On Sunday we will fly the last F3J competition this year so a small session on a local field with my Perfect was todays task. I flew 3x 15min and conditions were almost too good. Had to break down as the thermals was strong in higher altitude and more exciting lower. Winch was set up for 150m to the turnaround as I think we will do on Sunday (we are shifting towards 100m to conform with the new proposal from Tomas Bartovsky). Tool today was my "Superlight" Perfect with extra stiff spar.
DAY .. 29.august 2007
-
Kobra DS
Winds picked up so maybe a session of heavy DS
with my new Kobra DS? YES. Beitostølen here I
come. The wind was up and down because of some
rain clouds but the conditions were super and my
new Kobra DS got its money worth. No bending, no
flutter, no braking - just plain simple extreme
speeds. I would guess the top speeds today were
around 150mph so no record braking but the model
did get real testing because it was turbulent at
times. Going thru the share layer in 100+ mph
does something to most models but it seems this
one does not care. The wings are heavy thereby
making it pretty stable and also with the weight
distributed the load in on all the model not
just in the centre. So far I love this model and
will take it to any condition anywhere. The deal
is to have a model you are not afraid will
break. I have some video but have not had time
to make some webvideo out of it.
DAY .. 26.august 2007
-
F3B Cup at Spydeberg.
This years last F3B Cup event and we have only
National Championship left in this category.
Only 8 pilots showed up but the best came as
always as they say ;) Very difficult conditions
today with lots of thermals but also heavy sink
and all starts were either downwind or sidewind.
I arrived at Spydeberg late yesterday and woke
up early for 3 flights with my Ceres 2,8m that
had yet not been on the winch... I was so
confident about it that I used it in the
competition also. Needed some more adjustments
during the day but generally it performed well.
I still need to check the launch settings but I
am nearly there I think. The model is picking up
speed very fast and is easy to fly in the speed.
In duration I mostly flew it in neutral but
figured out during the day that I needed to
adjust the camber according to the air I was in
(as most models). But it flew well in neutral
and except one duration when I did a tactical
mistake I had no problems finishing the full
10min task with this 28m/2,3kg model... Most
pilots did some early turns today including me.
I think most were eager to get a better speed
time in the very bad conditions. Always
interresting to fly at the Cirrus airfield in
Spydeberg because it rarely produces very fast
times. I ended in 2nd place after a thrilling
last duration against the winner Arnfinn Lie. He
was low after 6-7min but managed to get enough
to just beat me on the total.
Results HERE -
Vingen report
DAY .. 25.august 2007
Phototesting with small UVA at Espen's
place. The plan was to do a photo mission on
North west coast for Hydro but the weather was
supposed to be bad. Anyhow we needed to do some
testing so we found a inland hill with lots of
turbulence from nearby hills. The UAV managed it
very well and with downlink with GPS and height
(and a lot of other measurements) we managed to
get lots of good pictures. The model was very
stable in the turbulence and could be launched
even downwind. The model is electric powered and
can be flown from 15 to 60 minutes depending on
weather and battery onboard. In just 3 flights
(5, 10 and 5 min) we could manage more than 200
pictures and both straight down, 45 degrees and
90 degrees to the hill. All of them making a
pattern so we could stitch them together later.
DAY .. 24.august 2007
Ceres 2,8m on the slope. At WC F3B this
summer I picked up a used Ceres 2,8m prototype
that is not in production anymore they say. But
I was curious and brought it out on the slope
yesterday and today for some testing. It seems
to be a good model after I have tweaked it a
bit. I also tested the Seax on the slope but was
not as happy with that. Exactly as Gjermund told
me it was not designed for F3F.. I did not
believe that until now ;) Today me and Espen
Torp visited Reve in Stavanger a place the
upcoming National championship F3F will be held.
Espen flew the new bigger Ceres and Jan Eric
Klausen flew a Accacia (he
took the picture of me throwing). Weather was
excellent with the wind coming almost straight
in at 6-8m/s I think.
Later in the day me and Espen went for some
testing of a small UAV outside his house just as
the dark came upon us.
DAY .. 23.august 2007
On my way to the west coast I stop by
for a photoshoot kind of. My new DS model was
ready and we all know a DS model does not always
last.. so better take some photos ;) This DS
model is built to last "anything". Remember the
Kobra from
Samba model? Well we have redesigned it a
bit. This first one out of the moulds offers a
unique heavy layup that does not use any
rohacell, balsa or such. We dont want anything
to delaminate so it is solid! I dont know of any
model that has ever used so much carbon/glassfiber
in a wingskin ever. It also offers the biggest
F3B joiner that is out there and it just fits
this 2,52m model. The all up weight is just were
I hoped it to be at 3350g. It was maidened in
5-7m/s winds (probably around 10 if you measure
just at the edge on this slope as it is steep)
at the west coast together with Rolf Inge Waaga.
One might think a 47,9dm model on 3350g is a
bullet on the slope in these conditions but it
performs well and is smooth to fly on the
frontside even though the layup was not intended
for F3F. Collecting height was not a problem.
Entering the DS side gaves some answers. Rolf
Inge flew a RaceM and had to bail out now and
then and same did I with a Ceres 2,8m (more on
that model later). But the
Kobra kept on going picking speed all the
time. With 5-7m/s we did not get any ballistic
speeds but got a good feeling for how stable and
safe the model is. I expect I finally got a
model that will NOT brake apart in the air no
matter what turbulence I fly thru!!! Ok I might
brake some servos but the model will still fly
;) Cant wait for some heavy DS conditions! Dont
expect a cheap model but expect the heavy layup
and easy flying DS model you have searched for
;) Hopefully it will be in sale very soon in a
shop near you!
Teaser video
of maiden flight (16mb .wmv). Too me this
model hopefully is the answer to what I want. A
model that I dont have to be afraid will flutter
into pieces. Lets see after a few sessions back
home on my favourite slope!
In the evening I took some pictures of the
family cottage Rolf Inge have by the water.
Lovely place. Earlier on the day I also took
some photos of a waterfall with my Joker2 heli.
DAY .. 20.august 2007
Next week I will go to the west coast
for a photo mission so I had to test a smaller
camera for a electro sailplane we will use. The
mission is to cover 1x1km with pictures and the
pictures will be taken at 200m altitude mostly.
The test showed I got what I needed ;) Test was
offcourse made with the helicopter. That is a
worse environment than the sailplane.
DAY ..
18-19.august 2007
-
Ørebro Open F3B
Eurotour
On the way home I went by the Ørebro
Open and had a nice weekend. 6 pilots from
Norway attended and I got to be the best
Norwegian this time in 10th place. It was
difficult and most people lost it in the
duration while I lost it mostly in the
distance... Dispite some rainshowers (they were
short) we had a warm and sunny weekend in Sweden
and the event was well organized. A few issues
as all events but nothing to mention. I flew my
Skymax4 to a couple of good speeds on 16,7 and
17,1sec and two not too good (18 and 20
something if I remember correctly). Model works
well for me and its all up to the pilot it seems
(as always). The Germans were ruling the show
basically but they can be beaten. We just have
to fly more competitions!
NEW
Detailed results -
Pictures by Magnus Hedlund
Left: Ceres... Right: Helpers
Left: Martin Webershock, winner and speedmaster.
middle: CO kids tent is difficult to pack up!!
Right: Finnish solution for no helpers on
turnaround.
TV4 was there. Here talking to Joakim Stahl.
Right: podium
DAY ..
11-12.august 2007
Hollandglide - Updated
20.august
A few more photos from Hollandglide and
the trip towards Ørebro Open F3B Eurotour.
NEW
There is also a video from the eyes of my son
Fredrik 10 years.
Look HERE
(10mb .wmv)
And from Magnus Hedlund
Video from Holland Glide -
Pictures from Holland Glide
Airtronics gears. double ball bearings. Nice
colours in Holland
Jojo with a new lady? Nice sky btw...
Jojo and Esibatir. Jojo and Fredrik in Liseberg
mirror room. Fredrik in Legoland Atlantica
Fredrik's new camera gives some strange colours
now and then. Cool this one though
DAY ..
11-12.august 2007
Hollandglide - Updated
15.august
Finally a Eurotour again and I enjoy
this community so much. So many cool and nice
people and again I flew with the Czech guys. I
got all the help I needed and Jane is back in
business as a pilot. I think she would perform
well on Norwegian level... If it had not been
for a overfly she would have done pretty well
landing 100 most of the times. I got to be jury
member this time and had plenty to do since
there were some issues with the timing gear and
other stuff. The F3J organizers really need to
understand that the only way to time is with
either a PLS or a MP3 player. The system looks
nice but when a computer runs the clock it
sometimes stops or make mistakes so one needs to
run whole groups again. This does not offer the
normal "reflight" rule with the better score and
might strange to some but by the rules. Good
info is needed when this happens. In the bigger athlete
sports they only use computers to run the
boards. Not for official timing! Myself I did
well with 4x9:54 and 100p landings + my
throwaway a 9:53 95p landing. I was "only" 7th
after prelim but entered the finals with good
margin and now I did not want any 2nd or 3rd
place... So as I felt a thermal pass thru I went
for a 1,5s start and went straight downwind and
found it. It was not super strong and my spotter
(Jane) kept telling me that the pack found a
thermal on the left side. Sadly I never took
time to see that they were actually close to me
leaving me with a thermal that died out. I
found one coming home but had to relit after
landing out. In the landing I think I was really
close to the signal and in the second landing
several were (Thomas were after for sure). This
is what happens with human factor. As a pilot
you are so concentrated that you might do this
mistake but it is offcourse because one took a
large risk.
Philip Kolb ruled this Eurotour also and won his
5th this year. Big congrats. Hope you can stay
happy and have fun as usual during the European
Championship next week. Some pictures by
Vlastimil Vostrel with my camera.
Hollandglide is a great event for many and not
for others. It offers a large site on a military
base and this time camping on a large camping
nearby. Great camping and the saturday barbeque
is good if you like to bring your own
chair/table. I did not think of this but were
saved by some nice local guys. On Sunday we (my
son and me) tried a pancake house nearby and it
was cool and cheap. Recommended next year if it
is not too crowded. Catering on the field were
nice if you had preordered. If not you will stay
hungry. Maybe bring a catering van next year?
Personally I would be back next year if I get
the chance to go. 144 pilots entered and we
easily managed 6 rounds even with 2 hour delay
sunday morning. To fly 15 in each group is great
since they have the space for it.
Awsome weather - awsome 15 pilots each start at
Hollandglide 2007
Finalists to the left and winners to the right
Left: Philip's last landing. Right: Junior
winners (one Turkish stand-in ;)
Jojo funny - Jojo throwing himself - Jojo
receives his price
Jojo throw - Jane running with Jojo's model for
relit
DAY .. 8-9.august 2007
First stop for me and my son was
Hanstholm in Denmark and meeting up with some of
the Norwegians that were there on holiday. I
camped beside the Pihl family and was treated
super with breakfast and dinner. Thanks!!! We
flew a bit on some slopes though the conditions
were not great. I flew both my Skymax and my two
Pike Perfect's. The Perfect is actually
performing well in poor conditions on small
slopes since the model is turning so thight. One
can really stay on top of the slope all the
time.
DAY ..
4.august 2007
Rockfestival went well even though it
was cloudy/rain and darker than I would have
wanted. Got some good pictures anyhow and you
can
see them all HERE. I was using my Joker 2
(electric 10cell lipo) with Nikon D50.
DAY ..
2.august 2007
Tomorrow I will do a photo mission for a
festival nearby (
www.vinjerock.no ) so I needed to check the
helicopter. Took a photo of the nearby building
of apartments and my new car.
DAY ..
2.august 2007
-
Pike Perfect
Got home a new Pike Perfect in a special
Jojo'2 version. It is pretty light and dead
stiff wing. This will hopefully make it a better
launcher than a soft floater. We were hoping for
a super light (1950g) with dead stiff wing but
2080g is also very good (CG at 112mm for calm
weather). It is very little color and everything
is light yet not a SL since we have wipers (one
can save 8g on each tip just by using tape
instead). Got 6 flights on it today and tuned in
all I need for a morning flight at Hollandglide
next week...
