2014 F3B Nationals

I am very pleased to report that the 2014 F3B Nationals were unaffected by rain, unlike previous league events which were cancelled. We had a decent entry of 15 pilots - one pilot dropped out before the start leaving 14 remaining competitors. The event was held at RAF Cranwell which is close to the site of the main BMFA nationals. A fun element for the f3b was the prize of a can of beer for each slot winner.

The contest started with round 1 of duration. Things didn't start well for Mike Holtby when the centre spring in his transmitter aileron stick broke - his model was damaged on landing and he wasn't able to carry on. Round 1 of duration was pretty easy with nearly everybody flying out the slots. I managed a 10:00/100, which was the best points score of the round and pleasing with my new Avatar. The beer was being handed out fast, as several pilots managed to draw in the decent soaring conditions, to claim joint slot wins.

Two rounds of distance were flown next. Jon Sage managed the best score of 20 legs in the first round and flew very well in the contest, especially considering it was his first event for a couple of seasons. Mike C lost out to Steve by one lap - 11 to 12 - in tricky conditions. Distance scoring being what it is though, one lap hurt his score at 11/12.

Round 2 of distance saw some higher lap counts with several pilots going 20+. Simon Haley had the best count with 24 laps. Other slot winners were Mike C, John Whittle and Jon Sage. Paul Carrington scored an excellent 22 laps to win his slot. It was really great to see Paul back flying after a couple of years off. I had a very enjoyable battle against Steve, where he put a lap on me to score 20 to my 19.

Speed Round 1 was won by Steve with a 15.50 flying his Fosa. Jon Sage got a new PB with an 18.69 flying his Radical. Other times were generally in the high teens and low 20s. The flat airfield didn't produce much turbulence but the launching conditions weren't amazing, so times were not exceptional.

Steve also won round 2 of speed with a 16.93, closed followed by Mike Challinor with a 16.98. I did at 17.95 and other pilots were generally slightly faster than round 1, with Paul Carrington flying a particularly smooth 18.04, showing that his old skills are not quit forgotten yet! I hope we see more of you Paul!

The contest finish with round 2 of duration. By this time it was later in the day and the lift conditions were not as good as earlier in the day. After slot one in which Bob flew an excellent 10:00/100, the longest flight was 7:17, by Paul Carrington in the last slot. Steve Haley had a good lead by this point, and although he lost a few points, he did enough to win the contest. John Whittle scored a 1000 to win his slot with a 7.00/100 and secure his second place. I came in third by scoring 1000 points in the penultimate duration slot. It was a closely fought contest for 3rd and I was pleased to do well with my new Avatar, which has a lot of potential and is very slippery.

Rank	Name	Score	Pcnt	Raw Score	Rnd1 Dur	Rnd1 Dis	Rnd1 Spd	Rnd2 Dur	Rnd2 Dis	Rnd2 Spd	Plty
1	Steve Haley	5910.61	100.00	5910.61	1000	1000	1000	910.61	1000	1000	0
2	John Whittle	5787.28	97.91	5787.28	994.29	1000	899.59	1000	1000	893.4	0
3	Tom Satinet	5651.5	95.62	5651.5	1000	1000	758.32	1000	950	943.18	0
4	Paul Carrington	5577.09	94.36	5577.09	982.86	842.11	813.65	1000	1000	938.47	0
5	Jon Sage	5546.44	93.84	5546.44	988.56	1000	829.32	938.55	1000	790.01	0
6	Mike Challinor	5545.84	93.83	5545.84	1000	916.67	870.3	761.81	1000	997.06	0
7	Simon Haley	5375.58	90.95	5375.58	1000	947.37	712.97	822.31	1000	892.93	0
8	Dave Worral	5360.27	90.69	5360.27	985.67	1000	861.59	807.69	785.71	919.61	0
9	John Phillips	4458.92	75.44	4458.92	1000	736.84	760.55	484.62	608.7	868.21	0
10	Brian Johnson	4384.38	74.18	4384.38	1000	583.33	570.48	978.57	636.36	615.64	0
11	Bob Dickenson	4174.78	70.63	4174.78	734.29	631.58	594.1	1000	583.33	631.48	0
12	Bill Haley	2519.85	42.63	2519.85	549.36	900	0	635.71	434.78	0	0
13	Clive Needham	2156.52	36.49	2156.52	982.83	0	387.98	0	785.71	0	0
14	Mike Holtby	0	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0