Mark and I were up early and hit the local IHOP for a quick breakfast before heading to site #4 for some practice rounds. Chad and Nedim were already there and we joined Andrew Jesky and the Australian Team members.
Chad made some changes and had a solid round as did Mark. The winds were very strong and an aggressive throttle was needed at certain points. If you relaxed for a second the plane would drift out very quickly. Mark put in a second practice round and I had a good chat with Junior Pilot James Nugent’s dad Dave from the Australian F3A team. We both agreed that the knowledge we can pass on to these juniors will accelerate their flying tremendously. The Australians really seamed to enjoy themselves this morning and also worked hard to get in that perfect flight. The winds had other ideas for all the pilots.
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| Dave gives the thumbs up as the Australians await their turn. |
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| A $2.88 plane stand... brilliant! |
Chad was up on Site #1 at 10:57 but it obvious that things were behind. Turns out a group protest letter by several countries was being discussed. Some teams felt that judging spreads on scores were rather excessive and want some clarity as to why and what, if anything, could be done to rectify their view of the situation. Cooler heads prevailed and after some discussion on procedural issues (protests) and the judging protocols flying resumed.
Chad put in a solid round and posted a raw score of 440.20. It was a little faster pace to his flight but the results were obviously positive. The team cheered when his wheels touched the ground. The afternoon was relaxed as we watched several flight and cooled down in the trailer... I have a new appreciation for air conditioning!!
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| Team Canada awaits Chad's sortie. |
Mark was up next on Site #3 and he too had a good round. Minor errors but a clean flight none the less. He was pretty happy but wanted a couple do overs :-) He posted a raw score of 394.00
Dez followed Mark in the next group and in short order he too was churning up the skies with a solid round as well. Some minor in and out but still very respectable. Dez posted a 404.00 raw score and was also happy with the result. Some flyers did not handle the winds well and drifted out to 170 or more meters. I believe the judges would hammer these guys with lower scores :-( Today’s saying should have been “ Hold the line”!
As we packed up we heard that Chip Hyde had an incident with his back up plane on site #4. Turns out that the bolt holding the wing had stripped out and although he was able to complete the manouvers, he threw in a snap roll and... well the wing panel departed the aircraft! Chip did a great job of saving the plane with some deft flying and landed it with only minor gear damage... hey I think I have seen a similar photo shopped video on youtube! LOL. (I am told there is video recorded by a smart phone... it should turn up soon.)
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| Wing damage to Chip's backup plane. |
I am told the damage is repairable and they were awaiting the decision on just what could be done within the rules to repair it. If this plane flies tomorrow it will be with only 8 lives :-)
We gathered around the RV’s and had a brief social to catch up on the days events then it was off to dinner. We couldn’t decide on where to go as a group so we went our separate ways this evening.
July 29th times are:
Mark at Site #1 at 8:51
Dez at Site #1 at 9.33
Chad at Site #3 at 15:30
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