EIFELPOKAL 2010 - Allard van Wallene

An active low over northern Europe colliding with warm air in the south caused massive rainfall over Holland and parts of Germany. Showers were of a clustered nature with sometimes thunder and lightning under massive towering cumulonimbus clouds. To avoid the heavy Friday afternoon traffic, I left early. In the car I played an audio book on the stereo, but my mind was with model flying, so I changed to the local radio station. They were playing a series of ‘rain’ songs: ‘Its Raining Men, Its Raining Again’ and more. Come to think of it, there are plenty of rain songs! At the German border, the station got too weak for proper reception, but the weather continued the sentiment, with massive downpour.  Visibility dropped to dangerous levels and luckily some cars used their fog lights for me to keep track. Upon arrival at the field, the F1B and C contest was well on its way. There were grey skies all around and a slight drizzle.

Line up of shelters on F1B day

 

A heavy shower had just moved out and it had struck lighting right in the middle of the field. The cars were shaking on their wheels! The organizers were very flexible all through the event by halting a round whenever deemed necessary. Nevertheless, some flyers were caught downwind by the rain. Later that day, the wind shifted from NW to N, straight over a downhill slope. Only a good climb and good air could secure a safe passage and a max which was set at 150 seconds. The fly off was scheduled for 6.30 the next morning. Bernd Silz once again managed the best time and Seydel topped F1C.

Aringer with flapper

That night we enjoyed dinner at an Argentinean restaurant, which I visited some years ago with Anselmo Zeri. A good choice of quality beef and discussions about F1A technology made us forget the weather outside.

Next morning dawned with moderate wind and partly overcast skies, which lasted for two rounds. Like the previous years, right at the start of round one, small patches of lift were available. The big question was if they would carry the model high enough to clear the dropping slope at the south end of the field. The wind was still well within comfortable limits and I decided to take my Ex Span for a safe max. The model climbed away gently and although the slope pulled the model lower, it maxed at some 70 meters altitude. Also in round two, the wind kept a low profile, and some sunny spells made us even forget the wet of the day before. After a few minutes a large thermal passed through. I prepared for launch while others were already launching their ships. After my launch I looked up and saw something dangling from my stabilizer. Darned, towline over the stab I thought. But the towline was on the ground still in one piece. I looked up again and saw the entire top cover had stripped off the stabilizer! The model tried to stay in the thermal, but the drag proved to be too much and it slowly descended. I watched the flight in awe, before winding up my towline. I slowly strolled downwind to collect the model. Tough break, I thought. In round three Siggi Limberger walked up to me. “What a great flight that was”, he said. I was puzzled. I explained what had happened to my model, and he replied he and the timekeeper had seen my towline over the stab, which then dropped away for the model to max at great altitude. I had no clue what had happened or which model they followed, but 180 was on the scoreboard! Undeserved for sure, but I never argue with timekeepers!

Seydel programs his winning model using Sidus electronics.

The weather forecast was all over the place but the promised improvement of the previous day was over optimistic. Soon massive towering cumulonimbus clouds were approaching from the horizon in round three, the kind jetliners would take a detour for. One of such clouds managed to hit us during lunch break and part of the 4^th round. The organizers managed quite well in halting the round and continuing after the rain had passed, in particular with the previous day’s lightning strike still fresh in memory. Although the average wind speed was around 6 m/s and less than last year’s, the turbulence levels were particularly high. Picking your own air proved to be the best way for a secure max as thermals were often small and passed at high speed. The harsh conditions made towing a real challenge. Putting up a fight for 20 minutes and maxing at great altitude made the experience the more rewarding. In round 5 the thin spectra towline was wrapped around one of my left hand fingers. The fierce turbulence required full control over the towline all the time, so my finger obviously didn’t cooperate! My model towed-in and after the adrenalin faded away, the cut in my finger made me realize I should use a left hand glove as well. After the 7 rounds only 3 managed a clean score, Uwe Rusch, Ivo Kreetz and yours truly. The fly off was delayed to make sure the threatening clouds stayed clear from the field. After another shower passed through, weather conditions were perfect: about 4 m/s wind and sunny. But with wind from the north, such conditions can be very tricky. While towing, all three of us felt a nice thermal. I launched first, but the towline slipped from my hand and the model pulled out of the bunt not in the position I wanted it to. Then Ivo launched, the model pitching up too much. The bunt redirected the model back to a near horizontal position and a stall followed. None of our models climbed away and again the Zulpich air had fooled us. Uwe Rusch launched shortly after, and although he managed to beat our times, also his flight was not supported by any clear thermal activity. I ended third only 2 seconds behind Ivo. Our models could be retrieved from a close distance with all flights being between 3 and 4 minutes.

It seems like a chain of warm weather has been replaced by the type of weather we were used to in the eighties and nineties. Thanks to today’s carbon composite structures, many coped pretty well with the weather. We all feared we would need our rain gear for the years to come, the seven fat years now being followed by seven lean years.  Future will tell if this holds true.

First two rounds were blessed with decent weather

Starting line close to camp site, and wind of course.....

F1A winners

Swedish and Nordic Cup 2010 - Allard van Wallene

Just when a major heat wave was sweeping the western parts of Europe, the weekend for the Swedish World Cup was rapidly approaching. Temperature forecast for the Friday in Holland was 36 degrees, in Sweden some 10 degrees less. Ivo and I decided to leave early. And leaving from Ivo’s place at 6 AM meant I had to leave at 5. Good thing I'm an early riser! Weather was excellent all the way up to Rinkaby, the venue of both competitions. But first we headed off straight to the Ahus pizzeria to watch Holland play the quarter finals soccer world champs against Brazil. We arrived just in time, some 10 minutes late after Brazil scored the first goal. The restaurant was packed with dutch flyers, I guess the locals never knew why a group of Dutch fans would drive all the way up to their pizzeria to watch the game! Soon the spirits rose after Holland started scoring. Great fun, and the quality of the pizzas added to the spirits. The fatigue of traveling vanished into thin air, and we would have plenty of that stuff the coming days!

We recharged our energy levels enough to check in our stuff in the barracks and do some flying. Upon arrival at the west side of the field, the fly off of the Swedish nationals was on its way. We tested some of our models. Thomas Weimer, who flew the small classes earlier that day, warned us for the tricky thermals. It later proved to be the understatement of the year.

Antoon (r) congratulating Jari with Swedish Cup victory (Schwendemann photo)

The next day dawned with blue skies and some 3 m/s wind, identical conditions as the day before. Thermals were present but could collapse in no time. To be honest, we never experienced anything like it. Even ace flyers like Findahl, Hellgren, Persson and Holbom had difficulties finding good air and keeping the model in thermals. Sub maxes started to appear on the scoreboard at a rapid pace.

Must by fly off time!

Remarkable to see that some designs could handle the tricky thermals pretty well by keeping a tight turn, while other models just wondered about out of the good air. If there were any conditions to check wing warping and centering ability, this was the ultimate trial. Despite the tricky conditions, some managed to max out using utter concentration. Since the fly off was scheduled at 7.30pm, there was some time for lunch and rest. The first fly off round saw some good thermal activity, but only Antoon van Eldik and Jari Valo managed a solid max. F1B saw similar conditions with only Rosonoks en Stendal maxing. In F1C nobody had maxed out and Juri Roots showed the best climbs all day to secure a first spot, but with Pieter de Boer only 7 seconds behind. F1Q showed the first results of the rather liberal model specifications. Matti Lihtamo had worked hard over the past year to come up with a box full of extremely hot models. With a 1 kw motor it outclimbed even the best F1C model. When launched it accelerated so fast it was hard to catch it by camera. Ten seconds motor run would have been more than sufficient as the last 5 seconds of the 15 second motor run, the model got out of its climb pattern and needed about half the attained height to recover due to its low stability margin, still more than enough to beat Andreas Lindner. The second fly off in F1A saw different conditions. Thermal activity had died out almost completely. Jari decided to make a dash to the north east corner of the field where he could benefit from unobstructed upwind area and therefore turbulence free air. He towed patiently for good air. A great launch followed with a rock steady glide to beat Antoon with more than 2 minutes difference. F1B had a similar show down. Remarkable to see the flyers could bring and use their own timekeepers, which led to some commotion among the two contenders with a model being ‘followed’ which had already landed. The many binoculars pointing in the right direction sorted that out quickly and Hagen Stendal topped Rosonoks by (at least) 10 seconds. A rotation of timekeepers could have easily avoided this unrest.

Antoon in utmost concentration programming his ship.

After this thrilling fly off, we retired to the barracks to eat some of our noodle fast dinners, which tasted remarkably well. Right after we finished the prize giving was on its way with the traditional cookies, soft drinks and (cool!) beers. The prizes were beautifully crafted blue glass sailing boats. That night, Germany was playing against Argentina and by the cheering noises through the barracks one could keep track of the scores.


The next day the movement of the trees announced a bit more wind compared to the day before, but the clear blue skies and wind direction were signs of another tricky day for this year’s Nordic Cup. And tricky it was: Kosonoshkin, Assmuss and Valo managed to make only one single max, Anders Persson (2008 winner) no max at all. Your’s truly was thrown out of good air in the very first round after having launched high in what appeared to be good lift. Antoon van Eldik was like the days before, going strong for another clean score, but bad air spoiled his chances in the very last flight: 52 seconds.

Nordic Cup winner Ivo Kreetz (L) and Mike Holmbom

The downdrafts were particularly vicious. The one-liner of this weekend came from Michail Kosonoshkin: “Hey Antoon, I make only one max today, but I still beat you!” This summarized the tricky conditions. Ivo Kreetz, who damaged his Baldrick on a row of rocks the day before, had to switch to his old but reliable ‘service canon’, a short stubby model with low cambered thick airfoil. This model could handle the conditions particularly well, by sticking to the thermal like no other model. All flights were very high and one could see his confidence growing by the round. After the last round, only two maxed out, Ivo and Petri Kuikka. The F1B models could apparently handle the condition lots better with 9 (!!) flyers maxing out, almost half of the competitors attending. Also in F1C 3 out of 4 maxed out and it was again Roots beating Pieter. In F1Q it was once again Matti Lihtamo, but this time his opponent was Ron Assmuss who did somewhat better compared to his F1A flights. The rest, food, rest and fly off schedule was identical to the day before, although the wind was some 1 m/s stronger. Shortly before the fly off we learned that Anselmo Zeri had passed away. This gave Ivo and me a big dent in our spirits, but decided that Anselmo wouldn’t have it any other way than winning this event. The F1A fly off was soon on its way. The starting position was close to the south east tree line which marked the very edge of the field. Kuika moved away from Ivo and was battling the turbulence, circling his model dangerously close to the ground at times. Thermals were absent, and Ivo made a good launch to some 75 meters, a couple of meters more than Petri. This extra altitude made the 16 seconds difference for Ivo to win. Ivo’s flight of 220 seconds traveled almost the full length of the field. Quick math yielded a 6 m/s wind speed.


At the prize giving we had one minute of silence in memory of Anselmo Zeri who was a frequent visitor at the Swedish and Nordic cup. The prizes of this event were not the common trophies, but traditionally crafted ceramic dishes made by the wife of Tom Oxager.


This year’s events were blessed with fine weather but the trickiest thermal conditions ever seen. Many were getting desperate and started doubting either their flying skills, model quality or both. Judging the flight times on the result lists it was better to keep the trim of the models untouched, erase the downdrafts from memory and reboot the flying skills for the next competition. The memories of Anselmo however, will for ever stay with us…..

Beautifully colored glider

  

Jari with Tchop flapper, he didn't use it in competition.

Lihtamo's hottest F1Q in existence with 1kw motor. Catching this rocket on picture was more luck than anything.

[Original Posting by Allard van Wallene, July 11, 2010 - re-entered by Chris Stoddart July 12, 2010]

SEZIMOVO USTI 2010 - Allard van Wallene

Ivo Kreetz, Kevin Lamers and I left early, about 1 hour earlier than last year, in an attempt to beat the rush hour in Prague. The plan would have worked if it weren’t for a malfunctioning traffic light system at one of the main road crossings in Prague! Nevertheless we arrived shortly after 4 pm and headed straight for the field as the weather forecast for the next day was pretty bad with rain in the morning and fierce winds in the afternoon. Once on the field it was overcast but with only 2.5 m/s average wind speed. We unpacked our models and did some testing.

Figure 1 Allard preparing his Smoo11-airfoil flapper

Kevin’s F1B models were being transported by Gerard Willemse so he practiced some mini RC DLG for the fun of it. Later the wind picked up slightly so we headed for our hotel to check in, which is always a bit of a hassle unpacking all the stuff and bikes from the car and transporting it to our room one floor up. After these formalities we left for the restaurant. No weather to sit outside on the terrace this time and on top of this, they ran out of beef as well! Humm, not a good start so far. The next day started wet, cold and windy. We decided to play tourist and went for Tabor city centre for a coffee and a visit to the tourist office. I found a brochure about a cave system in Chýnov, only some 10 km east of Tabor. A perfect site for a visit, where the weather could not spoil our fun. Before heading east, we visited a small museum, dedicated to the find of a 16^th century treasure in the floor of a Tabor house, which was renovated in 2001. When lowering the floor level, two jars were discovered with over 4000 silver coins. Everything was on display together with lengthy explanations about the monetary system and average price levels in those days.

Figure 2 Kevin and Ivo look in awe, half of the treasure on display.

After a short but pleasant stroll through the old part of town, the rain had finally seized and we headed for the caves. These were in fact some 50 meters deep and not too big in size, but the coloring of the eroded marble was breathtaking.

Figure 3 The caves

Ivo brought his tripod to make some stunning pictures. After the guided tour we left for the field at Vsechov to check out the action if any, but the fierce winds kept all models in the boxes. Only Kevin’s DLG model was aired, but it could not cope with the wind, even when doing a 45 degrees dive the ground speed was close to zero!

Figure 4 Keven launches and Ivo at the sticks, zero ground speed!

We headed back to the hotel for a power nap, well more than that as we woke up some two hours later. Perfect timing for dinner! This time the restaurant on Tabor square was our choice. The Brazilian steaks they served last year was still on the menu and quality still high. Topping it off with good coffee and the by now traditional ‘Palatschinken’ (pancakes Czech style with whipped cream and ice cream) gave us a good caloric buffer for the next day.

After good nigh sleep (apart from Kevin, who tried to local disco), the day dawned with clear skies and no wind to speak of. We had a quick breakfast and headed for the field. A light overcast and about 2 m/s wind made it a perfect start. Soon the flare went up for the first round. Air picking was relatively easy with docile thermals and hardly any real downdrafts. A good launching sequence organization despite 6 flyers on our pole resulted in a smooth running all day. I managed to snap my towline in round two. In round three I lost my RDT keyfob in the high grass. After making another max, a long search followed, but the keyfob remained well hidden in the high grass. Rounds 4 and 5 were merely a formality as thermals were pretty predictable, although good air took sometimes up to 20 minutes to build up. In round 6 I towed for 15 minutes when a nice build up of air started. A long warm period with the model pulling high but circling low, then some turbulence followed by a few high circles. Go! I launched to good height and the model was circling higher and higher heading for a safe max. Then, after having rolled up my towline, the model DT’d. A quickly looked at my watch, little over 90 seconds. I discussed in length what could have happened. I retrieved the model and checked the timer, sure enough it was set a 3 minutes. Then Ivo suggested I should check at the lost and found. My keyfob had in fact been found, and someone pushed some buttons before handing it in when my model was flying. Bummer! Air picking was by no means easy at times, judging a low flight from Koglot and two sub maxes by Jan Vosejkpa Senior who usually scores well in this event.

Figure 5 Vsychov (with F1A!) assists starting a reluctant engine

Meanwhile rumours were spreading that some F1B models were being stolen near the main road to Pisek. I decided not to risk anything and did not fly round 7. At least 4 models were being reported missing in action. All landed close to the road, where the retriever had good radio signal which then suddenly disappeared from the airwaves. Pim Ruyter’s model landed in the first fly off at 169 seconds. A few minutes later, he was at the landing spot with a good strong beacon signal. He could not find the model. He went back to get some help, but arriving at the same spot again the radio signal was no longer there, leading Pim to believe the model had been hidden in an open concrete drain pipe and taken the moment he left for help. This ‘trick’ had been tried before in previous years. A long search in the nearby villages drew blank, no beacon signal to be found. A couple of days later he received a message from one of the local flyers, that someone had contacted him to return the model for a ‘finders’ fee of 15 Euro. The beacon was however lost and fin and stabilizer damaged. Wilhelm Tesinger suffered from exactly the same sequence of events.

At 5.30 PM, the first fly off started in F1A. Some 20 flyers made it, among which Ivo and Maarten. I helped Ivo on the starting line and model retrieval. After Ivo prepared three of his ships, we went to the starting line with two models. When he hooked up the monofilament bunt cable of his ‘big’ model, it snapped. As he wanted to fly his Baldrick anyway he continued preparing this model. Nevertheless, he requested for me to go fetch his third back up model. I jumped on my bike and rushed to the car, picked up the model and raced back. On the downwind side of the starting poles I suddenly encountered a tow line in front of my face. In a reflex I squeezed the brake and the front wheel locked. I was catapulted over the steering bar with model on the tarmac. It took me some time to get to my senses again. Ivo’s model was damaged and so was I. First aid of the organizers was soon present to treat the minor scrapes. I was very lucky as this could have ended a lot worse. I feared a total loss of Ivo’s model, but closer inspection also revealed only minor damage. After the adrenaline had faded I realized I had a bruised rib as well.

Figure 6 Ivo prepares for fly off

Meanwhile a massive thermal passed over the starting line and many launched to max the five minutes. Ivo and I jumped on our bikes to get his model, which had landed in a paddock just after the village of Vsechov. We were back well in time to repair the broken cable which Ivo fixed just in time before the second fly off. Soon everyone was up on tow. Upwind a model launched, and although the height gain was not spectacular it held nicely. Many flyers were in doubt whether to join it or not. Some did, which was a wise decision as that patch of air kept developing progressively while moving downwind. Only Ragot , Ryz and Mezihorakova managed to make the 7 minutes. The rest who joined later could not make use of the air for the full 420 seconds with Kosonoshkin being closest for 4^th place. Both Ivo and Koglot, who was flying his all white M&K flapper, towed up to the last minute but the air was just not there. Roland made one of his spectacularly high launches, doing well over 4 minutes. Ivo also did a nice launch but had to settle for 3 min 20.

Up to the second fly off, the air was cooling down rapidly as some cloud fields obstructed the sun and the wind had picked up a bit too. First Ragot was up on tow, after a few circles he launched. The air did not look like anything special and the model circled downwind while flashing its strobe leds. After 3 minutes the model disappeared behind a row of trees, but the strobes were still visible so timing continued. Then the model disappeared behind the houses of the town of Vsechov. Then Ryz launched and although the model kept high on the line, the air was similar to Ragot’s. It would be tight! After the model landed, I asked around who had won. Ryz by 10 seconds, said the contest director. Later we heard there was a dispute between Ragots timekeepers, the times were averaged, enough to beat Ryz’s time by one second! Ms. Jana Mezihorakova made 132 for third place.

Figure 7 Koglot's flapper being launched for the 7 minute fly off

Also in the F1B and F1C fly offs, good air was scarce and the models with the best climb, transition and glides had the edge.

During the prize giving the contest organizer expressed his concerns about the models, which had disappeared. Earlier that day, he requested the police to supervise the downwind area close to the road. This was in fact done, albeit for only an hour or so, after which the thieves continued their activities to increase their ‘score’. They must have acted in a rather well prepared way, as no one actually saw the models being taken and they managed to remove the homing beacons quite effectively. Theft of models can never be prevented and this competition has rather unfavorable statistics in this sense. The organizers declared they will take extra measures next year to reduce this risk.

Figure 8 Thunderstorm developing

Figure 9 Gerard Willemsen still smiling

Figure 10 Tabor centre

Zülpich 2009 - Allard van Wallene

YouTube videos

Ivo Kreetz towing

Allard launching at 37 sec

Eifelpokal, Zülpich 2009

Hurricane Bill traveled over the Atlantic and hit main land Europe to spoil a chain of several years of good flying weather. Luckily it had faded enough to keep the rain gear in our bags, but the wind was fierce at times. This combined with the sunny spells also made the turbulence levels sometimes hard to cope with. On F1B day, models could be seen doing all weird kind of stuff. Vicious power stalls, rolls, vertical dives… Despite the strong wind, thermals were easy to detect, even without thermistors. Sometimes temperature was rising for several minutes up to an additional 5 degrees. Needless to say, some of these trash movers would carry the models a long way: mostly into or even behind the town of Enzen on the far- east side of the field. The maximum duration was reduced to 150 seconds in the fifth and remaining rounds. On occasion the wind direction changed slightly more to the south, making the models land into a horse paddock. Horses, unlike cows, are normally not much of a problem, except for this bunch. The leader of the pack was a rather potent ‘alpha stallion’ and once he got wind of a flyer entering his ‘turf’ he meant business. Some models were kicked to bits, even one flyer got an unpleasant encounter with the stallion’s back horse shoe. It would approach you, turn around and just kick! A total of 8 F1B flyers had a clean score. The wind showed no sign of easing off, so the organizers wisely decided to schedule the fly off for 6.30 AM the next day. In F1C, Pieter de Boer was the only one with a clean score. Gerd Aringer was flying his new folder, but the wings refused to unfold and the ship came down like a cruise missile. The radio-DT saved the model from destruction. He repeated this exercise in round three, then decided it was wise to retire.

Binoculars, streamers and faces in directional synchronicity

Pim Ruyter launching in early morning fly off

Despite the wind forecast promising less wind on Sunday, the dawn welcomed us with a cool breeze. Before the start of the F1A competition, the 8 F1B flyers had to do their fly off. After having assigned all the required timekeepers everyone was soon winding their best rubber. First Mike Woodhouse launched, quickly followed by Pim Ruyter. Others followed in sequence. Despite the early hour there was apparently some good air passing towards the second half of the 10- minute slot. Those who launched last had the better times, with Bernd Silz topping the show with 338 seconds, followed by Rolandas Mackus 11 seconds behind and Michael Seifert only 17 seconds behind for third spot. Between the third and fourth place there was a gap of more than one minute.

French elegance, Myriam Morandini sends her ship off to Enzen

The first F1A round started 8 ‘o clock sharp with Victor Stamov towing immediately upwind. After a few circles he found a solid patch of air. A perfect launch followed and the model was gently climbing away for a safe 3.5 minute max. I was on the same pole, flying my newly designed and built HiBrid 2009. Also I found a nice patch of air. Despite the low turbulent levels, many dropped and the following rounds the wind increased further with gusty thermal in-fills. Only a few circle towed. The wind direction was very constant (straight over the horse paddock), so were the distances traveled by the models. I radio DT’d my model as far away from the horses as possible, but one flight the model landed on the south side of the paddock. I picked up the model and headed back towards the fence when I spotted two other models landing close by. After having picked those up, the alpha stallion got wind of the situation and started approaching, the pack quickly following their leader. Handling three models in the gusty wind was no easy task, and the stallion quickly caught up. I decided, instead of making a quick dash for the fence or scaring the animal away, to do some ‘horse whispering’. After some soothing words the horse apparently quieted down. Much to my surprise the trick worked. It turned around and headed slowly back to the pack. I continued slowly towards the fence. The alpha stallion probably thought this was an act of weakness or thought I now belonged to his pack, so he quickly turned around and headed straight for me again. The fence was still well out of reach, so I repeated the whispering act. Amazingly it did its trick again. I had to repeat this exercise once more to get the three gliders as well as myself over the fence. Mission accomplished!

Walt Ghio and Mike Woodhouse catching up during one of the 20 minute breaks

Starting poles were close to the camp site, Eggiman launching.

After four rounds, only five flyers had a clean score, Siggy Limberger, John Carter, Aurijs Plume, Alain Bochet and me. The conditions were not getting easier, and the wind picked up a few knots. Long periods of cumulus shielding the sun made thermal activity scarce. Then Limberger and Bochet dropped the fifth, Aurijs finally the 7^th. I had to put up a fight in the 7^th round, when the sun was hidden behind grey clouds for almost 30 minutes. Keeping the model on tow in the wind and turbulence, using a thin Spectra towline was no easy task, but finally the sun appeared again and so did the thermals for a clean score. Also John Carter managed well for a solid max.

Allard battling the turbulence (foto from Thermiksense)

The fly off was scheduled for 6.30 PM. While the contest director was counting down towards the start, the air was warming up similar to what I experienced the day before. Time couldn’t go fast enough for me to shoot the model up in this bit of undoubtedly rising air. At the sound of the horn I went up, and sure as hell, the air was there. I made one high circle to check the lift and positioning myself downwind of the starting line. Then, I made a circle to prepare for launch. The model shot up, nicely rolling into its turn to pull out of the bunt at well over 80 meters. John Carter was already on tow, but was too late to join. After a couple of more circles he decided to launch, but the air was not there and the model was coming down. After two minutes however it started climbing again but the air didn’t last for long. My model was gently circling at ever increasing altitude towards a safe max but also towards the woods at the far and of the field. I decided to radio DT the model the moment John’s timekeepers stopped clocking. I pushed the button and the model came spiraling down, in front of the woods and touching down at 5:02. A max doesn’t come any cleaner than that!

Gerard Willemsen launching HiBrid for 5 minute fly off.

At the price giving , Peter Mönninghof was given a poster of himself which every participant could sign to congratulate him with this 40^th anniversary of the Eifelpokal. Trophies changed hands in the orange light of the setting sun. After the price giving I treated myself to a nice schnitzel and French fries at the field restaurant. After I finished, the generator for the frying oil and lighting was shut down. The end of an eventful flying day and time to drive home….

Sweden 2009 - Allard van Wallene

Sweden 2009

All over western Europe, the weather was summer-like with temperatures even passing the 30 degree mark in Scandinavia. Looking at the weather forecast I was in doubt if I should bring my rain gear. And as I was driving up north together with Gerard Willemsen and his girlfriend Menna in his spacious van, I packed all I could possibly need. It proved to be a lucky guess.

I drove up to Gerard’s place in Harderwijk the night before departure. Gerard was still busy preparing his gear, which was scattered all over the living room floor. After a solid night sleep and early rise, we packed our last valuables (model boxes) and were on our way. Soon after sunrise the temperature started rising, a sign that the airco was not doing its thing. After my previous ‘airco down’ experience to Sezimovo Usti, I was thinking that maybe I had some bust airco aura around me. The summer temperatures in the back seat made sleeping all the easier. The ferry to Rodby was a welcome break to cool down a bit.

Thunderstorm in Rinkaby

Close to Rinkaby the sky was packing up with thunderclouds and upon arrival at the military barracks all hell broke loose with fierce rains, lightning and wind. I was glad I had opted to sleep in the barracks, even more so after realizing the mosquitoes were keeping a low profile this year. Gerard put up his ‘throw up’ tent and soon we were driving to Ahus for a pizza. The thundercloud was moving slowly east and we managed to outrun it to the Rinkaby cash dispenser a few seconds before the first drops started falling. Just after confiscating the last available table at the pizzeria, it started to get real dark outside followed by flying parasols, thunder and rain. It didn’t last very long, and after having finished our dinner we could stroll along the harbor docks admiring the pinnacle in sail yachts in the setting sunlight with collapsing thunderclouds at the horizon. We were wondering if the global crisis left this place totally untouched. The high-end restaurants facing the harbor were fully booked with people even queuing. A stroll passed the guesthouse where Anselmo and I passed our time on previous visits and to the beach, left nothing to be desired, although a bottle of cool white wine would have been the cherry on the pie.

Ahus harbour

The next morning I was woken up by a bright rising sun piercing through the window of the barracks, shining right into my face. No alarm clock needed. I took a quick breakfast and had a look at the Saab Draken which was moved to the barrack grounds from the desolate place it had been resting and decaying over the passed years. Soon everyone was gathering for the briefing at the west end of the field. Weather was perfect but thermals not easy to pick. A conventional piggy backing tactic proved to be a risky exercise in the first rounds since thermals tended to collapse. Per Findahl in particular fell victim, after trying to locate his model below that of Rene Limberger already circling at some 150 meters altitude. After about 5 circles and running downwind to keep in the moving bubble he launched but the model soon dropped out spoiling a fly off position. Only 7 each in F1A and F1B made it to the fly off, a clear sign of the sometimes tricky conditions.

The fly off was scheduled at 8.00 PM and since only 5 rounds were flown, there was some time left to get a quick dinner in Ahus. Again, thunderstorms were gaining momentum but kept themselves at a safe distance despite the sometimes fierce sand- sweeping gusts at the beach. We managed to get a quick pizza and some soft drinks. The waitress apologized for the freezer being broke, so no ice. Again my airco aura?

The wind had shifted to the east, so the fly off started at the east side of the east gravel road. The east side of the field was cultivated with some wheat, so our traditional fly off spot was ‘taken’. F1A was first on its way with a 7 minute max. I towed upwind and after some 6 minutes I found a nice patch of air. When trying to launch, the rudder didn’t kick in and the model went off pattern. I aborted the launch making good use of the inertia hook and tried again but a third attempt was needed to get a relatively safe pattern. But the bubble was long gone and some flyers downwind made good use of the air. Rene’s model rode it the best possible way for a convincing win.

Also in F1B, one round was decisive. Rosonoks launched first with a spectacular high climb. But soon after the blades folded, the model started sinking fast. Silz, flying his best rubber on a short motor, went up like a rocket with a burst that didn’t seem to end. Clearly his air was better and the model glided down and into the trees at the north side of the field for yet another win. The following flyers were however very close and just a few seconds behind, most of them also ending up in the trees. Prize giving was traditionally held in front of the barracks with snacks and drinks.

The Danish Nordic cup was scheduled the next day with a briefing at 08.30. The day started overcast, and apparently the forecast didn’t look very good because the contest director Bo Nyhegn already mentioned a possibility of a reduced max. During his talk the wind had already swung to the east, so a move to that side of the field was soon on its way. The max was set at 180 seconds which proved to be a hurdle a lot of flyers could not take.

Masters of tow, Ivo Kreetz and Rene Limberger

Thermal picking was not easy since the arrival of a bubble was often accompanied with hefty turbulence, giving the flyers a hard fight to keep the model on tow. Several flyers had to use a second attempt after towing in the model. After two rounds we had to move in a south direction in order to keep the models within the field perimeters. The max was soon to be reduced to 2,5 minutes and even 2 minutes in the last two rounds. Only a few were brave enough to circle tow to pick the air, most decided to wait on the ground for signs of good air. In the last round it started to rain and thermals were no longer clearly detectable. Dethermalising at 50 meters after two minutes was considered to be good air. Needless to say that under such conditions not many made it to the fly offs, in this case only 6 in F1A.

The fly off was scheduled at 7 pm. Just enough time for drying the models and a quick bite on the camp ground. The organizers were painstakingly consulting the local weather stations to decided when to fly. The short term forecast for dry weather was too optimistic, and the fly off started in pouring rain. The wind speed was however low at some 3 m/s. For Allard history repeated itself. This time not a shifted launch sensor, but not enough spring pull back on the hook causing a pitch up leaving the model inverted. The recovery left the model too low to catch the air. Rene’s model suffered from a heavy tail due to the water build up and his model started stalling spoiling his chances for a second victory. Jaris Zanins from Latvia was the only one making the 5 minutes for a clear win.

Soon the F1B fly off was on its way. Despite the rain, buoyant air was still around and both Gerard Willemsen and Andreas Gey made the 5 minutes. The timer in Gerards’s all electronic model had trouble with the wet and he had to use his back up model to try the 7 minutes. Andreas politely waited for Gerard to prepare. Both launched in the same air, which was particularly negative with the models pulling out of the climb at rather low altitude with Andreas’ model clearly higher and therefore the winner. The water soaked models were quickly retrieved and we all headed for the dry barracks.

Price giving was inside the barracks due to the continuous rain. Everyone lined up in the corridor and the winners collected their ceramic bowls and glasswear.

Nordic Cup F1B winners

Next morning we packed all our wet stuff and headed for the ferry. The long cue before the ferry and the German road works caused some delay as did the navigation system guiding us over secondary roads. The lower temperatures compensated for the broken air conditioner.

Eurofly 2009 - Allard van Wallene

After some criticism in on-line forums on how the competition has been run in some of the past years, the organizers announced in Free Flight media they would stick strictly to FAI rules. This information combined with a near perfect weather forecast and an expected high turn out were the main ingredients for an end of the season show down. For some flyers a lot was at stake, winning or loosing this competition would make or break a World Cup victory. In F1A Roland Koglot and Thomas Slokar were still in the running for a victory in F1A, Andrjukov in F1B and Truppe in F1C.

Figure 1 Hotel Gurnigelbad, view into valley obstructed by layer of clouds on F1B day.

We, Maarten van Dijk, Ivo Kreetz and I, arrived Friday evening in hotel Gurnigelbad, built on parts of the foundations of the once famous 19^th century 600-bed hotel, which is located on the west slopes of the valley at some 1155 meters altitude. Saturday morning dawned with clear skies, but a look into the valley showed a dense cloud layer. We thought this grey mass would reach all the way to ground level and competition site which is situated along the road between Kirchenthurnen and Mühledorf, but when driving down the mountain to the starting area we were well below cloud level. Flying conditions were perfect with virtually no wind. In F1C a proper trimmed model would have no difficulties in maxing, but in F1B this was another story. The buoyant air was present in ‘layers’, and ending up in the wrong layer would make even the best model landing very close to the maximum flight time of 4 minutes. Andrjukov saw his chances for a World Cup victory vaporize, when the controls of the model were apparently not properly set sending the ship down for a disappointing 205 seconds. In F1C maxing was a mere formality provided the model was well trimmed and launched in the right direction. Vladimir Vsychov was flying a completely re- engineered model with some novel features. The stabilizer was flapped for a symmetrical section during climb, and under-cambered during glide. The engine was particularly hot, running the highest RPM on the field. The foldable wing worked reliably and the transitions were clean. He was going strong heading for a fly off spot, when an attempt launching the ship with the wings in un-folded position crashed the model beyond repair.

Figure 2: Vsychov launches new full carbon folder with flapped stab, impressive climb

After having watched the second round, we headed for another spot on the field for some proper practicing. We soon realized that real thermals were very scarce indeed, in fact we experienced only one during the whole day which would actually carry the model to higher altitudes. For the remainder of the day, a good launch and careful air picking was not always a guarantee for a 3 minutes flight. All day the weather allowed watching the behavior of models from a close distance for the entire flight. It was interesting to see the layered nature of good and bad air. In particular, models that would centre well in more ‘normal’ thermal conditions would wonder about all over the field scraping the best air available but inevitably passing through sinking air in the process. Maarten and me launched two identical models in the same air. The first 2 minutes model one was doing better, in the last minutes of the flight the roles were reversed. Just in time to watch the fly off spectacle, we packed up and headed for the flight line. The fly offs were soon on their way.

Figure 3: Truppe launches for winning flight

With the zero wind conditions, the altitude of the models could only be judged from a distance, so we watched the participants from the food and beverage barn. The F1B with the best rubber and the F1C models with the hottest climb had a clear advantage. In F1B no one made the max, while in F1C only Truppe and managed the 7 minutes. Their following fly off was a bit of an anti climax. The Italian flyer who flew consistently all day, launched a bit to the right making the model go off its pattern. The bunt was followed by a fierce stall and he radio DT’d the model to avoid further damage. Truppe only had to repeat his consistency which he did for a convincing win. In F1B Mike Woolner had the best performance with 6:26 closely followed by Tonu Luman and although he now also had 3 first places, it was not enough to knock Silz from the winning spot in the World Cup ranking. He was allowed to do his singing act again at the banquet that night.

F1A day dawned less cloudy and the first round was sunny and windstill. Thermals were absent, so a good launch was practically a guarantee for the 3:30 max. 40 out of 73 flyers managed. In round two the force of the sun created small patches of lift, which could vanish as quickly as they appeared in particular towards the end of the round. Watching other models was just as important as checking the air on tow.

Figure 4: Ivo Kreetz checks rudder while Maarten psyches up for first round

Despite the sometimes tricky air, 24 managed a clean score. Around 4 pm these flyers lined up for the fly off. Maximum time was set at 7 minutes, as announced before the contest.

Figure 5: Cenny Breeman flew this unturbulated ship, but a slight stall spoiled his chances

Both Allard and Bart Rotteveel started towing when the flare shot up. The models were dangerously close and Allard's model hit Bart's towline and crashed into the hard tarmac of the road. An approaching car could not avoid a collision, and the model was heavily damaged. Others were already towing comfortably in the middle of the field where good air was developing. Allard rushed back for his back up ship, and was on tow again 5 minutes into the round. Roland Koglot repeated one of his rocket- launches, and shot his flapper well over 90 meters. The glide was superb, but a landing on top of a downwind barn ended his chances for a victory of this competition and World Cup. Apparently the timekeeper of Aringer saw his model for the full 7 minutes although others saw it land at 6:11. The time was averaged to 6:35 for the victory. Both Pouzet and Kosonoshkin tied with a time of 6:24 and had to fly another fly off to decide the runner up place. Kosonoshkin had the better launch, and although both models were holding well in the solid air, it was Kosonoshkin's short model who did 5:54 against 5:19 for Pouzet. It took some time before the final results were announced, but close to darkness the prize giving was on its way.

In F1Q Andreas Lindner won. His model went up like on rails with no rolling or yawing followed by a bunt. Most of his climbs were followed by a loud applause from the onlookers. Runner up Wolfgang Gerlach was close in pattern but not as perfect and the fly-off made the difference in performance clear. In F1G no less than 24 participants attended. None of them managed to max out, a clear sign of the sometimes tricky conditions. Jean-Luc Bodin dropped the least amount of seconds with a 171 in round two.

Figure 6: Aringer launches for son Luca

This competition was a worthy climax of the season with the best flying conditions imaginable and high performances in all classes. The low wind speeds made it the perfect spectator event, even for the flyers, who could relax in between flights. The competition was well run with plenty of timekeepers from the local ice hockey club, a barn with food and drinks and sanitary. Results were processed with a computer and final results ready soon after the final fly offs.

After an excellent dinner in one of the local 'Gaststube' we drove back up the mountain to our hotel for a well- deserved night sleep. We were woken at 3 AM by howling winds and fierce rain. The storm managed to stay out of our way long enough, but then hit us at full force. Next morning the roads were covered in a thick layer of autumn leaves. But despite the wet, traffic was light and we made it home without delays.

Figure 7: Tame sister of Red Bull