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Two weeks had passed and all of the fliers recharged and with renewed vigour met back at the Bushfields Sports Centre Peterborough for Round 2 of the 3 scheduled . Externally the weather was quite cold however as previous years this fails to make a notable difference inside. The heaters & vents are shut off shortly beforehand providing a stable environment for these light models.

Access was allowed some 30minutes before our 10am start which allowed all to fill one side of the hall with our tables, kit and the models perched from their stands. Practice flying was well in swing within 30 minutes with fervent activity from all of the fliers aiming to trim the last seconds from their models prior to the first round.    

It was Derek Richards who took the `bull by the horns’ with a brace of flights that were to push Bob Bailey to within one second over the two flights with Mark Benns putting in one good flight to rival the leaders.

Round two started promptly with Bailey & Benns launching on ever increasing torque levels to attain times around 10mins 45secs, Richards however was having none of it with a flight of 11minutes dead. John Shaw & Geoffrey Lefever were having their own private battle with John tipping the balance as Geoff battled with some model damage which was certainly affecting duration.

The Final round was set up to be a real humdinger, it was Bailey’s turn to fly early posting a superb 11min 6second flight inching himself ahead of Derek but only by 13seconds, Richards responded with a trademark high torque launch bouncing the ceiling just after the minute and settling to a respectable time but not enough to tip Bob who held out to win his second trials in succession.   Meanwhile Shaw, Lefever & Clive King struggled to better their early rounds working tirelessly to the last few minutes of the event.

Congratulations to Bob Bailey for retaining his title with a full house and to Derek Richards & Mark Benns for sealing their team positions for 2010. The Final round is to be held early in the New Year where the fourth place (reserve team member) will be hotly contested as will the 2nd & third position. Thanks again to all who attended and special thanks to Peter Ing for being Contest Director for the day.

Top 4 placing after Round One

R. Bailey                     100% (21.58- best 2 flights)

D.Richards                  99.01% (21.75 – best 2 flights)

M.Benns                      98.25% (21.35 – best 2 flights)

J.Shaw                        81.63% (17.56 – best 2 flights)

G.Lefever                    79.81% (17.32 – best 2 flights)

The first round was held at the Bushfields Sports Centre on the outskirts of Peterborough. The hall is a superbly sealed space which has never failed to produce the benign air conditions required for such an important contest.

As per last year the format for the team selection is gathered from a competitors best two round performances from the three scheduled dates. The top competitors score on the day is awarded 100% with all other entrants receiving their respective percentages. This has proved to be hugely successful process always `down to the wire’.

There was a good attendance with competitors, fun fliers and spectators creating a fine ambience. The day was divided into three rounds for two competition flights to be recorded by each entrant. All flights are flown with 0.2grams of rubber, a third motor with a spacer of 0.4grams. 

An early marker was set by Bob Bailey (last year’s trials champion) with a superb 11mins15s, with Derek Richards & Mark Benns posting opening gambits in the early 10mins. John Shaw last year’s GB team member had a brace of mid 8min flights. Round two commenced with Bailey unable to reach the heights of his first flight however Richards & Benns upped their times to close the gap. The stable air throughout the day provided excellent trimming conditions with all of the fliers tirelessly in the air fine tweaking to better their duration for the final round. All improved their times except Bob Bailey who consolidated his first flight with his penultimate attempt.  

Congratulations to all who attended and flew making a splendid long & hard days flying, we look forward to Round Two in two weeks time.

Top 4 placing after Round One

R. Bailey                     100% (22.08- best 2 flights)

D.Richards                  98.34% (21.46 – best 2 flights)

M.Benns                      96.5% (21.22 – best 2 flights)

J.Shaw                        76.72 (16.59 – best 2 flights)

The BMFA Indoor Technical Committee invites applications for the position of GBR Team Manager for the 2010 F1D World Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia in August 2010. The exact date to be confirmed.

The Team Manager will be required to organise flights for the party together with their model boxes, liaise with the Organising Committee before and during the Championships, arrange suitable accomodation and transport in Belgrade and support the team during the contest.

Your CV to Allan Weighell (littleal28@btinternet.com)

Closing date 13th December 2009

Allan Weighell, FSMAE, Chairman Indoor Technical Committee.

Rules for the newly adopted Gyminnie Cricket Class.

a.  Model to be as plan form (no change to flying surface areas or shape)

b.  Wingspan                     15″ (382mm)

c.  Overall length              17″ (430mm)

d.  Max motor stick           9″  ( 228mm)

e.   Any propeller 

f.   Any covering material

g.   Minimum weight 3gm

ITC

The 2009 N0-Cal Challenge was introduced on page 12 of this months (Feb 2009) BMFA News unfortunately there is a small error which the Indoor technical Committee apologise for and are attempting to advise all of well in advance of the forthcoming meetings.

Rule 3 should have read `a plastic propeller may be used’  

Please accept our apologies for this oversight and we trust this will not spoil your Challenge.

Indoor Technical Committee