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We set off for the Liverpool ferry on Friday evening, hoping
to get to Bradford in good time for some practice starting
early on Saturday morning. Unfortunately we arrived at the
Belfast terminal to discover that the ferry was running over
an hour late; if unloading was slow in the morning we
could miss the start of the competition.
Thankfully the security guys took a great interest in the
models and when we explained the situation they got us
onto the lower deck ready for a quick exit in the morning!
We arrived to find an excellent hall with viewing
from the front and right hand sides with a sloping
seated spectator area to the rear - perfect! |
Tables were set up along the back of the hall, the trophies
and raffle prizes were out on display with chairs in the centre
for the judges and scribes. The spectator area provided an
excellent view of the entire room without obstruction.
The computer scoring system was at the far end, more
about that later, and Linda from the BMFA was
registering pilots as they arrived.
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Everyone had the opportunity to get some trimming and
setting up done before the competition started.
The atmosphere was very relaxed and informal but it did
feel strange taking a few practice flights with some of the
best indoor pilots in the World! |
French pilot Nicolas Pietu demonstrated the FAI
F3P sequences which include an upright and an inverted
spin. The French team has invited indoor pilots
to their next competition in February at Paris.
See http://iitop.free.fr/
Nicolas flew the TOPMODEL KOSMOS which is
an interesting mixture of milled EPP and gediplac. |
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Prizes for the raffle from sponsors Model Shop Leeds,
Traplet Publications, Robotbirds, Mid Ulster Models,
Horizon Hobbies. Angel Wing Designs.
There was another similar collection for the
Sunday draw. |
Good Luck Harry !
First off the mark as usual.
50 tickets won't be easy to check ..... |
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Derk remembered us from the Jet Masters event in Enniskillen
and was delighted to see us again over 2 years later.
He remembered signing my model's wing at the
time, so for good luck - |
- he signed my Clik for the F3P competition. |
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So we lined up the Dutch Team for a photo.
What these guys don't know about this sport isn't
worth knowing, ask any question and they'll do their
best to help. We learnt a lot from them over the weekend. |
The score keeping table - this worked extremely well.
Scoresheets came from the judges as soon as each
flight was completed. These were entered onto the
computer, which took care of the K factors and
the overall score for each flight was projected onto
wall for all to see only moments after the flight. |
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The randomly generated flying order was on the right
hand side, the score re-arranged in order in the centre
and the overall position on the left hand side.
Pilots and spectators could see this on the end wall. |
A well lit charging station to keep the batteries ready. |
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We were lucky to have the new Thunder Power 45C
batteries sourced by Mid Ulster Models.
These can be charged at 6C in 10 minutes ! |
A superb collection of beautifully prepared models,
with a lot of milling and thin carbon tube, even servo
cases removed to reduce weight wherever possible. |
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Flying started with the first rounds for F3P-C, B and A in that
order, repeating until the break for lunch. The organisation was
first class, with pilots gathered for each round, scores appearing
very quickly on the wall and the judges did well to keep up.
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F3P-C results:
1st Neil Shields
2nd Gordon McCrea
3rd Adam Lomax
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F3P-B results:
1st Connor Stevenson
2nd Robert Graham
3rd Andy Rigby |
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F3P-A results:
1st Donatas Pauzuolis
2nd Carl Olsson
3rd Nicolas Pietu |
| Freestyle was carefully slotted in after the
first three
rounds of F3P had been completed. Ten score cards were
given to random members of the audience and they were
asked to hold up their scores at the end of each flight.
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| Aeromusical |
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Aeromusical result:
1st Derk Van Der Vecht
2nd Donatas Pauzuolis
3rd Carl Olsson |
Derk and Bert had two similar models for the freestyle,
aeromusical and synchro flights. You had to examine
them carefully to see the differences. |
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Interesting 'side force spades' underneath the ailerons. |
Synchro was scored by the audience in the same way
as Freestyle. There was a sudden extra entry when Harry
and Robert decided to have a go and a schedule was
concocted on the back of an envelope. It can't have been
too bad as they took 2nd place!
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| Pylon racing around three carbon poles was the
last
event on Sunday. The twenty-something entry was
divided into four groups of up to six with ten laps to
reach if possible. The pylons were sore on the wings
for those who didn't go wide, and if you cut inside a
pylon you had to do loops in the centre of the triangle.
This was great fun even though or perhaps because
nobody was certain what was happening and some
degree of cheating was possible but again nobody cared!
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Over 20 pylon racers gathered up before the racing started.
They were all supposed to have a 7 x 3.5 GWS prop
(although Donatas was seen with a handful
of alternatives in a quest for more speed) |
Pylon racers and pilots in a hasty gathering, team
Kestrels three on the lower left hand side. |
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Donatas has milled a lot of material off his F3P model
and removed the airbrakes. This helps to make it fly
slow and accurate in the F3P schedule.
Donatas is a very talented young pilot but has
no hesitation in answering questions or helping out.
It was well worth the visit just to see him flying
and learn from his aircraft building. |
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We came home with three 2nd places in F3P-B, F3P-C
and synchro, made a lot of new friends and had a great
weekend's indoor flying.
The Leprechaun hasn't been seen or heard from since.... |
