Final day of Nardt Open

The day started with some faint thunder and a couple of dropplets. After breakfast and packing the cars, it really started to rain. Only thing to do, was to reverse the combi half way into the tent and off load our stuff.
In the background the Australiens had a mini table tennis competition going on, using tables a third of a standard width table. No wonder we call them mad hatters! But at least they all entertained us for a while. Craig used the opportunity to do some repair work, which he couldn't complete as the rain stopped and we were called out to set up our equipment.

We were still busy with distance of round 2, which I completed with a fairly low cloud base. Next up was speed for round 3, with Nigel up first. His run was smoothly flown. After that, it was my turn and I just wanted a clean run, aiming for a sub 20. Well, I got the height, got to base B and turning into base A towards me, I over rolled and planted the Ceres Lift into the ground at high speed. After the thud there was dead silence in the winch area. It had to be me, the first time at a worlds, making headline! It was actually gratefying to see that every pilot there in the winch area felt my pain. But, these things unfortunately happen, and we just need to move on.
Michelle also had a good speed run, but Craig again faired best of our team.
The last task of the day and the Open was duration. Here we all did quite well, with Craig still outperforming us. Thanks to Craig, I was able to complete round 2 with one of his other Ceres.
Having completed the flying, it was back to bringing in all the lines and packing the winches close to our designated launch area for the worlds. At 17h00 the opening cermony was started, with the usual speeches and the flag parade. At one point it started raining quite heavily, leaving some individuals to source some umbrellas. Needless to say, some chaos was caused with some people migrating to other nations for protection.
A parachute display was arranged where the official flags were attached to the skydivers.
Unfortunately the rain stopped the rest of the planned displays, prompting us all to go back to the hotel for dinner.
At 20h00 I had to attend to the managers meeting, where a couple of things were discussed. The one that took the most time, concerned the German team, who requested 2 extra winches and batteries for their team. Reason being, that they had a full team of 3 seniors, 1 junior and a word champ to cater for. They argued, that they would use more battery power and more winchline, leaving the rest of the team disadvantaged. Apparently they had 2 extra winches and batteries at the last worlds in China, and subsequently requested the same. The majority ruled against that preposition. But in the end they got one winch and 2 batteries. Think about this and you will see what a discussion it can create.
Anyway, lets's see what tomorrow will hold for us, other than starting at 8h00.

First day of Nardt Open

The day started at 6h30 with loading the car, with all the charged batteries, followed by breakfast, so that we could still set up the winches and assemble the planes before the pilots briefing at 8h45. Needless to say, we should've arrived earlier, but good team work, made it possible to get Craig up into the air without a hick up.

Compared to yesterday, the day was a lot more managable, as we could take longer breaks in the shade. Yes, it was another scorcher of a day at 36 degrees.

Anyway, the competion ran like clockwork, as can be expected from the Germans. A total of 110 pilots entered this competion and one and a half rounds could be flown today. I guess the reason being that we flew until 20h00. I kid you not!

Since we didn't have a great deal of practice at this altitude, and with nerves running amok, Nigel and myself struggled somewhat in the first round. But then again we are flying against the best! Craig showed his class, by setting the pace early on in the speed run. Unfortunately condition changed to suit the other pilots after him. Michelle got to grips with her C model and also showed her class with good flying.
I'm glad to see an improved in the second round by Nigel, although we still have to complete that round tomorrow.

Let's see what tomorrow holds for us. The weatherman predicts rain and thunderstorms. May he be wrong, so that we can complete our 2nd and 3rd rounds.

To get the latest score updates, please see the F3B WM web page. Select Nardt Open, change to english and follow the selection presented.

Practice day

Today, was most probably the hardest day.

It started with a great german breakfast, which basically lasted the whole day. Yes we made lunch packs, just because we could as it is a cheap option.
At the field the hard work of setting up the winches started. It was followed by assembling the planes and then testing if the winches were to competition spec. This was all done in the open at 36 Degrees!! Soon we had to get crates of water to prevent any dehydration. Drinking 4,5 litres of water was not a problem today! When the model prosessing had to be done at 14h00, it was a welcomed shady experience. All the planes were passed, but we were still busy trying to test and set the winches.
By 17h00, when everybody started to leave, we started to get a couple of practice flights in. Craig took part in some planned distance practices.

At 20h00, this is when the sun is still shining here, we were PASTE and decided to call it a day. 12Volt batteries for the winches had to be carried back to the car, winches had to be secured from the elements and the planes had to be taken appart and packed into the car. Sweaty and most probably smelly, we decided to have dinner first and then unpack the car, charge the batteries and only then go to bed.

As I said, a loong and tough day!

Tomorrow the pre-comp will start, where 3 rounds will be attempted to be flown over 2 days. But I'll keep that for tomorrow, if I have not keeled over by then.

Travelling to Nardt

Well, the big day came and went. We all arranged to leave home at 15h00 on Wednesday the 31st of July for OR Tambo airport. I was the first to arrive, thanks to my lovely wife and children. To my surprise, our F3K team manager, Juanita arrived after me, with Nigel, Linda and Michelle and kids in close pursuit. Bob Skinner and family also made the effort of seeing us off. Many thanks for all the support, it is greatly appreciated.
The check-in went smooth, thanks to some very helpful Lufthansa staff. Especially those who made it possible to give us a waver on our oversized glider boxes.
The flight was long and tedious, although some slept the time away. It crossed my mind to wake them to find out how they can possibly sleep. Well I didn't. Arriving round about 5h30 in Frankfurt, we quickly arranged trolleys and moved towards the train station. Here we changed currency and had a bite to eat after the typically poor airplane food. Further we picked up some sim and data cards, which left us then with little time to get to the train to Dresden.
The ICE train did not disappoint and got us to Dresden main station on time. There we found a smiling and very happy Craig, who obviously missed his family and some familiar faces.

Heading to Nardt, we stopped over at Macdonalds for some lunch. Once again an eye opener, as here you see, that they have put in a great effort of going healthy.The self service on the drinks is also something, that we'll never see in RSA.

Nigel was fortunate, of being thrown in the deep end, by having to drive on the right hand of the road. As you can imagine, the wipers went and the door was nearly opened when he changed gears. I think Linda in the back was more nervous.

The landscape here in Germany is spectacular. Everything is very green with manicured farmlands and aligning forests. We decided to go to the the field, where we received our winches from a contact of Wolfgang's. With the rented batteries we went to the hotel. Upon our arrival we unpacked and soon our rooms were transformed into what looked like workshops.

For dinner we had a great meal, consisiting mainly of pork and beer. After that, it was lights out.

F3B WC just around the corner

Well, the preparations for the up and coming WC in Nardt are over, and only the last packing has to be done, before leaving for the airport on 31 July 2013.
As a first time team manager, I have to look back at the preparation to this event, only to realise that it could not have happened without the assistance of the old and experienced guard. Thank you to all of you, that have come to help at the practises, arranged all the certification, stickers, documentation and gave me a guiding hand. Yes, Craig was instrumental in twisting my rubberarm, for me to take on this daunting task, as some have referred to it. Well, I'm still awaiting the "daunting",  and that is besides the financial one!

Truth is, that we all share the same passion, and this is the one thing that keeps us all together. So, there should be nothing to worry about. I know we will all try our best and this will give us the enjoyment that we all crave.

My intension is to have a daily update on this blog during the World Championship, so keep a watch out!

regards
Jochen

F3B Qualifier 1

It is over a week ago since we had the first team qualifier for Germany 2013.

Having agreed to try and complete 6 rounds in one day, Craig, Nigel and myself arranged to be at BERG very early to set up the sites, hoping to get proceedings underway before 9h00. Having looked at the weather report on News24, it showed a 7kph SW wind. This was not a good idea, as discussions and alternate ideas pursued. In the end we had a look at "windfinder" which indicated a predominant NW wind. By this time we had to change the winch direction, leaving the sites in a westerly direction.

In the end, Evan our CD for the day, got the first round going by 10h00. The pressure was on, to get the 6 rounds flown. All 8 entered pilots were rearing to go. It was good to see Michelle and Dion back in the mix, after their one year sabbatical from F3B. Would they be a bit rusty? The question begged, how Rudi and Nigel would fair against the latter, after their 2011 WC in China. Jason our young gun, would always be someone to reckon with. Filling the other places were Wolfgang and myself. Well apart from trying our best and having fun, I think we would never have had a chance to crack it. Thanks to the great bunch of people, they made it possible for me to have a fairly competitive plane, namely the Argentinean designed and Chinese built TOBA. I had only managed to fly it the previous weekend and was very impressed, yet I hadn't enough stick-time on it. But F3b is not for 'sissies', so I just went for it, keeping in mind not to push to the limit. Tsepho was summonsed by Craig to fly the duration, since he needs all the experience he can get.

All went according to plan, until Jason had a bit of a hard landing, breaking the nose of his plane. He decided to give up during round 1. As the day progressed we were treated to a boerie roll and coolie for lunch. No, it was not a sit down affair, we had to get the rounds flown, since nobody wanted to come back the next day.

The next casualty was Wolfgang, who for some reason had picked up servo problems. Luckily there was no major damage. The wind was blowing precisely as we set up the winches, not too hard, just enough to get all the ballasted planes into the air. The speed runs were as always exciting. Evan got so excited with one of Dion's attempts that he messed up the time keeping. All he could utter was that the first two laps were done in under 8 seconds!! Needless to say, Dion had thermal setup instead of speed setup and so lost out on a good score. Michelle was also on cloud nine, and enjoyed the FOSA, but it was Craig the Cric who had the best time of  14 seconds.

Distance was a personal challenge for me, as I had great difficulty in calling, timing and counting. This is a women's job, I thought. Only they can multitask!!! The lack of experience however taught me, that a good stop watch can count the laps, provided you press for each lap completed.

Thanks to Piet, who did some changes to the light box, there were no glitches like in the passed. Even the timing device with time indicator that Herman put together for the upcoming WC, ran quite smoothly. Well, until the kids got hold of the micro phone and sang us lullabies!!!

Round four came and made me the next victim. The lack of knowledge, how long my batteries last, put the newly acquired TOBA smack bang to mother earth. Even the 2.4Mhz feedback, that the battery was going flat, did not leave me sufficient time to get the plane down in one piece. Luckily I could finish with the slightly battered TRINITY. Well there was a dispute that I was not allowed to finish the round with a different plane, but being in the bottom end, I think the other pilots opted to give me the benefit. Thanks Guys, and Nigel, sorry I pipped you in duration for that round.

After round five we all agreed that it was time to pack up. Although we didn't fly all 6 rounds, regulations permit that 5 rounds are acceptable for a qualifier. This time of year, the light seems to fade very fast, and indeed it left us in the dark scrambling for all our equipment. By 18h30, a whole 12 hours later we were all on our way home, extremely tired but satisfied. Another successful qualifier, thanks to everyone who took part, especially the helpers, giving up their time for a very demanding hobby.

Congratulations to all the pilots, especially Craig, who came first. For the full results see the MGA blog.

I hope we will see all of you in September for the next Qualifier. If there are any of you out there, who are interested in participating or helping at these events please contact anyone of us. We would greatly appreciate any addition to the pilot and helper pool.

Until next time, happy building and safe flying


P.S. my apologies for the lack of photo's, but there was not really much time to take any!

2011 Team trials

A shaky start from a first time blogger, but I hope to master this sooner than later, and that the reactivation of this blog will be a success in the near future.

Being selected together with Nigel Wilkenson to run the F3b soaring, as not the most proficient pilot, seems a daunting task. Yet I hope my passion for this adrenalin and technically challenging discipline, with the help of all the F3b junkies will see me through it. The deep end you might think, well I do! with having a WC this year there seems a lot to be organised and learnt.

Unfortunately this sport is not widely popular in South Africa. If we have 10 active or interested pilots, we consider ourselves lucky, leaving us to scratch for support in terms of helpers. So you can imagine, as a first timer, what we were up against.

The team trials should have been completed by the end of 2010, but I guess we all ran out of time. So we rescheduled to have it over the weekend of the 29/30 January 2011.

The final number of entries were 7, of which only 5 were serious of going to China.

Preparations started a week prior, sorting out score sheets, arranging sights, gazebo's and the all important buzzer system, which Nigel took upon himself to repair. I think he was seriously challenged with the time (very late nights) he afforded himself to sort it out. But in the end the buzzers all worked, and we are very thankful for his efforts.

Although the BERG flying field was selected earlier in the year, we took for granted that the grass needed to be cut. So alas, as we wanted to enter the field on Saturday morning, most of us drove passed the gate, since it has grown nearly completely closed. I was astounded that all the guys proceeded to unpack and set up their equipment. The grass was knee high and difficult to walk through and yet the only comment I got was, "we flew in worse conditions". A sigh of relief for my oversight! Luckily I packed my "panga" which was used to clear the grass around the winches.

The sights and buzzer system were set up, and our self selected ( maybe he was forced to stand in ) CD, Evan Shaw got things going at around 14h00.

My idea was to fly 6 rounds, splitting them up in duration and speed on the Saturday until 18h00, and the rest on Sunday from 9h00 to 12h00, to make it easier for our helpers, so that they only need to assist us on one day. Needless to say, I was informed that this would break the rules! Typical South African!! So we proceeded to break some more (not completing a round with the same plane)! But in the end we flew all 6 rounds with one throw away.

Everybody helped and filled in where it was necessary, for which I was very grateful. Running in the high grass had its tolls. We all suffered from cuts to the shins ( everybody wore long pants and even gum boots the following day), sore bodies ( the overnight rest was welcome) and some suffered severely with hay fever. But in the end everybody present, made it a success.

The scoring was done in the evening with a couple of hick-ups. And this is what transpired over the weekend.

In the following months we will be having practise rounds as preparation for the WC in China. I hope to see more pilots either participating or helping our guys in these events.

27 July 2009

Practice / final setup continues with the awesome weather. The winches were also calibrated today to ensure that they comply with competition (FAI) standards. With the “new” winch rules, the powerful (and very, Very heavy) batteries will need to be charged after every second launch. We understand that the WC organisers will have a power cable running the length of the flight line for this purpose & using the 20 amp battery chargers this should not take too long, but we will “wait & see”.

The practice day was good, but rather tiring – we (well, "me" in particular ) were still exhausted from the day before, the heat & humidity claiming the rest. Michelle fitted our her spare model & the rest performed lots of launches to assess the winches. Craig & Dion flew a number of distance laps to assist fine setting of the models for altitude/air density. Launch settings, etc. being compared & shared to ensure each model was optimal. The highly controversial finish of the new CL's are creating a definite edge for the distance & speed tasks over the other models, improving even further after applying the tensoids.

We were invited to our hosts house (think “Grand Design meets Ikea”) for a barbecue & some “real” Weis-beer, all overlooking their own massive flying field with lush ankle-high grass. We have reached the conclusion that we are in a flying paradise: walking distance to the flying fields, green grass as far as the eye can see, & great (no, read that as "brilliant") beer. After another busy practice/setup day we closed in for the night, with the intent of flying at 07h00 tomorrow morning for “dead-air” conditions & also allow time for the trip to the famous Red Bull Hanger 9.

Parting comment for the day (from Dion "Denny" Liebenberg): “you can see the planes better in left-hand rather than right-hand thermal turns”.

Parting comment from Tigger: "damb clutch was not were I expected it to be" after parking the van into a bench

Day 1, 26 July 2009

A good first day.

We started off with the makings of breakfast that our host & Wolfgang had arranged. Suitably fortified & showered, we slowly setoff for the field, the Crig & Wolfgang heading off to “The Workshop” (capitals being important) to finish Michelles’s Ceres Lift wing & other bits. The field itself was within walking distance of our accommodation & we only needed to drive the winches & batteries to it, the rest choosing to walk the short distance in the warm morning air.

At this point we started to see how pretty Austria is; all the fields are clean & green, and there are mountains in the distance in almost every direction you can look. As a Sunday, we were soon joined by some of the local hobby enthusiasts who soon had their electric powered foam models zipping around.

We set to the task of unpacking the boxes & were gratefull for all the hours of manufacture & packing when no damage emerged. Batteries needed to be charged & we slowly setup the winches on loan to us from the local club. They use massive 85A rated batteries coupled through huge welding type cables to their winches. Three of the winches were on wheeled dollies, but still require hefty lifting to remove from the van. Lines were chosen from the selection Wolfgang had had delivered, and spread across the winches. They use a “quick couple” approach for the negative terminal so that the cable can be yanked out in the event of a power lock.

The models were all soon lined up & ready to fly. Wolfgang however notified us that the wind direction was due to swing 180 degrees, so we rolled up the lines & laid them out from the opposite direction. The wind swung again, but from 15h00 onwards it was mostly cross/downwind. Everyone got a good number of launches in, models were trimmed for altitude & we started a few speedruns. Still air conditions were challenging for launch, but thermal activity was strong & widespread.

Dead tired, we left the field at around 19h00 & headed to the chalet for a shower & then out for supper at a local restaurant. The local Weisbeer supplies were dented & then off to bed!

A great first day.

Day Zero - Travel News

News so far,.....

The trip started off. Well it didn't actually, as our flight was delayed for 12 hours. I was on my way to the airport, about 10 minutes out when the dreaded phonecall came informing me that we would be flyign out at 09h00 the next morning. I turned around & went home for another night with the family. Dion stayed at home, & the Goodrum's booked into a hotel near the airport with all their luggage.

The after hours contact number I was provided the night before was unanswered. However, upon arrival, the departure sign notioned that the flight had been delayed for 24 hours! What! I had to get up at 04h00 to travel all the way to OR Tambo for yet another delay! Waiting until the ticket office opened, we were informed that the flight would indeed be taking off at 09h00. Twits!

We were naturally overweight - but our new chum at the airport, Kingsely, decided that we had been stuffed around enough already & waived the costs! Yes, Karma. Our carefully packed bags & boxes were then lugged off to destinations unknown, undoubtably falling under the intense scrutiny of many eyes. I suspect though that at those wee hours of the morning, the prying hands had better things to do & thankfully our bags were untouched.

Another amazing karmic experience was that the majority of passengers the night before had booked onto alternate flights, so the flight SAA made up for us was empty - about 150 passengers on the Airbus A300'sh (a white one for those more interested in the technical details, Simon). So, once we started into the climb, everybody climbed out of their seats & spread out across the aircraft with 4 seats being used as sleepers etc.

The flight was uneventful after that, the service on SAA was excellent, food good & the leg room, even in economy was a good 20-30 cms more than the Emirates sardine can. The fact that we were able to fly direct to Munich was also a godsend, not having to wait for the connecting flight in some pit of hadesso made the flight infinitely more pleasurable.



The best past was arriving in Munich (hell, the police & customs are friendly) we collected our unopened baggage, nothing to declare (except Denny (Dion) that was stopped at customs - he claims it was due to his Tx case, but we all know the real reason was his somewhat guilty look), out into arrivals & Wolfgangs friendly smile. Of course a quick round of Starbucks was called essential (such a clever marketing ploy - they have their shop next to the exit with the smell of fresh coffee wafting across). The packing of the bus was somewat challenging, but we were soon all squeezed in, radio tuned to "Bayern 3", because Wolfie claims it gives the best traffic reports, & we were soon whizzing down a virtually trafficless highway. The crossing from Germany to Austria was marred only by a frantic scramble for passports - which was not necessary as their was no border control anymore & Wolfie giggled for virtually the rest of the trip to our wooden ski-hut style accommodation in the quaint farming hamlet of Hallwang (approx 5 km's from Salzburg). Everything was unpacked (with a dash of speed), and we shot off to the Hallwang festival for a round of beers & supper.




What a brilliant day.

Regards,
Lionel Brink