Page 35 - MFW June 2025

(there were about 10 in all) you had an option to refly in
the next group so long as you called it out and landed
immediately. The wind really came on in the afternoon
and was strong. It was launched as far upwind as you
could see and, in most flights, stayed upwind in a good
corridor; very few were successful taking thermals and
getting back from anywhere downwind, as an example
one pilot went down wind in good lift and still ended up
landing more than 1km down wind. We were certainly
carrying some ballast with heavy brass rods in the wings
and some lead in the fuse so we could drive our models.
Again, there was some carnage on the scoreboard and
few planes receiving damage just when trying to land.

The day four -Thursday again wind predicted for the
afternoon which wasn't quite as strong as the day before
and thermals were able to be taken downwind but height
was essential to get home. By the end of the day the team
could see a third place or bronze on the horizon if we got
lucky. Most of the week the thermals were unstable, and
you didn't climb very high but today they were strong
enough to get some good return height if you were in the
right place, although you needed stepping stones of lift to
get home.

The final day consisted of the last flight of the preliminary
rounds in the morning again there was still a glimmer of
hope that team Kiwi could get to the podium but sadly not
to be and we remained in 5th place for the team overall
Joe had come out overall in 4th place and moved through
to the fly-offs with still only two models (one still in the
heavy brush).
event with some fantastic food. This was an awesome
The schedule was to have two rounds of flyoffs on the time to catch up with all our regular friends and make
Friday and two on the Saturday, but the organizers wisely some new acquaintances.
wanted to push on as the forecast for the following day
wasn't great. So, we started the four-round final with a Overall, the NZ team performed to the best we could
break in the middle of juniors. The final was a 15-minute under the conditions and left the field very happy with our
round of torture and Joe came out on fire and in round one overall performance. We all played well together and
bagged a 1000 followed by a close 997 points. Everyone Dave our team manager did a fantastic job and beyond
was being very aggressive on launch and many (half the the call of duty. A little team but a great team!
pack) out of the 14 finalists failed in this one with some Results are found here:
huge landouts. We had a little break and then a rinse and https://f5jargentina.com/official_results
repeat for round three with the wind picking up. Joe went http://gliderscore.com/OnLineScores.aspx
a little more conservative but was still by far the lowest
launch of the group. Joe landed a bit early in round 3 after A super thank you to Model Flying New Zealand, NZ
having to leave a very good thermal due to vision issues Soaring and Rex Ashwell who helped support the team
and could not find anything but sink on the way upwind. with funds that assisted the large costs of entering the
The final round had the wind pick up considerably, with event with entries ($400.00 euro each) rental cars,
many landings downwind due to the challenging accommodation, lunches - the list goes on!
conditions. Kev really had his work cut out for him when
calling Joe due to simultaneously attempting to find air as Kev, Dave, and Joe stopped over in Chile, Santiago for a
well as being a backup pair of eyes due to Joe's poor couple of days to see the sights and city. Valparaiso was a
eyesight. Only three made the full time and Joe was one very interesting visit. Joe was very fortunate and spent his
of them which clinched his individual World Champion last afternoon soaring in the Andes, many thanks to
title for 2025 with a margin of about four minutes of flight Andres Cordova. Next 2027 World Championship F5J
time compared to the second-place finisher. has been announced in Muncie Indiana USA.

While Kev and Joe were dealing with flyoffs, Peter went Thank you to the Argentina officials, timekeepers and all
with the local army in a Unimog to find Joe's model and involved in a well organised world championship -
arrived back about an hour later with most of it intact and fantastic effort!
repairable excluding the fuselage. On the next day, we
had prize giving, closing ceremonies, and then an The A Team - Peter, Joe, Kev, Dave and Caroline -
unbelievable banquet. Once again, a well-organized Soaring Rocks!
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