Contest 6 of the
2002 JR
/ Airsail F3B Series,
hosted
by CDSF at Palmerston North,
on November 23-24, 2002.
CD: David James
Summary,
Round
1,
Round
2,
Round
3,
Round
4
Another great turnout with 22 competitors,
and it was especially great to see Matt Lord and Brett Cudby having a go at F3B
for the first time. Matt was flying a little (2m?) Whisper and Brett a
lightweight thermal soarer - neither model could be considered competitive but
by all accounts they enjoyed the experience. Watch out for these guys in the
future as they're both extremely keen fliers, and with the right model and some
practice they could really do some damage...
Most of the contest was flown with a
moderate wind at 45 degrees to the winch lines, and with a couple of tree lines
separated by ploughed paddocks immediately along side the winches everyone could
be forgiven for thinking both slope and thermal lift should be abundant... In
fact conditions could best be described as "brutal" - most duration
slots didn't even get close to 10 minutes, and every single flier got burned in
at least one duration round over the weekend! Being in the right place at the
right time was critical, but those right places and times were really hard to
call... As seems to have become the norm, distance saw some of the best air of
the weekend with some good flights being posted. However it also saw some of the
worst air, with several slots being won with less than 10 legs. Speed conditions
were also variable, leading to plenty of relaunches in the quest for better air.
The "Lotto" award has to go to Chris Tank, who hooked the line on
launch and saw one of his Cobra's V-tail halves part company with the rest of
the model... after what looked like a fairly heavy "arrival" the model
and offending tail piece were recovered without a scratch!
This contest also served as the first leg
of the selection process for the team to represent NZ at the 2003 F3B World
Champs in Germany. The next leg is the National's at Carterton over the New Year
period, followed by a 2-day contest in Christchurch later in January. The extra
pressure on the team aspirants coupled with the tough conditions led to a lot
more mistakes than usual, however the experience should be good preparation for
the world champ's environment.
Fastest speed time was 17.25 by Scott
Chisholm, best distance was 22 legs by Chris Tank.
