OCTOBER CONTENTS

Transcription

1 OCTOBER CONTENTS FFn 100 NFFS Symposium Report European Indoor Championships News from BMFA FF Tech committee 101 Free Flight Big Tent Correspondence 102 Eifel Pokal, Zülpich, Germany, Aug 30 - Sep Siscia Cup, Sisak, Croatia, Sept Bulgaria Cup, Pazardzik, Bulgaria, Sept BMFA East Anglia Gala, Sculthorpe Aug BMFA 5th Area Centralised, Sept BMFA First Team Trials, Barkston Heath, Sept BMFA Second Team Trials, Salisbury Plain, Sept BMFA F1E results 106 Timperley Gala, Barkston, Aug Paisley Trophy, Newbigging, Aug Bournemouth Club Classic Rubber, M. Wallop, Aug Cranfield Classic, Newbigging, Sep Oxford MFC Septemberfest, Port Meadow, Sept F1E Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia, Sep F1E Toszek Cup, Toszek,Poland, Sep Governor's Cup, Raçibórz, Poland, Sept F1E, Tourtenay, France, Sept World Cup F1E Final positions 108 WORLD CHAMPION F1E, BY A ROUX 109 Biggles Leagues 110 Free Flight Forum Noticeboard 110 UK Competition News 110 A SUBSCRIPTION RENEWAL FORM IS INCLUDED AT PAGES111 AND 112 DIARY October Sculthorpe October Lost Hills, California USA October Ankara Turkey October 14 Middle Wallop October Novo Mesto, Sent Jernej Slovenia BMFA Team Selection 3. F1A, F1B, F1C. Contact: Mike Woodhouse Sierra Cup. F1A, F1B, F1C, F1P. World Cup event. Contact: Mike McKeever, 4252 Mockingbird St, Fair Oaks, CA, , USA, tel: , vamckeever@aol.com Anatolian Free Flight Cup. F1A, F1B. World Cup event. Contact: Osman Sevgi, Altan Gunalp Sitesi 10-7, Cayyolu Ankara, Turkey, tel or , fax , osman.sevgi@veezy.com, web SAM 1066 Fun flying and trimming. There may be other users of airfield and restrictions may apply. BMFA members only.contact: Mike Parker, , michael@cavgrove.freeserve.co.uk Krka Cup. F1A, F1B, F1C. World Cup event. Contact: Damjan Zulic, Nahtigalova 5, 8000 Novo Mesto, Slovenia, tel: , fax: or , damian@insert.si, web: October 21 Near Sheffield October Mühlenthurnen Switzerland November 4 Barkston Heath November 11 Barkston Heath November (Wed-Thur) TBA December 2 Middle Wallop BMFA 6th F1E (Reserve date). F1E. Contact/CD: Steve Philpott Eurofly. F1A, F1B, F1C, F1G. World Cup event. Contact: Walter Eggimann, Seftigenstrasse 125, 3123 Belp, Switzerland, tel: , eurofly@belponline.ch, web: BMFA Midland Gala. SLOP, F1H, F1G, F1J/BMFA1/2A, Mini-vintage, HLG, CLG, P30, CO2, E30. Contact: Mike Woodhouse Grantham Falcon Gala. BMFA CP, CR, CG, Mini Vintage. All events 3 flights. Start 9am, no rounds. CD R Peers BMFA Indoor Possible reserve date or open event. See FFn Contact Mark Benns mark.benns@ntlworld.com Coupe Europa. F1G, Vintage CdH. Start See FFn Contact M Dilly martindilly@compuserve.com

2 FFn This issue includes the annual FFn subscription renewal form, a month earlier than usual but then this issue has been delayed by UK postal problems. It also aids anyone wanting to pay for subscription renewal at the same time as ordering a copy of the 2007 NFFS Symposium Report (reviewed below). There has been a slight increase in subscription prices, as a result of postal increases, but it is the first increase for 5 years. NFFS SYMPOSIUM REPORT 2007 The 2007 NFFS Symposium Report is now available from FFn. The Sympo costs from FFn, including post in UK and Europe. For readers outside Europe the basic cost covers surface mail, with a 3 supplement payable if you want airmail delivery, or it may be cheaper for you to order direct from NFFS. Review by Ian Kaynes. After an introduction and acknowledgements by the 2007 editor David Mills, he introduces a dedication of the Sympo to the success of the 2006 USA Junior World Champs Teams by John Kagan for indoor and Dave Rounsaville for outdoor. The technical content then opens with Discus-Launch Glider Performance Analysis by Robert Thoren. comparing the relative performance of discus and javelin launch HLG and deducing optimum size and weight for discus launch models. The article by Sergia Montes The Lure of the Flat: Digressions Around the Topic of Flat-Bottom Airfoils includes history and description of aerofoils with flat lower surfaces, particularly Clark Y, Conover and Wobbeking. There are predictions of the performance concentrating on the effect of sample geometric characteristics, concluding with a comparison with typical F1B and F1C wing aerofoils. Rick Pangell contributes a long article on Structures Design Considerations for Model Aircraft. A lot of textbook structures which seems generally accurate (apart from the section on flutter) and considerations of model material properties and typical structures. About the Wing Incidence Setting is a posthumous addition to the articles published by William McCombs (the paper having been found by Ed DeLoach) addressing the interaction of thrustline and incidence angle and biplane stagger. Charles Groth s Optimization of an Electric Propulsion System considers the basic parameters of an electric model and shows optimisation for an E-36 model. This concludes the Theory section and the Practice section of the Sympo picks up the same subject with Electric Motor Systems for Free Flight Scale by Stew Meyers. This article concentrates on specific motor, prop, battery and timer combinations for FF scale models. Bob Perkins article Field Dimensions and Free Flight Competitions is a detailed analysis with maps of flying in different wind directions on the AMA flying field at Muncie, considering such aspects as the time taken to reach crops. An Accurate Approach to Modern Fl B Trimming is a joint article by Peter King and Mike Woodhouse. Peter gives various analyses of the settings on Mike s models and Mike also gives details of the jigs that he uses to make accurate measurements of incidence and thrust angles. In A Flight Log for Gas Models Dean McGinnes describes the obvious values of keeping a log of model settings, changes and performance. The next section of the Sympo is a series of three articles on Nostalgia Rubber. First Louis Joyner s Nostalgia Wakefield - a Historical Perspective describes the history of Wakefield developments during the nostalgia period and presents and discusses plans of five models. Nostalgia Wakefield: A Practical Guide by Don DeLoach discusses the NFFS Nostalgia Rubber rules and the candidate designs. Memories of the Nostalgia Rubber Era is an account by Bob Bienenstein of his memories of flying in the 1948 to 1956 period. A more general group of articles starts with NFFS and the Future World. Paul MacCready describes his early interest in free flight and how it helped in his later development of a great variety of flying machines, made all the more significant by MacCready s death in August after the Sympo was published. The Flying Aces of Smyrna, Kid s Style is Tim Lavender s account of encouraging children into free flight.. In a similar vein Dale Whifford describes Ten Years of After School Model Airplane Classes. Finally, author David Mills reviews the history and development of NFFS in Forty Years and Counting. The awards section has the 2007 Models of the Year edited by Bill Booth, Jr. There are plans and details of: F1P Astrostar 404 Terry Thorkildsen & Terry Kerger F1G 2007 Coupe Jack Emery Moffett Rogue 2 Bob Bienenstein F1K Accorte II Graham Selecik AMA Gas Super Marval Marvin Mace Finally there is a special award to Free Flight Quarterly. Steve Bruno chaired the selection of nominees for the NFFS Hall of Fame, awarded this accolade to George Batiuk, Gil Morris, William Nakashima, Jim O Reilly, Lin Reichel, and Eugene Verbitsky. The 160 pages of the Sympo conclude with President s Report by Rex Hinson and biographical details of authors and editors EUROPEAN INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS 2007 A personal viewpoint by Bob Bailey (results were published in September FFn) Preparation Most work was devoted to improving the VP props for the lower ceiling sites. Prop spars were made more flexible to give plenty of prop flare together with softer springs to slow down the climb rate. The VP unit held the prop at maximum pitch for a long time and gave a slow climb for 15 min plus. The models had suffered for many years from an intermittent problem with stalling on getaway under higher torque. Two suspects were eventually identified tailplane fin area being probably marginal and the slim wing posts used to decrease drag. All tail fin areas were increased by about 30% but I believe that the primary cause was the wing posts being of marginal stiffness. No getaway problems were experienced at Belgrade, thereby justifying the belief that this problem has finally been solved most gratifying! Some testing had been carried out at Cardington using 1/3 length motors to speed up the process. Unfortunately the conditions in the shed varied so much, even during a single session, that good assessment of flight results was very difficult to achieve. The low ceiling sites (Impington and North Weald) gave more consistent conditions and less turbulence, and this was a valuable asset. The Contest The site was extremely hot (up to 39 deg C) to which our team alone was totally unused since such temperatures do not occur in UK. The heat caused problems for everybody with the rubber; breakages in flight were frequent. The temperature in the roof was probably 40 deg plus; I recollect that during the days of motor heaters for F1B, 40 deg C was commonly regarded as a critical temperature at which the motors were liable to explode into many fragments. Two consecutive test flights on full motors on the practice days (which were probably the hottest), resulted in strand breakages late in the flight. My hope of running these in for the contest did not materialize!

3 Indeed, the F1D International highlighted the problem; it was strange to see more in-flight breakages late in the afternoon when the air up top was probably at its hottest. I believe that the harder the motor was wound, the higher the chance of breakage later in the flight. Consequently I was very cautious in terms of how hard to wind the motors; certainly I have been able to get many more turns on the same motors in our normal conditions at home. I experienced no in-flight breakages during the contest; admittedly it had cooled down to a mere deg C! The rubber I used was July 99 Tan 2; the May 99 I had was so unreliable that I abandoned it for good earlier in the year after at least the second attempt! The hall itself has a ceiling shaped like the inside of an oak barrel and there was a very small region of perhaps 20m square where maximum height was available. The available height drops rapidly towards the sides and especially towards the corners and this was the downfall of many promising flights. During the contest, drift and the ceiling profile made steering extremely difficult. As soon as the model drifted more than a few metres, the available space between model and ceiling suddenly became very small indeed. I was never able to get the maximum height due to the drift and I was by no means alone in this! The drift took models in all (and usually unpredictable) directions during a single flight and constant vigilance with the balloon was required. There can be no doubt that this hall is a difficult site in which to fly well. Unfortunately, the available good flying area is sufficiently small that it was generally accepted among those present that it is not large enough for a World Championships. My flexible prop spars caused an unexpected problem. On 2 contest flights, the balloon line caught the prop on the tip, bent the prop so that it jammed under the wing leading edge; instant death for that flight. This problem showed up without any warning; I had steered the models many times during preparation without difficulty. On the 6 th round a mid-air collision caused the same problem for a third time. I chose not to rewind the same motor for the reflight due to the heat (wrong?) since I considered that there was insufficient time to allow it to rest before the end of the round (less than ½ hr). The motor used did not take quite so many turns, and the final attempt narrowly failed to improve my score. I must thank Derek and Mark for being so willing to give me the best chance of placing well individually, and thereby lessening our chances of getting team gold. However, the Hungarian team put in a far more solid performance than in 05, so that retention of Team gold was a tougher challenge this time. Our team spirit was first class under Nick Aikman s leadership and all our helpers did a great job. My grateful thanks go to one and all. I found it very hard to believe that I had come second individual; far better than I could have expected, particularly as it could all so easily have changed on the last day. Lutz Schramm certainly was a very worthy winner! As a footnote, I have since investigated the prop jamming problem via the model used in the Championships and have found a simple cause; a reinforcing web in front of the LE at the dihedral joint provided a perfect ledge on which the prop blade can rest when there is sufficient motor torque. Such is life! NEWS FROM BMFA FF TECH COMMITTEE Calendar The 2008 calendar is now nearly complete and will be distributed in the next few weeks. It is essentially the same as the 2007 calendar with a few minor changes plus a rearrangement of the team selection process which is detailed separately below. Big Tent at the R/C CL Nationals This event proved to be a great success. There was a great deal of interest in Free Flight both from the existing aeromodellers and the public in general one particularly interested visitor was the Mayor of Lincoln. John Cuthbert and his team of helpers produced an excellent show and deserve the thanks of the whole Free Flight community for their hard work. Hopefully we can continue the success by repeating the exercise next year, and, follow up the seeds that have been sown this year. Team Selection After receiving a considerable amount of feedback on the proposed reduction from three meetings to two, the decision has been made to retain the existing structure of three meetings. The scoring method and the entry process will however change. There will now be a single event which will be spread over three weekends with scoring being on total time at the end of the third weekend. There will be a maximum of 7 rounds per weekend with no minimum number of rounds required. One round at each weekend will, If possible, be to an extended max of no more than 5 minutes. Flyoffs will be held, if needed, at the end of the third weekend. Pre-entry will be required to the BMFA office, the closing date being 21days before the first weekend. Entry fees will be 40 for one class and 60 for two or more classes. Late or field entries will be accepted at double the above fees. An entry form will be published in due time. Those who flew the team selection events just as a separate contest, with no wish of being selected for a team will not have an event denied to them as there will now be an additional opportunity. The East Anglian Gala in midsummer will now incorporate FAI classes and these will also carry three BMFA trophies. Rule Changes for 2008 Other than the change to team selection, detailed above, proposals were considered to permit pressure fuel supplies in the SLOP specifications, and to disregard burbles when timing IC engine runs. There was again considerable input received on both these proposals and after lengthy debate it has been decided to make no change. Thus both SLOP specifications and engine run requirements will remain as per the existing rules. A third proposal to reduce F1J engine runs (in line with the FAI rule change) to 5 seconds, and as a consequence, to also reduce the 1/2A power engine to 8 seconds was also received. The proposal was carefully considered and the decision has been made to accept it, the suggested changes will come into effect from January 1st Team Managers A Team Manager and Assistant Team Manager are required for the 2008 European Championships in Bulgaria. Would those interested please apply by the end of November to the to the FFTC Secretary Chris Strachan at 56 Way Lane, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9NQ. chris.strachan@btinternet.com RC/DT This subject has also been debated at great length and as a result numerous practical problems have come to light. The decision has been reached to continue to disallow its use for Many have pointed out that the FAI permit its use and that the UK should thus also allow it. However, this ignores the fact that nearly all countries have different permitted radio frequencies, different systems of sharing these frequencies in use and, outside the EU, even different equipment certification requirements. Consequently as the situation stands now we (the FFTC) are not in a position to resolve any of these problems in time for the 2008 season

4 Nonetheless we have set in motion a programme to resolve these difficulties by the start of the 2009 season. Whether this resolution will allow dedicated RC/DT equipment, conventional RC equipment or both is not yet known (hence the programme). However, the intention is to seek to permit RC/DT usage for all Free Flight classes, FAI and domestic from the start of Space Modelling Those uninvolved with the contest side of this discipline may not be aware that it has quite a lot of connection with Free Flight, both from a technical and organisational point of view. As a result of recent negotiations between the FFTC and BMFA Council, and also prompted by the successful hosting of the Space Modelling Championships at the 2007 Free Flight Nationals, it has now been agreed that the FFTC will become responsible for the contest side of Space modelling. This does not mean that the FFTC will be organising contest Space modelling that will continue to be done by FAIR (the FAI Rocketry group). But, there will be some shared meetings between the two disciplines and a FAIR representative will sit on the FFTC who will approve FAIR s actions. Distribution The FFTC has now combined a number of lists for the distribution of this news, and other notices. This should ensure that as many fliers as possible receive urgent news. If you d prefer not to be on this combined list please contact the distributor Trevorgrey@AOL.com. In addition if you know of anyone, not already listed, who would like to receive this news and any other FFTC notices please pass the address on to them. If you are having any reception problems please make sure your correct address is logged with the distributor. The current issue of FFTC News, together with back issues and other notices and items of interest, also appears on the FFTC Web site: FREE FLIGHT BIG TENT 2007 By John Cuthbert With the kind permission of the BMFA and organisers of this year s Radio Control and Control Line Nationals the free flight fraternity were invited to exhibit and demonstrate what is happening in free flight today. The original idea for this emanated from the Free Flight Technical Committee some two years ago. The thinking behind this project was to show to the aeromodelling masses that free flight still exists and has a vibrant and diverse competition structure. Something we have not been able to do since the split of free flight from the main Nationals some 25 to 30 ago. The main Nationals, with an estimated attendance of 20,000 enthusiasts presented us with this unique opportunity. What was needed was a volunteer to undertake this project. At the last minute I was approached by the F.F.T.C. to take this on as no one had come forward. Despite having little spare time and with the possibility of the project not getting off the ground I accepted the invitation and planning started immediately. Several free flighters had indicated their willingness to help with the project, which gave me a solid starting point. My initial thoughts were to have as many models, from all aspects and disciplines of free flight, on display. Also equipment to demonstrate how we construct our models, part built structures, uncovered airframes and the tracking devices we use to locate our models when retrieving. I ordered a 30-foot square marquee, tables, chairs, table covers, ropes, stakes, display boards, electric power and TV/Video unit from the BMFA. At This point I would like to thank David Phipps and Manny Williamson at the BMFA for their help and support throughout this project. It was most appreciated. Next step was to source as many different models as possible. These were to include free flight scale, indoor, Bowden Trophy, electric powered, beginner s models as well as vintage, open, SLOP and FAI models. In all some 40 models and much ancillary equipment were displayed. Everything displayed had its own caption board to inform the public of what they were seeing. I also needed a pool of volunteers to man the tent over the three days to engage the public and show and tell. An excellent video, produced by Tim Nicholson, showing the 2002 European Free Flight Championships, held in Hungary, was continually played in the tent. This gave an insight into how FAI contests are organised and attracted much interest. Other goodies such as T shirts, Forum and Jack North books were offered and sold which raised valuable monies for the Team Travel fund. The exhibition was set up by myself and Paul Fynn on the Friday. Paul also attended on all of the three public days and I would like to publicly thank him for his sterling efforts. For without him the event would not have happened. Many thanks and well done Paul. It was so hot in the marquee on that Friday! Many of the models were hung from thin, strong lines in the roof of the tent and gave the impression of flying. Others were placed on the tables for the public to get a closer look at and to ask questions. So, was it a success and what did it achieve? Judging by the comments at the event and since then the whole thing was an unqualified success. Comments like the best display at the Nats and this should be done every year and why has it not been done before were commonplace. The BMFA staff have been very generous in their comments and I have been told that the event was discussed at the Full Council meeting with similar favourable responses. The volume of visitors to the tent, particularly on Saturday and Sunday, was overwhelming, being sometimes 5 or 6 deep. The guys who manned the tent were so inundated with questions from the public, that some of them stayed all day, although I had suggested they stand only for 2 hours maximum due to the heat. Many had lost their voice by the end of the day. A great effort by all concerned. Without doubt many, many people are now aware that free flight still exists and is very healthy. Will it encourage new free flighters on to the flying field? Certainly some were heard to say they would like to start flying again. So we must wait and see. What I am sure of is that we must do this again next year. It only needs an organiser to come forward, and I will be more than happy to offer as much advice and guidance as is required. It was hard work for me, but very rewarding, and I am pleased I took on the project. Finally I would like to thank the following people who manned the tent and provided models and equipment for display: Peter Watson, Mike Fantham, Stafford Screen, Ian Middlemiss, Nick Bosdet, Gerry Ferer, Celia Tribe, Terry Dilkes, John Carter, Brian Spooner, Dave Clarkson, Steve Barnes, Martin Gregorie Also the following people who provided models and equipment: Chris Edge, Bill Dennis, Richard Wilkes, Chris Strachan, Mike Woodhouse, Martin Dilly, Tony Wilson. CORRESPONDENCE From Peter Watson on Free Flight Big Tent at RC+ CL Nats: Having spent a fair bit of time in the F/F Big Tent, I would make the following observations. John Cuthbert had obviously done a great deal of work coordinating, and setting up the display. There was a good selection of all types of F/F models ranging from Scale,Vintage,Classic,Open,to FAI, plus a variety of ancillary equipment. There were always 3 or 4 experienced free flighters manning the display. The attendance at the Nats was huge, and a large number of visitors passed through the tent. They were mainly R/C sports flyers in the 50 plus age group. They were genuinely interested in the exhibits. Some recalled their own free flight activities of many years ago, others were fascinated by the contents of a

5 modern F1A fuselage, a carbon D box wing, Trackers etc.. One chap went misty eyed on seeing a Dixielander on display. I realise that this was not conceived as a recruitment event, but none of the people I spoke to expressed any desire to become involved in competition free flight. The main reasons being, nowhere to fly within reasonable travelling distance, plus too old/unwilling to chase after models. They seemed quite happy flying their R/C sports models locally. I would be most surprised if the exercise results in 1 convert to competition free flight, and if there were, I believe we present a poor image. If the hypothetical new flyer actually found us, he would likely see some frantic, apparently disjointed activity, if the weather was good, or a number of huddles behind cars, quite possibly arguing about the rules, if the weather was bad. Even amongst fellow modellers we present as a cliquish, minority activity. Would anyone actually devote their time to welcome, encourage, and mentor a newcomer?.unfortunately I do not have an answer to the recruitment problem, but I do feel sad about the vast amount of knowledge that is not being distributed, and will not be passed on. The Free Flight 'Big Tent' did provide good, if transient, entertainment, and interest, for many. EIFEL POKAL, ZÜLPICH, GERMANY, AUG 30 - SEP 2 F1A 83 flew 1 A Van Eldik NED R Holzleitner AUT G Aringer AUT G Bachmann SUI R Kreetz NED V Croguenec FRA M Rigault FRA M Roossen (J) NED D Schulz GER Y Kraus ISR M Van Dijk NED B Van De Kerkhof NED J Zarins (J) LAT S Cesbron FRA I Kreetz NED M Herwig GER M Kosonozhkin RUS W Herwig (J) GER G Bernard FRA C Marquois (J) FRA 1125 F1A-Junior 14 flew 1 M Roossen NED J Zarins LAT W Herwig GER 1133 F1B 62 flew 1 O Kulakovsky UKR K Leissner GER A Zeri NED V Rosonoks LAT I Zilberg GER R Seifert GER M Woolner GBR R Trumpf SUI V Vivchar UKR G Marquois FRA A Vivchar (J) UKR P Seifert (J) GER I Vivchar UKR S Stefanchuk UKR G Willemsen NED V Urban CZE D Paff GER P Monninghoff GER W Feijth NED V Gopp GER F1B-Junior 9 flew 1 A Vivchar UKR P Seifert GER T Mackus LTU 1167 F1C 12 flew 1 R Truppe AUT G Aringer AUT U Glissmann GER R Hegenbart AUT P Maurer SUI 1308 SISCIA CUP, SISAK, CROATIA, SEPT 7-9 F1A 30 flew 1 R Koglot SLO T Horvath (J) HUN P De Boer NED R Baric CRO M Butkovic CRO V Jeno HUN T Jusufbasic (J) BIH L Kis-Pal HUN 1188 F1A-Junior 5 flew 1 T Horvath HUN T Jusufbasic BIH 1193 F1B 21 flew 1 V Tomljanovic CRO D Sokolic CRO K Jusufbasic BIH H Jusufbasic (J) BIH I Kolic SRB D Slokar SLO W Ehrlich AUT 1231 F1B-Junior 2 flew 1 H Jusufbasic BIH 1248 F1C 11 flew 1 D Jermol CRO R Truppe AUT G Zsengeller HUN L Patocs HUN K Jusufbasic BIH P De Boer NED 1175 BULGARIA CUP, PAZARDZIK, BULGARIA, SEPT F1A 23 flew 1 C Kargin TUR V Varuskivi FIN J Valo FIN M Bordjoski SRB Z Nikolovski MKD Y Olgun TUR M Tica SRB D Zulic SLO 1185 F1A-Junior 4 flew 1 N Bardarov BUL B Nedev BUL 216 F1B 13 flew 1 I Kolic SRB I Yurtseven TUR V Tomljanovic CRO T Valchev BUL V Savov BUL 1044 F1B-Junior 3 flew 1 P Mihaylov BUL M Savova BUL 275 F1C 11 flew 1 D Zulic SLO N Nikolov BUL I Goranov BUL B Bardarov BUL T Goranov (J) BUL 639

6 BMFA EAST ANGLIA GALA, SCULTHORPE AUG P30 7 flew 1 C Strachan Biggles T King Impington G Peck Cleemac K Norton Grantham S Willis Croydon G Cutting Clemac 4.07 Vintage Glider 10 flew 1 C Foster Moriey G Peck Cleemac J Howick Vikings C Strachan Biggles T King Impington P Tomlinson Vintage Rubber 8 flew 1 G Kent Biggles C Strachan Biggles S Willis Croydon P Amould Vikings B Taylor East Grinstead G Cutting Clemac 6.09 Vintage Power 2 flew 1 R Wykes Timpertey C Foster Moriey 7.00 SLOP 4 flew 1 D Clarkson Timpertey B Spooner Croydon T Dobson Timperley C Foster Moriey 6.59 Kit Scale Duration 3 flew 1 C Strachan Biggles A Train Clemac M Staples Impington 0.51 Mini Vintage 12 flew 1 C Foster Morley C Strachan Biggles G Cutting Clemac J Leitch CM D Beales Croydon T Rushby Cleemac 5.30 Classic Rubber 2 flew 1 S Willis Croydon A Beales Croydon 2.30 Tailless 2 flew 1 C Strachan Biggles S Willis Croydon 4.08 Classic Power 4 flew 1 F Rushby Clemac T Dobson Timperley R Wykes Timperley D Clarkson Timperley 2.30 Classic Glider 6 flew 1 C Foster Morley C Strachan Biggles D Truluck Vikings T King Impington P Tomlinson C Peters Vikings oz Wakefield 2 flew 1 P Jackson Epsom B Taylor East Grinstead oz Wakefield 2 flew 1 M Howick Vikings D Beales Croydon 1.28 Bowden 3 flew 1 B Waterland Peterborough 86 2 T Wilson Peterborough 79 3 G Hannah Impington BMFA 5TH AREA CENTRALISED, SEPT 16 Combined Rubber (Plugge) 37 flew 1 D Neil B&W-A C Chapman B&W-A D Davitt Morley A G Pink B&W-A S Willis Croydon G Ferrer Timperley A D Beales Croydon A R Peers Grantham A J Foster Morley A J O'Donnell Timperley A K Taylor East Grinstead R Marking CVA-A R Bellamy CVA-A R Sparrow Timperley A J BiIIam Grantham A B Horsley Grantham A 6.12 Comb Team Rubber Farrow's Shield II 12 teams flew indiv score team score 1 Bristol & W A D Neil C Chapman G Pink Timperley A G Ferer J O'Donnell 7.04 R Sparrow Morley A D Davitt J Foster 7.21 G Beal Grantham A R Peers J Billam 6.22 B Horsley East Grinstead K Taylor G Stringer 5.00 R Taylor 4.45 F1A SMAE Glider Cup 13 flew 1 M Gibbs B&W J Carter Grantham C Foster Morley P Tribe B&W DCox Crookham G Peck Cleemac 5.17 F1J/BMFA 1/2A (Plugge) 7 flew 1 P Woodhouse Morley J Godden Morley C Foster Morley S Church CVA F Chilton Crookham C Hickmott Morley 2.00 SLOP 2 flew 1 D Limbert Morley J Thompson Crookham 7.05 E30/CO2 4 flew 1 C Strachan Biggles A Shepherd P Tolhurst Hayes T Grey MFFG 5.21 Venues Ashdown (South East) SW wind 15mph+ poor direction Barkston (Midlands) Blustery and turbulent SW wind 12-15mph - generally sunny Beaulieu (South) 55F SW wind mph - rain Church Fenton (North) No Report Merryfield (West) Overcast, strong & turbulent wind Mount Huly (North East) No Entries W-SW 25mph gusting to 44mph - 68F - light showers Sculthorpe (East Anglia) No weather report Newbigging (Scotland) No flying - poor weather - continuous rain - 15mph wind Rufford (North West) No flying - poor weather

7 Plugge Scores to Sept 16 1 Morley Croydon Grantham CVA B & W East Grinstead Vikings MFFG Birmingham Cleemac Timperley Tynemouth Biggles Crawley Crookham Impington 107 BMFA Senior Championship 1 C Strachan S Philpott 28 2 C Foster R Sparrow 26 3 P Ball P Woodhouse 25 4 T Payne J Billam 23 5 S Willis C Chapman 23 6 T Grey J Godden 23 7 F Rushby S Screen 22 8 P Watson J Cooper 21 9 J Carter D Limber G Peck J Bailey M Benns S Barnes J O'Donnell R Peers 18 BMFA FIRST TEAM TRIALS, BARKSTON HEATH, SEPT 8-9 Report by John Cuthbert (CD) The first of three trials to select a team to represent Great Britain at the 2008 European Free Flight Championships in Bulgaria were held on the weekend of 8/9 th September 2007 at RAF Barkston Heath. The weather forecast was generally favourable with light winds and broken sunshine but with a deterioration towards the end of Sunday, which proved very accurate. The contest commenced at am on Saturday. The planned am start had to be postponed due to a wind shift from NNW to a more northerly direction. Although the direction was to remain variable in the light winds, I set a max of 180 secs with a stated intention of an extended max at the end of the day if the weather co-operated. First off was F1A (30 min round) and the air was clearly tricky with half the entry failing to max. There were near misses from Andy Crisp (171 secs) and Pete Tribe (176 secs). This was immediately followed by F1B (30 min round) with all but three competitors maxing. It was good to see Pete King back on the flying field, particularly after his recent setback, but he proved to be a little ring rusty and missed the max by 5 secs. Next up was F1C with a disappointing entry of only 5. I realise that I am partially responsible for this situation but my decision to stop flying F1C is final and all my models and equipment are with new owners now. There were maxes for Alan Jack, Pete Watson and Stafford Screen but the difficulty of the air was indicated by drops from Roger Baggott (113 secs) and Kenny Faux (154 secs) who both picked severe down after good climbs. The rest of the day continued in a similar vein and with no breaks in the 30 min rolling round schedule I was able to complete 4 rounds by 6.00 pm. This left sufficient time to consider a further round with an extended max. Unfortunately the wind direction had changed back to a more NNW direction that would have resulted in the models leaving the field quite quickly and going into trees and large buildings. Due to the variability of the wind direction I decided to delay a decision but by 7.00 pm the wind direction was not co-operating and remained in a NNW direction so I abandoned the 5th round to the next morning at 9.00 am with a plan to hold an extended max then. At the end of the first day there were full scores for Mike Cook, John Carter and Chris Edge in F1A. Mike Woodhouse, Mike Woolner, Ray Jones, Russ Peers, Dave Greaves and John and Adam Billam in F1B. Adam is the younger brother of our current Junior World F1B Champion, Daniel, and is clearly following in his footsteps. Such a pity that Daniel was not able to join us this weekend. Let s hope he returns for the next two trials. F1C had the same three flyers that maxed the first round with full scores. Sunday greeted us with a light westerly wind (2-3 metres per sec.) and bright, warm sunshine. I set a max of 300 secs. for all three classes and it was clear from those doing last minute check flights that there was some lift about. F1A started promptly at 9.00 am. and most of the competitors were soon circle towing and some launching after a few minutes. First impressions were that the air was helpful but the air appeared to deteriorate after about two minutes, which resulted in some near misses. One of these was Chris Edge who was thermalling well but the air decayed and he eventually landed 3 secs. short of the max to ruin his full score. John Carter had his model loop badly on launch and stall out of the good lift that Andy Crisp had found. John s resulting flight of 124 secs. also ruined his full score and put him out of the running. Andy continued to produce the best flight of the round for an easy max despite D/Ting at 20 secs short of the max because his timer would only run for 4 mins 40 secs. Why? Mike Cook produced a max to maintain his full score but he was the only one left with a full score. Next up was F1B and the tricky air continued to have a significant effect on the outcome. First to launch was Mike Woodhouse, but a miss set timer resulted in a rudder stuck in the power setting and a left turning model in glide. Despite picking air more than good enough to max under normal circumstances the resulting off trim flight of 239 secs put paid to his chances. This appeared to knock Mike off his stride and he failed to max the last two rounds also. Next to fly was Russ Peers. On his own and 10 mins into the round. The air was not good, despite Russell s interpretation of his thermister and having quote, the best rubber I have on board he was down at 214 secs to severely dent his chances. Half way through the round a gaggle of flyers launched into a good thermal. These included Dave Greaves, who maintained his full score and also Mike Evatt and Peter Martin who also maxed. John and Adam Billam flew from the far end of the line but did not centre into the thermal. Flights of over three minutes resulted but this also ruined their full scores. While all this was happening Mike Woolner waited on the line fully wound. Despite observing the thermal he delayed his decision to launch. This proved crucial and the eventual flight on the back of the thermal gave him a sub max score of 208 secs. Last to fly was Ray Jones who had been paying meticulous attention to his Fuzeev thermister. He waited to near the end of the round to launch. His climb was off trim and not high, but the air was good and he eventually maxed easily. So this five minute max round had reduced the full scores to just two, Dave Greaves and Ray Jones. The only casualty of the F1C round was Stafford who flew early and on his own. A slight right launch and poor pull out was compounded by bad air and he was down for 175 secs. The rest of the seven rounds reverted back to 180 secs maxes. The only significant change was in F1B where Dave Greaves, needed to max the last round to force a fly off with Ray Jones. He picked poor air along with his worse climb of the weekend to score only 115 secs leaving Ray Jones the clear winner with the only full score. The two clean flyers in F1C, Alan Jack and Peter Watson continued to max to produce the only fly off, although there was a tie for third place in F1A between Andy Crisp and Pete Williams who both dropped 10 secs only. Their decision was to share the third place. No such thoughts from the two F1C flyers who both wanted to fly off. It was now 2.00 pm and the conditions were deteriorating with a stiffening breeze but still thermally. The forecast was for a mph wind by 6.00 pm, when hopefully thermal activity would be significantly reduced, was not appealing. Also a seven minute max would be required. After discussions between myself and the two participants we decided to hold the fly off at 2.30 pm. The plan was to have a one minute round, seven minute max, and I was to try and pick the worse air I could find when both flyers were ready. I was confident I could achieve this after

8 many years of picking poor air when trying to pick good stuff (particularly at Champs.) The Plan worked perfectly. Both flyers launched together at the start of the round into some of the worse down you could hope to see. Peter Watson only managing 160 secs from a great height with a geared model. Alan Jack, also flying geared equipment, had a slight left launch which took the model 300 metres to the left. Although only two thirds of Peter s height and stalling slightly he was in less poor air and flew for 228 secs for first place. Both models were recovered quickly enabling the prize giving to take place and an early start home for everyone. Good result. 6 rounds flown to 180 sec max and 5th round to 300 sec max F1A F1B Name Secs Pts 1 R Jones M Cook D Greaves C Edge R Peers = A Crisp M Woolner = P Williams A Billam (Jnr) P Ball J Billam A Jack P Martin = J Carter M Woodhouse = P Tribe M Evatt D Oldfield B Martin K Best (Lady) P King M Dilly N Cliff N Bosdet G Kent S Darmon B Spooner F1C 1 A Jack P Watson S Screen R Baggott K Faux BMFA SECOND TEAM TRIALS, SALISBURY PLAIN, SEPT F1A F1B Name Secs Pts 1 P Martin A. Crisp R Peers P. Williams B Martin P. Ball M Woolner C. Edge M Woodhouse M. Dilly D Greaves M. Cook N Cliff J. Carter M Evatt T Nicholson C Chapman P. Tribe R Jack F1C 11 A. Jack A Jack D. Oldfield S Screen W Colledge P Watson S. Darmon R Baggott Total team points for first 2 trials F1A F1B A Crisp R Peers 70 2 M Cook P Martin 68 3 P Williams D Greaves 59 4 C Edge M Woolner 50 5 P Ball R Jones 50 6 J Carter B Martin 45 7 M Dilly M Woodhouse 37 8 P Tribe M Evatt 33 9 A Jack N Cliff D Oldfield A Billam (Jnr) 20 F1C 1 A Jack 95 2 S Screen 75 3 P Watson 70 4 R Baggott BMFA F1E RESULTS Results for May 20 not yet received June 3 June 10 1 S Philpott S Philpott D Bartle B Horsley I Kaynes D Bartle J Pope I Kaynes R Sutton J Pope B Horsley R Sutton 232 TIMPERLEY GALA, BARKSTON, AUG 19 Report by Dave Clarkson, CD Despite the bad weather forecast, the weather at the contest start time of 10am was OK with a southwesterly breeze and cloud. Late morning it rained a bit and then turned into almost perfect flying weather, warm with sunshine and a very gentle breeze. It was easy to max in this and many did, leading to expectations of large flyoffs. However at 3pm it rained again and the weather changed to a stiff northwesterly, cold and wet, Those who had not maxed by then were in trouble and that is how the results show. For the flyoffs at 6pm the wind direction meant a big control move to the east end of the compound. The low cloud base and murky light made things difficult for all. In the rush immediately after these flyoffs to give out the prizes allowing everyone to find their models and go home the CD completely forgot about the Trophies. The prizes as is now traditional at the Timperley Gala were good with Chinese Dremels for 1st place, 8x30 German Binoculars for 2nd and Diamond sharpening Boards for 3rd as well as bottles of wine. Many said that this is the best of the Club Galas and we will make sure this is the case next year. One bad note was that the civilian security staff were very keen that we were off by 7.30pm despite our licence saying 9pm. In fact they locked the entrance pole down leaving Trevor Payne s van on site. Trevor returning with his model had to walk to his bike and then cycle to his van to load up and leave. Fortunately the exit pole still worked but this situation will have to be resolved. BMFA Combined Power 10 fl Vintage 7 flew 1 T Payne C Strachan F Rushby R Wkes = S Barnes = A Beales = A Welcer = S Willis = V Willson 7.30 BMFA Glider 10 flew Coupe d Hiver 10 flew 1 C Foster D Davitt R Heap M Marshall C Peters R Sparrow 6.00 BMFA Rubber 11 flew, 3 flew off 1 G Ferer P Ball J O'Donnell PAISLEY TROPHY, NEWBIGGING, AUG 19 Report by Jim Arnott As forecast, the morning rain cleared at lunchtime and the stiff Northeast wind reduced through the afternoon to be flat calm for the fly-off. There were eleven entries. Under the old allin-open format of this event, Open Rubber models were the weapon of choice. Now as an all-in-combined event, Power models took the top three places. Having fallen on his Flying Pencil during a retrieve, Allan Brown flew a Gloworm in the flyoff. A good climb was followed by a downdrafted glide for a disappointing 2:52 time. However this was enough for a comfortable win when as Jim Arnott sent his San De Hogan away on a rich four stroking motor run which would have been more suitable for a sports cabin model. 1 A Brown Flying Pencil/Gloworm 7:30 +2:52 2 J Arnott San De Hogan 7:30 +1:23 3 J Eland Dixielander 7:24 4 B Duncan Loner 7:12 5 T McLaughlin Dixielander 6:40

9 BOURNEMOUTH CLUB CLASSIC RUBBER, M. WALLOP, AUG 27 Report by Martyn Pressnell Once again this proved a marvellous weekend at Middle Wallop, the Metcheck weather forecast for Monday estimated winds at 7/8 mph from the north, with a little cloud and a good deal of sunshine, temperatures climbing to 20 deg. C by midafternoon. Indeed this is how it was, giving rise to spectacular thermals with many models climbing away to be lost, including my two Last Resorts. Certain flyers asked me if the event could be staged next year on the Sunday, because Monday flying finished at 3.30 pm and they felt the Club Classic event merited a full day s effort. Of course this may mean moving something else, but it is up to anyone so wishing to make this proposal to the organising committee via Mike Parker please. As CD my job was again very straightforward, having chosen a 2min 30 sec maximum, it resulted in eight being eligible for the fly-off, in a field of eighteen contestants. No streamers were permitted for any event and having made this clear none were seen in use. Thanks to everyone for a good clean fight. Club Classic Rubber proved to be a well-supported event with seven types of model represented. Jim Baguley s Last Resort was the most popular model with five entries, followed by three Marcus, three Tripsticks, two each Boxall and Yardstick, one each Mentor, Winding Boy and Urchin. There was a very clear winner in Jack Foster (photo) taking the honours a second time in this event. Congratulations, and many thanks to all for supporting Club Classic Rubber. 1 J Foster Tripstick M Turner Last Resort A Longhurst Marcus G Kent Tripstick J Taylor Last Resort E Tyson Last Resort C Chapman Last Resort CRANFIELD CLASSIC, NEWBIGGING, SEP 2 Report by Jim Arnott A turbulent 15 mph wind rolling over the upwind trees and late barley crops in line downwind caused the event to be restricted to three rounds to a two minute max from a 10 sec motor run. This proved difficult enough with none of the five entries managing a full score. 1 E Baxter-Jones Gloworm OS15 5:09 2 J Arnott La Bestia PAW249 4:53 3 R Sabey Ascender CS Tiger 4:51 4 T McLaughlin Lucky Lindy OS15 4:40 5 G Blair Lucky Lindy OS15 3:24 OXFORD MFC SEPTEMBERFEST, PORT MEADOW, SEPT 23 Report by Mike Kemp During my early morning drive to this venue, I saw a beautiful sunrise in misty surroundings which appeared to bode well for this annual event. Unfortunately as the sun rose and the mist cleared, the wind got up and its southerly direction was towards the car park and houses. The wind was to further stiffen during the day so the max was set to 100 secs with any fly offs run on the basis of model must land in the field to count. The first flight of the day was made by Andrew Longhurst in the poorly supported Coupe event which maxed which was a good start for him as he went on to win this event and Tailless. Gordon Beal was the first to complete his seven Vintage HLG flights which included the only max of 1 min in the event. However, he was gradually overhauled during the day by Peter Tolhurst, Steve Brewer and the eventual winner, Ted Hopgood Lightweight Rubber produced a three man fly off and Chris Strachan s Scram landed just in the field to beat Rod Green s Parham and Vic Willson s Buckeridge. Combined Vintage and Classic Glider showed that with a breeze it is not difficult to get these old design models to tow up but as has been remarked before, even with 100m lines, it is hard to max out with vintage gliders. Winner Geoff Smith (Hyperion) and runners up Chris Strachan (Chili Hatchet) and Gordon Beal (Dovoran) all dropped a flight. Combined Tailless had three entries (all rubber powered models) and both Andrew Longhurst and Vic Willson maxed out leaving Spencer Willis as the unfortunate one to drop a flight. In the fly off Andrew s higher climbing model beat Vic s. HLG was comfortably won by Steve Brewer who needed only 5 flights (that included a max) to beat Oliver Tolhurst and Geoff Smith. At the prize giving, bottles of plonk were given to the winners with Flitehook vouchers to the runners up.as we left, the mist started to descend on the field and we were left in no doubt that autumn was upon us and yet another year of Oxford MFC events on Portmeadow had come to an end. Comb Vintage & Classic Glider 7 flew, 3 x 1 00sec 1 G Smith Hyperion C Strachan G. Hatchet G Beal Dovorian T Clark Seraph P Michel Thor P Tomlinson Mygan 150 Comb Tailless 3 flew 3x100 Coupe D Hiver 2 fl, 5x100 1 A Longhurst A Longhurst V Willson J Payton S Willis 186 Vintage HLG 6 flew 7x1 min 1 T Hopgood Hugelet S Brewer Hugelet P Tolhurst Dingbat G Beal A Thorn Hugelet G Smith Dingbat 114 Lightweight Vintage Rubber 6 flew, 3 x 100 sec 1 C Strachan Scram R Green Parham V Willson Buckeridge P Tolhurst Senator P Norman Senator A Thorn Skyrocket 70 HLG 3 flew, 7 x 1min 1 S Brewer Tolhurst G Smith 103 F1E Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia, Sep Liptov Cup,September 15 F1E 40 flew 1 I Treger SVK V Zima CZE J Orel CZE F Doupovec CZE M Popescu ROU E Mang AUT J Filip (J) CZE R Sifleet USA N Heiss AUT W Dziuba POL J Matisek (J) SVK S Bochenski POL F1E-Junior 11 flew 1 J Filip CZE J Matisek SVK M Sowa POL