Page 34 - MFW June 2025

On day 2 a nearby supercell thunderstorm providing a lightning show and
a cloud formation that looked like a large hurricane forming in the sky.

this venue to start sorting models and getting used to around 6.30pm. After packing up our models we would
local conditions. arrive at the lodging around 7.30pm. The temperature
was unusually hot, with one day topping 41C, and most of
The World Championship field was approximately 30 the contest days in the upper 30s. It was nice that the
minutes away from our accommodation which was in the awards ceremony and banquet was a bit cooler, around
centre of Cordoba, Argentina. The field was part of an 25C maximum.
airbase and runway area for the air force. It was nice in
that there were no restricted flight areas. There was only Monday morning was the start of a long week of
one main thermal trigger being a building we called “the endurance, the preliminary rounds, in which there were a
circus” right next to the launch lanes, although the mowed total of 15 rounds with up to 14 in a group. We each
grass airstrip did provide good thermal generation. averaged three to four flights each per day, with five heats
per round for the seniors, and two heats per round for the
The main event was a weeklong, preceded by the open juniors.The air was very unstable at times. In the
event Tango Cup two-day competition. This event allows mornings it was light and fluffy, and topping out not as
all competitors, helpers and locals to enter and have high as we are used to. Many were caught out with
some practice flying in the planned competition world thermals dissipating during the 10-minute flight and many
championships format. We completed 6 rounds with 92 not making the full 10-minute slot. Landings were pretty
competitors entered in the preliminary rounds and Joe controlled. A few competitors had their first zero in the first
placed 6th in the preliminary rounds, allowing him to fly round! Team NZ was in tidy shape with consistent scores
the 3 rounds of fly-offs to select the winners of the for day 1.
competition. Joe flew exceedingly well and won this
event overall, his third Tango Cup Trophy after visiting The second day we had fog and had to wait until it cleared
Argentina two times prior to the F5J world as models disappeared at about 100m into the sky. Once
championships. The Cup event provided us with a bit of we started flying it was a nice light wind day building up to
practice for conditions to come for World championships. a breeze in the afternoon. Joe managed to bag a couple
of 1000’s and again the kiwis were consistent. Many
We had a day's break to register models, along with some teams and pilots already had some serious damage on
more practice. The team was allowed to check in 3 the scoreboard. The day ended quite early as we had a
models each in total of which they could interchange fantastic weather spectacle with a nearby supercell
parts between planes. After a bit of discussion, Dave thunderstorm providing a lightning show and a cloud
Pratley offered up two of his models to Pete so that Pete formation that looked like a large hurricane forming in the
could also fly Plus X during the competition. This was a sky.
very gracious and kind offer. The weather forecast
suggested variable conditions from light and fluffy to a The third day had strong wind predicted in the afternoon.
few days of strong winds. The mission was to cover all We started off in calmer conditions in the first round.
aspects with the three models allowed per pilot. Unfortunately, Joe and Kev got their first zeros with Kev
landing out and Joe losing control of his model on launch,
A technical meeting was then held and an opening crashing into a large brush area away from the field. Peter
ceremony which was as usual well organized by the was flying very conservatively and was putting some
Argentinian officials. We had long days throughout the scores in for team Kiwi. There were usually up to two or
event, starting with a 5.15 am alarm, 6:15 breakfast, three usable thermals on the field, and many had lots of
arriving at the field by 7:30 AM and staying at the field until planes in them to avoid mid-air’s. If a mid-air happened
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