Contest
3 of the
1999 JR
/ Airsail F3B Series,
held at
Matamata, on July 3-4, 1999.
CD:
Chris Kaiser
Summary, Round 1,
Round 2
The forecast for the weekend was not good,
and indeed Saturday was washed out with drizzle and showers all day. The main
news story that night was about record snowfalls in the Southern Alps, and the
front responsible was heading our way! Despite the dire predictions the weather
held out and we were able to complete two rounds on Sunday with only one short
rain interuption. Winches were setup for the predicted Southerly but this never
arrived, and an early change was made to face the building Nor-wester. Although
threatening all day this wind never really arrived either!
Some very active Cb's (dumping hail on
nearby Waharoa) indicated unstable air and the potential for some great
thermals, but despite this the lift was generally pretty average (continuing the
pattern of the previous two contests...) with few models climbing above launch
height in the duration slots! Distance seemed to get the best of the air, and
Dave Morgan was unlucky to run out of course time only metres short of setting a
new NZ distance record.
A new flying site was the venue for this
contest and the consensus was a big thumbs-up, hopefully we'll be able to hold
more contests at this site in future.
