Page 22 - MFWDec 2023

streamers and observation as well so taking a multi sensor good, the on field facilities and catering absolutely top
approach. notch, and a vast improvement over the 2013 event.
Clearly lessons have been learnt from the past and those
The last event was F1C power-(18 Aug) and having no lessons put into practice-and it showed.
fliers most of the team were elsewhere on the day-but as I
former F1C I had to at least poke my nose into PS. Detailed results can be found at: .
proceedings and paid a visit to the flightline-F1C having https://model.wings.rs/competition.php?id=792
now become a victim of its own cost and complexity-the
entry was only 2/3 the size of the glider and rubber fields,
with only 70 competitors participating. In terms of weather
it was probably the best of the three competition days-
warm and sunny, with little breeze-and even with the near
ridiculous 4 sec engine runs allowed plenty of people were
maxing out-and 31 people made the first flyoff round, with
a mere 12 making the 6 minute max and going through to
the second 8 minute flyoff round-which no one made-
though the winner, Darijo Jermol of Croatia came close
with a final score of 470 out of a possible 480. The models
seemed to be the usual mix of direct drive and geared, and
folders and flapped wings-with no layout or drive setup Minimalist engine starter setup for F1C based on geared Astroflite motor.
seeming to be more dominant. With only 4 seconds worth
of engine run, good lift picking is probably even more
important now than ever before.

The closing ceremony (19 Aug) was held in the same
location as the opening one-the usual multiple speeches
and congratulations to all involved-though the non
appearance of anyone from Romania-the hosts of the next
FF World Champs-to make any announcements on the
2025 event-caused a few raised eyebrows, and no small
amount of surprise-especially to the senior FAI
representatives on the podium. Not an auspicious start….

The banquet was held in the same large gymnasium used
for the processing a week earlier-and was exceptionally Gerd Aringer of Austria takes a different approach to F1C -open structure
flapped wing model.
well organized and run-people were seated at national
team tables, clearly designated and wined and dined with
remarkable speed by a very efficient crew of caterers. For
those who wanted to continue the festivities, it was a case
of repairing back to the sports ground-only a hundred
metres or so away-where a free rock concert and light
show had been organized which ran on into the small
hours.

Then it was a case of packing up, and making our various
separate ways home-with a certain amount of regret-the
west of France is a lovely region, with great food, nice
people, and full of historic villages and towns, medieval
churches, and more chateaus within about 30 mins-1
hours drive than you could poke a bundle of sticks at. The
roads are good, and traffic generally light. Hopefully the
locals will put their hand up to host another one.
The newer generation of F1C models are using moulded carbon skins on a
How did we go as a team-not as well as we’d hoped-and I foam core-much like RC soarers.
would argue we were very well prepared this time-in terms
of flying and testing pre departure from NZ-but luck always
plays a role. What was certain though is that as a group we
worked very well together as a team-which has not always
been the case in the past-not just the fliers but the helpers
and supporters as well. Two individuals deserve singling
out for their efforts-Lindy Murrell as team manager had our
backs both on and off the field, and Bryce Gibson who
performed sterling work retrieving-especially in F1B day
where models were going a long way. The organizers
deserve a well earned round of applause-the venue was The NZ ladies on the F1B flightline.

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