HLG and Catapult Results

UK 2007

(BMFA comp's are flown -7 flights from 7, with a 10 second attempt.)

(Catapult comps are 5 from 5 with a 10 second attempt)

 

Northern Gala

Church Fenton – April 6th 2007

A good entry, pleasant conditions, with just enough wind to make your legs ache on the retrieval.

HLG

POS

NAME

CLUB

SCORE

1

M Benns

Peterborough

6.30

2

M Page

Peterborough

6.20

3

M Chapman

Nottingham

5.15

Catapult

POS

NAME

CLUB

SCORE

1

P Ball

Grantham

4.41

2

J Barker

Timperley

3.27

3

M Chapman

Nottingham

3.07

4

A Hewitt

Nottingham

3.04

5

 M Benns

Peterborough

2.34

 

 

F/F Nationals 2007

26th, 27th and 28th May

Catapult Glider

Almost no wind and warm conditions on the Saturday suggested the it would be an interesting Catapult  Glider competition. That idea was soon dismissed as the lift that came through was in very small patches and it seemed as if the lift was in the form of small bubbles and any model flying into one was pushed out only to have the same thing done by another nearby (unseen) bubble of lift. Therefore the only way to be sure of maxing would be to launch very high.

My own attempts were thwarted as my model is definitely a windy weather model. Some of the the less experience flyers had similar problems as only the more experienced fliers were getting to the height needed to max.

Later in the day the rain started and the ink of the published scores were seen running down the side if the control van  in streaks of mostly blue and a little red - we'll have to wait for the completed scores list before I can publish them here.

Stop the Press - Official BMFA results have been published and the result was as follows !

POS

NAME

CLUB

SCORE

1

M Benns

 Peterborough 4.37

2

Phil Ball

Grantham

 4.30

3

 Peter Tolhurst  ?? 4.26

18 flew

Mark Benns - prepares for a catapult launch.

There she goes !

(Photo from Mick Page)

It's getting dark - very dark, but hey, this is the UK Nat's !

(Wasn't quite as bad is this looks)

Hand Launched Glider

We knew the Sunday weather was forecast to change for the worst and it did. The wind increased and the rain came with a vengeance.

I deliberately returned to Barkston Heath late in the morning,  hoping for better weather in the afternoon - it wasn't to be.

Mark Benns and Mick Page were the first out and into the box (which was set half on the runway and half on the grass). I joined them the get a feel of the conditions. It was dire out there on the runway. The wind seemed to increase and the rain came heavier. Nevertheless Mark put up two maxes and a 50+ score while I stood there with them ( behind umbrellas and a beach wind break). Mark's technique was to wait for the wind break to stop blowing flat then run out onto the runway straight into the box and launch - and it worked (mostly).

It was clear that the conditions were worsening so I set about readying my myself for a drenching and hopefully long wet retrievals. Andy Hewitt arrived as I prepared so we agreed on a strategy - 'Just do it'

Mick Page had a couple of flights then decided that was enough. Other brave fliers appeared intermittently but it was difficult to see how they were doing by timing their flights and making sure their 'official' flights were in the box as we were behind our umbrellas most of the time. Other potential competitors arrived and declared their disinterest in flying in those conditions !

We soldiered on and I was rewarded with 50 and 40 second flights and a max that went O.O.S - a two mile walk failed to find my best model (Tango). I had to resort to using my back ups - the first was way off trim (16 second flight), after an earlier drenching while testing the wind and loosening up my arm. I took out my catapult glider (Bliss) - you may have read on this website that this was originally designed as a HLG not a Catapult model - I can throw it higher than I can Catapult it ! Two 40 second flights managed to push Andy down to fourth position and myself into second. Andy had completed his flights while I was searching down wind.

It was a hell of a day weather wise and in some ways I wasn't sorry that our friends from overseas did not visit this year - it would have been SO embarrassing - but we did miss you guys.

Point to note:- I was the highest placed competitor still using the Javelin launch, most others are now using Discus launch models.

Stop the Press - Official BMFA results have been published and the result was as follows !

POS

NAME

CLUB

SCORE

1

Mark Benns

Peterborough

 5.43

2

 Mike Chapman Nottingham 4.14

3

I. Clarke

?

 3.46

12 flew

Last photo of Tango about to go OOS in the gloom.

(Photo from Mick Page)

Mick Page with his latest Discus launched glider.

(Still using D/T fuse)

Fancy flying in these conditions ? - join us !

(Photo from Mick Page)

Boom ! - Andy Hewitt launches - boy did it rain.

(Photo from Mick Page)

View through the windscreen of Mark's car.

(Photo from Mick Page)

Andrew Hewitt brought along his scale Slingsby Cadet to try out. The first tow was great with a 'to die for' glide.

The next two tows were reminiscent of a crocodile that had just had a noose slipped around it's nose.

Definitely not HLG.

 

Adding this note one week after the Nat's - The temperature  is 23c, hardly a cloud in the sky and no wind.

That's the UK for you !

 

Oxford - Port Meadow 2007

After the Nationals Port Meadow weather was what we all needed. Unfortunately on arrival a cool breeze was coming from the unusual direction of the railway lines, thus landing in the river was a possibility. The ground was also damp thus making launching tricky. However after about an hour Port Meadow worked its magic yet again as the sun shone the breeze diminished and ground dried out for a perfect days flying as the number of thermals was vast!

 
Highlights

Page and Benns launching together and although Mark went higher with his big model it was Page who maxed! However Mark didn't drop another flight and thus won easily with 6.54. Mark also demonstrated that it doesn't matter how good you are as he found himself in the sh!! by landing on know what! (Ed's note: Lots of cows at Port Meadow) And a real wet one at that!

 
However the star of the day was undoubtedly third place man, or should that be pensioner Bob Bailey as Bob is 67 years young and was having a day off from being Britain's top micro-film flyer. He didn't get as high as I know he can but made up for this by maxing and near maxing from very little height to score 5.15. Another Hewitt type model is all we need!

 Finally Peter Tolhurst managed to split the two discus models using his trusty catapult models with a score of 5.27

Bob Bailey launches his 'Spin-Up model at the Oxford meeting

Thanks to Mick Page for the report and photographs.

Brumfly 2007

 Although the accuracy of weather forecasters is usually no better than civil servants immigration estimates many flyers must have still believed them as only about twenty cars arrived at the meeting !

However, it didn't rain until dinner time, and then with half-hour dry intervals and although it was windy it was still flyable. 

The only known HLG flyer was Page who used a very old 25" span Butterfly converted to discus launching and although there weren't any streamers to help with thermal detection still managed to max every other flight. Although it was too windy for other HLG flyers to turn up it didn't stop Mr Parry and his step-son from flying, thus for the first time in a very long while we not only had a fun flyer in 2nd place, but a junior in 3rd place as well!        

New junior HLG flier shows the old hands how to do it.

Thanks to Mick Page for the report and photographs.


 
Grantham Grand Prix 2007

 The weather graphics on Saturday suggested global warming had moved forwards fifty years and that Barkston Heath  would be under water all day! Fortunately many flyers decided to ignore such guess work and more than 50 entries were received for the various free flight classes. 

Last year a fly-off was needed to separate this combined Catapult / HLG best five from nine comp and then by only one second! However, this year it was rather different as lift was above what discus models could be launched to, let alone a humble HLG thus, the first three places were all taken by catapult models! Moreover it wasn't much easer for the catapult guys as constant sink seemed to be around all day! Many flights went to a good height only to be down in less than forty seconds! In fact, there were only six maxes produced in the whole competition out of a possible forty!!! Last year's winner Peter Tolhurst managed just one for 2nd place with 4.02. His son kept it in the family with a couple of near misses for third place with 3.46.

 Hold on a minute that must mean someone scored a full house? - whilst all the other flyers couldn't manage a single max, apart from Peter! Not content with that, our winner he only used eight of the nine flights allowed! It was like watching Pete Watson launching one of his FAI power models. You just knew it was going to go high followed by a perfect transition and drop into lift even though there was none around! Congratulations to Mr. Colledge for scoring a full house whilst the rest of us produced are worst scores in years. This stunning performance was simply the best from any catapult / discus flyer this year!  Let's hope he enters Catapult at the Nationals in 2008 as Phil Ball and Mark Benns have had it all there own way for far too long! 

 

Thanks to Mick Page for the report.

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