British Model Flying Association

Dear Scale Indoor Flyer                                           13th September 2009

BMFA SCALE INDOOR – 2009/10 PROGRAMME
 

I intended to get this out to you a couple of weeks ago to catch the entry dates for the Indoor Duration Nats but for various reasons it got delayed. I did manage to push out a note by email so I hope that we might see one or two of you there at Digby next weekend (19/20) but I doubt that we’ll have a quorum to run any formal scale comps other than their No-cal.

Before moving on to the rest of the season I have a couple of issues to pass on from the Scale Indoor Nationals. First, I was sad to learn a month or so ago of the sudden death after a short illness of Vaughan Williams, the Director of Sport at Nottingham University. We have always been made most welcome by the University and Vauhgan was happy to set aside our weekend years in advance, which makes my job so much easier. I am pleased to say that Julia Marriott, the Administration and Facilities Officer at the sports centre, remains committed to supporting us into the foreseeable future. I have passed on our condolences to the staff.

The second item is feedback from the static judges on the standard of documentation, particularly for the Open classes. Several competitors threw away marks needlessly through inadequate or careless presentation of documentation. Mike Goldby’s comments and recommendations are attached and I commend you to read them and think carefully about your own documentation. There really are no excuses for presenting documentation that does meet at least the minimum standards required by the rules. I would also draw your attention particularly to the point about providing photographs of the whole aircraft. The ideal is to provide a side, top (or underside) and front (or rear) view to show the general arrangement, outlines, dihedral etc. The current judging methodology is for the photographs have primacy and judges will only refer to drawings as a secondary source where photographic evidence is inadequate. Therefore, you can’t expect the highest possible marks if your photos are not up to scratch. Clearly, for some prototypes this can be very difficult and it should not put you off from modelling a particular aircraft that appeals to you; just don’t be surprised if your static marks are not competitive with the best.

Turning now to the forthcoming events, we again have a licence for 4 events at RAF Digby. Although the cost has gone up considerably it is still far cheaper than any alternative facility. The Autumn F/F Scale event will be held on 1 November. Flying will be available all weekend but scale competitions will be held only on the Sunday. Classes will be for combined Open Scale (Rubber/CO2/Electric) including static if I can get enough judges, Peanut, Pistachio and Kit Scale. However, Kit Scale will be flying only this time – flown concurrently with the Open event. Doors will open at 0900 both days with competition flying from 1030 hrs on Sunday. The cost will be just £10 per day plus £3 for each competition class entered. BMFA Certificates and prizes will be awarded, along with the ‘Peanut’ trophy. I will need several judges for this event so please let me know if you would like to help out in any way.

An entry form and timetable for the event is enclosed along with a list of accommodation in case you want to make a weekend of it. If you plan to come, please return your entry form to me (email will do) no later than 23rd October. If you’re not sure if you can make it, I will be happy to take entry fees at the door – but I will still need your entry form in advance to ensure that you are on the list for access to Digby camp. Don’t forget to include your car details and the names of any helpers you will be bringing with you as all will need security passes. Please also allow a little time for booking in at the Guard post. Could I also please ask you to wear trainers or soft-soled shoes to avoid damage to the wooden floor, and to bring your own table and chair just in case. You can locate the camp by putting the post code LN4 3LH into Multimap or Google Maps

The second event will be another Indoor R/C Scale competition. The aim of this event is to further develop the concept and broaden the appeal of flying a small model smoothly and accurately in a scale-like manner and at a near-scale speed. This will be a flying only competition but there will be 2 classes – flown to the same flying schedule –with prizes for each class. If it proves popular, we envisage Class 1 adopting the standard indoor ‘open’ class static judging schedule for future events and Class 2 being the Indoor equivalent of ‘flying only’.

Class 1. Scratch or kit-built accurate scale models similar to those flown in Scale Free Flight Open competitions. 3-view only required for authentication.

Class 2. ARTF & ‘stand off’ scale models of recognisable prototypes. Any material is permitted but models must have a 3 dimensional fuselage.

The judged flight profile will be:

straight takeoff, climb, straight flight, descending circle, touch & go (on a marked runway), figure 8, approach & landing. Manoeuvres to be flown as described in Section 6 of BMFA Contest Rules - adapted for indoor dimensions. This schedule can be flown comfortably with a rudder/elevator model but, from last year’s experience, it’s still quite challenging!

In order to comply with licence limitations, all models must fall within the normal indoor scale dimensions: Max Weight 150 gm, Max wing loading 15 gm/dm2

All UK-legal radio frequencies will be allowed with non-2.4Ghz flying controlled by pegboard. Off the peg practise will be available between rounds. Achievement scheme certificates are not required for this event.

Entry fees: £10 hall fee and one class + £3 per additional class payable on the day.

Pre-entry will be required as usual due to security limitations at RAF Digby. An entry form for this event is attached.

I have a licence for a 4th event at Digby (the first booking has been given over for the Indoor Nats this coming weekend) and this is likely to be available for pre-Nats trimming in the Spring. I would still like to find a more central venue that is suitable and affordable. We have the potential to make sufficient profit from the Digby events to enable us to cover reasonable costs elsewhere. If you have any suggestions for suitable venues, please let me know.

Finally, could I make a plea. Running an indoor scale competition is quite labour intensive as it requires at least 2 static and 2 flight judges – ideally more so they are not committed all day. If you would like to volunteer to judge at any of the events it would make my life a lot easier! You can still compete in other classes if the timing fits.

And finally finally – an important date for your diaries: the next Scale Indoor Nationals at Nottingham University - Sunday 25th April 2010.

Best wishes,

Ian Pallister
Chairman Scale Technical Committee

PS. If you are now on email and received this by post, please send me a message so I can pick up your address and minimise postal charges. Similarly, if you would like to be taken off the Scale Indoor distribution list, please let me know.
 

Contact: Ian Pallister

Tel:           01529 302236   

Mobile:     07974 855631                                                                         

Email:       ianpallister@waitrose.com

for Further Information click on the links below:

Indoor Scale Entry Form

Scale R/C entry Form

Notes on how to Get More Static Marks! by Mike Goldby

Website: www.scalebmfa.co.uk