What a build up! I went off to Tinkers for a bit of a practice last thing Friday and man oh man it was wild. Loads of wind, turbulence and fear! Still "Rocket" Ronnie Lampe was there to give me a couple of pointers to help keep the model in one piece and thankfully that's what happened.
The EPP boys were sadly blown off the hill on Saturday with winds gusting up to 110mph, so Saturday was spent wondering with some trepidation what our F3F day would bring on Sunday. As it turned out, it was hardly excessive, and with the features of the hill, and the conditions, made for a very technical comp which rewarded those able to find the compression zone very near to the slope edge. Simon Thornton put in a masterclass of the right balance of controlled aggression and flying skill to win yet another round. Greg Dakin was just unreal to watch as usual, and the Knewt was on form as ever, despite his day being slightly blighted by stepping in a very generous cow pat.
Richard Bago was up there again - he just quietly keeps on getting up there does our Rich, with some excellent flying to take third spot. Nice to see you back from overseas mate!
At this point, despite only coming in 22nd, I'll have to give myself an honourable mention, given that I made buzzerman Frank Hulton dive for cover on Base B with a "bit" of a safety line violation. I'm taking this as a good sign that I'm occasionally finding the courage to fly a little closer to the edge!
Well done to my flying buddies Adam and George - Adam for leaving me choking on his dust yet again by recording an excellent 9th despite my beating him in the first two rounds (false dawn there!), and George for maidening his first 3m model and completing his first F3F comp on a new hill all in the same day!
Anyway, herewith the photos of the day...
Monday, 5 October 2009
Thursday, 24 September 2009
The Splinter...
Ok so it's a while since we maidened these things, but I'm still amazed at how it flies... For those who don't know what they are:
Adam's: Solid 300yr old English Oak; PW106mod fitted with RDS etc - 60" span with a wing loading around 35oz/ft.
Mine: Solid Idigbo hardwood; PW106mod no RDS etc - the production prototype - 60" span with a wing loading around 31oz/ft.
Mine is the one doing most of the flying in the vid, apart from the two DS passes at the end when the music stops - that's Adam Richardson's Oak one. If you fancy one, they are available to order from Adam at £550ea. Takes him and his Dad Dean a full week of work to make two! They come completely finished - all you have to do is chuck your gear in. Pretty much an ARTF except they are hinged as well!
The day on the video wasn't particularly great either - only about 15mph on the Skirrid, but they handle the light conditions really well as long as you can let them drop a bit off the launch to gain some speed. Once up to speed they are seriously efficient models.
Adam's: Solid 300yr old English Oak; PW106mod fitted with RDS etc - 60" span with a wing loading around 35oz/ft.
Mine: Solid Idigbo hardwood; PW106mod no RDS etc - the production prototype - 60" span with a wing loading around 31oz/ft.
Mine is the one doing most of the flying in the vid, apart from the two DS passes at the end when the music stops - that's Adam Richardson's Oak one. If you fancy one, they are available to order from Adam at £550ea. Takes him and his Dad Dean a full week of work to make two! They come completely finished - all you have to do is chuck your gear in. Pretty much an ARTF except they are hinged as well!
The day on the video wasn't particularly great either - only about 15mph on the Skirrid, but they handle the light conditions really well as long as you can let them drop a bit off the launch to gain some speed. Once up to speed they are seriously efficient models.
Monday, 21 September 2009
Welsh Open 2009
A few pics of the weekend... Well done Graham Reed and Team Watering Cans!
(if the slide show plays a bit fast for you, then hover your mouse over the pics and the play/ pause buttons will come up - you can then scroll by clicking at your own pace...)
(if the slide show plays a bit fast for you, then hover your mouse over the pics and the play/ pause buttons will come up - you can then scroll by clicking at your own pace...)
Welsh Open - didn't come last!
What a fantastic weekend. It all started rather hilariously for me as I was drawn as first in the flying order - no pressure then! In retrospect I think I probably had my best air in round 1, but didn't fly it aggressively enough - I should have probably taken 5 seconds off it. However, I was pretty happy all in all to place 38th out of 50 pilots. Whilst we have a large number of fantastic F3F pilots here in the UK, it was really interesting to see how some of the Euro guys go about the course.
Also got to see all of the new hot kit coming onto the scene - the Martinet was there in both long and short flavours, as was the stunning new Aeromod Alliaj HM - I've got a bit of glider horn over this one. Freestylers were ten a penny, and there was even a lone Radical. Skorpions were very much still in evidence, and were smattered all over the placings from 1st down to 47th - still a seriously competent model in the right hands. The Ceres has become a very popular model, although the new Extreme is starting to become more visible too. There seem to be more and more RaceMx's at competitions, and several other competitors now have theirs on order as well. And of course Espen Torpe was there with the yet to be renamed "Cyril". Although it looks rather like a Ceres, it has a new tail, fuse, wing and section. Pretty much a new model then!
Anyway, pictures will be up later once I've gone through them all and come up with a few good ones.
Also got to see all of the new hot kit coming onto the scene - the Martinet was there in both long and short flavours, as was the stunning new Aeromod Alliaj HM - I've got a bit of glider horn over this one. Freestylers were ten a penny, and there was even a lone Radical. Skorpions were very much still in evidence, and were smattered all over the placings from 1st down to 47th - still a seriously competent model in the right hands. The Ceres has become a very popular model, although the new Extreme is starting to become more visible too. There seem to be more and more RaceMx's at competitions, and several other competitors now have theirs on order as well. And of course Espen Torpe was there with the yet to be renamed "Cyril". Although it looks rather like a Ceres, it has a new tail, fuse, wing and section. Pretty much a new model then!
Anyway, pictures will be up later once I've gone through them all and come up with a few good ones.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Night before the Welsh Open...
Crikey - still can't quite believe it myself. I've managed to get up the reserve list, and ended up gaining an entry to the Welsh Open F3F. I was really looking forward to just spectating it, but now I'll be flying alongside some of the best pilots in the sport. Goal? Don't come last!!!
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