F3b Open International

The 2010 Milang International F3B Competition
(March 5-7 2010)

The weather loomed large but in the end we had 3 full days of flying with a couple of minor interruptions for a short shower and a slightly early finish on Saturday due to the threatening weather from the north.

In all the 23 entrants flew 6 rounds each of duration and speed and 5 rounds of distance. There were only two retirements over the weekend.
We had wind from almost every direction. Sunday was the only day where winches were not used in both directions.
On Saturday we had to set up a second course to the North as the wind direction was predominantly North for the day. The comp was flown in good spirits with very little controversy.
We were ably assisted by the regular helpers from SSL and other clubs and the boys and girls (and leaders) from the Air League. Their help with the distance task was invaluable. The event saw some world class speed runs and distance scores.
There were 4 speed runs recorded under 15 seconds, the fastest one was 14.24 by Evan Outtrim. The others were from Mike Rae, Steve Keep and Tim Kullack. There were a further 10 speed runs under 16 seconds. In distance there were 16 runs of 20 laps or more and 3 runs of 30 and 32. The two runs of 32 laps F3B Open International -Greg Potter SSL FLYER were recorded by Tim Kullack.
Duration saw the usual high standard from Australian thermal fliers with 10 perfect scores by 6 different competitors over the 6 rounds.
The outstanding models were the Radical, Freestyler, Ceres and the Cyril. There was some unfortunate damage to models but given the amount of flying that was done it was really quite minimal. The worst case was Nick’s good Radical going in hard on Thursday down wind with a suspected bad battery. This was a real blow to Nick who had spent 12 months tuning that model including flying most days in the week leading up to the event. But in his usual style he bounced back and flew his hardest with his second model and still made it to the top 6. From a first timers point of view I learned a great deal from watching and talking to others.

F3B is a very technical event so you have to be absolutely prepared, you have to have your wits about you all the time. You need to understand the rules and the tactics they allow. Little things like having a chart to determine your speed in the distance task. Launching technique is also critical for this event for all the disciplines but especially speed and distance where large ballast loads are carried. Getting the model away without loosing height is very important.
There were many launches over 300m with gliders weighing in the 4kg plus range. The final results are set out below. Tim Kullack, John Skinner and Steve Keep earned their places on the Australian F3B team for the World Champs in 2011, and Evan Outrim was on fire coming second overall. The non flying helpers who gave up their time to assist over the weekend included, Robert Gunn, Manny Stouppos, John Blanchard,Terry Clayton, The Garners, Mal Pring, Bill Kent, Debbie Abraham, Kerrianne Keep, the Stacey’s, Mark Stone, Max Newcombe, Jim McDougall, Gavin Bowden, Joe Rufenacht and the Australian Air League. Those fliers who were involved as well as competing included Mike O’Reilly (CD), Jamie Nancarrow, Simon Morris and me.

Thanks to all those who made this event possible. It was a successful event despite the absence of any overseas entries. And thanks to the competitors who travelled from Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Launceston. Chris Barrenger drove all the way from Bunbury WA by himself to compete and was rewarded with a top 10 finish. Well done Chris – that’s dedication.    

F3B International Milang -INDIVIDUAL RESULTS AND RANKING