Last year I spent several weeks working in America, covering the fins of an airship. A year later it flies.  

All the best

Andy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1G-L7qvTKI&feature=youtube_gdata_player 

Carbon Fiber http://www.glos-mfc.co.uk/info/carbon.doc 

F3J World Championship report from the Thermal Doctor

The UK team has finally arrived home after a 2 week outing to the World Champs in South Africa. Wow...what a ride. We had 2 mini-twisters come through, 2 days of really strong winds on and over the FAI limit (12m/s +), early morning frosts and then a day of snow flurries. Amazing weather. The talk in the bar was that the weather was really sorting the men from the boys and whoever placed 1st in the prelims was god.

It was a great venue to fly at and most teams stayed at the same hotel which provided a fantastic atmosphere and good fun in the evenings. The organisers did a good job, and many people thought the CD was a

Visibility was an issue for many pilots. When it wasn't snowing ( ) we had cloudless blue skies with a brown smoke haze at lower levels from all the fires. Models became very hard to see at distance and believe me we were flying at some of the greatest distances ever flown. Some models that landed out were being collected from well over 2km away. With massive thermals and strong winds you would find yourself a spec in the sky and at least 1-2km downwind after only 5 minutes into the slot. When you lost your nerve (or more commonly lost sight of your model) and headed back upwind you could find massive African killer sink that could put you on the deck in minutes. Many people fell foul of this and that's why even the likes of Daryl Perkins and other superstar pilots were landing out and getting zeros which is unheard of.

In the end Benedikt Feigl triumphed in the seniors and what a deserved victory. Even the fly-offs were hard and many of the worlds best pilots still landed out or didn't make their times. Including Joe Wurts

Model wise you would need an ultralight if you were in the first slot of the day (at least 1.6kg or under) and just breathe on the sticks to eek out your time, and then if you were up again lunchtime or afternoon you'd be shovelling all the ballast you had into your plane and nearly breaking your wings with a direct tow into a 25mph wind.

All the top planes looked good. The new Xplorer 2 was popular and went really well although a number had tow hooks pull out of the bottom of the fuselage such was the extremity of the conditions and a small number of models being rushed out in time for the worlds. It won the seniors event and looked superb in the air in the hands of Benedikt Feigl. It is a fantastic plane and Austin's phone will be hot.. The new Pike Perfection got better and better as the contest went on as pilots got to grips with them after little stick time before the event. Some looked a bit ungainly turning with their tails down as pilots transferred their Perfect settings over to the new model (me included) but the right differential and coupled rudder sorted it out and once the contest began they were looking really good and won the junior event and placed second in the seniors. Another great plane from Samba - and very different plane to the Perfect.

Probably the most popular models were the Supra and Maxa. Both have massive wing flex and launched huge. They handled the wind well with a lot of ballast but the only structural wing failures we saw were on the Maxa and Supra. Tip panels and centre sections were blowing up and one had the wing bolts pull out of the centre panel. Some suffered tailplane failures. But it must be said the conditions were VERY extreme and most contests would have normally been cancelled.

As for the Brits I finished 24th, Peter Allen 39th and Austin 40th. We finished ahead of team Australia and several other top teams

There were many of the worlds top pilots way down the listings and i think we did quite well given the diversity and extremity of the conditions we had to fly in and with such a small team as well we were always running about to some extent.

Gloucester MFC  

Saturday 11th August.
Dowty "Propfest" 75th Anniversary of Dowty Propellers.
Dowty Sports & Social Club
GMFC Flying and static display.

Photos: Ken's Control line and CB's Funtanna

         A public thank you To the committee.

Wow what a extremely fantastic display put on by the GMFC at Dowty propfest, all the comments that I heard from the people that attended was nothing but positive, very good display set and what a great ending with the bombing of the castle  smoke and fireworks (perhaps if done again put a German flag on the castle instead of the German blowing up ours) well done to the committee for promoting the club, even the couple of mishaps helped the display.

Phil B

Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th September
Fun fly competitions and night flying Saturday.
BBQ/hog roast Sunday.
More details to follow.

Urgent Notice effective 29th June
Temporary parking see web site details.

See Blog http://www.glos-mfc.co.uk/blog/blog12/ for more photos

Indoor flying starts  6th October 2012

SCSA

Next meeting 19th September 8.00PM, heli flying

Club Meeting 

Due to the bad weather we did not have our heli comp against the full sized crowd, we flew against each other, my little MCX did the fastest time: 41 seconds to take off, a 360 round the pole, under the limbo and spot land
I was defeated by my MCX in the staring contest 

Slope Flying & flat field

 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday
  A  very strong breeze at Haresfield

Thursday

 Friday  
Strong lift at Haresfield

         Adam's Middle Phase and Fusion, and Gordon's VoltiJ

      
Saturday 

Adams weasel and Tony's Speedo

Ravens can be seen at Frocester, only identified by doing half rolls, but occasionally they will do a full roll, some say to impress lady ravens

One of the birds below is Raven, look at the file properties to see

Sunday

I went to Fish Meadow for an f3J comp, the lift was ideal 

below one of my launches, 6 seconds on the line, the experts can launch in less than a second

   
More photos at http://www.ebley.talktalk.net/photos2/?C=M;O=D 

For sale

http://www.bmfaclassifieds.co.uk/index.php?catid=56 

Newly listed items 

Wanted
One piece 'V' tail for F3X model
Phil

  FOR SALE 

AVA, FrSky V8R4Futaba CGY750 Flybarless Control Gyro. Align T-Rex 250SE

Seagull E-Pioneer Trainer, Ava 3.2 Pro, .Multiplex 3030, Ava 3.2 Classic, HITEC RECEIVERS , Align T-Rex 250SE 2.4GHz 4CH Micro Receiver( V8R4), Schulze 35 MHz FM receivers. Ultimate bi-plane, blendern tape, Protech Megastar, 

 For Sale Page http://www.glos-mfc.co.uk/forsale/for-sale.htm 

Some Events

Kemble Best of British Show 2012 26-27 August 2012  http://www.bestofbritishshow.co.uk/ 

25-27 aug        BMFA Nationals                      Barkston Heath                         BMFA

Fun Fly at the Nationals By James Gordon

When some people think of the B.M.F.A National Championships, they think of the country's elite competitors, seriously competing with expensive, state of the art models!

But, while this is the case with some events, there is one event that attracts flyers from the elite, all the way through to the average club flyer. This event is the Fun Fly. 

Fun Fly was conceived at club level all over the country in the 1960's and in 1985, the BMFA Mid-West area, headed by Robin Jones, launched a national event that became an integral part of the August Nationals and has been going strong ever since. Robin worked extremely hard over the years in support of the Fun Fly and with his team, made

this one of the most enjoyable events at the Nats. The new team, now in our fifth year, is mainly made up of members of the Caterham & District Model Flying Club, with contest directors being myself and Nick Lester. Both of us have competed in the event for many years and we too, feel very strongly that the Fun Fly continues to grow and goes from strength to strength. 

So what is Fun Fly? Basically, at club level, a fun fly competition can be pretty much anything as long as it's simple and fun! I belong to the Caterham and Croydon clubs, bothof which have monthly fun fly competitions ranging from limbo, touch and go's or spot landing events, through to slightly sillier events like water carrying, balloon bursting

or even doughnut dropping! All these events are designed to entertain, both the pilots and the spectators.  They can also improve pilot skills and confidence and they certainly add lots of fun to any club! The other thing about fun fly events is that they are all scored against the clock. There are no judges deciding how much they liked your flight – your

score at the end of the time is what you get - simple as that!

 The models, too, can be very basic. At club level and indeed at the Nationals, most people use well proven designs such as the Limbo Dancer, Avicraft Frantic, Western Cougar, YT Magic or the Evolution Fusion. All of these models have the benefit of being relatively cheap, quick to assemble and easy to fly. But with the right set up, then virtually anything is possible from the transmitter sticks!

 In the Nationals, we also like to encourage flyers to modify existing models or even design their own. Over the years, we have seen some wonderfully ingenious designs that have been incredibly successful and indeed, we are now looking at awarding a prize to encourage and reward such design flair. This, then brings another element to the competition,

for the model can't be just good at one event, it needs to be good at four or five very different events, so not only are the pilot skills being tested, so is the design of the model! 

So, let me now briefly run through what the Nationals competition is all about. Basically, anyone with a BMFA 'B' certificate can enter whatever your skills at fun fly. The event is designed to introduce the average club flyer into competition flying, thus boosting confidence and skill levels. Many well known national and international pilots started in fun fly and have gone on to huge success. 

The event is split into two classes. Class 1 is for the experts, where some of the piloting skills have to be seen to be believed and class 2 for anyone with a 'B' certificate who enjoys

a laid back approach to competition flying. There is, by the way, nothing to stop you entering both classes! 

Class 1 models are basically unlimited, whereas class 2 models are limited on engine size or electric motor, with no tuned exhausts and no coupling (mixing) of control surfaces.

This is designed to keep the models to similar performance and keep them affordable to everyone. 

Now, to the competitions themselves. Both classes include a Longest Glide task that requires the pilot to stay in the air for as long as possible, following a 20 second climb.

Also included is a Limbo competition that is won by the pilot that completes the most passes under the limbo gate as possible in two minutes. A Touch and Go task is also included in both classes, where the pilot completes as many touch and go's as possible in a large square, again in two minutes. 

Class 1 only has a Triple Thrash task, that requires the pilot to complete three touch and go's, three loops, three rolls and another touch and go in the fastest time, where

class 2 has a Spins and Spot task where pilots perform as many spins as possible on the way down after a 30 second climb, then perform a spot landing for added points. 

During the last few years, we have also added a mystery round for each class which is drawn at random at the start of the weekend. These events include Dead stick aerobatics,

Touch & Go Bang, Water Carrying and Doughnut Dropping! New for this year to also join the mystery rounds are Roop and Blackjack. 

Well, I hope that's wetted your appetite for the Nationals Fun Fly. We are certainly great believers in this event, as we think the Nationals needs at least one low key event

where anyone can come along and have the experience of competing on a very low budget and have a whole load of fun along the way. It also shows the public the lighter side

of R/C flying, which can only be a good thing and it is also great fun to watch!! 

So, go on, fill out the entry form in the June issue of the BMFA News and give it a go - I'll guarantee a fun packed and entertaining weekend! Copies of this year's rules are available

from the B.M.F.A office or from me at the following email address: 

wlmailhtml:/mc/compose?to=jamesrrg@hotmail.com 

We both look forward to seeing you in August, either competing or just come to the line and say hello - maybe it will inspire you to give it a go next year. 

Happy Fun Flying! 

James Gordon.

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

Aug 19 Woodspring Wings E-Fly

Aug 26 SAM 35 Vintage Power Duration

At SAM Eurochamps. Middle Wallop, Nr Andover. Contact Bill Longley on 01258 488833 or tasuma@btconnect.com

Saturday 1st September          MSA OPEN E-SOARING CONTEST Upton − Fish Meadow

Organiser: John Freeman, tel: 01905 429356, mob: 07971139761, or or send an email

 http://www.esoaring.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2244  

 Much Marcle 1st & 2nd Sept

  BMFA eSoaring – Hawling – Nr Cheltenham - Gloucestershire

arrow Vintage R/C Rally. Cocklebarrow Farm, Nr Aldsworth, off A40 Cirencester/Burford, GL54 3PU. Contact Bill Longley on 01258 488833 or tasuma@btconnect.com

1st 2nd Sept Much Marcle

Yatton, Nr Clevedon, Bristol, BS21 6. Contact Gary Blinco on 07808 052022 or blinco@uk2.net or see www.woodspringwings.co.uk

Sept 8 BMFA eSoaring League

Also BARCS League Event. Hawling, Nr Cheltenham, Glos. Contact Martin Bell on martin@esoaring.co.uk or Mike Proctor on mproctor1@gmail.com or see www.esoaring.net/forum

Sep 23 South Devon Glider Day

Teign Valley MFC. On Site Winch, Bungee and Aerotow.  Little Haldon Airfield, Nr Teignmouth, South Devon, off B3192. Contact Joe Spires on 01626 834014 or Stan Yeo on 01626 332287

HELI FLY IN - 4th September 2011 - CLICK HERE

RCMF EVENT LIST http://www.rcmf.co.uk/4um/index.php/topic,87486.0.html