Paul De Tourtoulon Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 Cutting out a couple of vinyl discs will be quicker than spending a day looking and ordering on the web, or do what I do, a compass and some paint,,, or this way,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted April 21, 2022 Share Posted April 21, 2022 3 minutes ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said: Cutting out a couple of vinyl discs will be quicker than spending a day looking and ordering on the web, or do what I do, a compass and some paint,,, or this way,,,, 5 minutes (max) to order, and what, 20 seconds to stick one on? I know which one is quicker and as DD says, get on with something else whilst they are being delivered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 Just a note to say that I have suggested to the organisers of this year's Coupe Des Barons that they group all of the four-stroke contestants in the same group. They are considering it. Up to ten four-strokes in the air at the same time, the sound would be "formidable!" Must rush. Got to fit a new exhaust to the van. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted May 19, 2022 Author Share Posted May 19, 2022 I have been practising for the competition using my Reserve Baron, the one in the British markings. It is not so easy to fly as my No. 1 Baron because I reduced the dihedral of the wing so it is less stable. Nontheless I did well with it in last year's Coupe. The No. 1 Baron is currently having a makeover and its WW1 Russian roundels are being replaced by blue and yellow Ukrainian cockades, not that most people would know what a WW1 Russian roundel looks like! The Reserve Baron is fitted with an OS 48 Surpass and the No.1 Baron with an OS 52 Surpass. During the competition there are two rounds which are speed related, the Pylon Race and the Chasse Renard where competitors chase a trainer pulling crepe paper streamer. Each round lasts for five minutes so if you have sufficient fuel for a seven or eight minute flight at WOT, that's plenty. I started off with a 9 oz tank in the Reserve Baron then I fitted a smaller 6oz tank. I flew the Reserve Baron flat out for over five minutes yesterday and when I landed I found that I still had plenty of fuel left so I'm going to try using a 4 oz tank. Why carry unneccesary weight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis 2 Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 I heard some good news yesterday. If I have understood the French correctly, all of the four-strokes are going to fly in the same group in this year's Coupe Des Barons. If that happens I look forward to the sound of ten four-strokes in the air at the same time! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted May 22, 2022 Author Share Posted May 22, 2022 Ready for La Coupe! Before and after pictures. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted May 25, 2022 Author Share Posted May 25, 2022 (edited) Unfortunately while practising for La Coupe's Pylon Race, a forward glue joint failed forcing the wing upwards and ripping out the glue joint where the nylon bolts hold the trailing edge to the fuselage. The wing fluttered down with the wind and the fuselage described a perfect parabola to land 100 metres away from the wing in another wheat field! The model was four years old, a veteran of the 2018 Coupe Des Barons and it had had lots of flights. I will be going back to England for a week on Friday to visit my sister who has pancreatic cancer. It's her birthday on 2nd June so I will not be entering La Coupe Des Baron with the Ukrainian model this year. There isn't the time to repair it. Fortunately my Reserve Baron, piloted by Pilot Officer Bertie Bear RNAS, is seviceable. It's not as easy to fly as the No. 1 Baron because I've reduced the dihedral but I won the four-stroke class with it last year so should be able to do so again! Pictures below. Edited May 25, 2022 by David Davis Extra picture. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 That’s a great shame DD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 A Drat, Drat and double Drat moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted May 26, 2022 Author Share Posted May 26, 2022 At least my dog seems to be interested in helping me to repair it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis 2 Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 It looks like the organisers taken up my suggestion and put all of the four-stroke Barons in the same group. Eleven four-strokes in the air at the same time will sound amazing! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted June 16, 2022 Author Share Posted June 16, 2022 Off to La Coupe Des Barons tomorrow with Miss Blue Eyes. Not looking forward to the six hour drive and I will be flying my Reserve Baron in the British colours which is not so stable as the other one because I reduced the dihedral in an effort to make it more responsive! I should have known better! You cannot relax for a second when flying it. When the wing parted from the Ukrainian Baron owing to an overstressed glue joint, the subsequent crash after the fuselage had described a perfect parabola to land 100 metres away, damaged the fuselage, the landing gear, the elevator, the fin and rudder, the servo output arms and even the engine! That part of the casing which secures the carburetter to the inlet pipe had broken but I was able to epoxy it in place. Trish gave me permission to repair the model and I've done quite a bit of it but yesterday lunchtime I gave up. Too much to do in a limited time, besides I felt that I was neglecting Trish, so Bertie Baron it is for the competition! While making a few last minute adjustments, I detected a dodgy elevator servo. This was replaced by a larger Hitec digital metal geared servo which required some open heart surgery. All is well. No time for a test flight with the new servo but I'll give you a full report on the event when I return. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Davies 3 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Good luck DD. Watching with great interest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 I'm afraid I don't have much to report. After a six hour drive south and having booked an apartment at a nearby town, Trish and I arrived on site on Saturday morning long before the start of proceedings and even before the French had got the coffee and croisants ready. I have been practising low level flying for much of the year and consider myself to be moderately competent at it, though most of my practising has been with my No1 Baron which lost its wing in practice about a fortnight ago. I'm no longer scared to fly just above the ground. I finished equal fouteenth in the concours delegance. I was in the sixth group of ten pilots, I watched the others fly and decided that most of them were flying too high and too fast to be successful. When my turn came I flew in low and slow, hit a balsa stick, then my propeller hit the ground breaking off the tip and stopping the engine. Teach me to use a 13" prop, I may have got away with it if I'd fittede a 12 incher. I was credited ten points for hitting the stick and another ten for a landing. Competitive flying was curtailed until my model was recovered then I went back to the pits to change the propeller. I changed the prop but the impact must have weakened the glue joint between the firewall and the fuselage causing the joint to fail. I had not brought any epoxy or clamps with me so I was out of the competition. Later on Trish started to feel unwell in the 38C heat (100F) so I made my apologies to the organisers and we went back to the apartment. I finished fourth from last. My worst performance ever! I could not even be there to give out the fourstroke prize which was won by my chief rival, Christophe Pierre who prefers a tortoise-like approach to the event compared with my faster flying style. Nil desperandum, there's always next year! Talking of next year, the event will be held at Jonnage next year which is seventy miles closer to my home but the site is less spectacularly pretty. We will hire an air-conditioned motor caravan and buy a pair of folding chairs and a gazebo too! Pictures to follow. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Sorry to hear your sad ending David, 'but' look on the bright side you may now qualify to be a French model plane pilot,,,? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 3 hours ago, Paul De Tourtoulon said: Sorry to hear your sad ending David, 'but' look on the bright side you may now qualify to be a French model plane pilot,,,? I already hold the minor distinction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 Three quick points. 1. At risk of repeating information with which you are already conversant, when you enter La Coupe you are given a competition number which you keep for life. In the very first Coupe Des Barons there were only eighteen entrants so all of those entrants with a competition number ranging from 1-18, were founder members. The No 5 Baron is flown by Leo Brunori, an artist by profession, who regularly flies in the competition but he will admit that he's not the greatest pilot in the event. Trish and were sitting down behind the safety barrier watching the early groups trying to break the one metre-high balsawood sticks. Behind us several people had erected gazebos. Suddenly a Baron came shuddering down the sky and passed over our heads to crash in one of the gazebos behind us. It was Leo's No 5 Baron but how it had become so out of control I can't imagine. There was a man inside the gazebo at the time too but no-one was hurt. 2. There were several entries from the the RMCC club based in Province. They all wore orange tee shirts with RMCC printed on them. One elderly pilot presented a lovely Baron finished all over orange with black detailing but in the air the model was dangerous. Either the cg was too far to the rear or the pilot was completely incompetent and he shouldn't have been in the competition. In either case his clubmates should have put him right. While the other entries were aiming for the balsawood sticks, this model was performing all sorts of uncontrolled evolutions while the drifting down wind. The model's performance attracted the attention of the principal organisers but mercifully it crsah-landed gently in the wheat! 3. The pilot of Baron 224 turned up with his face painted to simulate some kind of monster in order to frighten us all. His wife was dressed as a pirate! He was not a bad pilot and went on to finish in 30th position. Photos to follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Sounds like a normal flying day at our club then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 That's not how your competition number works in France the first numbers are your clubs register, here ours is N° 649, the second one is chosen by you, if no one has it then you get it, as I was the first in our club to fly in competitions I got the N° "0",, you can now stop laughing,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 The official results and photographs of la Coupe Des Barons 2022 have been released and are available to view here: https://saffiotipatrick.wixsite.com/vl38/les-barons Meanwhile here's a picture of my Baron just before it touched the ground, broke its prop and put itself out of the competition. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 Official group picture. I believe only ten Barons survived unscathed. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Quote "I believe only ten Barons survived unscathed." that's more than the French revolution,,,? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis Posted July 1, 2022 Author Share Posted July 1, 2022 I take this picture to be that of the survivors. At least one has been repaired during the contest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 David, are those Barons the model by Ecotop? I've been looking for something similar for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Davis 2 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Ecotop make a four-channel ARTF Baron. The original Baron was a three-channel model without ailerons. While it is possible to compete in La Coupe Des Barons with an ARTF four-channel Baron, the ailerons have to be disconnected and taped up for the competition. Most of the entry are built from kits or plans. PB Modelisme offers Baron kits in both three and four channel options: https://www.pb-modelisme.com/Avion/liste_avion.php?marque=62 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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