Welsh Open 2009 - Reflections..

Before we begin to analyse the proceedings, let F3X Insider be the first to congratulate young Graham 'glitch' Reed on his first Eurotour triumph and FTD! Graham made the most of the (albeit excellent) air that he was given, but more importantly managed the psychological overhead of winning Round One to successfully defend his position against some of Europe's best pilots.

In terms of conditions, there remained a significant level of variance during the five Rounds flown. The top three pilots all enjoyed 40 second air (or faster) on at least one occasion and rightly capitalised on their 'natural' advantage, forcing some pilots to use their fastest time of the five rounds as a discard!

Disappointingly, the key Eurotour Competitors of Torp and Rondel flew very well but were rarely blessed with the conditions required to win an international event, placing 20th and 16th respectively. That said, Espen's 37.xx was a joy to behold, showing the potential of the Cyril once on step in quality air.

Bjorn Tore Hagen, on the other hand supplemented his podium position at the Norway Open, by flying his repaired Ceres Lift to a well deserved second place. In fact Bjorn may well have won the Eurotour league out right had he entered the mandatory three scoring competitions.

Cedric Grandseigne enjoyed five excellent rounds, and really showed the quality of the Martinet in the variable UK conditions. Cedric advises F3X Insider that the model can handle a considerable amount of ballast in all but the lightest of conditions, and may benefit from a new (and slimmer) fuselage moulding in the not too distant future.

The top UK pilots faired reasonably well in the conditions, with Simon Thornton sealing a well earned third place with a Ceres F3B, Kevin Newton in at sixth position also with a Ceres F3B, and John Phillips showing great consistency with his Predator at seventh place. Messrs Dakin and Garnett completed the picture with ninth and tenth position.

The Spanish contingent of Elizondo, Plaza and Silgado as always looked to be having a great time, and showed the virtues of their German technology (Radical/Freesyler) both in the competition and during the epic sport flying on Saturday. By close of play, the 'Watering Cans' had comprehensively beaten the rest of the field and deservedly took the team prize!

For those looking to procure new hardware, there seemed little to choose between the established designs - particularly the Freestyler, Ceres F3B, Lift and Cyril, all of which seemed to offer similar performance in the conditions.

The Skorpion again showed its pedigree in 'Big Air' conditions, whilst the RCRCM Predator served to prove that a cost effective F3F model can be flown competitively at European level.

Thanks to the SWSA club and in particular Andrzej Tabero and Kevin Newton for organising an excellent event.

Welsh Open 2009 - Top 10 (of 50) Pilots

1. Graham Reed

2. Bjorn Tore Hagen

3. Simon Thornton

4. Cedric Grandseigne

5. Inaki Elizondo

6. Kevin Newton

7. John Phillips

8. Gerardo Plaza

9. Greg Dakin

10. Paul Garnett

F3X Insider

Anthisnes F3B Eurotour

F3X Insider has just returned from the F3B Eurotour event in Belgium hosted by the CRPAL club.

This was an exceptionally enjoyable event which was attended by some of the biggest names in Europe. The welcome offered by the CRPAL club was absolutely outstanding with excellent facilities including a bar and a hot meal on site on Saturday as well as lunches on Saturday and Sunday.

The flying was challenging as the flying field is quite narrow with a 2m high maize field on one side, a ploughed field on the other and a very tall forest behind. The forest produced good lift for Duration although one UK pilot lost his model in the forest after losing sight of it momentarily and after much searching in the extensive forest it was found up an extremely tall tree. Most of the model was eventually retrieved but it was unfortunately a write-off.

Models flown at the event included the Herrigs with their Freestylers, Ceres variants, Radicals and Shooters. All looked good and there really is not much to choose between the current crop of top line F3B machinery. Top Three were:

1. Martin Herrig
2. Roland Hofman
3. Christian Müller

Best Speed time was a 13.15 from Roland Hofmann.

Also in the top 5 was Steve Haley from the the UK flying a Ceres Lift. This was Steve's first international competition in several years and a very impressive return it was too.

F3X Insider understands that Steve may be expecting a Shooter very shortly and is also considering a Target. He will definitely be seen at a few Eurotours next year.

If you have never been to Eurotour event you really should get to one, even if only as a helper. The opportunity to some of the top pilots do their stuff and talk to them in the pits really should not be ignored. The social side of the event is excellent and it makes for an excellent weekend.

Best comment of the weekend was: 'Eurotours are harder to win than the World Championships. More Germans!'.

Ceres Lift

It seems like the Ceres Lift has to be added to the list of contenders for the Welsh Open. Bjorn Tore Hagen really crunched another top contender, Espen Torp during the Norwegian Championship last weekend. Very impressive indeed. F3X Insider does not have any idea about the conditions but anyway a win like that must be taken seriously.

Welsh Open 2009: Preview

So, let's kick-off with a preview to this year's Eurotour F3F event in South Wales.

First off, as 2009 is a non-Viking Race year, the Welsh Open will be hosted over a three day period, scheduled for 18th, 19th & 20th September at the Bwlch.

With 55 pilot entries and three days of racing, there is every possibility that a fair and meaningful result will be output from this event - welsh weather gods permitting.

The Welsh Hills:

1. They are the best hills for slope racing in Britain, and offer remarkable to breath taking lift if the wind blows and is square on to the hill.

2. The Bwlch is an inland site and subject to varying degrees of thermal activity.

3. The 'Back of the Wrecker' and 'Ice-Cream Slope' tend to be the worse affected by thermal influence.

4. The 'Wrecker' and 'Crest' reward the pilot who dares to fly on the lip of the ridge - levels of compression increase closer to the edge.

5. The 'Ice Cream Slope' and westerly face of 'Mickey's Slope' offer the softer side of welsh flying and have a sightly less defined edge, often meaning that competitive times can be posted by flying further out.

6. Wind strength can be deceptive on the 'Wrecker' sites, because the air tends to be deflected vertically up the ridge, often making ballast selection a challenge.

Ones to Watch:

There's no doubt that the vast majority of entrants have the ability and skills to win the event, but on the basis of current form, F3X Insider suggests that the following pilots should be monitored closely:

• Pierre Rondel - Freestyler / Martinet
• Espen Torp - RaceMx / Cyril
• Kevin Newton - Ceres F3B
• Greg Dakin - RaceMx
• Bjorn Tore Hagen - Freestyler
• Simon Thornton - Ceres F3B
• Mark Redsell - Freestyler

Models:

There's sure to be plenty of hardware on display, but of particular interest are the CCM Martinet and Baudis Cyril.

From conversations with the UK guys, F3X Insider understands that these new-gen airframes have yet to be flown in South Wales, and only the Cyril has been seen on UK soil in the hands of Espen Torp (who incidentally has just set a new slope record of 34.xx with the model in Norway).

We await news from the event with trepidation....

Further information is available at: http://kevin-newton.blogspot.com/

F3X Insider

Welcome

Here at F3X Insider we plan to bring you all of the latest and greatest developments in the world of F3F/B models and technologies, as well as race reports, flying techniques, set-ups and tit-bits of information usually kept within the inner circle of high-end competition pilots.

Our small group of hardened enthusiasts will be attending the major slope races in Europe during 2010, including many of the F3F and F3B Eurotour events, as well as the Viking Race.

We will also be keeping an eye on model developments in Europe, the USA and China, and offering an independent view on the merits of the various airframes and underlying design ethics.

Enjoy the F3X Insider blog, and feel free to leave your comments and views!

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