Southern Winter League at Whitesheet 27th Jan
2019.
Another post-nightshift competition opportunity for me
presented itself this week with some blowy conditions forecast for Whitesheet
Hills in Kilmington for January’s attempt at a Southern Winter League F3F
competition. I had a sufficiently chilled nightshift and headed off armed with
lots of caffeine, my trusty Pike Precision, Fx-32 tranny, lots of ballast
and the Needle 124 as a back-up.
I arrived safe and sound pretty much on time and 18 hopeful
competitors made their way to the NW slope of Whitesheet Hill. I forgot to take
my anemometer out to the slope so I didn’t get to measure the breeze, but it
was WAAAAY more than just a stiff one. Our magnanimous CD for the the Day (Stu
Wallace) took some measurements and I believe they ranged from a measly
7m/sec to a whopping 48m/sec! I put most
my ballast in the Precision at the start of the day and didn’t change it. I am
only running brass in the Precision and could have put more in the front of the
joiner. This changes my CoG quite a bit forward from my 107mm and I am a bit
loathed to do that…
It was great to catch up with so many pilots I haven’t seen
for ages and also meet a few for the first time. It was my first time flying
with a couple of stalwarts from the heyday of F3F in Greg Lewis and Dave Woods
and I hadn’t seen Tony Robertson for years so it was great to see him at a
comp, no matter how briefly….
I was really impressed by the turnout on Sunday, especially
with the less-experienced racers. Winds that strong are a challenge to fly in
and add to the stresses of being new to competing. I thought they all did an
outstanding job!
Round 1 was a learning experience for me (actually, all the rounds
were a learning experience for me!) as the hill shape and wind strength
combination we were presented with isn’t one I have had before. The closest I
can think of was Levisham way back in 2010-ish. Fortunately I found landing a
LOT easier at Whitesheet! I posted a 40.2 for 4th in the round and
Graeme Mahoney kicked off the comp in style with a blistering 36.75. Greg Lewis
and Nigel Witchalls posted sub 40’s for 2nd and 3rd in
the round. Allen Elliott flew his Needle 124 to his fastest time of the day of
44.01 also Stuart Wallace with his Needle 115 posted his fastest time of 46.74.
I managed to get some extra lift in round 2 which
complimented my line and the flowing style I have been concentrating on to give
me a 35.95 and my first round win. Greg and Nigel both went sub40 again to take
3rd and 2nd with Andy Burgoyne also in the 39’s for 4th.
John Phillips broke his Pink Camo thing on landing and found a dead battery in
his spare plane so was pubward bound from there. After missing round 1, Tony graced
us briefly with his flying presence, then after a servo issue for one plane and
a slight re-shuffle of composite material on another, he was off to the pub
with JP.
I had some soggy air and over-flew the plane, trying to
hurry it through the turns, resulting in a 50.08 and 10th in round
3. “that should be my discard” I stupidly thought… Mike Evans flew beautifully directly
before me to take the round win with a 40.76. Closely followed by Dave Woods
with his Pitbull2 and Nigel Witchalls who was having a stellar competition so
far with his Pitbull. Graham Hill was performing admirably with his McMeekan
Falcon for his first (?) F3F comp (Incredible conditions for number 1!) Very
smooth and consistent all day.
I managed to win the 4th round with a 37.61 with
Greg hot on my heals again. I only got to see brief parts of Greg’s flights as
he was directly after me, kicking of each round. I had to land very efficiently
to see him and when I did, he looked completely at ease and smack-bang on the
bases all day. Graeme Mahoney and his Pitbull2 took third place in the round
with a 40.74.
Ian Falconer flew his fastest time of the day with a 39.54
and 2nd in round 5 along with Mark Passingham who took the round win with a
37.71 with his Freestyler5 and Mike Evans 3rd with his Shinto and
39.54. I had some soggy air, but tried to fly smoother again and limited the
damage to only a 43.99. Stu had been struggling with a bad neck all day and had
to succumb to the pain and sit out the rest of the day from here. There isn’t
much worse than being freezing cold and in pain. Hats off to Gromit for
sticking it out to the end of the day!! Hope your neck gets better soon!
Round 6 was a memorable one for me. Halfway through the run
I reckon I was on track for a run in the mid 40’s and then WHACK!!! The
Precision took off like a Stabbed Rat or a Scolded Cat from base A and just
kept getting faster each time it hit the thermal on base A! The thermal hadn’t
hit base B and the wind direction difference was such that I wasn’t really
turning against the wind and I had 4 legs of the fastest I have ever
experienced a Radio Controlled Glider go! I ended up posting a 36.03 and won
that round! I’m pretty sure I had just DS’d the edge of a thermal. Greg posted
a 39.61 for 3rd and Mike Evans took 2nd just prior to my run with
39.26.
My Thermal created havoc with Round 7 and it was only the
second round without a sub40. Greg took 1st with 40.25 closely
followed in the order and time by Nigel Witchalls with a 40.81 and third was Andy Burgoyne with 40.87. Pete Burgess had his best time this round with his Pitbull2. The
wind was extremely strong for this round and everyone had difficulty getting
their planes to penetrate off the slope at all! Landing was a challenge and
crow brakes or butterfly was NOT required! I managed a 48.96 this round and
couldn’t get the Precision into a place where it would gain any energy. This
still wasn’t my discard round though! Bruce Hudson was flying a plane I didn’t
recognise but it can’t have had more than a 2m wingspan and weighed no more
than a few feathers taped together. He had his second fastest flight of the
comp in this round with a very respectable 52.94 (only topped in round 2 by 29 hundredths
of a second)
Greg stood up after my 48 to kick off round 8 and had one of
those flights I wish I had seen. He managed to set the slope record for the NW
face of Whitesheet with a 33.85 run which must have looked absolutely stunning!
I managed a 42.81 this round which wasn’t really too bad, but compared to a 33…..
it became my discard. Rachel sent me a message asking how my day was going and
I told her it was a tough but brilliant day and I’m doing pretty well but I
think I might require some luck to win. I was right to assume I was in second
place, but I didn’t know just how close it was at the top!! I only had 230-odd
points to make up on Greg! Dave Woods took 2nd in the round with
Graeme Mahoney 3rd (both with sub 40 flights) and Mike Evans set his
best time of the day with a 38.28.
Round 9 was some of the ‘some luck’ I needed. I managed a
very fast 35.89 run. I had found the place on the slope that was working best
for me and obviously had some good conditions as although Greg came second, he
was nearly 8 seconds behind me with a 43.69. Dave Woods kept his climb to the
top on track posting the 3rd fastest time of 44.01 with Mike right
on his Pitbull2’s heels with a 44.36.
Greg Lewis got us underway in the 10th and final
round with a 47.57 while I was landing.
I didn’t see his flight.
I didn’t ask him how he went.
I didn’t want to know.
It didn’t matter.
I just needed to fly my line as best I could.
Jess Nichols was one of the newer F3F pilots at the comp and he had his best flight of the day with a 49.89 and Dave Woods also flew his best time of 37.55 for second in the round. Mike Evans secured 3rd in the round with 43.17.
I didn’t see his flight.
I didn’t ask him how he went.
I didn’t want to know.
It didn’t matter.
I just needed to fly my line as best I could.
Jess Nichols was one of the newer F3F pilots at the comp and he had his best flight of the day with a 49.89 and Dave Woods also flew his best time of 37.55 for second in the round. Mike Evans secured 3rd in the round with 43.17.
I stepped up after Mike and the Precision let me put her on
the same track as the previous round and I managed to coax her around for a
fantastic 34.54!! It was all I could do. We just had to wait for the results to
be published.
WINNER, WINNER!
I finally won my first official event! SO pleased!
I forgot to take a camera so I don't have any pics or videos for you, sorry.
Andy Burgoyne took a video of my final flight. It looks so slow! A better first leg and maybe the fastest time of the day?
Andy Burgoyne took a video of my final flight. It looks so slow! A better first leg and maybe the fastest time of the day?
Bruce Hudson took a few vids too and for some reason they
are a little steppy, but they give a little indication of the day. The first one is me, second is Mike Evans, third is Andy Burgoyne and I'm not sure about the 4th sorry. Possibly Ian Falconer?
I had an amazing day and want to say a huge thanks to Stu and the Whitesheet club for hosting the 4th attempt at a winter league and for welcoming me along. Thanks also to Pete Burgess, Allen Elliott and Graeme Mahoney for sharing the centre duties with Stu.
Can't wait for the next event!! I could get used to this winning thing!
