Whitesheet BMFA F3F League 1 (Wales) 10th March 2013
The start of the new season got off to a bang and what a BANG, I don’t think there has ever been anything quite like it in the UK before. Earlier in the week it looked like it would have to be cancelled due to issues at the scheduled location. Unfortunately Whitesheet is unable to provide all wind directions, therefore a decision was made to relocate to Wales after consulting with all the registered pilots and reopening registration should anyone else wish to participate. Andrzej Tabero kindly confirmed we were able take advantage of the slopes in Wales as they provide all directions. The direction we needed was ENE and this put us on what is regarded as UK’s best slope, the Wrecker, coupled with a 20 – 23 m\s wind speed and you have the right ingredients for a great competition. It was overshadowed by the potential of hill fog, but thankfully the weather gods were on our side and we didn’t have one stoppage due to weather all day.
Round 1 got on the way and after a few weeks before when Mark Abotts went sub thirty with his Caldera flying a 28.75 it wasn’t expected that we would see a time like this again anytime soon. How wrong we were, Joel West stepped up round one and posted a 29.46 a few pilots later and Martin Newnham went sub 30 with a 29.61. This wasn’t the finish of the round and Mark Redsell keen to get going, not only went sub 30 but broke the British record again flying a 28.73. The round contained many low to medium 30 + times.
Round 2 the same 3 pilots went sub 30 again Mark getting close to his new British record. Joining Mark, Martin and Joel was Paul Garnett with his first sub 30 and new PB flying a 29.24. Tony Livingstone having only attended a few winter league events made yet another improvement on his PB going from a 37.37 down to a 34.94. Ian Falconer only started flying last year and has also only attended a couple of competitions to find out what it’s all about, was getting times in the mid forties, which may not seem fast to some but it you know the Wrecker it’s not for the faint hearted especially in 20 – 23m\s wind.
Round 3 see Joel West just slip into the low 30’s but Martin Newnham and Mark Redsell still were trading blows. Martin Newnham broke the UK record with a 26.84, but Mark wasn’t going to give anything away with a 29.97. Richard Bago was also getting closer to going sub 30 but not yet.
Round 4 Joel West was back with a sub 30 time, but not quite fast enough and Martin Newnham just took the round with 29.11. Mark Redsell again was not too far behind and still less than 30 seconds with a 29.71.
Round 5 and Richard Bago finally got what he was looking for, posting a new PB 29.44 and his first sub30, again Mark Redsell was still there taking the round with 28.79. Martin Drewett got a new PB and first sub 40 time with a 37.98 and improved on this again in the next round, posting a 34.20.
Round 6 and Stuart Wallace who is relatively new to F3F competitions was already having a good day and up to this point his slowest time had been 40 seconds posted a 35.80 and I think a PB, his remaining round was over 40 seconds but 5 sub forties from 7 rounds is great flying by any standards. Joel West got his final sub 30 of the day to take round 6, with Richard Bago in second and Mark Abotts in third.
The 7th and final round and Mark Redsell posted his 6 sub 30 of the day to take the last round, followed by Joel in second and Mark Abotts in third.
To summarise, all of the above equalled an epic day in South Wales for everyone, regardless of whether you went sub 30, sub 40 or improved slightly on previous times. The conditions provided some of the best conditions I have personally ever flown in and I am sure others would echo this view.
I would like to thank everyone who helped out on the day but special mention must go to Simon Thornton getting the course up and CDing with me. Richard Bago, our buzzer supreme and everyone that spent time out on the buzzers. Stuart Wallace for taking on the task of debt collecting (entry fees). Finally Joel West, Mark Abotts, Paul Garnett who must have a right arm like popeye’s as they did most of the launches for everyone all day.
To the results:
1st Mark Redsell (Freestyler 4 )
2nd Martin Newnham (Freestyler 4)
3rd Joel West (Freestyler 4)
Fastest time of the Day Martin Newnham 26.84
Full Results below:
1 Mark Redsell 5928.66 1000.00 (Freestyler 4)
2 Martin Newnham 5866.32 989.48 (Freestyler 4)
3 Joel West 5784.75 975.72 (Freestyler 4)
4 Rich Bago 5652.05 953.34 (Needle 124)
5 Paul Garnett 5497.41 927.26 (Needle 124)
6 Mark Abotts 5304.84 894.77 (Caldera)
7 Simon Thornton 5281.98 890.92 (Needle 124)
8 Mike Evans 5202.24 877.47 (Needle 100 & Alliaj)
9 Keith Wood 4800.16 809.65 (Freestyler 3)
10 Frank Hulton 4741.58 799.77 (New Sting)
11 Tony Livingston 4588.84 774.00 (Energic)
12 Mark Treble 4549.52 767.37 (Toxic & Needle 100)
13 Stuart Wallace 4535.37 764.99 (Skorpion)
14 Martin Drewett 4294.41 724.34 (Fosa)
15 Mike Shellim 4280.46 721.99 (Sting / Skorpion)
16 Tom Macpherson 4205.83 709.40 (Pike World Record)
17 Graeme Mahoney 2741.89 462.48 (Cyril)
18 Ian Mason 2624.26 442.63 (Willow)
19 Ian Falconer 1759.16 296.72 (Willow)
20 Mick Walsh 1422.15 239.87 (Needle 124)
21 John Treble 598.04 100.87 (Willow)
BMFA F3F League 2012: October 2012
The 2012 season has finally come to close and the results are in. This year has seen a change in format for the league and although we are not divided into regions, the intention was to organise the league in a way that would enable pilots to gain a full league result, without having to chase all over the country. Missing one event could ruin a whole season, additionally with fluctuating / rising costs in travel, accommodation etc you can easily spend a fortune on travel.
The aim was to hold enough contests evenly across GB to allow people with in reaching distance to complete enough races. Obviously you cannot account for weather, but at least it would provide the pilot with the ability to travel the extra miles to complete the required events should it be needed. One big consideration was to also make sure that as many flown rounds would be completed by each pilot by the end of the season, therefore allowing consistent flying to be rewarded. Two day and Euro Tours are held across the country each year. Based on this it was decided to use one of these events to count towards the pilots overall league score.
The result being the pilots best two, one day events counting and their best two day, Euro Tour score counting to the final league result. This allows the pilot to attend as many contests as they wish and their best results going to the league.
I looked back 5 years to see how things compare with previous season and here are my findings:
Year
|
Total Pilots to complete a full league score
|
Possible individual flights / Pilot
|
2007
|
14
|
23
|
2008
|
13
|
14
|
2009
|
19
|
27
|
2010
|
16
|
21
|
2011
|
7
|
32
|
In 2012 there were 67 individual rounds flown across a total of 8 contests. Using the method for the league today, 21 pilots posted a full league score, 13 pilots posted 2 scores and the remainder completed a single contest. I need to reconfirm the figure but the average individual flights flown by a pilot was 26 flights. So although the formula is different compared to previous years the rounds are very similar.
Like everything there is always room for improvement, but the hope is we are making the league more accessible for all to compete.
This year’s one day league events got off to a rocky start with the first two being cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Thankfully the Eastbourne Euro Tour went ahead as planned with 11 rounds flown between 36 pilots. Simon came out on top with his new Needle 124, getting the full potential out of the glider. As the season progressed the Needle 124 at the hands of a number of pilots was to become a force on the UK slopes.
Hole Of Horcum was the first successful one day event to run. Richard Bago with the Needle 124 taking all the points, but was closely followed by Greg Dakin and Peter Gunning.
In June we had the BMFA Nationals. We had rain, floods and all sorts of weather conditions going on all around, but in the middle of it all, 25 pilots stood on the slope at Levisham to complete 10 rounds. It had been on the cards for some time and it really did become the Paul Upton show. Armed with a Needle 124 he took the competition by storm winning the first of 2 major GB competitions this year. The Needle by this time was really showing its pedigree and it filled the first 4 places after the weekend.
Scotland followed the Hole of Horcum in July, this turned out to be one of those once in a life time competitions. 8 rounds of madness, the slowest round winning time was 33.xx and the fast time by Simon Thornton (with the Needle) and new British record was 30.02. This was the first ever BMFA league contest to be held in Scotland and may there be many more in the future. Well done Peter Gunning
To increase the number of two day contest, SlopeGlide was re-introduced and scheduled for Wales in August. After a rest from, the slopes Joel West made a return and flew as if he had never been away. Mark Redsell was very close behind and Adam Richardson was on form with the Vampire.
Long Mynd in September was next and a warm up for the Welsh Open the following week. Mike Evans thankfully had everything setup early ready to go. This turned out to be key in completing the event. Challenging conditions along with faulty timing equipment, we only just got enough rounds in to complete the contest.
Welsh Open was organised and executed to its normal high standard by Andrzej and Kevin. The relaxed atmosphere always makes the event a pleasure to attend. 11 rounds completed over the first two days, sadly only one could be managed on the Sunday before the rain came in. At least we still managed 12.
To our final event in Eastbourne, the weather had been undecided all week. It improved on the Friday, it looked great, so it was called on, by 5pm on Saturday it looked like it would be a washout. The course was setup on Sunday and we waited. Thankfully the cloud lifted and we were able to complete 4 rounds before the rain and cloud came back in.
There are always many standout moments each year and far too many to remember, if you can think of any please add to this thread. But for me I have to mention the following:
· Frank Hulton hanging on for dear life as his New Sting performs 31.xx on Bishops Hill
· Watching Mark Abbotts fly his Caldera on Bishops Hill at speeds that didn’t seem possible with a model of this size.
· Sitting on the back of the Wrecker in thunderstorm of all thunderstorms wondering if Joel West’s face will be the last thing I ever see. Trust me; you had to be there to understand how scary it was.
· David Loomes timing gear and seeing the real time updates and stats of the race in Scotland.
The league CD’s this year have yet again done a fantastic job at running each contest on their slopes. I would hope everyone will join me in thanking Andrzej Tabero, Kevin Newton, Jon Edison, Mike Evans, Peter Gunning and John Phillips. Also everyone else out there that’s helped in the centre, been Buzzer-supreme, help setup the course or carried a piece of equipment up or back from the slope.
To the final result, it feels like this year has been particularly long, but I am sure that’s not the case. In total we had 69 pilots compete in the league this year. As I stated above, 21 of those pilots completed the required number of contest to post a full score. Below are the overall positions, you can find a breakdown of each contest at the following address:
Congratulations to all the pilots on a well flown season. We have had many new faces attend this year; I look forward to meeting you again.
BMFA F3F League Positions
| |||
Rank
|
Pilot
|
Score
| |
1
|
Martin Newnham
|
3000
| |
2
|
Richard Bago
|
2963.95
| |
3
|
Mark Redsell
|
2958.75
| |
4
|
Simon Thornton
|
2951.67
| |
5
|
Paul Upton
|
2904.07
| |
6
|
Greg Dakin
|
2844.95
| |
7
|
Mike Evans
|
2838.01
| |
8
|
Peter Gunning
|
2801.04
| |
9
|
Mark Abbotts
|
2793.34
| |
10
|
Adam Richardson
|
2713.93
| |
11
|
Gary Harrison
|
2713.61
| |
12
|
John Phillips
|
2702.34
| |
13
|
Frank Hulton
|
2681.34
| |
14
|
Ronnie Lampe
|
2670.05
| |
15
|
Mick Walsh
|
2666.27
| |
16
|
Tom McPherson
|
2664.38
| |
17
|
Tom Foreman
|
2637.38
| |
18
|
Keith Wood
|
2548.62
| |
19
|
Mark Treble
|
2534.91
| |
20
|
Mike McCracken
|
2472.6
| |
21
|
Peter Burgess
|
2343.86
| |
22
|
Joel West
|
1911.76
| |
23
|
kevin Newton
|
1879.57
| |
24
|
Dave Watson
|
1838.97
| |
25
|
Andy Burgoyne
|
1733.34
| |
26
|
Scot Ravenscroft
|
1727.73
| |
27
|
Paul Stubley
|
1674.54
| |
28
|
Bob Ryan
|
1645.67
| |
29
|
Egon Lewin
|
1561.44
| |
30
|
George Young
|
1560.26
| |
31
|
Steve Streetly
|
1541.87
| |
32
|
Allen Elliott
|
1513.26
| |
33
|
Craig Maxwell
|
1431.35
| |
34
|
Paul Garnett
|
1421.99
| |
35
|
John Treble
|
980.48
| |
36
|
Dave Wright
|
977.18
| |
37
|
Mike Shellim
|
950.58
| |
38
|
Jack Cubitt
|
904.6
| |
39
|
Phil Taylor
|
897.06
| |
40
|
Clayton Landells
|
889.24
| |
41
|
Paul Middleton
|
886.58
| |
42
|
Dave Rumble
|
885.1
| |
43
|
John Bennett
|
883.61
| |
44
|
Andrzej Tabero
|
867.31
| |
45
|
Ian Mason
|
863.91
| |
46
|
Jon Wells
|
848.23
| |
47
|
Jon Edison
|
843.84
| |
48
|
Ian Webb
|
833.63
| |
49
|
Tony Robertson
|
829.94
| |
50
|
Rob Coles
|
822.57
| |
51
|
Ian Simpson
|
815.66
| |
52
|
David Loomes
|
805.91
| |
53
|
Ewan Maxwell
|
801.36
| |
54
|
Jason Bioletti
|
800.45
| |
55
|
Maria Freeman
|
788.5
| |
56
|
Tom Noble
|
788.23
| |
57
|
Vic Eldridge
|
768.96
| |
58
|
Stuart Wallace
|
758.23
| |
59
|
Bob Runyard
|
755.91
| |
60
|
Martin Drewit
|
755.78
| |
61
|
Ian Stewart
|
748.31
| |
62
|
Gonzalo
|
746.18
| |
63
|
Alex Hamilton
|
740.04
| |
64
|
Mark Richards
|
686.48
| |
65
|
Ray Wells
|
577.18
| |
66
|
Bob Dickinson
|
321.92
| |
67
|
Sam Smith
|
275.27
| |
68
|
Andy Evans
|
249.78
| |
69
|
Robert Carson
|
213.63
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment