Having returned to
flying in the UK this year it dawned on me that I have been flying and racing
mouldies on the slopes for 20 years now.
Apart from the many changes that life has brought in that time it seemed
a good opportunity to sit back and think of a few things (if any) that I’ve
learnt along the way.
Available toys.
A cursory glance at
the classic VR98 video or other pictures of a UK F3F event 20 years ago and
things do not look too dissimilar to now, flyers dressed more for practicality
than sartorial elegance looking over their models and wondering if the next
guy’s model is faster than theirs. The
dominant designs I remember on the UK slopes were the Pikes, Ellipses and
Acacia.
A closer look at
these models compared to today’s would find fuselages with much more girth to
grab hold of than many of today’s designs.
Bolted to the top of the fuselages would be mainly 3 piece wings, almost
all of which using an RG15 based wing section.
It’s also fair to say that for many of the models there would have been
far less carbon involved in their construction than today- getting your wings
to bend was more of a sign of good air than a worry about the strength of the
wing.
In the last 20 years
there have been a great many model designs which have come to the fore as the
‘next big thing’. Progress has generally
been an evolutionary process with a number of design blind allies to go with
the undoubted successes. Each new model
has aimed to solve the same problem in a slightly different way, with different
priorities and compromises in the process helped by the continual improvements
in building techniques. How much each
factor has influenced any given model is debatable. As we have developed the Willow model
series, whilst we have kept to the core principals there have been a number of
opportunities and ideas that have enabled the models to move on.
With the different
models falling in and out of fashion so quickly, for many years I do not
remember there being time for enough modellers to congregate around 1 or 2
designs in the same way that Acacias and Pikes used to dominate UK races. However, as I have looked down the list of
models used in recent competitions, it’s clear that the range of excellent
models produced by Jiri Baudis make up the lion’s share of entries. Things have come a long way since the first
Baudis Trinity models.
It’s hard to truly
measure how much faster today’s models are, when compared to those I started
out with. Looking back, I have several
models in the ‘if I knew then what I know now’ category I’m sure I could have
got much more out of them. After
spending hard earned money on the newest machine, most pilots will tell you
that their latest model is miles better than the last one- perhaps as much to
convince themselves they have spent their money well. I have been guilty of chasing performance
through a new model on far too many occasions.
This could well be the biggest mistake that I or other pilots make.
The introduction of
moulded models pre-dates my own racing experience but they would be rarely seen
on local slopes. Commercially produced
hollow mouldied models are pretty much the only option seen at most races. There have been other approaches to
commercial models but own built designs are now a rarely seen novelty at races. This is a real shame, I remember being in aw
of Mark Passingham’s big Stiffy and there’s nothing like standing on the flight
line with your own model.
From commercial
manufacturers, I remember the radically different design philosophy of the
Miraji/Aliaji models from France. With
their carbon skins pressed on foam core wings and a single fuselage mounted
flap servo they showed a different approach to the problem of how to make a
fast glider. These were also a lower
cost entry into racing, for a while the 2.5m Miraji’s time of 30.XX was the
world record holder- its not always about spending the most!
Whilst racing models
produced in China feel like a very recent thing, increasingly good sports
models have been produced there for a good while. I remember testing the Luna out over 12 years
ago, more recently the sports models designed by James Hammond have gained a
sold following. The evolution of my own
Willow models feels like an accelerated version of the wider F3F model
development of the past 15 years. The
builder’s techniques and skills have moved on at a fantastic pace, the latest
models are now stiff, light and strong.
Willow designs have some features which
reflect how my own preferences and flying priorities differ from others. All the Willows have a slightly larger
fuselage than those of Baudis or TUD models.
I am not claiming which is better or worse but the Willow has plenty of
access room fitting your servo tray and threading servo leads. As a pilot who launches his own models,
having a solid piece of fuselage to grip ahead of the wing is a real help to me.
Racing styles
It is hard to say
whether flying styles have driven model development or the changes in model
construction have allowed for changes in flying styles but things have
certainly changed. This is not a
criticism of the pilots flying years ago but a reflection that we are now
‘flying on the shoulders of giants’.
Getting back to our original race of 20 years ago and, as I remember in
the UK at least, the flight from each competitor followed quite a similar
pattern.
Launch, probably
with 2mm of camber, float upwards as best you can for 30 seconds and then enter
the course with a dive. If you were
lucky enough to enter a course with good lift then your turns would stop being
‘bank and yank’ and become full reversals.
The point when your model transitioned to flying full reversals and
could hold it’s energy flying over the top of the turn was generally the point
where you started to get excited about your time.
The height of the
initial climb out would be studied eagerly by your fellow pilots, focussing on
the prospect of thermal assistance. The
principal was- if in doubt less weight was better than too much in order to
ensure as high a climb out as possible.
The introduction of
different flying styles and approaches, as I remember it, usually coincided
with mixing of pilots from different countries.
It is one of the huge positive advances in flying that more pilots seem
to be travelling away from their home slopes to race. This all helps to speed up the spreading of
ideas.
I can think of 3 ‘moments’
in the last years which affected me the most.
The first of which was the arrival of the Czech guys flying Stings at
the 2003 welsh open. The Stings used HM sections,
rather than the ubiquitous RG15 and approached the task of F3F rather
differently. These models were rarely seen to attempt reversals, but instead
rather than flying around a base they pulled up a little in the turn and
‘pinged’ around the corner.
Along with a change
in the aerofoils being used, the focus seemed to become more about bouncing off
the turns- in the light winds of the UK summer at least! I remember this time being one of thinning
aerofoils and larger, bottom hinged controls.
The Pike Brio was one, much lauded example to use the MG06 wing section.
I am careful to say
‘UK’ with my reflections as 2004 was a year which opened my eyes to
international soaring and showed me just how little I knew. A trip to Stavanger in Norway very much put
me in my place. The main racing site
there is a low straight cliff, topped by a granite wall, facing out into the
cold north sea with a very focused lift band.
When I arrived for
the first time I thought ‘these guys don’t post much on the F3F forum’ bet I
can do well here. Launching my Sting I applied
comber and tried to follow the Uk flight pattern of floating up, I got to
around 5m above the wall and that was it.
The lift just didn’t go any further up and neither did I. Round after round, regardless of ballast, the
height gained was the same- My brain started to scramble. I would enter the course, it felt good lift-
everyone else was going fast, I would go for the turn and either flop around the
turn or end up miles from the lift band.
I consistently took 10 seconds a round more than the locals. 5 flights later, the day was done and so was
I.
For the next 2 days
Espen Torp patiently tried to show his guests how to set up a model the right
way for these hills. Lots of weight,
even more differential and my learning the illusive Nordic style began. The model and style flown on these hills had
been similar to the UK back in the mid 90s (search YouTube if you like) but
racing evolution had taken a different path here. The models we flew in the UK, such as the
Acacia 2 with it’s 500g ballast capacity were being challenged in a very
different way.
Other than the
flying I learnt from Espen, I learnt that there is not a linear relationship
between posting on English language forums and flying skill. 2004 was the year that Rugen was used for the
VR for the first time.
Diving, much
publicised in the 2008 VR, was seen as ‘just not cricket’ and was effectively
outlawed so the next real step change I remember in UK F3F followed the 2010 VR
in France- pumping and EM turns. Legend
has it that style, model and aerofoil were all developed together by those
cunning French in preparation for their hosting of the Viking Race. It clearly worked!
Heavily weighted models
were soon completing sweeping turns in UK F3F races, their pilots targeting
that moment when they would present their (model’s) underside to the wind and
receive a speed kick. The possibility of
applying camber and floating into the blue is often next to none for such
heavily ballasted models. Repeatedly
diving through the strongest lift band has become the favoured way to increase
the model’s energy before a timed run.
Yep, energy- not height.
Ignoring the cries
about potential energy and all that, the point for me is the pilot
mindset. Heavy racers with energy rather
than light sailplanes gaining height.
I’ll be the first to admit that I have rarely changed quickly enough but
time and perspective will do that to you.
The record time for
F3F is now far faster than 20 years ago, also the slope records of most regular
race locations and it’s pilots. The difference
today between a model flying with all or no ballast is almost a doubling of
weight, with the limitation set by FAI rules as much as model design.
This has put an increasing strain on the
models being flown, demanding stronger and stiffer models than ever
before.
Cost
It’s easy to ring
your hands at the price of some modern racing models. Back in 1999 when I was looking for my first
mouldie a Pike WR cost me £550 and an Acacia 2 would have cost £450-500. With inflation over the past 20 years these
prices are equivalent to around £920 and £750 today. Although you can look at exchange rates as
well it’s clear that many of today’s euro-models cost up to double their 1999
equivalents.
Price is a different
thing to value for money. If the model
you have bought makes you happy then it is fulfilling it’s main function. I am not sure what it would feel like to fly
£2,000 of model on the edge of the slope.
I have more fun flying a Willow or Merlin close to the slope and being
less worried- it’s one of the reasons I fly these models or a Wizard compact.
Participation and
leagues
I have always been
attracted to the models used in F3F because they simply fly wonderfully
well. As soon as I started flying my
Pike WR it became the model I flew almost all of the time. Each time I went flying, looking at the
models I had, the Pike always seemed to be the one which was the best one for
the conditions long before I was consumed with optimising a racing set up.
F3F is fundamentally
easy to do and very difficult to do very well- it’s addictive! The challenge of racing has given me the drive
to improve my flying and the opportunity to learn from some of the best pilots
in some amazing places.
The landscape of the
British F3F league has change significantly in the time I have been
flying. The league scene I remember was
based largely around 8 league weekends, the Welsh Open and the
Woollybacks. Yes weekends- a racing
weekend would consist of 60inch pylon racing on the Saturday (newly converted
to EPP to help numbers) a night in the pub and then F3F on the Sunday.
Whilst I was one of those
who’s participation in 60inch racing fell away I do miss it. There are arguments about model availability,
price and the arms race to get the best performance out of those foamies but
ultimately the league did not last. As
an entry to racing, a source of friendly banter and just dam good fun the years
of racing £50 models were fantastic.
F3F racing is often a long term relationship
rather than a short term fling and many pilots have been involved for much
longer than myself. Whilst their participation
may vary as their circumstances change- like me they keep coming back. The numbers taking part in the different
leagues have led to discussions about limiting the entry numbers as often as
how to increase the interest in F3F.
A sport that is primarily
based on standing on top of a hill on your own will always attract a broad
range of unique individuals. F3F has
been blessed with a number of long-term participants who have given huge
amounts back to the sport. The
development of regional winter leagues is a fantastic example of this. I hope that my own contribution to the league,
from co-ordinator to developing the Champion of Champions has been a positive
for the sport.
Remembering those
pilots who have raced (or may still be racing), their names come in groups of
friends. Flying together on your local
slopes and then having weekends together at races. Those who have been negative or destructive
have not been around for long. Remember
that this is meant to be fun!
