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There was the largest entry for team race events for
several years for the 2006 Nationals and RAFMAA was represented in no
less than 5 classes. Martin Paffett and Neil Tricker flew in British
Goodyear, Barton B and F2CN, Martin and his son flew in Mini G/Y. I
flew F2C, F2CN, ˝A and Barton B with my pitman Mike North. I also
pitted for Kate in Mini G/Y. As we all know, hindsight is the most
exact science and with the benefit of hindsight, it would have been
better to press on more on the Saturday to make use of the good weather
because it deteriorated dramatically on Sunday with high winds and the
usual Barkston showers. The chance to put in the good times passed and
the real battle began.
In F2C we seemed to
be trying too hard in the first round and a number of mistakes crept in,
cutting in the wrong place, dropped catches etc, 4:16.3 being the result
– hopeless! Round two on Sunday morning was better and was a borderline
qualification for the semis and we nearly elected not to fly in Rd 3 but
there were only two teams who needed to fly in the third round and it
was possible that either of them could beat our mediocre second round
time so we chose to have another go. We put in our best time of the
Nats – 3:32.2 and thus qualified for the semis. If anything, the wind
speed on Monday was even higher and flying three-up races in those
conditions is somewhat challenging. In the first round of semi finals I
snagged the lines of a model on the ground and was disqualified. It is
very difficult to over fly on a slow down-wind leg of the circle. Round
2 was much better and it wasn’t until the very last race that we were
pipped for a place in the final by just 1.4 seconds! The times were
generally very poor throughout the competition with only two teams even
breaking the 3:30 barrier. The final was delayed for as long as
possible to see if the winds would drop and when it was flown there was
no noticeable lessening of the wind. Only two teams finished the race
after the third model ran in at a pit stop and out of the event.
Despite the conditions, Mike and I finished a creditable forth but can
do better!
The ˝A event was particularly difficult with light models
that were quite susceptible to poor take off segments. When things go
wrong they do it well, in round 1 with the model going really well, the
wheel came off! The wind intervened in the subsequent rounds and
needless to say I made a right mess of the event and failed to record a
time but did break a lot of propellers!
Meanwhile Martin and Neil were battling their way through
the rounds of British Goodyear. They recorded 5:21.7 in Rd 1, had a
whoops in the second but got it together in round three with a time of
4:47.7. This left them tantalisingly close to the final but had to
settle for forth place.
In the F2CN competition things were going much better for
both RAFMAA teams. Martin and Neil did their best time in Rd 1, a
4:34.9. Mike and I did 4:13.6 and 4:12.8. These left us in forth place
after two round so a big effort was needed to get into the final. We
were the last to fly and had to call upon a volunteer team to fly
against in order to prevent us having a solo run. Martin and Neil were
the only team to offer to fly so our third round race was an all RAFMAA
affair. Earlier in the competition the 4-minute barrier had been broken
for the first time in this class so we knew it could be done. Flying
our “Dragon” model, and with some superb pit work from Mike, we put in a
3:47.0 easily the fastest time ever recorded in the class. The final got
off to a great start with all three models away quickly and all was
going well up until lap 93 when disaster struck. As I was coming up
behind another model to overtake, a huge gust of wind blew the Dragon
into the deck, totalling it. I’ve been flying C/L for 35 years and
never had that happen to me before. Peter and Clive Sharp went on to
win with the team of Catlow/Jephcott in second. This really is a good
class and I would encourage anyone to take it up, it has loads to offer,
good models that fly really well, good engines that are easy to use and
not too fast for relative newcomers.
Barton B only had two rounds. These models certainly
suffered less in the wind being twice as heavy as a F2C model. Paffett/Tricker
were flying their new model and were having some teething troubles with
the starting and only managed a 4:31.7 as their best time. Barker/North
fared a bit better, 3:40.7 our best. Not quite quick enough for the
final, had I cut the motor in the right place…. Overall B/N 4th
(Can you see a pattern?) P/T 12th.
This is another great class, check out the rules and build a model!
A major surprise this year was the large entry in Mini
Goodyear. There were 17 of which 7 were juniors including the Webb
sisters who came through the ATC challenge. These guys and girls really
do warrant our congratulations for pressing on flying in such diabolical
conditions. Day 1 was fine and flying continued until quite late in the
evening but the subsequent days were really un-flyable for these
models. Indeed only one of the finalists from either the senior or
junior finals finished the 200 laps. Michael and Martin suffered a
broken model after only one lap that put them out of the junior final.
Rachael Webb and her dad, Ian, emerged as winners after completing the
most laps (78). The seniors fared little better with one team electing
not to fly only the PAW “Works” team completing the course.
For the first time that I can remember, the prize giving
ceremony was held in the hangar due to the high winds. Robin Gowler,
chairman of the BMFA and good friend of RAFMAA, presented trophies and
certificates for all podium placed competitors.
In conclusion, the Nats weekend is the best weekend of
the year and despite the appalling conditions the atmosphere amongst the
competitors and supports alike was as good as ever. Team RAFMAA had a
good showing and without labouring the point we could have done so much
better in good conditions. Let’s get the prayer mats out for next year
and hope for better. If anyone wants any gen on team race and/or
fancies having a go give Martin or me a ring, we’ll be only too happy to
help.
Chris Barker
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