner up and Mike Evans in third spot.

The Fastest Time for the League was Mark Abbotts with his stunning 28:75 on the Crest.

All the best

Andrzej

1	Joel West	1996.03
2	Martin Newnham	1968.24
3	Mike Evans	1948.05
4	Mick Walsh	1798.30
5	Paul Stubley	1773.66
6	Andrzej Tabero	1759.41
7	Mark Abbotts	1000.00
8	Gary Harrison	978.07
9	Stefan Bertschi	973.73
10	Simon Thornton	964.06
11	Andy Burgoyne	954.18
12	Dave Rumble	921.83
13	Stuart Wallace	886.83
14	Andy West	885.42
15	Les Wood	868.29
16	Peter Burgess	861.28
17	Martin Drewett	850.90
18	Tony Robertson	849.52
19	Mark Williams	843.24
20	Steve Sreetly	831.75
21	Ian Mason	830.80
22	Chris Studley	807.28
23	Alex Hamilton	771.33
24	Tony Livingstone	746.35
25	Chris Perlins	537.19
26	Graeme Mahoney	355.68

The Wonderful Wrecker

What an incredible day and I wasn’t there due to family commitments. When I handed the timing gear over to Martin and Simon Sunday morning we all thought it could be something special if the clag and rain stayed away.  

From Martin write up I counted 16 sub 30 second flights that is just incredible. Congratulations to Mark for winning, to keep his nerve and focus in those conditions must have made this victory very special.

Congratulation to Martin on the 26:84. I know how fustigated he was at the last winter league when the Sun caught him out and almost certainly cost him a sub 30 second run.

The times that Kev and I have been on the Wrecker sports flying and it has been absolutely ballistic it doesn’t surprise me of the sub 30 times and we always knew that one day those conditions and a competition would coincide and something very special would happen and Sunday looks like it was that day!

For those who haven’t see I have pasted Martin’s write up below.

Andrzej

 ^{Whitesheet BMFA F3F League 1 (Wales)}

^{The start of the new season got off to a bang and what a BANG, I don’t think there has ever been anything quite like it in the UK before. Earlier in the week it looked like it would have to be cancelled due to issues at the scheduled location.  Unfortunately Whitesheet is unable to provide all wind directions, therefore a decision was made to relocate to Wales after consulting with all the registered pilots and reopening registration should anyone else wish to participate.  Andrzej Tabero kindly confirmed we were able take advantage of the slopes in Wales as they provide all directions. The direction we needed was ENE and this put us on what is regarded as UK’s best slope, the Wrecker, coupled with a 20 – 23 m\s wind speed and you have the right ingredients for a great competition.  It was overshadowed by the potential of hill fog, but thankfully the weather gods were on our side and we didn’t have one stoppage due to weather all day.}

^{Round 1 got on the way and after a few weeks before when Mark Abotts went sub thirty with his Caldera flying a 28.75 it wasn’t expected that we would see a time like this again anytime soon.  How wrong we were, Joel West stepped up round one and posted a 29.46 a few pilots later and Martin Newnham went sub 30 with a 29.61.  This wasn’t the finish of the round and Mark Redsell keen to get going, not only went sub 30 but broke the British record again flying a 28.73. The round contained many low to medium 30 + times.}

^{Round 2 the same 3 pilots went sub 30 again Mark getting close to his new British record. Joining Mark, Martin and Joel was Paul Garnett with his first sub 30 and new PB flying a 29.24. Tony Livingstone having only attended a few winter league events made yet another improvement on his PB going from a 37.37 down to a 34.94.  Ian Falconer only started flying last year and has also only attended a couple of competitions to find out what it’s all about, was getting times in the mid forties, which may not seem fast to some but it you know the Wrecker it’s not for the faint hearted especially in 20 – 23m\s wind.}

^{Round 3 see Joel West just slip into the low 30’s but Martin Newnham and Mark Redsell still were trading blows.  Martin Newnham broke the UK record with a 26.84, but Mark wasn’t going to give anything away with a 29.97. Richard Bago was also getting closer to going sub 30 but not yet.}

^{Round 4 Joel West was back with a sub 30 time, but not quite fast enough and Martin Newnham just took the round with 29.11.  Mark Redsell again was not too far behind and still less than 30 seconds with a 29.71.}

^{Round 5 and Richard Bago finally got what he was looking for, posting a new PB 29.44 and his first sub30, again Mark Redsell was still there taking the round with 28.79.  Martin Drewett got a new PB and first sub 40 time with a 37.98 and improved on this again in the next round, posting a 34.20.}

^{Round 6 and Stuart Wallace who is relatively new to F3F competitions was already having a good day and up to this point his slowest time had been 40 seconds posted a 35.80 and I think a PB, his remaining round was over 40 seconds but 5 sub forties from 7 rounds is great flying by any standards.  Joel West got his final sub 30 of the day to take round 6, with Richard Bago in second and Mark Abotts in third.}

^{The 7th and final round and Mark Redsell posted his 6 sub 30 of the day to take the last round, followed by Joel in second and Mark Abotts in third.}

^{To summarise, all of the above equalled an epic day in South Wales for everyone, regardless of whether you went sub 30, sub 40 or improved slightly on previous times.  The conditions provided some of the best conditions I have personally ever flown in and I am sure others would echo this view.}

^{I would like to thank everyone who helped out on the day but special mention must go to Simon Thornton getting the course up and CDing with me.  Richard Bago, our buzzer supreme and everyone that spent time out on the buzzers.  Stuart Wallace for taking on the task of debt collecting (entry fees). Finally Joel West, Mark Abotts, Paul Garnett who must have a right arm like popeye’s as they did most of the launches for everyone all day.}

^{To the results:}

^{1st Mark Redsell (Freestyler 4 )}

^{2nd Martin Newnham (Freestyler 4)}

^{3rd Joel West (Freestyler 4)}

^{Fastest time of the Day Martin Newnham 26.84}

^{Full Results below:}

^{1 Mark Redsell                  5928.66                 1000.00}

^{2 Martin Newnham            5866.32                 989.48}

^{3 Joel West                       5784.75                 975.72}

^{4 Rich Bago                      5652.05                 953.34}

^{5 Paul Garnett                   5497.41                 927.26}

^{6 Mark Abotts                    5304.84                 894.77}

^{7 Simon Thornton             5281.98                 890.92}

^{8 Mike Evans                     5202.24                 877.47}

^{9 Keith Wood                     4800.16                 809.65}

^{10 Frank Hulton                 4741.58                 799.77}

^{11 Tony Livingston            4588.84                 774.00}

^{12 Mark Treble                  4549.52                 767.37}

^{13 Stuart Wallace              4535.37                 764.99}

^{14 Martin Drewett               4294.41                 724.34}

^{15 Mike Shellim                  4280.46                 721.99}

^{16 Tom Macpherson          4205.83                 709.40}

^{17 Graeme Mahoney          2741.89                 462.48}

^{18 Ian Mason                      2624.26                 442.63}

^{19 Ian Falconer                  1759.16                 296.72}

^{20 Mick Walsh                    1422.15                 239.87}

^{21 John Treble                   598.04                   100.87}

     

Welsh Winter League round four - Records Tumble

The Crest has always had massive potential for turning up something special in F3F. However, because our prevailing winds are normally South Westerly we rarely find ourselves on this slope in ideal conditions for F3F. However, every now and again something a little special happens, when they do you need to make the most of them!

Okay, the day didn’t start quite as planned, we all meet at the Wrecker Car Park and everything was shrouded in clag. A quick check on the Back or the Wrecker suggested it was flyable but it would have been right on the limit for wind direction. So although it was clagged in we made the decision to head over to the Crest in good faith that the clag would lift. This is a big leap of faith as it a fair old trek over to the far side of the Crest and on days like this there is a real danger the clag won’t lift, especially on this slope.

By 11:30 we were trying to put the course up but it was proving difficult to site the course because the far hill (the Ice Cream Slope) was very misty. However, by 11:45 it had lifted enough to finish setting up.

Mike Evans has always done well on the Crest in varying types of conditions and put this knowledge to good use and took the first round with a 34.97, followed by Simon Thornton with a 35.64 and Mark Abbotts 36.06.

Round two of the competition and Mark Abbotts flying his new Caldera clocks a 33:21 to take the course record for the Crest for the first time of the day. Another pilot to feature heavily in the day and all the way from Switzerland Stefan Bertschi taking second with a 34:73. Stefan’s travelling companion for the day Joel West took third spot with a 34:79.  It is worth a mention that Graeme Mahoney in only his fourth F3F race did his first sub 40 with a 36:49 with his Cyril.

Round three and the record tumbles again and Joel now lowers it to 32:97. Martin Newnham flying with his arm in a sling after a shoulder operation clocked a 35:16 and Mick Walsh was third with 36:57 which I believe was a new PB for him.

Martin was now getting use to the sling and took the next round with a 34:93. Joel and Mike were close behind with a 37:23 and 37:67 respectively.

Simon took round five with a 36:54 followed by Stefan with a 37:96 and Joel with a 38:79.

Now round six and things get very special. Part way into the round and Martin comes to the centre and breaks the record again with 32: 37. Martin was unlucky enough to have the full glare of the sun right over base B which undoubtedly cost him a sub 30 second run.  Things then go a little quite for a few pilots and Joel comes the centre and clocks 33:11 and clearly things are starting to build. Next up is Stefan who fly’s a near perfect EM style with his Radical Pro to clock a new PB and Course record of 30:01. Mr Mark Abbotts comes to the centre next with his new Caldera. As soon as Mark launches it is clear the good air is still there with the Caldera going ballistic. Mark screams in and fly’s an impeccable reversal course and stops the clock at 28:75 to take the round and smash the record, go Smork!
  

It should be also mention that one of the other first timers at the Bwlch Tony Livingstone breaks the sub 40 barrier for the first time and sets a new PB with a 37:37.

Martin clocks another 32:42 to take round seven followed by Mike Evans with a 33: 97 and Joel with a 34:37.

Clearly the conditions were dropping a little now and Martin takes the final round with a 34:77 followed by Mike with 34:82 and Mick Walsh finishes off an near perfect day by lowering his PB once more to 35:28.  

A quick check of the course length to make double sure every thing was fine and dandy. Wind speeds for the day were around 17 m/s probably getting up to 20 m/s at the very highest. Thanks to Dave Rumble for being buzzer supermo, Tony Livingstone for collecting all the money and Martin for helping out in the centre. Also a big thanks to everyone who lugged the course over to the far side of the Crest and especial Stefan who got landed with the timing gear both ways, although after flying a 30:01 it must of felt a lot lighter on the way back!

Mark stunning 28:75 run did just enough to leap frog Joel to win the day. So with Joel runner up, Simon found himself in third spot.

A great start to 2013, every pilot flew under 40 seconds at some point thought the day. Countless PB’s, I konw Ian Mason got one and I think may be Paul Stubley and Dave Rumble did as well. If I missed you am sorry but I hope you all enjoyed a great day.

All the best

Andrzej  

1	Mark Abbotts	6658.52
2	Joel West	6617.61
3	Simon Thronton	6545.98
4	Martin Newnham	6521.98
5	Mike Evans	6490.30
6	Stefan Bertschi	6471.83
7	Dave Rumble	6210.81
8	Mick Walsh	5956.27
9	Paul Stubley	5619.07
10	Tony Livingstone	5609.40
11	Ian Mason	5563.63
12	Andrzej Tabero	5553.94
13	Graeme Mahoney	2673.22