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World Scale Championships - Marmande, France. July 19-26th


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Posted by Chris Bott - Moderator on 30/07/2014 13:08:50:
Posted by Danny Fenton on 30/07/2014 10:21:34:

Dave Knott calling for Mick Henderson....... captions anybody.....

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Cheers

Danny

No, I'm sorry, it's still not your turn yet. Get back on the naughty step!

LOLOL now that has me spluttering my coffee over my keyboard, nice one Chris!

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Thank you, Martyn - that's much appreciated. I now know what the phrase 'goggle box' really means...cool

Here's the final competition flight video. I thought the 2014 World F4C Champion, Marc Levy, deserved one of his own.....beerteeth 2

Before you watch it, just a few thoughts to ponder and perhaps discuss....

First of all, whilst my aeromodelling preference tends towards scale-type and near-scale models, I take my hat off to all these guys - I know i haven't the skill, application and dedication to come anywhere close to what I saw at Marmande, so please don't consider my views to be that of an 'informed commentator' but just that of an 'enthusiastic spectator'...smile

Looking at it from the point of view of wanting to win the World Championship, I'd suggest the following points for discussion:

The model you've set your heart on to build may not necessarily be the right choice for winning the Champs. No matter how faithful and accurate you make the rendition of the subject, it is only worth 50% of your score in F4C and 33% in F4H.

Your selection must stand a reasonable chance of being flown at a 'scale' speed - there were several which were just too fast to be convincing. The Miles Magister and the Sopwith Triplane were two examples, IMHO.

Choose a prototype that can actually perform some definable manoeuvres in the air. Several models were just a tad boring to watch as a wingover seemed to be just about all they could manage. That isn't going to make the judges sit up and watch, given they were sitting out, albeit under a canopy, in long days in warm sunshine....

Choose a prototype which isn't going to be seriously affected by the weather conditions. The winners had models which shrugged off the changeable, pretty brisk at times, gusts which invariably increased as the day progressed. You can't rely on getting an early morning flight each day to fly your model in ideal conditions.

Select a sequence of manoeuvres which amply demonstrate the capabilities of the prototype, not just those that are easy to fly. Once again, it was evident that the front-runners introduced different manoeuvres which caught the attention of the judges.

Once you've decided on the sequence, put it together so that there are not long periods of time spent re-positioning the model on the far side of the circuit. The audience were losing interest and I suspect the judges may just have been drumming their marking cards whilst waiting....

Know your engine inside out and make sure it starts first time, every time. It was noticeable that the competitors who fared best were those who were prepared when called and started their engine without any fuss whatsoever. This must have left an impression on the judges, regardless of the time allowance in the rules.

Finally, going back to the proportion of marks allocated for building and flying, make sure your flying skills match those of your building. There was clearly some nervous, uncertain flying on show and one gained the impression that some competitors really didn't have enough stick time with their model.

Fly your routine time and again, in varying weather conditions, until it becomes second nature. The best flights were those those which were tight, purposeful and demonstrated that the pilot was in full command of the model, he knew its characteristics intimately and the model was doing exactly what he intended at all times.

Whilst the inclusion of turbine models may raise various emotions and suspicions amongst long-standing, traditional scale builders, they seem to be a fact of life in the scale world and I am in no doubt that Marc Levy deserves the title, based on the superb appearance of the model and his consistent, skilled, oh-so-smooth flying where he showed off the capabilities of the prototype to the full:

Pete

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I think your summary is about right Pete, personally I am not too interested in winning so am happy to try and compromise by building something I want, with one eye on the things you mention. And just being able to have a go.

I have been itching to get out and try the descending 360, and the other manoeuvres, ever since I got back from Marmande. Well tonight with Chris as caller, I went through my manoeuvres including a three turn spin and an additional immelman turn, the flight was 11.5 minutes long and drew just under 5000 mAh from my 10 mAh pack. That was with my 85" Chipmunk. Great fun. All the manoeuvres went to plan but lots of work needed if I want to have a go. But to use your words I was flying the plane not chasing it Well chuffed.

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almost sacrilegious to put my chippy artf on this thread after such glorious models......thanks for the piccy Chris

Cheers

Danny

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Posted by Danny Fenton on 30/07/2014 10:21:34:

Dave Knott calling for Mick Henderson....... captions anybody.....

dsc_6099.jpg

Cheers

Danny

Dave Knott has sent me an email and said he cannot remember exactly what he said to Mick but it was along the lines of "the Fokkers went that way!"

I cant wait fot the Nationals

Cheers

Danny

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