Mulitplex Solius

I have been waiting to get hold of the Multiplex Solius for a while, unfortunately the RR version delivery date kept moving so in the end I have decided to go for the build it yourself version.  The RR version however will soon be in the shops in the UK.

I had chance to watch Pierre and Matthieu fly there models in the South of France in very light conditions, they appear to have a very good glide angle and a very efficient wing section, the aerobatics are not bad either, so I am looking forward to getting it in the air.

On opening the box everything was well packed.  The glider itself certainly seems to be well formed and on inspection of the instructions these are well documented with illustrations of each step, making this a very straight forward build for anyone.

Spring Cup F3F Poland 2013 By Adam Bury

Pictures from Mechelinki / Gdansk Spring Cup F3F Poland

 

Photos on IPad / IPhone click HERE

Mechelinki / Gdansk Spring Cup F3F Poland

Unfortunately I wasn't able to update the site whilst I was away but finally I have had chance to put something together to share below:

We traveled out to Gdansk 2 days early hoping to get some practice in on some of the slopes that maybe used for the Spring Cup, which started on Friday 17/05/13. After getting to our hotel, The Faltom (Which I would recommend to anyone considering traveling to Poland) Wednesday evening. We were up early Thursday and headed out, after visiting a couple of the slope we stayed at Klif and managed a few hours of practice. Martin Ulrich met up with us around 5ish before we headed down to register for the competition

Martin Kopp, Markus Messiner and Martin Ulrich were also staying at the Faltom, which made for a good company and interesting discussions around all types of flying, not just F3F each evening around the table.

Wind direction day one was southeast which put us on slope 6 at Gniew over looking some beautiful scenery including the river. Air was very difficult; I ran 2 models all day at different ballast weights, in case a fast change was needed. Simon also using his fuz ballast in the Needle 124 to full affect in case a fast change was needed. 

Simon definitely had the most difficult out of the two of us on day one, but flew every leg to its maximum not wasting anything. I didn't have great air either, but it was more consistent, letting me settle the model quickly in each round, therefore enabling me to gain faster times. Martin Ziegler and David Stary certainly had the best of the slope air, and flew it exceptionally well. Sigi also got a nice 39.xx on the first day and was overall consistent throughout

Day 2 on the same slope started well for Simon and me, although Sigi again got a sub forty to make it difficult to catch him, we were still doing what we could to press on the leaders. Then Simon changed everything, with a 36.xx and fastest time of the comp. The next closest score in the round was 838 pts by Markus, this changed a lot of drops from the first 6 rounds including me. But Mr Consistent got the chance and took it full on, so well deserved Simon.

Simon took another round later on as the air became more difficult to deal with. Rain and thunder brought the day to an end after 11 rounds being completed. By the end of the 2^nd day it was impossible to work out where we stood in the order of things other than Simon had made good progress.

This is mine and Simon’s second trip to Poland and it was BRILLIANT again, Jakub Bury and his team did a fantastic job running the competition. The Barbeque was set by the Baltic Sea and all the pilots had time to relax and enjoy each other’s company.  Many of the Polish team that ran the competition were also pilots, but they gave up there flying so we could all enjoy ours as competitors. This always amazes me, but it just shows how much they want to be successful at what they do for the rest of us.

Piotr Stec did a great job updating each round scores and keeping the website up to date all the way through. From Great Britain I just want to say big THANK YOU to everyone who worked so hard.

Detailed Results Below:  

Mechelinki / Gdansk Spring Cup F3F

Next trip is soon to begin, Simon and myself are heading off to Poland again this year to take part in the Spring Cup, its a really interesting place to fly.  Last year we were based on the reservoir slope, but with the East to south-easterly winds it will slope we haven't flown before.  Thankfully we are getting there a day ahead of the competition so hopefully we should have time to investigate the different slopes and a chance to fly the in advance.

I'll keep the site updated as the weekend pans out. Last year they kept a real time update of the scores, hopefully that will be the same again this year.  Website below:


http://www.f3f-klif.pl/zawody-competitions/

Pyrenees Cup F3F 2013

Last year I had the opportunity to attend the Alpine Cup in Briancon, this year it was the Pyrenees Cup.  The competitions run alternate years and both locations offer their own challenges.

Competing in the Pyrenees Cup also gave me the chance to fly on the slopes used in the 2010 Viking Race (Laurac and St Ferriol).  When I travelled there in 2010 I had only attended a handful of UK F3F events and was still very much a novice.  Out of the 68 pilots I did achieve 22^nd in the overall competition, but the main thing was how much I learnt from watching the top pilots compete against each other.

The weather system was looking undecided but you can never tell 100%.  Simon and I set off on the long drive Wednesday evening at 10pm and finally arrived at the Laurac slope at around 2:30pm the following day.  It gave us a chance to stretch our legs and get some well needed practice.  Peter Gunning arrived a little later after flying into Toulouse Airport.

Laurac ‘A’ slope is an interesting slope that works in a South Easterly’s direction, the wind never quite straight on.  One minute where ever you fly there is lift, the next minute; you can drop from 300ft above the slope to eye level in a matter of seconds and getting back in on the edge will still not produce the expected lift, no matter what the wind speed is.

With predicted weather system for the competition the wind was due to head in a North Westerly direction which would put us on St Ferriol. The downside was that day one looked like it would be rained off, day two was more hopeful and we may get some flying and finally day 3 was undecided.

Day one the prediction was correct and we were unable to start any rounds.  Day two however we were able to fly.

The wind speed was up around the 10 – 15m/s on occasions but did have variability. The rain cleared at around 12:30 and in the following 5 hours we completed 7 rounds. Matthieu Mervelet was in great form making the most out every flight to win his second Eurotour this year, Pierre Rondel although had a slow start soon got up to speed to take second spot and I finished 3^rd overall. Sadly day 3 the weather forecast proved to be correct and we did not fly.  

This is a great place to fly, Andreas Fricke and his team organised a great competition, the food at the banquet was fantastic and the company all weekend was brilliant.  I would not hesitate one second recommending going to France to fly.  I will be returning next year and already planning a much longer stay to enjoy everything about France. 

Photos on IPad / IPhone click HERE