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Sunday the 4th May 2008 saw this years’ first serious return to Cardington No.1 shed, sadly only a dozen or so people turned up, but what a day they had. Britain’s best were there gaining some much needed high ceiling practice before the World Champs in Belgrade in August. The rest being GC protagonists pushing their ambitions to fantastic heights!   

The Cardington venue is tenuously secure until mid summer and a careful vigilance of these pages will keep all informed of any last minute cancellations or extended usage. All BMFA and  SAA members are welcome but must obey site rules. 

 Andrew Cambell with his GC at Cardington.

Would you like to almost double your Gymminie Cricket times?

Well, with 90′ in workable height and almost unlimitable floor space the chance to fly in this most historic building until at least mid summer is there for the taking. As ITC results coordinator I can confirm that many people did indeed exceed their personal bests on Sunday, but do remember, that those fortunate enough to be able to attend Cardington are not guaranteed to win the challenge. The finals are to be held at Manchester Velodrome on October 18th, where the playing field will be levelled for all.

We are pleased to announce the following Top contestants/clubs/teams for the Gymminie Cricket Challenge.

The leaders are placed in no particular order, and times witheld.

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Name                                Club                        Age                Weight 

John Andrews              Timperley Club                74                3.5gm

Andrew Campbell          CADMAC                        60                2.1gm

Geoff Chappell              Cleveland Indoor             42               2.8gm

Ken Croft                     Country Member             68               3.5gm?

David Leech                  Oundle                          70+              3.9gm

Anthony Oliver              Peterlee                        60+              3.6gm?

Allan Weighell               Cleveland Indoor            67                3.8gm 

Doug Miller                    Boldon MFC                   70+                 ?

Tom Maddison              Guisborough                  75

John Barker                   Timperley                      81                1.6gm

                                   Cleveland Indoor           184

                                   Guisborough MFC          217

An extract from John Andrews report on his latest GC experience (the full report will be available at the ITC webpage shortly)

  The Cardington indoor meeting on Sunday May 4^th. saw a profusion of Gyminnie Crickets being put through their paces by a variety of flyers.  The initiative masterminded by the indoor committee seems to be catching on, many sports hall flyers are taking up the challenge.   

The natural desire for participants to improve their flight times is resulting in flyers paying a visit to the ultimate venue for indoor duration flying, the No1 Shed at Cardington in Bedfordshire.  The 150ft or so ceiling in the old airship hanger proved quite a challenge for the Gyminnie Cricket flyers as they tried to wring out the ultimate performance from their machines.  The renewed netting in the roof was never threatened but a number of flights were made with models reaching the 100ft mark at the top of their climb.

BMFA Indoor Duration events. 

The 2008 Indoor National Championships At RAF Digby Lincolnshire. 

By the kind permission of the Station Commander, Group Captain A S Corbett MBE MA BA RAF

Friday, Saturday & Sunday 19^th 20^th & 21^st September 2008

Friday evening: Champagne Fly off (Details to be agreed)

Saturday: L.P.P, F1M, No-Cal, F1N, F1L & Gyminnie Cricket (Details to be agreed)

Sunday: F1D, 35cm & LRS (Details to be agreed)

The Gymnasium Hall at RAF Digby is housed within a WW2 Aircraft Hanger with a fantastic floor space and a 30ft ceiling. (Additional details for the events and entry will be published in due course on the website including application for foreign nationals)

RAF Digby, Lincoln. Lincolnshire LN4 3LH

Contact: Mark Benns on 01733-755733 or email  itc@bmfa.org The indoor Technical Committee

 The Indoor Technical Committee is pleased to confirm the following dates for Indoor free flight flying at 

Cardington Airship Hanger No.1.

The hanger is clear of all obstructions freeing the entire floor space and should provide the best conditions for years.

Sunday 20th April      (10am-5pm)

Sunday 4th May         (10am-5pm)               (reserve date 3rd)

Sunday 18th May      (10am-5pm)

Sunday 1st June        (10am-5pm)              (reserve date 31st)

Sunday 15th June     (10am-5pm)              (reserve date 14th)

Sunday 29th June     (10am-5pm)               (reserve date 28th) 

All BMFA members and those with an appropriate insurance are welcome to come and enjoy indoor free flight flying at the Airship Hanger.  

Please Note: Due to holes in the building fabric the building is weather dependent and as a result an announcement will be made by Laurie Barr (Cardington Liason Officer) via the BMFA Latest News webpage circa 24hours beforehand confirming whether the event will be held. In the event of the Sunday date being cancelled the Saturday preceeding may be used as a reserve date.  If anyone believes that we do not have their email address they should submit it to itc@bmfa.org to ensure they are kept informed of ITC events. We apologise for any uncertainty or inconvenience that this may cause and hope that you can appreciate the situation.   

PLEASE NOTE UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES IS ANYONE ALLOWED TO CLIMB THE STAIRS OR STRUCTURE TO RETRIEVE MODELS.

How to get there: 3 miles South of Bedford, on the A600, the 2 giant hangers can be seen. For newcomers, arrive at 9.30-10.00 a.m. Drive down between the 2 hangers, and turn left at the end. Turn left again, and halfway down the side of the hanger, is a small door, and a larger sliding door. You can bring your own car into the hanger. The large sliding door, will be shut at approx 11.00 a.m, and not opened again, until approx 6. p.m, to ensure stable air. The small door stays open but it must be shut behind you. The “loos” are primitive but working.

Now that the Challenge has been up and running for one month, some small changes have become necessary now that the initiative has evolved somewhat.

First of all, because we have decide to include a Club/Team element into the equation, so we need some basic rules to cover what constitutes a team, how many attempts each team will be allowed to submit up to the 18th October 2008 etc..

We will be publishing the top names, but not times, each month together with photos, top tips, plans for DIY equipment for weighing and winding the model together with sites where you can see how the world’s best obtain such incredibly light  and competitive models.

A couple of dates for your calendar :

Manchester Velodrome Saturday 14th June ……….11am-7pm

                                 Saturday 18th October ….11am-7pm 

Classes, F1D, F1l, F1M, 35cm, Penny plane, EZB, G.C- no living room stick   

October date is also GC finals.