Classic FAI Team Race

CLAMF Competition 17th June 2012

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John and Peter post flight briefing

A small group of winter wallies braved the June weather to do some Classic FAI racing at Clamf on the weekend. Actually the weather turned out pretty good apart from a light shower when we were having lunch.

As usual a couple of absentees meant a few less entries and some team swapping.

A stand out of the day was Paul’s 2 times using one of the new Foras that we recently received. Paul was taking it easy with the new engine so it didn’t seem to be going that fast. I was timing the race and when the clock stopped at 4.20 there was some question if I had made a mistake . But Murray had the starters watch running and confirmed the 4.20 result. Later on Paul backed it up with a touch more comp and a 4.15 to really nail it home.  These were 2 great times a full 15 sec faster than the 4.30 times we had been doing.

Mark was unable to pit due to a bad back , so I flew my new Metky style model with Murray. Our times of 4.38 and 4.42 were consistent but I will have to find some more speed to keep pace with Pauls beautiful Espadon.

John Hallowell was struggling for range with his Rothwell as was Ken Hunting who was having some tuning problems with his Dennis Prior Fora powered model.

Altogether a quiet day at the field, but always fun to be with the boys and make some noise.

G. Wilson/P. Stein         4.20.75
J. Hallowell/P. Roberts    4.56.35

M. Wilson/ A. Nugent       4.38.39
G. Wilson/ P. Stein        4.15.62

K. Hunting/ M. Wilson      6.40.37
J. Hollowell/ P. Roberts   5.06.03

M/ Wilson/ A. Nugent       4.42.18
K.Hunting/ G. Wilson       8.34.81

Mini Goodyear, 1/2A Combat, Simple Rat Race

CLAMF Competition 3rd June 2012

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Servicing 1/2A Combat models in between bouts

Some good bouts were flown in 1/2A combat for the 2012 Vic State Champs, plenty of cuts were taken & plenty of model damage as well. The ground was quite soft so engines were regularly delayed in restarting until dirt was removed from venturis. Model repairs after mid airs also cost all fliers airtime, no one had full airtime.

Rd 1 saw Murray against Michael with a win to Murray 3 cuts to 1 but with 30 secs less airtime, bout 2 was between Adam & Graeme with a win to Adam 2 cuts on the streamer & a model cut in half, Graeme had 48 secs airtime, bout 3 was between Tony 2 cuts & Harry 1 cut & less airtime, win to Tony.

Rd 2 saw Harry versus Michael, a very good bout with Harry taking 3 cuts to Michaels 1 cut, this put Michael out. The next bout was between Murray & Adam, 3 cuts to Murray & 1 to Adam but lack of airtime cost Adam, 139 secs ground time, bout 3 was between Tony & Graeme, Tony was only in the air for 2 mins but took 2 cuts & as hard as Graeme tried Tony was too evasive & only conceded 1 cut giving Graeme his second loss going down this time by 9 secs. 2 gone, 4 to go.

Rd 3 saw Harry versus Adam, bit of a non-event, Adam couldn’t get started & only had 12 secs airtime so an easy win to Harry, Adam now out, 3 gone. The remaining bout in this round was between Tony & Murray, in the first attempt it ended in a draw, 2 cuts each & within 5 secs of airtime, damaged models cost valuable airtime, in the 2nd attempt it was a convincing win to Murray, 4 cuts to 2 & 55 secs more airtime, 1st loss for Tony.

Rd 4 saw Tony v Harry, 3 cuts to Tony & less airtime to Harry’s 1 cut & more airtime but not enough, this gave Harry 3^rd place, Murray had a bye, 4 gone.

Rd 5 had Tony v Murray, after a scrappy bout with more model damage Tony won with 2 cuts to nil for Murray, who flew a large portion of the bout with only half a model. At this point it was decided this was it, no use continuing with broken models, so a win to Tony was enough to win the 1/2A Combat competition with Murray taking 2nd place.

Results:

1/2A Combat

1st Caselli
2nd Murray
3rd Harry

Mini Goodyear

1st Wilson /Ellins
2nd Hallowell /Wilson
3rd Bailey /Roberts

Navy Carrier 

Navy Carrier 20th May 2012

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Landing Technique

Event:           Navy Carrier Competition
Date:             Sunday 20^th May
Weather:      Perfect

Light and variable winds set the scene for some great Navy Carrier flying with anticipation of fast high speed flights, good slow speed runs and the all important 3 point arrested carrier deck landing. Seven competitors lined up with a variety of model and engine combinations.

Graeme and Mark both flew a stock HP40 powered Brodak J Roberts Bearcat with aplomb, just another day at the office for these seasoned flyers. Peter Robert’s Merco 35 powered Wildcat equipped with flaps gained the early advantage in the light conditions blitzing the 7 lap slow speed time and Harry flew his Thunder Tiger 36 powered Brodak Bearcat with very impressive high speed times. Peter Koch in his second Navy Carrier competition presented with a nicely refreshed Brodak J Roberts Skyraider powered by a ‘big block’ Thunder Tiger 40. Adam took the opportunity to participate with a Brodak Guardian and Bearcat in his first Navy Carrier competition.

Anyone would think that 7 experienced C/L modellers blessed with perfect weather conditions would make for a great competition with close results, right? Wrong !

In the first round not one competitor managed to complete the three phases of flight which comprises of a deck departure, 7 laps of high speed flight, 7 laps slow speed and a successful ‘three point’ arrested landing. Fuel blockages, flame outs, hook failures, throttle malfunctions just a few of the ‘opportunities’ that would have competitors in and out of the pits for the entire event. Inconsistent engine runs encouraged what can only be described as some very innovative flying. Attempts at three point deck landings included kamikaze style approaches that resulted in the stern ramp taking some extreme punishment.

Mark at controls of the Guardian decided to attempt a ‘Sudden Death 2’ approach and subsequently missed the arrester wires instead leaving propeller impressions along the entire length of the deck. Harry’s attempt at a high speed  ‘Creeper’ approach ended in tears and Peter Roberts in a first made needle valve adjustments on his engine (untouched since 1976..) only to endure multiple flame-outs. Adam managed a 2 point landing with the black Bearcat 201 on his third pass, go Adam!

By days end and after some fiddling, most competitors managed to execute at least one successful arrested deck landing. Superb weather conditions, a great BBQ lunch with lots of laughs made for top day at the CLAMF Aerosports field.

F2C, Classic FAI, Classic B, Vintage A  (Team Race), 1/2 A & Vintage Combat, Navy Carrier, Classic & F2B Stunt, Speed

Control Line Grand Prix 2012

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Competitors and spectators at the 2012 CLAMF Aerosports Grand Prix

Held at the CLAMF Aerosports field in Seaford over four days in February.

As the Nationals were not to take place over the New Year period in 2011 – 2012 and the events calendar was looking rather empty of any alternative events, a few members of the Frankston club suggested that we could possibly organise a low key

competition spread over a few days. The club committee considered that the idea was feasible and began to make someplans along the lines of a Mini C/L Nationals. We decided to call the event “Grand Prix”. Expressions of interest were sought from potential entrants and visitors and the response was that it was a good idea. The club committee decided to go ahead and make it happen.

Events were decided upon, catering was organised, toilets were hired, the flying field was manicured, a swap meet was scheduled, and trophies manufactured and evening functions were put in place for the locals and those intending to visitMelbournefrom interstate.

All was ready in time, entries in all events were well supported, what was now needed was some good flying weather between January 5th and 8th.

The first event of the competition was F2C.

It was a great win by Murray Wilson and Mark Poschkens over the reigning World Champs Rob Fitzgerald and Mark Ellins. Fitzgerald/Ellins had one slow restart…all the rest were one flickers, but it only take one bad stop to lose the race. Paul Stein and Richard Justic had a run in at the start of the final resulting in a 2 up race. The Wilson/Poschkens F2C final time of 6:18.44 will be claimed as a new Australian record.

F2C TEAM RACE

1.M.Wilson/M.Poschkens 3:07.54 3:02.28 6:18.44
2.R.Fitzgerald/M.Ellins DNF 67 3:00.62 6:20.75
3.R.Justic/P.Stein 3:10.88 5:42.50 DNF 0
4.G.Wilson/N.Baker 3:56.25 4:07.12
5.K.Hunting/K.Baddock 4:18.81 4:08.94

1/2A COMBAT

1   2  3  4  5   6

1.G.Wilson W W L B W W
2.T.Caselli W W W W L L
3.A.Kobelt L W W L
4.K.Baddock L W L
5.M.Poschkens W L w/d
7.H.Bailey L L
7.M.Wilson L L

COMBINED SPEED

cl rd 1 rd 2 rd 3 km/h %
1.N.Wake 1 14.99 14.62 dns 246.2 94.80
2.R.Justic 5 14.85 15.08 15.10 242.42 92.60
3.N.Wake 5 15.48 15.36 15.48 234.37 89.52
4.D.Axon SJ 14.91 14.36 dns 201.72 79.80
5.V.Marquet P 40.56 37.70 40.15 153.67 64.00
6.H.Bailey 1 N/T N/T dns 000.00 00.00

F2A Speed report.

In F2A Speed there were two interstate entries from NSW and one fromSouth Australia. Murray Wilson was the lone Victorian. Mark Poschkens had a brand new untried model and engine entered in its first competition.

It took quite a few flightsbefore test pilot Murray Wilson was able to get a decent engine run.

Andy Kerr was the leading N.S.W. entrant beating Richard Justic by 2km/h. Murray Wilson’s time of 12.76 with a speed of 282.21km/h in the second round was enough to win him a Gold piston.

F2A SPEED
rd 1 rd 2 rd 3 km/h
1.M.Wilson 12.87 12.76 n/t 282.21
2.A.Kerr 14.60 13.36 13.38 269.53
3.R.Justic 13.47 13.77 13.78 267.33
4.M.Poschkens n/t n/t n/t 000.00

CLASSIC STUNT

rd 1 rd 2 best model engine
1.D.Nobes 899 1022 1022 Shark OS LA 46
2.A.Kobelt 903 1007 1007 Nobler OS FP 35
3.P.Stein 773 1004 1004 Nobler Brodak 40
4.J.Hallowell947 882 947 Thunderbird ST46
5.P.Koch 884 931 931 Oriental OS FP 40
6.K.Maier 828 909 909 Phonecian OS FP 40

F2B AEROBATICS
rd 1 rd 2 best model engine
1.M.Ellins 1807 1854 1854 Yatsenko Retro 78
2.P.Koch 1550 1790 1790 Jazzer Stalker 61
3.A.Kobelt 1680 1678 1680 Nobler OS FP 35
4.P.Stein 1541 1561

CLASSIC FAI TEAM RACE

Classic FAI T/R went ahead in leaps and bounds after another successful competition at the CLAMF Grand Prix event in early January. After weeks of organizing the Grand Prix went off with a bang with acceptable entries in all events. 8 in Classic FAI. Most of the teams used the Fora Junior engine, its ease of use and availability at a good price making it a winner from the start. Other teams used Rossi, Super Tigre and Rothwell. The racing started just before lunch while Classic Stunt was being run on CLAMF’s newly prepared grass circle. Two rounds of heats were run with the weather being kind all day. Fastest heat of the day went to myself and mark using my red and white Sapavolov model.(4.31.25) Next fastest were Justic/ Stein using Paul’s beautiful Espadon model powered by a very loose Fora .(4.31.5) . Murray Wilson and Neil “The Ledge” Baker were biting at their heels with 4:34. They used a For a in an Italian Picus model. Current F2C world champ Rob Fitzgerald with Mark (Poshie) Poschkens as his pitman were next best. Flying an ex Dennis Prior model which was originally powered by a Rumple Rossi in the mid 70’s.

Also of note was Harry Bailey’s new Sapavolov model also powered by a Fora. Flicked well by Peter Roberts, with some minor adjustments to the tank this team will be right up there at the next Classic comp. So the scene was set for a very close final. With only about 3 seconds separating the 3 finalists. .25 of a second separating 1st and 2nd. Mark and I were eventual winners running a consistent and trouble free race, to finish in 9:18.94, 2nd were Neil and Murray with a slightly warm Fora only 1.3 seconds behind. Following up in 3rd place was Paul and Richard unfortunately with engine issues. If there is one fault we have identified with the Foras is that the P/L fit is to loose. To remedy this I have ordered a batch of tighter P/L to be delivered in late May. These will hopefully last a lot longer. If you would like one let me know. Definitely a great days racing with some nice looking and easy to fly models. Thanks to all who participated and helped,

Regards to all,

Andrew Nugent.

CLASSIC FAI TEAM RACE

rd 1 rd 2 final engine
1.A.Nugent/M.Ellins 4:31.25 4:46.84 9:18.94 Fora
2.M.Wilson/N.Baker 4:34.57 4:37.97 9:20.31 Fora
3.R.Justic/P.Stein 4:34.78 4:31.50 10:22.53 Fora
4.R.Fitzgerald/M.Poschkens DNF 43 4:47.06 Fora
5.H.Bailey/P.Roberts 5:39.44 4:47.15 Fora
6.J.Hallowell/C.Scully 4:55.66 4:48.37 R 250
7.G.Wilson/M.Wilson 5:03.00 5:06.80 Rossi RV
8.K.Hunting/K.Baddock 5:17.28 8:31.34 ST G20/15D

VINTAGE A TEAM RACE

Vintage A Team Race on Saturday afternoon at the CLAMF Grand Prix was a highly anticipated race. Sixteen pilots and mechanics formed the eight competing teams. As often happens in the 21st Century, it was decided to run VTR on the hard circle as the recent wet weather had hampered surface preparation on the Frankston grass. A big bonus sincechanging to 52’ wires is that the circle already has the correct line markings painted on.

Weather was good, if perhaps a little humid, when CD Jim Ray prepared the draw. It is highly unusual for Jim and Colin not to fly, but Jim had a crook shoulder that would have restricted his work in the pits. Let’s hope it’s fixed by Easter!

In round one, Graeme Wilson and Mark Ellins set the ball rolling with a 3:17.94 which was good enough to get them into the top three. Not far behind were John Hallowell and Andrew Nugent on 3:22. Despite trying hard, they could not improve in the second round and recorded a disappointing 3:28.88. The good times then started to come when Steve Rothwell and Chris Sculley posted a 3:21.59. They were a touch slower in the second round with 3:27.86. Rob Fitzgerald and Paul Stein stopped the watch on 3:18.01 and just to prove it wasn’t a fluke, they recorded a smokin’ 3:14.72 FTD in Round Two. Murray Wilson and Neil Baker were under compressed with the super fast pink and black Dimpled Dumpling and could only manage a 3:27.25. They had similar problems in the second round and retired on 71 laps. Ken Hunting had Keith Baddock doing the prop whacking but times in the low to mid 3:30’s needed to be faster. Big things were expected of Rick Justic and Andy Kerr but on the day, times of 3:29.57 and 3.24.35 were also not fast enough to qualify for the final. Harry Bailey and Peter Roberts had a few Gremlins sitting on their wings and their times this meet were nowhere near their potential.

The final was an excellent race and drew applause from the good crowd as the racers crossed the finish line. Paul Stein and his almost invincible Dimpled Dumpling was the winner yet again. Superbly flown by the world’s best pilot Rob Fitzgerald, the R250 did not miss a beat and howled all the way to the finish line, and was never really challenged. The world’s best pitman, Mark Ellins, tried hard to keep his team in the race and in the end, was just able to pip Steve Rothwell and Chris Sculley by a couple of seconds. There should be a bigger entry in VTR at the Easter State Champs so look forward to more great Vintage A racing real soon!

VINTAGE A TEAM RACE

rd 1 rd 2 final
1.R.Fitzgerald/P.Stein 3:18.81 3:14.72 6:42.56
2.G.Wilson/M.Ellins 3:17.94 5:08.03 7:07.97
3.S.Rothwell/C.Scully 3:21.59 3:27.56 7:09.78
4.J.Hallowell/A.Nugent 3:22.96 3:28.88
5.R.Justic/A.Kerr 3:29.57 3:24.35
6.M.Wilson/N.Baker 3:27.25 dnf 71
7.K.Hunting/K.Baddock 3:33.56 3:37.22
8.H.Bailey/P.Roberts 3:52.18 3:46.65

CLASSIC B TEAM RACE

Classic B Team Race was scheduled for first up Sunday morning. Torrential rain was bucketing down and many wondered if any flying was going to be possible. Fortunately the skies cleared after about an hour and practice for the racing was soon underway. It was decided to race on the Frankston grass and it proved to be an excellent decision with all models being able to take off and land without any problems.

Only 5 teams were ready to race with another 5 for various reasons unable to fly on the day. I’m sure there will be close to a double figure entry for the upcoming State Champs.

All the way fromSydney, Steve Rothwell and Chris Sculley had just finished a superb new racer and it was FAST! I have seen a lot of Classic racers over the years, but never one that could do 125 mph… until now! However, lady luck was not in their corner this time with plug and electrical problems derailing their attempt to belt up the Vics. The good news is they are

keen to come down again at Easter for another try. Bring it on! Good old interstate rivalry is alive and well. Graeme Wilson and Mark Ellins were flying a Super Swooper with a special Brodak B25R prepared by Lance Smith. Although Lance was not well enough to attend, he was there in spirit as many teams used engines that Lance has worked on. TheSuper Swooper recorded two good heat times to qualify third for the final. Harry Bailey and Peter Roberts used the Nats winningIrvinepowered Galaxie to good effect in the first round to return a solid 3.03.15 which was good enough to make the final. Unfortunately, the plug clip broke and the reserve Brodak powered model was brought into play for the second heat and final. It was highly unusual for Paul Stein not to be in the top three with his beautifully built modified Rocket and PB Enya 25. Perhaps not surprising as Paul had done such a wonderful job co-ordinating the massive amount of time, effort and sheer hard work it takes to put on a flying meet of this size.MurrayWilsonand John Hallowell chose to fly the Irvine Rocket in the first round and the OS FX Streak in the second round. The Rocket cut in the wrong part of the circle and the extra lap glide put paid to a sub 3 minute time while the FX went very close with a 3.00.21, which was the FTD. Surely it is high time that pilots were given a little more control and shutoffs were OK to use in a race. It is good practice for flying other events. They are fine to use in all the comparable classes overseas. I believe it is something that should be considered when the next rules review takes place.

The 140 lap final delivered a really good three up race until Harry had a landing mishap and broke a propeller. It is quite unusual for this to happen in Classic B as normally the flying is very clean and generally without incidents. Graeme and Mark were getting over 50 laps from the Brodak at really good speed. They were using a fuel brew suggested by Lance. The OS FX Streak was snapping at their heels and Murray Wilson was matching the current F2C World Champ for speed in the pits. However, the Streak dropped below the required 47 laps and the Super Swooper pounced to grab the lead and cross the finish line first. A great warm up for the upcoming State Champs in Sth Oz in March, Victoria in April and the Nationals a week later.

John Hallowell AUS 1894

CLASSIC B TEAM RACE

rd 1 rd 2 final engine
1.G.Wilson/M.Ellins 3:09.81 3:05.84 6:01.93 Brodak
2.J.Hallowell/M.Wilson 3:04.50 3:00.21 6:12.91 OS FX
3.H.Bailey/P.Roberts 3:03.15 dnf 50 dnf 47 Brodak
4.M.Wilson/P.Stein 3:11.22 3:07.43 Enya
5.S.Rothwell/C.Scully 3:20.59 dns 0

NAVY CARRIER

The Grand Prix Meeting gave us the opportunity to roll out our Carrier Deck after a 12 month layoff for a bit of flying. With six entrants the event was taken out by Graeme with a HP40 powered GS Bearcat, followed by Paul flying a Brodak Guardian also with a HP40, and Peter with a Merco 29 powered Wildcat. David Nobes was having his first crack at Carrier

Deck and managed to hook a wire on his first landing pass with his OS 40FP Hellcat. Harry’s Thunder Tiger 36 powered Brodak Bearcat goes like a rocket on high speed, but needs a bit of sorting on thr TT 36 carby to get a reliable low speed setting. Mark unfortunately missed any landing points when he bounced the Guardian off the deck and into the drink. A stiff breeze made low speed a bit of a challenge, but otherwise everybody seemed to enjoy the Comp. Look forward to the next one.

Peter Roberts

NAVY CARRIER

Place Competitor Model/Engine High Speed Low Speed Landing Bonus Total
1.Graeme Wilson Bearcat HP40 28.29sec 68.38sec 100 30 170.09
2.Paul Stein Guardian HP40 27.73sec 69.42sec 95 30 166.69
3.Peter Roberts Wildcat Merco 29 26.97sec 76.00sec 95 20 164.03
4.David Nobes Hellcat OS40 FP 37.99sec 71.10sec 100 30 163.11
5.Harry Bailey Bearcat HP40 22.21sec 41.00sec 85 30 133.79
6.Mark Ellins Guardian HP40 25.65sec 67.
VINTAGE COMBAT

Last event of the 4 day’s was Vintage Combat.

The best bout was saved till last when Tom Linwood took on Ken Maier to decide first and second place. Tom followed Kens every move and snatched three cuts but Ken responded by getting a couple back. Another cut by Tom increased the margin to two up before Ken grabbed another. At this stage there was nothing left of Ken’s streamer and he was giving his

all to snatch the remaining knot on Tom’s model. Almost at full time there was an almighty coming together of models. Tom’s Anduril suffered a waste basket outcome but Ken’s model will be repairable. The cut judges gave Tom the win. Engines in use were from various manufacturers. The top three used a Taipan, a R250 and a PAW As Club Secretary I would like to give a big vote of thanks to the people that put in a great deal of time and effort to make this one off event the great success that it was. The competitions were conducted in a friendly manner and the socialising was a big part of the weekend.

Harry Bailey (CLAMF Club Secretary)

VINTAGE COMBAT

1 2 3 4 5 6 model engine
1.T.Linwood L W W W B W Anduril R250
2.K.Maier W W W L W L Anduril R250
3.I.Amaira W L W W L Ironmonger Taipan
4=.T.Caselli W L W L Anduril R250
4=.M.Wilson W W L L Anduril ST G20/15D
6=.H.Bailey L W L Warlord Parra
6=.M.Lewis W L L Ironmonger Paw
8=.A.Kobelt L L Anduril ST G20/15D
8=.G.Wilson L L Ironmonger Parra