Kevin Newton's blog...

Pike Precision

2012-02-11T16:17:00.000Z

I now have a full production version. The quality is even better. Super stiff. Light. And it feels like it'll barely need any weight to balance it. Also the RDS is even better and comes with a couple of options depending on how much movement you want. Pre-fitted MKS wing servos are a must.
See the photos on an iPad/iPhone

Very sad day...

2012-01-01T20:13:00.002Z

Everyone who knows me will be very aware that for longer than I care to admit I have had a long lasting love affair with my Dremel.
She's followed me all around the world. She's always great fun at parties. Many other men have been eternally grateful for her services but she's always stayed faithful to me. She has been my rock.
Tonight, under extreme pressure of work, she lost the will to revolve. I've posted the following video in loving memory (shortly after I ordered the new Lipo powered 8200 version - shhh!).

RIP you little screamer.

Magnetic switch

2011-11-19T20:49:00.001Z

This is a great device!
You plug it between the battery and Rx and swipe it with a magnet to turn it on and off. It's tiny, safe as houses and means you only need to tape your nose cone on once!
To get yours for €20 visit Zepsus.

Fosa repairs

2011-11-19T11:06:00.001Z

Back in the summer in North Yorkshire I had a bit of a moment and pancaked the Fosa in. Whilst these latest fuselages are unbelievably light and more than strong enough in the air they don't like loads that they weren't designed for. So even a relatively low energy arrival can crease them up if the loads were not in the designed for directions.
In this case it broke the boom in two, cracked it behind the wing root and generally mangled it around the forward part of the wing root. The inner nose and nosecone were creased as well.
I enjoy repairing fuselages and this one was actually pretty simple and so rewarding I even bothered to paint it!
The photos should give you an idea of the steps used. Halfords acrylic paint used throughout - it's fantastic stuff.
And... it gave me a chance to install a brilliant magnetic switch from Zepsus.
See photos on iPad or iPhone

2011-11-01T21:52:00.000Z

Wow!

Welsh Open results and photos

2011-09-20T09:29:00.005+01:00

What an interesting three days! It was rather weird for me driving 400+ miles to my old home competition. I arrived around four on Thursday and had a lovely hour or so drifting back and forth with the Precision in light air. She continued to impress, more than enough for me to fly her in the event as my number one plane.

Friday dawned with low cloud on the back of the Wrecker. There was almost too much lift for sport flying as it catapulted those that tried swiftly into the low cloud. There were several hurried landings but only one fatality.

Using various different websites, most accessed from Simon's hardy iPad, we gambled that when the rain came in it would bring a shift of direction to SW and put us on Mickey's slope. Right on cue the rain arrived and we boldly took the waiting course down and got all the pilots back in their cars for the three minute drive to Mickey's Slope. It turned out to be a great decision and within minutes the rain had cleared and the wind was bang on SW.

Bjorn certainly thought is was an inspired decision as he posted a 31.59 to win the round. Mike Evans took second with 33.05 and Gerardo was third with 33.72. In fact the top 19 pilots all posted times below 40 seconds, which I don't think I've ever seen before.

We got two thirds through round two and then the rain came back. As previously agreed we took the decision to group score and as the natural split was virtually two thirds to one third and the forecast was dire we decided to go with that rather than go 50/50 and force pilots to re-fly. Dag won the first group with 34.92 and Martin Newnham won group two back on Mickey's the following morning with 37.56.

Alvaro took round three with 33.90. Jose took second with 34.64 and Carles took third with 34.73.

Joel took round 4 with 36.19, Dag was second with 36.24 and Adam was third with 36.79.

We'd braved a lot of showers to get that far but part way through round 5 the shower turned into something far more significant and we had to abandon the hill. Again the natural split was two thirds to one third so we went with that again to ensure consistency. The winner of group one was Stefan with 39.45.

The next morning we respected the weather forecasts and sat out the rain in the car park by the T junction until getting on for 2 o'clock. Simon's trusty iPad predicted we might get a brief window that could allow us to finish round 5 and possibly get another round in. So we marched everyone across to the Ice Cream slope despite the huge showers on the horizon and most people thinking we were bananas. Sure sure though we only had one small shower and we managed to finish round five and get in a sixth round as well!

The winner of the second group in round 5 was Mike Evans with 41.41.

Round 6 went to Richard Bago with 39.61, second was Bjorn with 40.16 and third was Joel with 40.57.

That final round was to prove crucial for Joel who slipped ahead of Alvaro to win. I think all agree that Joel was a worthy winner as he used every ounce of air and didn't give away an inch yet made no mistakes. In fact if you look at the top 10 you can see that the spread of points was minuscule and certainly the closest race I can remember. Seventh to fourth covered by only six point is just bizarre!

Huge thanks to T9 who arranged great sponsorship with MKS that gave the the winners hats, T shirts and 6 top spec servos.

Welsh Open update

2011-09-18T10:14:00.000+01:00

Two days gone and we have three rounds completed and two thirds of round four done. To achieve that with all the rain we've had has been quite a challenge.
We're in the car park of the Ice Cream Slope at the moment waiting for the rain to clear. When it does we'll finish the last third of round four and sprint through as many others as is possible.
It's been an interesting couple of days so far. The standard of piloting is really good so when the good air comes along there's always someone on the sticks that can use it.
Fastest time so far is a 31.xx, with lots and lots of 35 to 39 second times. The conditions have been variable but not ultra variable, except for a bizarre patch of around 10 pilots where the wind dropped to 3ms from 14ms, with the resultant impact on times. Myself and Joel were caught up in that, which effectively uses our discard. Poor Dag is also without a discard after a launching incident, so it's very tight at the top with no room for error!

1	Dag Skoglund	2886.73
2	Joel West	2839.54
3	Gerardo Plaza	2798.65
4	Kevin Newton	2791.82
5	Alvaro Silgado	2788.66
6	Jose Luis Alvarez	2757.46
7	Simon Thornton	2722.90
8	Mike Evans	2721.56
9	Adam Richardson	2714.38
10	Espen Torp	2712.17
11	Greg Dakin	2710.99
12	Bjorn Tore Hagen	2709.48
13	William Jul Ringkjob	2707.47
14	Martin Newnham	2706.09
15	Mark Redsell	2698.44
16	John Phillips	2696.17
17	Keith Wood	2690.80
18	Iñigo Herrera Millan	2677.46
19	Richard Bago	2667.91
20	Iñaki Elizondo	2663.22
21	Stephan Bertschi	2633.53
22	Peter Gunning	2562.79
23	Jorgen Wake Stensen	2558.46
24	John Bennett	2542.16
25	Angel Lopez	2537.10
26	Carles Aymat	2522.94
27	Alfredo Arjona Garcia	2518.02
28	C M Cheng	2500.80
29	Kjell Sture Johansen	2498.43
30	Jon Edison	2497.74
31	Frank Hulton	2494.61
32	Fernando Moro	2477.79
33	Mark Abbotts	2453.47
34	Jesus Herrera	2447.81
35	Ian Mason	2445.59
36	Jason Bioletti	2437.85
37	Mike McCracken	2409.91
38	Marcelino Punal	2406.24
39	Dave Rumble	2404.58
40	George Young	2403.38
41	Miguel Gutierrez Lecue	2401.53
42	Mick Walsh	2365.72
43	Scott Ravenscroft	2332.04
44	Mike Shellim	2320.09
45	Iain Medley-Rose	2306.25
46	Andrzej Tabero	2279.40
47	Wing Wong	2263.71
48	John Trebble	2225.86
49	Vic Eldridge	2212.62
50	Tony Robertson	2172.19

Pike Precision video

2011-09-04T11:26:00.001+01:00

Quick video of the Precision's first outing. It was a pretty dark day with cocked off wind so the video isn't the best ever but probably better than nothing.

Pike Precision first flights

2011-08-29T17:33:00.001+01:00

NW means it's on West Lomond up here in this neck of the woods. That's good news as it's a great hill. My mind is less decided on the 3+ mile walk each way! Although it did give an hour whilst I walk back to write and post this update by mobile, which is one less thing to do when I get home. Anyway... The Precision...
I need to add a bit of context to these remarks first. Over the 15 or more years I've been flying F3F I don't change models much. Sure I try a few but in competitions I normally average a new design every couple of years. Recently my heart has been true to the Ceres; for nearly three years now I've rarely flown anything else in a competition that I really want to win, it's my banker.
Maybe it's the exhaustion and dehydration talking but I think the Precision might be the next two year step for me. Why?
1.
It is really easy to fly. At my age and lack of practice that's important!
2.
As well as being easy to fly it's also gorgeous to fly. Very precise without being fidgety. Such a crisp roll. Sooo grippy in the turns. With a hint of reflex it'd neutral when inverted, which is great for aeros.
3.
It is easier to get on step and stay on step than anything similar that I've flown. The Cyril and the Freestyler are amazing when they are in the zone but to me it feels like the Precision has a bigger zone!
4.
It reminds me of my old foam Brio prototype which retired almost undefeated largely because it felt on step in such a wide range of conditions.
5.
Fill her with ballast and she loves it. Take it out and so long as it's not stupid crossed or stupid windy she loved that too. Clearly some proper aerodynamics has going into this plane.
Am I going to regret saying all that, only time and a bit of luck will tell.
I'll try and get the video up soon.
From iPhone

2011-08-27T22:22:00.001+01:00

Ready to go... So what's it been like so far...
The more you play with it the more the fit and finish impresses. The moulding for the connectors is the best I've ever seen - just perfect. The tail cone is equally fab.
This is an early plane and the fuz snakes need a little thinking through. I secured them front and rear but a production solution will follow.
I have fallen deeply in love with MKS servos.
After lots of cycling and testing Eneloops still make me feel good whereas others less so.
Only 60g to balance, amazing.
Weather willing I'll be test flying tomorrow.

Pike Precision

2011-08-24T23:03:00.000+01:00

A few more photos. It's touch and go but hopefully we should see some air time this weekend.

Pike Precision

2011-08-18T22:11:00.001+01:00

Samba have just sent me a little something to cheer me up... and it's gorgeous.
The quality is top notch. The fuselage is incredibly light yet the boom is ridiculously stiff. The tailplanes are the same.
The wing is pretty light and awesomely stiff. As you'd expect from Samba the leading edge is perfect.
The RDS is nice and tight. The MKS servos are fitted before the wing is closed and there are no hatches. It looks gorgeous but I'll be a bit nervous when I plug the servos in and power up to see where the neutral is.
The inner nose has a clever 'flat' in it so that you can lay your 2.4gHz aerial in it without it rubbing on the nosecone.
More soon... or visit the Samba site and see a lot, lot more detail.

BMFA Nationals 2011

2011-07-13T07:17:00.034+01:00

It was pretty weird having to travel over 400 miles to my 'home' slope for the first time. And also pretty weird taking two planes that I hadn't flown in months. No worries, I studiously arrived a day early to get some much needed practice, which rather predictably ended up as watching the rain.
Fortunately though all that practice came in really handy on day one, which was spent entirely, exclusively and uninterruptedly... watching the rain; and no one was better at it than me!
We met at the Wrecker car park on day two where we were sat on top of the low cloud, something I've not seen in the twenty odd years I've been watching low cloud at the Bwlch. Have a look at the photos.
The day's flying was typical back of the Wrecker; bloody horrible. Very thermic, bumpy and very difficult to get any sort of rhythm.
Lots of people flew really well, various people had bits of good air, some people showed they need a bit or practice (me!) and finally the results panned out as shown below.
Condolences to those who flew well but got nothing for their efforts.
Personally I think we need to look again at the World Champs qualifying process. Like never before the skills required to be competitive will be very slope specific and that slope will be nothing like the back of the Wrecker in thermic conditions. Also the concept of running a qualifier that includes people who have no interest in attending is just weird!
Some photos and the results are below.

1	Simon Thornton	6541.57
2	Mark Redsell	6502.31
3	Kevin Newton	6479.83
4	Martin Newnham	6334.7
5	Peter Gunning	6292.7
6	Joel West	6284.91
7	Adam Richardson	6223.19
8	Mike Evans	6164.88
9	Greg Dakin	6152.25
10	Keith Woods	6111.02
11	Clayton Landells	6017.09
12	Frank Hulton	5939.95
13	Andrzej Tabero	5873.03
14	Rich Bago	5809.14
15	Mick Walsh	5802.42
16	Paul Middleton	5770.05
17	Scott Ravenscroft	5744.77
18	Mark Abbotts	5720.39
19	Dave Rumble	5717.33
20	Jon Edison	5491.28
21	Ian Mason	5386.61
22	Paul Upton	5383.18
23	Tom Foreman	5319.04
24	Paul Stubly	5264.55
25	Tony Robertson	5198.63
26	Peter Burgess	5176.49
27	Jason Bioletti	4964.13
28	Mark Treble	4800.78
29	John Treble	4782.38

Welsh Open news

2011-06-22T22:06:00.001+01:00

Thanks to T9 the first of the Welsh Open sponsors are in...

Pike Precision...

2011-06-12T17:37:00.003+01:00

Only a few weeks away :-))))

Scottish Summer League 4

2011-05-15T16:26:00.000+01:00

My first competition in my new home of Scotland was great fun. Even the 2.5m walk to the NNW face of West Lomond was welcome exercise and richly rewarded with a bunch of good sub 40 second runs. Dave Watson had FTD with an excellent 34.00.
The standard of flying was really high and those that got thermals certainly capitalised on them.
There's a lot of coastline around here... I can feel some exploring coming on!

1 Kevin Newton 8359.21
2 Peter Gunning 8335.40
3 David Watson 8328.09
4 Mike McCracken 7953.88
5 Ian Stewart 7805.60
6 Ewan Maxwell 7653.68
7 Craig Maxwell 4123.42
8 David Loomes 1681.58

La Muela - the last few days

2011-04-29T19:23:00.000+01:00

Some photos from the last few days. I'll be doing a write up of the event for QEFI and I'll add a few words here soon about the Fosa. I'll also post the scores for an impromptu F3F that 10 of us from four countries had at La Muela the day after the main comp.
Home tomorrow; via Inaki's place and vineyard :-)

24 April - La Muela

2011-04-24T19:39:00.002+01:00

Another day in my happy place :-)

La Muela 2011 competition days

2011-04-24T08:53:00.001+01:00

A fun couple of days; the highlights were;

Great organisation from the new team
Variable but fun conditions
Some showers that killed the times of those who flew just after
The Fosa went really well

Rank	Competitor	Score
1	FRICKE ANDREAS	3785,17
2	GERARDO PLAZA LOZANO	3610,65
3	ANDONI GORRINOBEASKOA	3567,69
4	SERGIO SANCHEZ CONDE	3544,31
5	PERICOU SEBASTIEN	3531,47
6	LANES PHILIPPE	3517,75
7	ESPEN TORP	3482,71
8	LOMBARDO LAURENT	3479,48
9	MARECHAL ALEXIS	3475,04
10	TIRAND YVES	3469,98
11	ALVARO SILGADO	3455,63
12	JESUS HERRERA BORREGO	3433,35
13	MIGUEL A. GUTIERREZ LECUE	3428,27
14	LEMONNIER THIERRY	3411,47
15	BLUMER RETO	3400,75
16	RONDEL PIERRE	3390,15
17	JOSE JURADO PEREZ	3359,73
18	MICHAEL EVANS	3337,48
19	JORGE MEDINA HERRERO	3307,05
20	ALBERTO PORTELLA DOBLADO	3298,78
21	MANUEL CRUZ	3289,63
22	DANIEL PORTELLA DOBLADO	3280,66
23	ANGEL LOPEZ CABRERA	3273,22
24	COHEN ALLAN	3267,44
25	LANES SEBASTIEN	3263,25
26	JORGE RUGERO GOMAR	3251,31
27	TOMAS EKLUND NORRBY	3201,91
28	IÑAKI ELIZONDO CASADO	3200,29
29	ANDRÃ©S CARDONA VIDAL	3184,80
30	JOSE MANUEL QUINTAS VIDE	3169,46
31	KEVIN NEWTON	3160,07
32	ETCHART MICHEL	3158,83
33	MICHAEL SHELLIM	3119,81
34	FERNANDO MORO	3092,76
35	JAVIER PORTELLA	3092,38
36	CARLES AYMAT	3080,53
37	IGNACIO JOSE TROJAOLA ALVAREZ	2993,39
38	BERTSCHI STEFAN	2989,97
39	JOAO MIGUEL MESTRE	2981,98
40	ALFREDO ARJONA GARCIA	2979,99
41	JUAN PEÑA MARTINEZ	2937,32
42	GIRAUD STEPHANE	2934,10
43	IÑIGO HERRERA MILLAN	2931,83
44	JOSE LUIS ALVAREZ FERNANDEZ	2918,17
45	VICTOR ELDRIDGE	2915,09
46	JOSE RAMON AZCONA CARRASCO	2910,71
47	JUAN CARLOS NOVOA FERNANDEZ	2843,60
48	LAZARO MARTINEZ NIETO	2808,70
49	LORENZO MAYOR DAVILA	2751,05
50	RICARDO CALVO ROJO	2478,58

La Muela Days 2 and 3

2011-04-22T07:09:00.000+01:00

Some photos from an excellent couple of days of sport flying. Today the competition will start...

And the new Samba model will be called...

2011-04-21T08:24:00.001+01:00

La Muela Day 1 - 19 April 2011

2011-04-20T08:31:00.002+01:00

HOT, HOT, HOT!

Fosa

2011-04-06T22:21:00.000+01:00

The Fosa by Jiri Baudis. High aspect ratio, big span, very fast yet you can hurl it around like a kipper!
Sorry about all the square loops; it's a mixture of a setting up technique I use and probing my dynamic loop theory!

Samba are back

2011-04-01T22:51:00.000+01:00

2,960mm. Two piece wing. Removable nose cone. Wing ballast - up to 2kg. RDS available. Samba quality.
More very soon.

Kinetic

2011-03-20T20:57:00.001Z

It's aerobatic. It's 2.3m. It's got a coveted TP section. It's got RDS.
And... it's a moulded prototype that might just make it into production and that might be quite soon. Watch this space...

Fosa

2011-03-07T20:48:00.001Z

It's here. It's perfect. I like to stroke it. More soon.

Extreme

2011-03-06T20:19:00.000Z

Video and review of the Extreme from www.sloperacer.co.uk

I saw an early Extreme in Slovakia a couple of years ago. It's been one of those planes that whoever flies it loves it but for some reason they have never really caught on in a mainstream way, a bit like the Sting.

I was lucky enough to win the one that SlopeRacer donated for the Welsh Open raffle last year. What tends to happen in situations like that is the winner normally quietly sells the plane on. However once you start fondling an Extreme and then talk to existing owners it kind of sucks you in to building it.

Quality
This was possibly the biggest surprise. I was expecting it to be good but each new bit you work on reveals another sweet touch or crisp bit of moulding that makes you feel the way you do when you're wearing a nice watch or nestled in an expensive car. I keep trying to find a reason not to say that the Extreme is on a par with the best as it just sounds trite but the reality is it's bloody close. To quantify that, if Baudis and VV are 10, I'd give the Extreme a 9 to 9.5; which really is high praise.

Design and build type stuff
Excellent ballast tube arrangement. The pull for up elevator linkage is really well executed. The pre-installed servo tray is really neat. The nice long nose has plenty of room for lead. Fitting a switch is a bit of a squeeze but I managed it after a little head scratching.
The only development that would have put the cherry on the cake would have been the addition of RDS. I did think about doing it myself but time got the better of me. Whether RDS or the standard set up is used the MKS DS6125 wing servos from T9 are simply fantastic.

Flying
I just got the CG from the internet, measured up some sensible movements and chucked it off the Ice Cream Slope at the Bwlch. The first flight is in the video, all the was needed was a tweak of the differential. I'm sure there's more optimisation I can do with the snapflap and elevator but it's already turning very, very sweetly.

The Extreme inspires confidence like nothing I can remember flying before. I don't think I've ever had another first flight where I'd be more than happy for the second flight to be in an F3F competition, at an level. Whether screaming around or balanced on a wingtip sitting in a thermal it is so smooth and settled it's almost like mind control.

Such is the confidence it is a great tool for practicing the French style of turning where getting the exit a few degrees wrong is very bad news. For aerobatics it works really well too. The video camera I used is too wide angle to use the footage of the multiple rolling circles and eights but they were an absolute doddle.

Flying it back to back with the Ceres is interesting. I rate the Ceres as the best all round F3F tool out there (of course that's not to say I'm right!). I reckon that the Extreme is a pretty close match. When conditions are really good it possibly hasn't quite got the ultimate pace of the Ceres but it's so tame that a less experienced pilot is more likely to be able to make the most from the performance available.

May be, a bit like the Sting, the reason why everyone isn't flying one is that they just go about their business in a calm and reliable way without all the flamboyance of other models that attract the crowds by getting a bit lary when pushed to the limits.

The bottom line is that I simply cannot think of a better package of pace, aerobatics, performance in all conditions, very potent cornering, quality and price.

Day on the Crest

2011-03-06T19:45:00.002Z

Great company. Great weather. Great hill. What's not to like.

Welsh Open 2011

2011-02-26T12:30:00.000Z

Entries so far added on the main Welsh Open page.

Fosa

2011-02-22T21:29:00.000Z

Coming to a place near me very soon...

Welsh Open 2011

2011-02-06T10:39:00.004Z

The 2011 Welsh Open F3F will be held on 16, 17, 18 September 2011.

Entry will be limited to 55 pilots. Registration will start at 10:00 AM on 26 Feb and close at midnight on 26 June.

You can register by emailing the organiser after 9.59 AM on 26 Feb with your name, confirmation that you hold an FAI licence and two 35 mHz frequencies (or confirm that you are on 2.4gHz).

More details are here.

Bits and bobs

2011-02-06T08:58:00.000Z

I popped to Whitesheet to meet up with Vic and get some fuselages back (long story). Fun day that even saw my trusty Vector DS come out to play. It was however bloody cold and it was that which put paid to proceedings as both our Rx batteries spectacularly collapsed, fortunately on the ground.

I've also managed to get some servos in the Extreme wing. The more I play with that plane the more I am impressed by the quality and attention to detail. Also the MKS DS6125 servos so far appear to be the best wing servos I have ever come across.

Winter League 2

2011-01-09T20:15:00.003Z

Fun day. 15 mph Westerly on Mickey's slope. Very variable.
Martin trounced us all in good style!

1	Martin Newnham	7604.24
2	Joel West	7205.80
3	Kevin Newton	7146.62
4	Simon Thornton	7130.02
5	Mark Southall	7060.36
6	Andrzej Tabero	7019.51
7	Mike Evans	6945.34
8	Dave Rumble	6846.88
9	Ian Mason	6817.30
10	Mark Abbotts	6794.55
11	Clayton Landells	6539.02
12	Scott Edwards	6422.72
13	Frank Hulton	6344.47
14	Paul Stubley	6123.40

Voltij

2011-01-08T10:20:00.001Z

I've had a lot on my mind lately so it was great to blow the cobwebs away and try and kill the Voltij again.
The Slope is Porthgwarra near Lands End. Bit cocked off but still spanking fun - thanks Vic!

Voltij from Kevin Newton on Vimeo.

Technoline BL700 charger

2011-01-08T10:18:00.000Z

It's not often I get stuff that exceeds my expectations but this clever little rascal is absolutely fab. I've got dozens of Eneloops in remotes, toothbrushes, micro heli TXs, camera flashes etc etc. and the wall chargers just seem to simmer the poor little suckers into submission.

Whereas the Technoline BL700 charges them individually at up to 700 mAh, it'll cycle them until it finds their max capacity, it'll discharge and it tell you how much it's put in each cell. Plus you can do any of that to each cell individually at the same time.

I've already been through dozens of cells bringing their capacity back up to scratch again. Best £30 I've spent in a while!

Fosa

2011-01-06T21:44:00.000Z

She's on her way soon....

Voltij

2010-12-20T22:51:00.002Z

My Voltij is coming out to play on a trip to Lands End soon. Just thought I'd remind myself what to do with it...

Welsh Winter League 2 - 10/11

2010-12-14T22:37:00.004Z

10 to 15mph on the Wrecker, with a hint of easterly.
Some variability but generally pretty stable throughout the 12 rounds.
Flying two up with crow through.
Great to see Mark Southall back.
Lots of pumping to gain height, none of which was particularly effective but it was great fun!
When the wind shifted more to the east I finished up flying all French at Base B, which seemed to work pretty well but it's of course impossible to know what time you'd have had using a more orthodox technique. There was a definite kick there though.
The standard of flying was really high.
Particular mention has to be made of Clayton. If we had a best newcomer award he'd be a shoo-in. And not just because he's the only newcomer!
All in all one of those days where you struggle to get out of bed but end up so glad that you made the effort.

1	Kevin Newton	10597.14
2	Joel West	10530.70
3	Mark Southall	10306.83
4	Clayton Landells	10097.90
5	Mike Evans	9896.72
6	Stefan Bertschi	9834.71
7	Andrzej Tabero	9431.32
8	Scott Edwards	9022.79
9	John Treble	7630.55

Aufwind in English

2010-12-01T22:14:00.001Z

There's only one thing better than Aufwind... and that's Aufwind in English. Just have a look at the contents page below if you don't believe me. Get your copy here.

Old stuff...

2010-11-21T22:01:00.002Z

I had a bit of a clear out moving house yesterday and couldn't resist taking a few snaps of some old papers before they got binned.
The Newsletter goes back to the heady days before the internet when the co-ordinator, Mr Iain Rose in this case, used to run the 60" and F3F League, CD every event, write, print and send a Newsletter and clean everyone's boots after the race.
And then there was the Sympa, the plane that never quite was.
And finally the Renegade, I really loved that little rascal - although the bagged American stuff could have learnt a thing or two about leading edges from our own Mr Stevens. Are you still out there John...?

Welsh Winter League 1 - 10/11

2010-11-15T23:00:00.001Z

The lightest of breezes. No rain. One round. Some pleasant sport flying. A fair bit of banter. Roll on league 2 and some proper winter league air.

More Extreme bits

2010-10-31T21:58:00.001Z

Some more work on the Extreme and a quick conversion of my spare MPX P4000 to 2.4 gHz. A few highlights so far...

The quality of the Extreme components really is absolutely first rate. Strong and light with excellent seams and great fit.
Like most mouldies the Extreme does need a little fettle here and there. The incidence pin holes need relieving a little in the fuz and the pushrods were a little tight in the snake (which I made up a neat Dremel attachment to resolve - see photos). These are however completely insignificant, especially when put into the context of the excellent component quality.
The tail linkage geometry is absolutely spot on.
The Sanwa 762 are a great fit in the fuz and just as fantastic as they've always been. SlopeRacer carry them as stock how.
The MPX 2.4 gHz conversion is so easy to fit and works so well it is untrue. I can see me doing the whole fleet much sooner than I'd imagined. I got mine from T9 along with the MKS DS6125 wing servos which really do feel like the mutts nuts.

Extreme bits...

2010-10-23T10:11:00.002+01:00

I'm just starting to get the Extreme together and have had a few bits of good news. Firstly ModelPower not only do the new NiMH Eneloop type technology in the stick configuration but the capacity has upped to 2300mAh as well. I'm just an old fashioned type of chap so I'd probably have preferred the Eneloop brand but I'll cycle these a few times and see what happens.

And... SlopeRacer have sent me a wiring loom as modelled and produced by Zim's wife Rachael. I've always made my own looms in the past because clearly no one can solder as well as I can. Apparently I was wrong...!

Welsh Summer League final positions

2010-10-18T07:28:00.002+01:00

The Welsh Summer League finished with a phut this weekend when the final competition was called off because of a lack of wind. A real shame as it was really close and a fly off in good even condition is what everyone was after.

The times flown throughout the year really demonstrate the fun to be had on the Welsh hills, although sometimes it would be nice to have less thermals and more even conditions. Or, having the penny and the bun as my mum says.

Fastest times over the league were:

League 1 – 34:02 Joel West

League 2 – 35:18 Mike Evans

League 3 – 34:86 Kev Newton

League 5 – 36:86 Kev Newton

League 6 – 37:93 Simon Thornton

The final results show just how competitive it is. If you rearranged a few of the thermal who knows who would be where, particularly Joel who did incredibly well despite a distinct lack of air for much of the year.

Final League positions with five out of seven flown and with one discard:

1	Kev Newton	3941.22
2	Simon Thornton	3937.39
3	Martin Newnham	3827.65
4	Joel West	3787.58
5	Adam Richardson	3713.35
6	Andrzej Tabero	3534.84
7	Clayton Landells	3273.81
8	Dave Rumble	2695.41
9	Warrick Smith	2686.48
10	Andy Freeman	1991.47
11	Mike Evans	1806.59
12	Scott Edwards	1699.30
13	Simon Kronfeld	1667.88
14	John Treble	1559.24
15	Paul Garnett	926.16
16	Greg Dakin	924.86
17	Mark Abbotts	914.74
18	Jonathan Sage	902.27
19	Adrian Bedford	899.82
20	Mark Passingham	886.41
21	Tom Satinet	874.87
22	Mick Walsh	869.84
23	Andy West	856.67
24	Ron Broughton	843.38
25	Tony Robertson	838.29
26	Jacob Newnham	833.61
27	Ian Mason	811.98
28	George Pilkington	756.13
29	Stuart Brookes	755.08
30	Vic Eldridge	123.06

Extreme

2010-10-16T20:42:00.000+01:00

I've just started putting together the Extreme that I was lucky enough to win in SlopeRacer raffle. The quality is really impressive.

With all the energy of the fuz ballast tube slamming forwards in an arrival I decided to do what I normally do and make sure the tray won't go anywhere. This time though it's Kevlar rather than carbon as I'm going 2.4 gHz with this. The downside it Kevlar is horrible to work with, ho hum.

More soon.

Rotary Drive System (RDS)

2010-10-10T11:51:00.002+01:00

I'm about to embark on RDSing an Extreme and found some really good information and videos at www.rds-swiss.ch

I'll let you know how I get on.

Welsh Open - results

2010-09-19T18:34:00.003+01:00

I have to work but results and photos below. More soon.
Three days. 11 rounds. Variable conditions. John Phillips wins despite losing his discard when he demolished the weather station. Inaki Elizondo gets a new WR with an immaculately flown 29.37. £1,300 raised for charity with the best raffle ever.

Interestingly the top 4 pilots covered only 7 spaces in the flying order.

1	John Phillips	9095.36
2	Simon Thornton	9047.92
3	Joel West	8779.28
4	Gerardo Plaza	8735.86
5	Mark Redsell	8694.69
6	Dag Skoglund	8626.71
7	Peter Gunning	8616.64
8	Kevin Newton	8585.47
9	Keith Wood	8513.46
10	Bjorn Tore Hagen	8485.42
11	Iñaki Elizondo	8389.31
12	José Luis Alvarez Fernandez	8379.74
13	John Bennett	8378.67
14	Richard Bago	8300.4
15	Mike Evans	8276.86
16	Adam Richardson	8273.12
17	Martin Newnham	8167.19
18	Mike Shellim	8155.47
19	Scott Ravenscroft	8133.37
20	Jean Luc Foucher	8072.41
21	Paul Garnett	8067.52
22	Graham Reed	8039.4
23	Iain Medley-Rose	7972.71
24	Mark Abbots	7910.26
25	Frank Hulton	7909.22
26	Jon Edison	7903.64
27	Cedric Grandseigne	7893.55
28	Andres Cardona	7875.3
29	Stefan bertschi	7862.41
30	Paul Foster	7857.16
31	Andrzej Tabero	7820.54
32	Fernando Moro	7793.46
33	Mike McCracken	7788.45
34	Paul Middleton	7769.81
35	Adrian Bedford	7703.66
36	Dave Wright	7693.65
37	Marcelino Puñal	7632.97
38	Clayton Landells	7556.44
39	Tony Robertson	7361.42
40	Ian Mason	7324.12
41	Mick Walsh	7225.89
42	Stuart Brookes	6890.33
43	Knut Eirik Lyngmo	6833.61
44	Jason Bioletti	6831.13
45	Jonathon Sage	6472.58
46	Vic Eldridge	6411.94
47	Ron Broughton	6363.85
48	Dave Rumble	6002.49
49	Greg Dakin	766.65

1	Team GBU	Simon Thornton	Kevin Newton	Martin Newnham	25800.58
2	Mickey's Massive	Joel West	Peter Gunning	Stefan bertschi	25258.32
3	Dragon Slayers	Mark Redsell	Mike Evans	Paul Garnett	25039.07
4	Watering Cans	Gerardo Plaza	Iñaki Elizondo	Fernando Moro	24918.63
5	Tea Swillers	John Phillips	Graham Reed	Dave Wright	24828.40
6	Team Steam	Richard Bago	Jon Edison	Paul Middleton	23973.85
7	Team Flymo	Adam Richardson	Scott Ravenscroft	Clayton Landells	23962.93
8	Team Arctic Circle	Dag Skoglund	Bjorn Tore Hagen	Knut Eirik Lyngmo	23945.74
9	Team GBR	Mark Abbots	Frank Hulton	Ian Mason	23143.59
10	Team Dorset	Iain Medley-Rose	Adrian Bedford	Stuart Brookes	22566.70
11	Team SATO	Mick Walsh	Jonathon Sage	Vic Eldridge	20110.41

Welsh Open - new World Record

2010-09-19T14:50:00.000+01:00

Iñaki Elizondo gets a 29.37 part way through the first round of the day. Congratulation!
But it is possible someone will go faster....

Welsh Open

2010-09-19T12:42:00.000+01:00

This is more is more like it!

Welsh Open

2010-09-19T09:15:00.000+01:00

Not a classic start to day three...

place	pilot	Team	Country	total
1	Joel West	Mickey's Massive	England	4682.89
2	Alvaro Silgado	Watering Cans	Spain	4669.25
3	Dag Skoglund	Bubble	Norway	4655.71
4	Bjorn Tore Hagen	Bubble	Norway	4606.49
5	Simon Thornton	Team GBU	England	4602.19
6	Gerardo Plaza	Watering Cans	Spain	4602.18
7	Kevin Newton	Team GBU	England	4600.01
8	Mark Redsell	Dragon Slayer	England	4561.87
9	Greg Dakin	Tea Swillers	England	4543.82
10	Mike Evans	Dragon Slayer	England	4525.66
11	Espen Torp	Bubble	Norway	4521.02
12	Richard Bago	Team Web	England	4520.33
13	John Phillips	Tea Swillers	England	4519.49
14	Adam Richardson	Dragon Slayer	England	4477.78
15	Stephan Bertschi	Mickey's Massive	Switzerland	4470.60
16	Martin Newnham	Team GBU	England	4437.91
17	Angel Lopez	Forever Aldayso	Spain	4427.26
18	Jose Luis Alvarez	Birds	Spain	4405.61
19	Iñigo Herrera Millan	Mic	Spain	4382.71
20	William Jul Ringkjob	Norway 2	Norway	4368.21
21	Jorgen Wake Stensen	Norway 2	Norway	4343.79
22	Carles Aymat	Mic	Spain	4342.82
23	Peter Gunning	Mickey's Massive	Scotland	4339.06
24	Kjell Sture Johansen	Norway 2	Norway	4321.17
25	Iñaki Elizondo	Watering Cans	Spain	4298.46
26	Fernando Moro	Forever Aldayso	Spain	4264.05
27	Keith Wood	Team Web	England	4258.32
28	Mark Abbotts	Exiles	England	4220.01
29	C M Cheng		Hong Kong	4215.28
30	John Bennett	Foggy Bottoms	England	4208.04
31	Frank Hulton	Exiles	England	4171.48
32	Jesus Herrera	Forever Aldayso	Spain	4150.47
33	Jon Edison	Team Web	England	4146.14
34	Mike McCracken	Team Sofa Can Fast	Scotland	4101.63
35	Scott Ravenscroft	Barbarians	England	4033.59
36	Miguel Gutierrez Lecue	Birds	Spain	4017.45
37	Marcelino Punal	Mic	Spain	4008.80
38	Iain Medley-Rose	Foggy Bottoms	England	3999.12
39	George Young	Team Sofa Can Fast	Scotland	3985.60
40	Ian Mason	Exiles	England	3949.18
41	Dave Rumble	Team Wreckers	England	3931.96
42	Alfredo Arjona Garcia	Birds	Spain	3893.60
43	Mike Shellim	Foggy Bottoms	England	3852.82
44	Jason Bioletti	Team Wreckers	England	3843.91
45	Mick Walsh	Team Sofa Can Fast	Wales	3822.16
46	Andrzej Tabero	Tea Swillers	Wales	3722.81
47	Wing Wong		Hong Kong	3711.57
48	John Trebble	Dream Team	England	3696.54
49	Vic Eldridge	Dream Team	England	3431.30
50	Tony Robertson	Dream Team	England	2830.72

place	team	sum
1	Bubble	13783.22
2	Team GBU	13640.11
3	Watering Cans	13569.89
4	Dragon Slayer	13565.31
5	Mickey's Massive	13492.55
6	Norway 2	13033.18
7	Team Web	12924.79
8	Forever Aldayso	12841.78
9	Tea Swillers	12786.11
10	Mic	12734.32
11	Exiles	12340.67
12	Birds	12316.66
13	Foggy Bottoms	12059.98
14	Team Sofa Can Fast	11909.39
15	Dream Team	9958.56
16	Team Wreckers	7775.87
17	Barbarians	4033.59