1.  World Champs Notes
2. Old and Odd Stuff from the World Champs
3. Sportsman, gentleman, leader - Mr Kangegawa
4. Personal Note plus SEN at the World Champs
5. Tom Coussens on the F1A World Cup
6. Rabbits - encore
7. Best Russian factory ?
8. Best one man team ?

World Champs Notes

Where we are now

We have finished F1A and F1B, two new Woprld Champs and F1C is into round six as we write this. F1A day was a little windy at times buts the weather has been very good. New do have the results that will appear in an up coming SEN but there is almost a real time on the organizer's web site. Probably faster than it is displayed on the field.

Odd and Old Stuff the World Champs

During training day Randy Secor put an F1C in a tree, or rather the F1C D/T itself into the tree. It turn out to be a big challenge to get the model down with out damaging so Randy climbed the tree, disassembled the model and passed the parts down avoiding damage – see the Tiffaney O'Dell you-tube video.

More Tiff you-tube tree action of Blake Jensen getting Alex Andriukov's F1B out of a very tall, very prickly tree after the F1B flyoff.

Apparently Lindy Murrell was christened Queen Manager by the timekeepers and she was the only female Team Manager [for New Zealand] at the event.

What difference a second makes the Aussies were beaten out of 4^th place in F1A by the Brits, by just one second, the amount that the Oz team manager, Vin Morgan dropped in the F1A event to keep him out of a max out.

Blake Jensen was overheard to say, “I may regret saying this but I'm going to run a US Finals or a World Champs one day just to show all of these guys how to do it right”. Right on Blake and I want to be there when you do it. Because you are an F1B guy, you know that the serious F1B sportsman likes to get to the event an hour before the start to set up and do a test flight. I think most contest organizers are glider flyer who think that moving poles means picking up the tow reel and telling your helper to walk a few yards. Moving a stooge etc in a much bigger deal.

Sportsman, gentleman, leader – Mr Kanegawa

As we all know Japan has a suffered a number of natural and related disasters recently and so the Japanese decided not to come to the World Champs this year. Japan has a number of trophies, most notably, the most famous of the all the Wakefield Cup. The Japanese Aero Club was not able to find a shipper that would get the trophies to Argentina in time for the events. While we would have all been very understanding under the circumstances, Shigeru Kanegawa took his responsibilities and obligations as the Japanese Team manager very seriously so took a “quick” round trip flight to Argentina to hand carry the trophies. Only about 40 hours non-stop for the trip Japan, Argentina-Japan..

Personal Note plus SEN at the World Champs

You will have noticed that we have not been posting information during the World Champs. This is because we have been very busy flying, the organizers and others have been very prompt in posting the results and the WiFi access in the hotel we are staying at is very spotty. SEN relies on the participation of the readers to share information. At the Champs many people have told me how much they appreciate reading it, some outside of the USA even like reading about the USA team selection process. Those people say their own nation is just as confused.

My friend Paul Lagan has asked me a number of times in the past to fly with him on the New Zealand team. I was born in New Zealand and have dual nationality. This year I decided to fly on that team and help my old friends and Model Flying New Zealand, the association that introduced me to aeromodelling many years ago. The team presented me with a copy of the New Zealand Model Flying competition rules dated 1965 that someone found in a second book store. It turned to have been mine! and had inside my and my brother's association membership card ! Fron 1965 We [me and the Queen Manager] were very pleased to help Paul and Chris Murphy in the current champs. We practiced with Paul at Lost Hills at the Fab Feb and got him to have a training session with Igor Vivchar so we were very happy to see him make the 7 minute fly off round. I was disappointed to drop the last round myself but Russel Peers and an I should know better than go after young Ukrainian ladies, she made it and we didn't!

Tom Coussens on the World Cup F1A

Hey Roger!  Squatter checking in!

The USA Fly-Max-Win guys' view on the World Cup on Monday:

This is Squatter's view of the World Cup and how F1A went down.  It was a
contest like I haven't seen.  Thus follows the drama and tension of one tiny
corner of the contest!

Arrived at 0800 for an 0900 start, but the place was completely socked in.
We just followed the cars in front of us, lemming-like on dirt tracks
through the fog.  Finally burned off to start the first round at 1010 and
revealed a beautiful area, with long sloping hills to the west and the lake
to the south, and crystal blue skies.  Calm but quite cool, drift not
discernable.  The fliers stepped up to the line on 24 poles, with the USA
team starting at pole 21. The colors and languages, and technology up and
down the line were more than varied!  It was a sublime journey to walk along
and see these folks, all bonded together by free flight.  Oh, our
governments aren't on speaking terms? Oh well, how's your ship doing?
Enjoying your stay?

1st Rd - Brian towed up first, same order as WC plan, and went to NW and
launched within 5 min and dropped.  It was pretty clear that location was
the Isaacson's Hole of Embalse. I walked out with Jim as he strung out and
Hector held the ship to launch.  We began our routine, like a couple of
golfing buddies, just walking out, observing other fliers, conditions, etc.
He towed up and started nosing around, as I stood about 30M away, calling
traffic and what the other fliers were doing upwind, as I would do the rest
of the contest.  A marker launched and Jimmy positioned and zinged his long
ship to a beautiful max.  Great start!  Don't recall how Sifleet did.

2nd Rd - Brian once again towed up the instant the round opened, like a good
first-slot guy should do.  Found a strong thermal and maxed.  Jimmy found
out how tough towing could be: even though it was cool and weak, his model
ran downwind and he nearly towed in as if it were a hot day at Lost Hills.
Bob had the same problem and towed in twice for a zero.  Light breeze
started out of the northeast.  About that time I saw my first low-drag
airfoil launch: Roland Koglot of Slovenia just zinged it straight up, and it
climbed and climbed.  Jaw-dropping amazing.  But even so you could still
tell if he was in good lift or not, and sometimes it was marginal.

3rd Rd - Brian was tracking a monster thermal that originated halfway down
the line but launched a bit too far east and dropped.  Jim engaged the
wheels and ran down a large gaggle in a strong thermal and maxed way high,
but the radio DT failed, so the ship DT'd at 3:40 and gave Bill Booth a long
chase.  Jim decided to use a short-wing ship and ground-tested the RC DT and
it failed also, but the reason was obvious.  When the processing guy affixed
the sticker on his stab, he partially covered the actuator arm slot, and the
arm actually caught the edge of the sticker!  Surgery with a No. 11 Exacto
corrected the problem, and he flew it.

4th Rd - the breeze died a bit.  Brian towed to a nice high max, Jim had a
bit of trouble centering the lift when launching, but the ship noodled
around and found a nice piece and went up and out.  The breeze picked up
again, and when Bob towed up, his ship ran and unlatched low, but was hit by
a towline, so he got to refly.  He straight towed up, but was a bit early
and missed the core, dropping 1 second!

5th Rd - Breeze picked up markedly, and never relented after that.  Brian
maxed, but Jim towed in, and then did a reflight for a max.  Bob got another
model and the wind was so strong that the ship did a giant loop and
recovered low, thus dropped.  Stamov towed in twice, the second after a
really bad line tangle.

6th Rd - things got really ragged.  Stiffer, cold breeze.  Brian towed in
and went back to his box to repair/assemble another ship.  Jim strung out,
but while we were walking out the ship DT'd.  Rather than hassle it and
trouble shoot during the round, he switched to a windy-weather ship.  While
he was assembling it, Brian towed up and after a harrowing downwind run that
had the whole USA team gasping and "oh no"-ing, managed to recover and
launch to a max.  Jimmy returned to the line with the windy ship, but the
trim was biased to the outside and he struggled mightily getting it to
circle tow.  We were downwind of the line and I was calling traffic when I
heard a terrific CRACK - Stamov EXPLODED a ship on launch!  Both tips off
and fluttering away, stab in at least three pieces, mylar fluttering in the
breeze.  Spectacular!  But what was left of the ship started looping and
continued for at least a minute!  Figuring it must be pretty good air, Jimmy
launched in it for his highest flight yet - a very expensive fluffy...

Bob looped again for a drop.

7th Rd- Wind really stiff.  Brian towed in.  Jimmy towed in! Bob got it
right and bunted the ship nose high and maxed.  We were at Pole 3 near the
cars, watching a streamer pole next to a Brit who was also watching the
streamer.  Suddenly the Brit launched but was in trouble immediately, and he
remarked that he launched too early.  Jimmy took that seriously and towed up
and it was clear at the first circle that he was in lift.  He got it around
and zinged it for a solid max.  So the two golfing buddies walked back to
the line, clapping each other on the shoulders, happy as heck to get an
eighth flight.  14 out of 62 maxed out, including all three Slovenians with
the low-drag airfoil ships.

Waiting for the fly-off at 17:40, Sergey Makarov wowed the crowd with a
perfect, spectacular launch of his flapper.  Kind of a Russian version of
psyching out the competition and selling his wares!

All too soon, we're stringing out for the fly-off at pole 3.  Jimmy was
still flying his windy ship with the mechanical hook.  A Brit comes walking
out to the line from the cars and starts chatting with us and asks when the
fly-off starts and Jim says we'll be flying in about three minutes.  The
Brit reacts instantly and says something like, sorry mates, a little slow
here, and we all cracked up!  Jim's plan is to tow up and hope the lift
generator at the cars that had been working all day would give him something
and the low-drag guys would sucker into it and launch late and drop.  My one
job was to start the ten-minute timer, and I take that very seriously.  The
round starts and the Ukrainian and another guy promptly tow up and lose
control - bonk.  Jim has a clear shot and tows up and starts downwind.
Immediately the ship runs on him and he gets way downwind, such that plan A
is out the window.  Now we're watching the re-flights upwind and he's
struggling to control the ship.  The upwind guys launch, and just as he's
setting up, I hear him yell, "oh no!". The leader has tangled around one
foot and he can't launch.  I see it and sprint for all I'm worth as he sets
up to try to circle while I try to untangle him.  I can't get it done before
he has to run again, so I tear after him again.  Amazingly, I manage to free
him up on the second try, and tell him he has 90 seconds.  In the distance,
a ship blows up on launch.  But Jimmy's in lift!  He circles two more times
and launches a great launch, grabbing the ball of twisted line as a handle.
A roar goes up from the line!  And sure enough he climbs out for a max!

So the fly-off is tomorrow (Wednesday), ten guys ready to go.  It doesn't
get any better than this!

Tom your input , and you son Ben's is always welcome. We were glad to see you in Argentina and we saw you catch that D/Ting F1C before it hit ground and got Soy bean stalks in it's whats it.

Rabbits

We don't have to worry about the Swedes or others who bring their flapping rabbits as we can bring in from Wyoming the famous Jacklopes!!  With the earls of the jackrabbit and the speed of an antelope they will be unstoppable as flappers.

Bob Piserchio

…

Bob I was already corrected on the field by the Texans about the Jackalopes, so I'm glade to hear they are really from Wyoming.

Best Russian factory ?

Great, So at last we will be able to find out who is the best Russian manufacturer!   Bring it on.   Go for it Mikhail Kosonzhkin.  you can do it !!

Nick Bosdet.

Nick .. Mikhail was not in the Russian team and looking at the Champs results it is hard to argue with Titov's success !

Best One man team ?

Looks like the Dutch have the best record for one man teams – Both Antoon van Eldik in F1A and Pim Ruyter in F1B made to the last fly-off round, with an army of thermal pickers and ftechit mites to help. Must be the Orange.

...............

Roger Morrell