DAY .. 29.september 2009 -
Perfect ET TK
The nearby club Lillehammer had a Tuesday
practice day so me and Fredrik went over for
some flying and also pick up some gear they
borrowed. I flew my Pike Perfect ET TK LR (or
whatever letters you want throw at it) some more
and had a good time with short tows and
difficult conditions. The field is at high
altitude and the cold weather made the thermals
small but fun. Fredrik mostly was in the car
complaining about cold but I am not the one
pushing him to fly ;) Stig Magne "flutter" Olsen
was there and helped some juniors to fly until
he fluttered the model and it was put aside. Per
and Stein Marius Pedersen are eager than ever as
they are both on the national team next year.
They got some quality time and it was great
seeing that Stein Marius (junior) fixes the
planes himself. That shows power and
understanding! No pictures sadly as I forgot.
DAY .. 27.september 2009 -
Kobra DS
Today we were set for that DS slope again and
though it did rain some we found some sunny
minutes and some heavy winds. Beyond 30m/s today
and it was difficult just to get up on the slope
and getting the model out. Very turbulent on the
backside and acceleration out of your mind!!
Thomas as a newbie to DS had problems finding
the model on the camera monitor so mostly
watched behind a large rock (clever..). Rarely
do I fly this fast and I did not use my normal
duct tape on the wing.. that resulted in that
the wing finally came out slightly and I lost
aileron control on the right wing. Managed to
land it and it went fairly well. The turbulence
had shuttered some pin allocation but it is easy
fixable. A wonderful day and weekend might I say.
Thanks for the visit Thomas.
Video
HERE (10mb .wmv)
DAY .. 26.september 2009
- Pike Perfect JK
We did go to Beitostølen for some DS or slope
flying but up there the rain was pooring down.
Kjell Arne Kleiven also took the trip over the
mountain but we ended drinking coffee instead.
After giving that up we went back to the farmers
field in the valley and flew winch untill the
sun came down. Thomas had a Tanga F3B and an
Aspire that needed some setup. I flew them both
a bit and they flew as expected well and we got
them well on track. Had some difficulty getting
the elevator on the Tanga set for speed but I
guess some time on it for Thomas will solve
that. I flew both my Pike Perfect ET and the
Predator. Wind was 2-8m/s and lots of thermals
in the beginning of the day and then it was
sparse.
DAY .. 25.september 2009 -
Pike Perfect JK
Got a friend on visit (Thomas Lorentzen) and I
went to a local field to set up the winch and
check out a new midsection and rudder for the
Pike Perfect ET. The midsection is a slight
different way of producing the wing of the Pike
Perfect and Samba wanted to know if it could
take full launches. The rudder is a larger one
that Philip Kolb and Murat Esibatir makes "home"
in Turkey. Took a lot of launches in 4-8m/s wind
on 400m line. I also dived further down than I
normally do and heavy elevator input up again.
The midsection seems fine so I think they can
start full production of that. The large rudder
was as expected an asset in tight circling low
to the ground. I flew it with ET tips and
standard joiners. Not sure it helps on any other
areas but I did use less throw. (thanks for
making me one guys). I also used the new JR378
on flaps and I will certainly say that is the
most slop free, fastest and strongest servos I
have used. Thumbs up if they can stand the
abuse. They do hum a bit but that is ok by me
(and is not humming if the linkage is completely
free). Thomas also came
after a while and flew his Pike Perfect. I also
flew the Sigma on the winch but there is some
crack in the joiner that makes it bend a lot.
Some of the pictures this weekend by Thomas.
DAY .. 24.september 2009 -
Kobra DS
Testing out a new midsection for my Perfect or
flying DS? the choice was easy when the winds
picked up again. It was calm home but in the
mountains the winds ruled and I took out my Pike
Kobra DS. 16-22m/s is just cool when the sun is
out and the backside is turbulent ;)
Video HERE of today's action (27mb .wmv)
DAY .. 23.september 2009 -
Sigma
A while ago I received a F3J model called SiΣma
II from
Rcrcm.com. The model have 3,7m span (3,1m
also available) and fuse is 1,63m long. The
flying weight is given to 2,4kg but mine ready
is a good bit more. Wings are fairly light for the
size so it is in the fuse they can save a lot.
The winds have been high so I had no hopes of
flying it today but it was not as much as
expected so I threw the model out on my local DS
slope. Immediately the elevator needed to be
trimmed a lot on the elevator and later checking
shows a preset elevator on 2deg incidence. I
ended on 0,4deg with the CG I started with today
(sounds almost spot on with my calculated CG
then).
Wings are not very stiff but I still took the
model on the backside since they are fairly
torsion stiff and the conditions were not super.
Aileron and elevator reaction is good and the
model tracks well on the rudder. Could be better
effect on rudder throw but will check when I get
on the winch. Today's first flight shows it flies and have no obvious bad
habits that
jumped upon you. Stalling it just made a very
soft and nice drop of the nose. Large elevator
input also worked well with no wing drop. I will
give the producer input as the flying continues.
Right now the model is pretty and quality is
good for the eye. All parts fitted well. Fuse
and elevator is very stiff. Too stiff... less
material, lighter pushrods and some other small
tech stuff will fix that. Wings are soft in
bending but good in torsion. A better spar
material might fix that. Joiner looks good but
needs some attention in the middle part. All
things that might come with time and progress of
the model. Not a top competition model yet but
have potential.
Video is HERE (24mb .wmv)
DAY .. 19-20.september 2009 -
Bovec Alpine Cup - last
Contest Eurotour 2009
I was not to be there but when Jaroslav of Samba
model said he could pick me up in Vienna I found
some cheap flights and jumped down Europe for
this last contest of F3J Contest Eurotour. I had
heard a lot of nice things on this contest and
especially that it was beautiful scenery. And
indeed it was. Even the last part of the trip
going thru Italy and entering the mountains was
great. I spent the weekend in a tent and that
was ok since it was still good temperatures in
the night. The days were hot and sunny. They
said it was difficult to fly here and it was. I
had maximum luck on the matrix draw and did not
fly any really early or late flights but the
conditions changed all the time so that was no
guarantee at all. Most of the best pilots had
entered to snatch some late points in the
Eurotour and in fact the top 9 positions in the
Eurotour were all present. Because of the high
number of good pilots there were never any easy
rounds so short launching and late/accurate
landings had to be performed to even sniff at an
fly-off place.
My times
HERE
I think the organizers did a good job and
especially I liked that they tried to speed up
yet still waited for pilots not ready. At the
same time they did start a round when the prep
time was over. They did have a few snags that
even affected me but I think they learned from
them. The European Championship F3J in 2011 will
be in Bovec so they are on track I think. There
was one thing that I hope will be better in the
future and that is frequency control. Pilots
have to understand that 2.4Ghz will improve
safety. I do like matrixes that makes people fly
against the most possible other pilots. But this
time one pilot sadly did not check his matrix
properly and the result was that Jaroslav had to
scream to ME that I had to move. I moved 2
meters and in the exact place I had been
standing a model punched into the ground.
Jaroslav might have saved my life! To have the
wrong frequency can in fact happen to many and I
understand why these things can happen. So no
hard feelings either to pilot or organizers.
The conditions in a valley have deserve a few
words. It was hot and the winds most likely came
across the valley making some waves and also
heavy sink. Thermals developed in the middle of
the valley mostly and flying the city was not an
option (I had heard other before I came here but
I think that is with other winds parallel to
valley). It was always some better areas even
when it looked like dead air. The finals were
done in "stupid air" and all pilots had very
short launches. In the first one my timer sadly
pushed twice on the clock so a reflight was
needed and that was done in the end. In the
second flight my flap got stuck 20m from the
landing and I could not get all the way to the
mark... I did score a 14:57,4 and a bad 85p
landing. Reflight was lastly and I did well with
14:56,6 and 98p landing with my spare model (I
flew my Pike Perfect SL ET all weekend but the
regular Perfect in the last flight). I learned
afterwards that with 100p landing I would have
been in 2nd place but that is how it is. I
learned again that my models have to be in
perfect shape. Old and damaged models might let
you down in the worst situation... Arijan
Hucaljuk (junior still) again showed amazing
performance and won the event. He deserved the
win. We also had junior podium, the Balkan Cup
podium for this event and overall, Contest
Eurotour prices/t-shirts and a lottery. Bovec
was a good event overall and if I can I will go
again. But next time I want to take that cable
car to the top of the mountain. The photos that
some of the girls took look great! And maybe I
will have a room in one of the B&B's...
A big thanks to all my friends in the F3J
community that smile when I see them and thanks
to Jaroslav that picked me up in Vienna and
provided both tent and lots of good Czech
friends to tow me in the competition. Also a big
thanks to Jan Littva and his friend for towing
in the finals. I had great launches. And off
course Sydney that took the time and gave me
water in the finals ;)
As a small recap of the season I am very happy.
Won the big one in Cyprus, 3 finals and one
podium of the 4 eurotour events I entered, won
the Nationals F3J and National Cup F3J, won the
Nordic Championship F3J, got 4th place in the
European Championship and ended as number 13 of
430 pilots in the Eurotour. Now there is a few
smaller events left here in Norway and hopefully
some winter F3J before next season. First major
event is probably the Istanbul Eurotour next
year. I must thank both Samba model and Nan
Model for their support this season. Lets hope I
can get some sponsors next season so I can
travel to more events.
Results HERE -
detailed scores groups HERE -
Other pictures in local forum (all 3 pages)
2 meters from dissaster - landing in between the
mountains
sun, sun and more sun - Small Philip and big
Tobias
Jan Vacha and Jaroslav - Flies - Jaroslav and
wife
Esra - Sydney and Brenda, My best UK friends
Manhardt get fed.. - Morning in Bovec
Bovec Balkan podium - Balkan Cup 2009 podium
overall
Eurotour first 9 places - Junior podium - The
most famous junior this time...
First 5 places from the left - Lucia gets
Belgian team and better half to work
DAY .. 12.september 2009 -
National Championship F3B
First day of this years National Championship
F3B is finished. Relaxed and nice this time and
with enough helpers to do the distance task with
4 pilots in each group. I fly my Skymax 4 and
Fredrik fly his Pike Perfect. Very long since I
flew distance and speed so a bit rusty so not
the best scores. But it has been difficult so
many have struggled. My son does not struggle.
He filled both durations. Flew his first two
speeds ever with 29 and 28sec and got two great
distance tasks. In the last one he got 17
against 18 and that was against pilots on the
National team. Cool ;) Jørgen Busk did the
fewest mistakes today and is leading with a fair
margin. 2,3 and nr4 is very equal in points and
in these conditions anything can happen. Alf
Erik had a misshap on an elevator servo not
working so lost round 1 sadly and Widar flew too
low over some safety area but no other incidents
during the day. We got hot lunch and barbeque in
the evening. Thanks to Cirrus and their helpers.
2nd day and final
day. It is a rush and one does get extremely
tired underway. Me and Fredrik was so "lucky" to
be alone as a team with 3 winches that needed to
be re-set each day and 3 models that also needed
to be ready. Fredrik got a notch in the fuse and
needed repairs and me I hit a stone when I was
going for a relaunch in the distance task. I
fixed Fredrik's fuse for the last round and he
got a super 25,1sec speed but was beaten in
distance hard. Maybe too hard as I was sure he
had 8 or 10 legs but only got recorded 6. I was
100% sure that he had more but you cant argue
the electronics eyh? Anyhow he also did a great
duration catching a thermal after launch himself
and almost taking it out. Myself I did not
bother to fix my Skymax since I got beaten so
badly in the distance with no relaunch so I took
out my Predator instead. It performed amazingly
well in the 10m/s wind and I got the best speed
of the round and had a good distance 4th round.
In the duration we were only me and the leading
Jørgen Busk and I had no chance with my heavy
F3F model but soared the tree edge for a 7:46 or
so.
Fredrik got the gold medal for juniors and I
jumped down to 6th. Not happy with myself but
Fredrik flies well in the very turbulent and
windy conditions with a model that is not really
meant for this task (Pike Perfect).
Jørgen Busk won the event this year flying a
Freestyler3 and deserved the win. He flew secure
and relaxed all weekend and had a good team. The
organizing was good and I was part of it making
the starting list and supplying some gear. They
had enough helpers and food was good. Something
that could be better? Always. But it is a good
step forward in F3B atleast to get more pilots
than previous years and manage to do the
distance. I think we need more pilots and 4 men
teams to fly distance. I also think we should
fly more on Saturday instead of stopping early.
We can let most helpers go home and fly duration
and maybe speed the rest of the day. In other
words make the best of the time available.
Official report and results HERE
DAY .. 8.september 2009 -
Skymax 4
In the weekend me and Fredrik will attend the
National Championship F3B. It has been a while
since I flew my Skymax 4 so I headed out to get
some flights on it. 2 duration rounds (both full
time 10min), 4 speed rounds and 2 distance
rounds with the fuse full felt good. It feels
like it has always done and I am ready. Launches
with ballast were all 260-287m in a 2-4m/s
headwind and that felt ok. Used 1,42mm pentagon
line today. As backup I have my Predator F3F.
Fredrik will fly his tripple carbon Pike
Perfect.
DAY .. 7.september 2009 -
Mini Fox
Up in the mountain to get some moose steak and
maybe fly some. Raining but the sum came out
late in the evening and it was nice to be out.
Fredrik flew his mini Fox and had some fun with
that. One does not always need the big stuff to
have fun. Next up is F3B Nationals next weekend
(Fredrik will also fly F3B for the first time)
and then Bovec last Eurotour in two weeks for
me.
DAY .. 6.september 2009 -
National Cup F3J
Guess what. My son won his first National Cup
event. the last event in the National cup and
part of the team trials for WC F3J in France
next year. I was also in the finals (6 of 17
pilots) but would rather spot for my son than
fly myself (I have enough points for WC anyhow).
And that son of mine won the whole thing after 3
finals. I am SOOOOO happy right now. And there
was even 3 swedes and an Australian flying in
the comp so no easy task. All day he launched
sky high and just cruised over to the treeline
and searched out the best air. This worked most
of the time and since Fredrik likes to wait with
getting over in thermal camber he had the good
speed for searching every time. We flew out the
first final and pushed the limit slightly
compared to earlier for a good score in
turbulent landing conditions. In the second we
had a good 10min flight and was sure of a good
placing when 2 pilots crashed circling very low
at a nearby treeline. In the last final it was
all sink so we decided to go down for a early
relaunch and go far forward and fly the front.
It was difficult for Fredrik flying partly in
the sun but he managed to get some good thermals
and go left/right as they passed (it was
becoming a bit windy). Most pilots relaunched I
think but never went the same way as us. Coming
home we flew some low level thermal overhead
that Fredrik spotted himself and that gave him
the extra couple of minutes to win it all. Yes I
probably played a good part of it but Fredrik
was on the sticks and were to be in the thermal
he feels well himself.
More:
http://www.f3x.no/f3j/2009/f3j060909_cirrus.htm -
Local newspaper article HERE
Fredrik ruled the finals! 2 finals and one
reflight of the finals
