Round 1 2010 – Warboys

Sunday 25th April finally arrived but so did the rain! Mark and Alan arrived at the field before 9 and it was dry.  However within 15 mins the rain started and continued for an hour or so.   The Warboys club chairman arrived during this time so we had a good “moan” about the weather conditions the club had provided!  The rain also provide a good opertunity to catch up with the other pilots we hadn’t seen since last year. Mark demo’d the timer unit he had developed – This should mean the helpers have all the information they need instantly available.   There were a couple new planes on show for the new season. An Surprise 16 and a couple Avionik B08′s. Motor run times were discussed and most people were running under 30 seconds. A couple of Warboys club members dropped by to have a quick look at the competition.

Fortunately by mid morning the rain stopped and we got the course laid out. Round 1 proved fairly uneventful save that a number of people managed to miss the landing points mainly due to there being short wet grass at Warboys.  The planes landed in the right place but slid much too far.  I don’t think any of us in the UK use a landing spike – Generally the grass at our events is longish so the planes don’t actually slide anywhere.  George was flying a VERY noisy plane which entered the course quickly though speed bled off fairly quickly during the legs. Alan won round 1 followed by Mark and Steve.

Round 2 had very nice conditions.  Low wind and warm temperatures – Alan and Nigel were pushing for higher legs scores.  They pulled in a 44 and 43 respectively. Dick flying the S16 pulled in 39 legs and showed there is good performance in the plane. There was quite a lot of lift around so duration was easily achieved. Round 2 results – Alan / Nigel / Steve.

Round 3 saw a problem for Alan. He managed a motor on into the course which enabled Nigel to win the leg score in that round. Alan then suffered a limiter cut and landed at 6 minutes. Later Investigation of the limiter data showed he had used 10,000 wmins! (should be limited to 1750) The limiter was changed for the last round and fingers were crossed hoping the problem was solved.  Round 3 was won by Nigel followed by  Mark & George.

Due to his limiter problem in the third round Alan had to ensure he had no issues in the final round. Nigel flew first and scored 42 legs and had a good duration. Unfortunately he missed the maximum landing points. Steve and George had solid flights.   Alan managed 43 legs which meant as long as there were no issues on the duration and landing he would win the event. The weather didn’t make it easy for him by starting to rain! Again the wet grass and no landing spike proved costly as the plane slid out of the central landing circle. The extra leg in distance proved crucial and meant Alan scraped in with a win on the final round.

Tidy up was carried out in fairly heavy rain while Mark put the various scores into the computer. Final scores were 1st – Alan / 2nd – Nigel / 3rd – Steve.

Many thanks to the Warboys club who let us use their excellent field for the 1st round of the 2010 F5B season. The buildings were especially useful in keeping the course computer equipment dry.

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General F5B information

Some stats – Most people are flying with 5.5 – 6.5 KW of power in a plane weighing 1.5kg – This equates to roughly 8BHP.    We can climb to 100m in 2 seconds from launch.    The planes have been measured on a course flying at up to 180mph with the power on – They could go faster with different props but that is not the aim of the competition.

Newcomers are always welcome at our competitions, and you don’t have to be a top class pilot to join in. Although competition is fierce for the top few places, there is always time to help a newcomer and guide them through their first competition.

Any electric glider could be used for a first visit, but to get the most out of it you really need something fast climbing and fast in a straight line. We run different classes (leagues) depending on model power. You don’t need lots of batteries either as there is time between flights to recharge.

We don’t even strictly apply the rules for newcomers – unless you start winning of course – so you don’t really need to worry about limiters, wing loadings, etc. during your first season.

Just remember to bring a spare receiver on your own frequency – we plug it into the course computer to monitor the motor runs while you fly.

What can I practice before coming?

Have a look at the rules and you will see that the competition is in three parts.

The “duration” task and the “landing” are fairly easy to understand, and most glider pilots effectively practice these nearly every flight. It’s the “distance” task that really distinguishes F5B from other competitions, so we will concentrate on that.

We fly the distance task on a measured course with someone (base man) at each end (base) to spot when the model reaches the ends of the course. The pilot stands at base A, and the other end of the course (base B) is 150m away, usually to your left.  Gliding from A to B scores 1 ”leg” and gliding back from B to A scores another. Have a look at the diagram (click on it for a larger image):-

To practice – just imagine you are standing on the course at base A.

Launch and climb away to your right, then turn back towards the imaginary base B and switch the motor off before you go past yourself (i.e. cross base A).

Glide fast and straight towards base B, then when about 150m away turn quickly and head back towards base A.

As you approach base A try to make another 180 degree turn just level with yourself, and head back to base B, then at B turn back towards A again.

When you are back at base A and low down, use the motor to climb again and repeat the process.

Try to keep a steady dive through both the legs and the turns to keep the speed up.

You can do as many legs as you like from each climb, but most pilots use a pattern of 4 legs to each climb.

It all feels different when you are on the proper course with base “buzzers” sounding etc. and of course if you don’t hear the buzzer it means you turned too early so have to go round again - but you soon get used to all that, and the practice will help.