Competiton Report - Sunday 22 April 2007
On Sunday we had our first F5B league meeting of the year, our first with LiPo.
Is this a world first? I know the Danes are allowing LiPo this year.
We did four rounds. Many of the regulars were absent for one reason or another.
The weather was OK, windy but only a few spots of rain!
First big surprise was Nigel. He flew beautifully, 40, 41, 42, 40. It seemed effortless and was as good as he had ever done with NiMh. Just one commercial 4S pack, no in-line soldering, just soldered on the connectors and flew. No hassle with charge times, just charge after the flight, ready to go at any time after half an hour. It could have been much more with a little practice on the sixes.
Then came Mark. Did his personal best ever with a 6S (2 flight power 3S). Congratulations.
Then Dick, who flew some NiMH and some LiPo, 4S Hyperion. Took a a bit longer to get used to the changed characteristics, but thinks the LiPo is so much easier and better that we should now encourage new people to try.
Fourth was me, George. Terrible performance. Maybe it is hard for an old dog to learn new tricks, maybe as my helper said I am just too old, but my preferred explanation is that I spent too much time on the electronics of the limiter and just hardware testing that I had forgotten how to fly a course.
Last of F5B was Tony, still on NiMH, but as Tony is a specialist in vintage models it was fine.
Mike and Barry flew well in 7cell, but still with NiMH. Probably better anyway in the winday conditions.
Of note there were no crashes, explosions or burnt out anything. Even the few slam it down landings resulted in at worst a broken prop (Mark) and broken tailplane bolts and a slightly cracked fin (George). Nothing compared with what we normally expect with the NiMH.
I flew with the limiter in one of my planes, two rounds. It was interesting to run the motor after landing then to hear it cut. The 1750 watt.minutes was enough. The others were working a trust system and think they were well under 1750 watt.minutes. We did not get too high, a worry I once had, though Nigel could have done a lot more if he could have forced himself to go higher for the sixes.
All in all it was a very positive experience. The LiPo will be simpler, easier to organise, fewer or no breakages, and more fun. But I fear it will separate the boys from the men (old men) even more as errors leading to a loss of speed are severly punished.
I trust Mike will put this in the web site with the results and photos.
Would it be OK if I put it on rcgroups?
George.
Round 1
| Competitor |
Legs |
Time |
Motor |
Landing |
Points |
Score |
| Nigel Potter |
40 |
10,06 |
7 |
0 |
987 |
1000 |
| Mark Haigh |
33 |
10,04 |
8 |
30 |
948 |
960.49 |
| Dick Whitehead |
31 |
10,07 |
9 |
30 |
924 |
936.17 |
| George Shering |
32 |
10,09 |
7 |
0 |
904 |
915.91 |
| Tony Wilson |
26 |
10,02 |
14 |
30 |
874 |
885.51 |
| Mike Proctor |
21 |
10,07 |
18 |
30 |
815 |
825.73 |
| Barry Flude |
18 |
9,38 |
25 |
30 |
763 |
773.05 |
Round 2
| Competitor |
Legs |
Time |
Motor |
Landing |
Points |
Score |
| Nigel Potter |
41 |
9,53 |
7 |
30 |
1026 |
1000 |
| Dick Whitehead |
33 |
10,08 |
8 |
30 |
944 |
920.08 |
| George Shering |
32 |
10,03 |
5 |
30 |
942 |
918.13 |
| Mark Haigh |
32 |
10,01 |
8 |
0 |
911 |
887.91 |
| Mike Proctor |
23 |
10,00 |
26 |
20 |
824 |
803.12 |
| Tony Wilson |
25 |
10,25 |
19 |
0 |
806 |
785.58 |
| Barry Flude |
21 |
9,57 |
45 |
30 |
792 |
771.93 |
Round 3
| Competitor |
Legs |
Time |
Motor |
Landing |
Points |
Score |
| Nigel Potter |
42 |
9,59 |
3 |
20 |
1036 |
1000 |
| Mark Haigh |
38 |
9,56 |
7 |
20 |
989 |
954.63 |
| George Shering |
33 |
10,04 |
10 |
20 |
936 |
903.47 |
| Dick Whitehead |
31 |
10,06 |
8 |
30 |
926 |
893.82 |
| Mike Proctor |
24 |
10,04 |
15 |
30 |
851 |
821.43 |
| Tony Wilson |
26 |
10,03 |
16 |
10 |
851 |
821.43 |
| Barry Flude |
22 |
9,54 |
31 |
30 |
813 |
784.75 |
Round 4
| Competitor |
Legs |
Time |
Motor |
Landing |
Points |
Score |
| Nigel Potter |
40 |
9,58 |
5 |
20 |
1013 |
1000 |
| George Shering |
34 |
10,11 |
8 |
20 |
941 |
928.92 |
| Dick Whitehead |
31 |
10,04 |
11 |
30 |
925 |
913.13 |
| Mark Haigh |
29 |
9,59 |
6 |
30 |
913 |
901.28 |
| Tony Wilson |
26 |
9,56 |
20 |
10 |
846 |
835.14 |
| Mike Proctor |
24 |
10,02 |
23 |
30 |
845 |
834.16 |
| Barry Flude |
22 |
9,57 |
39 |
30 |
808 |
797.63 |
Result
| Competitor |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Round 4 |
Total |
% |
| Nigel Potter |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
1000 |
3000 |
100.00 |
| Mark Haigh |
960.49 |
887.91 |
954.63 |
901.28 |
2816.4 |
93.88 |
| Dick Whitehead |
936.17 |
920.08 |
893.82 |
913.13 |
2769.38 |
92.31 |
| George Shering |
915.91 |
918.13 |
903.47 |
928.92 |
2762.96 |
92.10 |
| Tony Wilson |
885.51 |
785.58 |
821.43 |
835.14 |
2542.08 |
84.74 |
| Mike Proctor |
825.73 |
803.12 |
821.43 |
834.16 |
2481.32 |
82.71 |
| Barry Flude |
773.05 |
771.93 |
784.75 |
797.63 |
2355.43 |
78.51 |