Indoor News and Views

                                  TEAM MANAGER’S REPORT 2014 F1D

The team arrived two days prior to the Otto Hints Memorial contest in spite of an airline strike and a passport problem. The idea was to recover from jet lag and get a couple days of extra practice.

The first two rounds of the Otto Hints were held on Sunday March 30th. Most of the day was spent testing with quarter and half motors. Kagan was having some difficulty finding the right combination to get high enough. He still managed to put up flights of 32:03 and 31:06. Sanborn’s first round flight climbed to the bottom of the catwalk at 204 feet and landed at 35:49. His second round flight climbed above the catwalk and eventually hung up on the railing at 14:46. An attempt to retrieve the model actually pushed it in farther to the point it wasn’t visible. Kang put up a safe 34:57 in round one. Kang broke a motor winding for his second round flight and the round ended before he could get another motor wound. On day two Sanborn was able to get a miner (for a minimal fee) to go up on the catwalk and retrieve his model with no damage. Brett went on to put up a backup flight of 34:30 that was good enough for second place. Cornell Mangalea won the contest with flights of 35:49 and 35:46. The rest of our team was still having issues with their models and used day two testing with quarter and half motors.

Tuesday was an official practice day that ended with the opening ceremony for The World Championships. The ceremony was attended by the president of the FAI, the general manager of the salt mine, and the mayor of Slanic.

Sanborn was the first US flyer in round one. After a perfect launch and an aggressive climb the model hit the catwalk at 10:30 and dropped about three feet. The flight was never in danger again and landed with a time of 36:23. That was the top time of round one. Kang had a very conservative flight of 34:55. Kagan’s first flight only managed to climb to about 160 feet and did 31:02. His VP prop was damaged when the prop tip touched the ground when landing. After two rounds Sanborn was leading with 71:26. Mangalea was second with 70:59. Kang and Treger were tied for third with 69:11.

In rounds three and four Treger posted flights of 35:24 and 37:03. He was the new leader. Kang flew for 36:05 and Schramm moved up in the standings with a 35:07. After four rounds Sanborn was fourth, Kang fifth, and Kagan sixth.

Kang broke three motors in trying to get off his fifth round flight. After a successful launch and nice climb he had a collision at the ceiling with Mangalea. Kang’s reflight reached the ceiling in about 7:30 and scrubbed for almost four minutes. It dropped below the catwalk and landed safely with a time of 37:33. This was the high time of the contest and moved Kang into first place. Kang was hoping for another 37:00 minute flight in the final round. He increased his turns but apparently backed off too many and didn’t get as high as he wanted and landed at 35:48. Sanborn’s sixth round flight had a collision up at the top and still managed to do 36:06. This was enough to put him on the podium in third place. In a competitive fashion Brett chose to refly to possibly move up in the standings. His flight was the last of the contest and had everybody watching. He climbed  above the catwalk, scrubbed the ceiling and landed with an applause at 36:25. That was enough to move him ahead of Treger into second place.

Kang put on a show with every one of his flights over 34:00. He had a very consistent model that was trimmed perfectly. His patience and time spent testing earlier in the week paid off. Sanborn was the only flyer to use a VP throughout the competition and proved that a VP was an option in the mine.

Our senior team won the team competition with a record team time of 216:20. Romania was second almost eight minutes behind. France finished third.

Our two man junior team of Royce Chung and Evan Guyette also had a successful week. After a slow start in the first two rounds Evan Guyette flew consistently over 30:00 in rounds four, five, and six. Royce had some problems with motor stick twisting and not climbing but worked them out by round three. Evan was in first place after round five. In round six Calin of Romania flew for 32:24 and moved ahead of Evan. Evan needed a sixth round flight of at least 31:28 to move back in first. Under pressure Evan managed a 31:30 and became the Jr.World Champion! I was really proud of our juniors. We didn’t have a Jr. manager and I couldn’t spend as much time with them as I would have liked. They figured out a lot by themselves. Both of them are going to be strong competitors in the F1D program.

We had a great week in Romania. Conditions in the mine this time of year were much better than in the fall. The air was drier making it more comfortable. Drift was minimal. Accommodations at hotel Baia Rosie were very nice. Rooms were comfortable, food was good, and staff was very helpful. Thanks to Aurel Popa for his help and hospitality. The entire US team has expressed interest in flying in the mine in the near future.

Tom Sova    U.S. Team Manager

West Baden 2014 Final Report

Even without the USA team (who used the flimsy excuse of having to attend – and win – the World Championships) 13 fliers attended the second two day contest since the resurgence of the West Baden Springs Hotel. Many thanks to Walt vanGorder for arranging this event and to Bud Layne for a major contribution to the expenses for the weekend. Also a big thank you to Larry Coslick, Steve Gardner and the St. Louis Thermaleers for the nice plaques that were presented to everyone who attended!

Here are the results:

F1D
Nick Ray                          35:01, 33:59 (69:00)
Jim Richmond                  30:27, 29:24 (59:51)
Mike Kirda                       25:41, 24:03 (49:44)
Leo Pilachowski               21:57, 16:33 (38:30)
Jeff Annis                        17:10, 16:48 (33:58)
Don Slusarczyk               22:01, 3:48 (25:49)

AMA Cabin
Don Slusarczyk               16:42

EZB
Steve Fujikawa                23:13

Pennyplane
Larry Mzik                       8:51

Limited Pennyplane
Bill Gowen                       14:17
Jeff Annis                        12:14
Mike Kirda                      11:18
Leo Pilachowski              10:50
Larry Mzik                      8:25

AROG
Larry Coslick                   19:26
Jeff Annis                        12:24

F1L
Leo Pilachowski              18:38, 18:19 (36:57)
Larry Loucka                   19:39*, 15:11 (34:50) *AMA record
Steve Fujikawa                15:18, 14:54 (30:12)
Don Slusarczyk               12:59

Ministick
Walt vanGorder               11:57
Nick Ray                         10:31
Jeff Annis                        9:25

A6
Bill Gowen                        8:50
Don Slusarczyk                6:33
Chuck Slusarczyk             4:48

F1M
Bill Gowen                      20:07*, 19:59 (40:06) *AMA record
Larry Coslick                  16:04, 13:46 (29:50)

Click here to download a PDF of the results.

Bill Gowen’s Cat I Record Setting F1M

Click here to download a PDF of Bill’s plan.

F1M 2014

Front view of prop

Construction Photos

Stab before tip-plates are attached

Left stab tip-plate attached

Right stab tip-plate attached

Both tip-plates attached before trimming

Finished wing and stab

Front stab tube mounted

Joshua Finn’s AMA Cat I Record F1D

Click here to download a copy of Joshua’s plan.

Last Best Hope MK III

Last Best Hope MK III

VP Hubs – Carbon hube on left used for record flight

Two Last Best Hope MK III models

Joshua Finn’s F1D

Last Best Hope MII

Click here to download a PDF of the plan.

AMA Rule Change Proposal

Compiled by Steve Riley

The the following rule change proposal is currently before the Indoor Contest Board: 

 Brief summary of the proposed change. Add a new set of record categories for performance in sites located at higher altitudes .

These new categories would be based on the same ceiling heights as the current categories except they would apply to sites located at elevations of 5,000 feet above sea lever or greater.

  Flying for Record. National record performances shall be recognized for flights made in each of the following types of buildings:

Category I Buildings having ceilings less than 8 meters (26′ 3″).

Category II Buildings having ceilings between 8 and 15 meters (26′ 3″ to 49′ 2.5″).

Category III Buildings having ceilings between 15 and 30 meters (49′ 2.5″ to 98′ 5″).

Category IV Buildings having ceiling over 30 meters (higher than 98′ 5″).

Category I HA ( High Altitude) Buildings located at an elevation of 5000 feet above sea level or greater having ceilings less than 8 meters (26’3″)

Category II HA (High Altitude) Buildings located at an elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level or greater having ceilings between 8 meters and 15 meters (26’3″ to 19′ 2.5″)

Category III HA (High Altitude) Buildings located at an elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level or greater having ceilings between 15 and 30 meters (49′ 2.5″ to 98′ 5″)

Category IV HA High Altitude) Buildings located at an elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level or greater having ceiling over 30 meters high (98′ 5″)

Logic behind proposed change, including alleged shortcomings of the present rules. State intent for future reference.

There are many very good indoor sites located in the Rocky Mountain West that fail to attract the top level indoor competitors because it is not possible to set records at the altitude of these venues. This results in the sanctioning of events conflicting with sanctioned events in these sites resulting in financial losses to the clubs attempting to increase indoor participation in their area. This has a negative impact on the club’s ability to be involved with STEM and Science Olympiad programs. The establishing of the new high altitude record categories will create an incentive for current record holders to fly in these events. An another benefit of the addition of these new high altitude record categories is the clubs will benefit from learning form the top competitors who come to try for these new records.

Below is a list of the Indoor Contest Board members. AMA members are encouraged to express their views on this proposal to their representative. 

Boldface Below Indicates Chairman of Contest Board

INDOOR CONTEST BOARD
I: Ray Harlan, 15 Happy Hollow Rd., Wayland MA 01778
II: Mary Jane Barber, 23 Rabbit Run, East Hampton NJ 08060
III: Walt VanGorder, 5669 Victory View Ln., Cincinnati OH 45233 
IV: John Diebolt, 526 Heater Dr., Cary NC 27511 
V: Bill Gowen, 2105 Heritage Heights, Decatur GA 30033 
VI: Larry Coslick, 4202 Valley Crest Hill, St. Louis MO 63128 
VII: Dennis Tyson, 657 W. Green St., Hastings, MI 49058
VIII: Jesse Shepherd, 2603 Norwood, Dr. Arlington, Texas 76013 
IX: H. Stan Chilton, 3010 Grail, Wichita KS 67211 
X: Clarence Mather, 2358 Tam O’Shanter Ave., Bishop CA 93514-1944 
XI: Andy Tagliafico, 10039 SW Quail Post Rd., Portland OR 97219

Proposed Rule Changes to F1D

Compiled by Joshua Finn

The February FFn from the UK carries the 2014 FAI rules change proposals for F1 (free flight) classes. Included in this set of proposals is a significant change to F1D. The following is a summary of the proposal and FFn’s editorial opinion. This information is provided by INAV in an attempt to keep indoor fliers aware of current rules proposals and is thus provided without the opinions of INAV authors or staff.

F1D Indoor rules

From Hungary

 In para 3.4.2.reduce the rubber weight and increase the model weight as follows

Minimum weight without rubber motor …………… 1.4 g.

Maximum weight of the lubricated rubber motor … 0.4 g.

Reason: The proposal intends to significantly reduce the flight times because of the decreasing availability of proper flying sites. Nowadays only two (!) large sites are available for world (Belgrade and Slanic) and one (Belgrade) for European championships! Both sites are facing privatization which might results the loosing of both because of the renting costs. The class has to be flown in smaller sites with shorter flights and shorter contests to survive.

The proposal keeps the surface loading in order to keep the beauty of the F1D models’ flying style. Besides the shorter times the 0,2 g addition to the model weight eliminates the effect of the only available heavier covering material, as the lightest plastic film is no longer manufactured since years. helps to make reliable variable pitch or diameter mechanisms and apply new, but heavier materials. Existing models will stay usable with 0.2 g spacers.

Hopefully these changes might encourage new flyers as it would be a bit easier to build down to weight. The top flyers might keep their chances to win but the gap could well be closed. Test flights were flown in Cat. II site (max. 15 m ceiling height) up to 23 to 24 minutes flight times which means about 30% reduction.

To help INAV better understand the thoughts of our readers, we have include a poll.

 It is also recommended that all indoor fliers who fly F1D or are interested in future participation in this class express their opinions to the CIAM Technical Expert(s) from their respective nations, since many of these representatives do not fly F1D and would appreciate input from the fliers they represent. As an aid to fliers unfamiliar with their nations’ technical experts, a full list of the CIAM F1 Technical Experts is included below. Additionally, all CIAM Technical Experts are listed at the FAI CIAM website: http://www.fai.org/ciam-about-us/ciam-officials-experts/101-ciam/34849-fai-technical-experts-for-aeromodelling

FAI Technical Experts for Aeromodelling: