Date has been set for the Club Annual Dinner and Prizegiving event. Friday 21st November 2008 will see us all meeting up at the Chequers restuarant in Westhoughton for a good meal, large volumes of drink, good chat and a celebration of the years happenings.
Menu hasn't yet been released but make sure you book your seat (and that of your partner) with Andy in plenty of time so we can secure enough grub.
Due to commitments of Fireworks and the midweek date of November 5th we will be holding the meeting the following week, Tuesday 11th November instead.
About a week ago, Rob from the scrap yard stopped me on my way out and said they were still having problems with the gate being left open. He stressed that he wasn't implying that it was our fault but reiterated the point that the reason for keeping the gate shut when nobody was in the scrapyard was to keep out unwanted "visitors" and vandals. Clearly, it is in our interests to cooperate not least to avoid any unwanted incursions onto our patch.
After some discussion we agreed that the best way forward was to keep the gate shut at all times. This means that we should shut the gate on leaving or entering the site even if it is already open. This is particularly important on Thursday when it is unlikely that Rob or other scrapyard workers will be present.
Regards, John Emmison.
Ps I have posted a notice in the caravan.
Rookie jet compilation for RCM&E Magazine.
Film @ http://www.vimeo.com/1798901.
Film @ http://vimeo.com:80/1786139.
At last an excellent weekends flying with three jets at the field, a host of other aircraft and a full size microlight crash.
As many of you know i went to barton after we had finished flying to chat to air traffic control and submit witness names for the CAA investigation. The club will be contacted by the investigators in due course if required. here is a link to the manchester evening news page showing the pic of the crashed aircraft. the last time we saw this it was dissappearing behind the trees!
Read it at http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1067892_two_injured_in_plance_crash.
Watch this space for more information.
Andy.
In almost disastrous weather Sunday arrived with a forecast which was a lot better than the conditions down on the patch but as the time neared, the clouds dispersed and the competitors started to arrive 'on mass'.
Andy elected to run the comp as the CD and the rules were announced as usual - a thirty second climbout was decided on and fifteen second penalty on missing the runway.
With Dave eager to set the pace, out he went very early on with a 'Big Swift' glider and put in a very healthy 6:30 before anyone else was even ready. The weather deteriorated slightly which saw a lull in activity until Dicky followed him with a 'Thrush' glider with a less than adequate 4:04.
John took a chance on flying the same model straight afterward and came in at 2:03. Colin entered in with an 'Easy Glider' for a time of 2:42 but failed to reach the strip and was deducted down to 2:27, but later up'd it to 3:07 hitting the runway so nothing lost.
Rob came in with a 'Cularis' to put a time of 2:28 on the board which wasn't enough for him so he switched to I.C. with a 'Limbo Dancer' and raised it to 3:01. Peter decided to have a go with a little 'Swift' flying wing and got a best time of 1:57 and Derek tried with an 'Easy Star' and got over a minute but missed the runway and lost fifteen seconds to bring him down to a best time of 1:00.
Dicky switched over to the 'Cougar' instead but didn't do any better with just 3:50 and Frank had a difficult time on his hands with a 'Frantic' fitted with a very tired engine making everything from taking off the strip to climbing to a pitiful height in the thirty seconds seem marginal at best, achieving a lowly high of 2:02.
John got his I.C. 'Cougar' out of his car and raised his time to 2:57 and then 3:05.
As the seconds ticked down to the close of the comp, Dicky went back up with the electric 'Cougar' and improved on his early scores but couldn't reach the duration of Dave's glider and settled on a best time of 5:09.
The final results were:
1st --- Dave ..... 6:51
2nd --- Dicky ..... 5:09
3rd --- Colin ..... 3:07
4th --- John ..... 3:05
5th --- Rob ..... 3:01
6th --- Franky ..... 2:02
7th --- Peter ..... 1:57
8th --- Derek ..... 1:00
See the final Wadsworth points table.
An absolutely FABULOUS day dawned this morning full of promise to last the day through for us to hold our annual 'Win A Model' competition.
The model in question this year was actually purchased, and made ready, last year but due to abysmal conditions throughout the summer the comp never took place.
The JP Thrush EP Glider turned up in the nick of time to the field for all the competitors to see just what they would be flying/trying to win, kitted out with all the servos, brushless motor and upgraded prop/hub assembly. For the purpose of the competition only a 2.4gHz Rx and FlightPower 2500mAh 3S1P battery were supplied by Dicky along with a DX7 to act as the 'Master' Tx and, thanks to Gordon, a JR PCM9XII as the 'Slave' for all mode 2 fliers and Dave's mode 1 DX7 for those 'cackanders' amongst us ;)
A quick 'trimming' "I'm not practicing - honest!" flight was taken along with a test climb to establish that 30 seconds of motor run was sufficient which showed everyone the performance along with aerobatic capability possible with this model.
So all the names were put into a hat, a princely total of eleven members were up for this one and the new-boy Mark was first out through to Dave "I did put it in there, honest!!!" Buckley last.
All relevant checks on the TX's out of the way and it was time to call the first pilot Mark out to the strip - his first flight on our strip although he was a very accomplished flier at his previous club. The climb showed enough height to strain the eyesight of the best of us although the ensuing glide resulted in a landing at just three minutes and six seconds.
Brian next out showing us his inexperience at this end of the hobby with an almost disastrous (good job we had the buddy box!) landing at a measly two minutes and thirty six seconds.
Glynn now and the climbout was very impressive indeed - right up to the point where the timekeeper woke up saying "oops" when questioned when thirty seconds was up! With a lot of heckling from the assembled crowd he was allowed to complete the flight and the CD would make a decision later on. With a landing at four minutes and eight seconds it put him in the lead but it was short lived so the advantage played didn't offer any help at all!
The newest beginner Colin was next to take his turn and he'd been practicing a lot with similar gear but again the inexperience showed through and he ended up at the lower end of the scale with a landing at two minutes and thirty four seconds.
Johns turn now and a lot of buoyant air seemed to come over the strip resulting in a leading flight of four minutes and forty two seconds.
Dan was the last to go before the short 'charging' break with claims of lack of power going right from the off - it looked fine to the rest of us ;) With a whole load of sink following the booming lift in Johns turn Dan struggled to keep it up for any longer (surely not at his age?) and landed at three minutes and eleven seconds.
A decision was made to get the juice back in the pack and a break so we could all get out of the sunshine for a bit so it was back to the caravan for a chat. Half an hour later and the charger indicated just under 900mAh (36%) was put back in so it was in no way flat and Dan's time stood.
Back out to the strip and Mark was very eager to get airborne as a hundred or so birds were circling at the edge of the field and not flapping but we found a few reasons to delay launch (very grounded reasons on safety Mark - honest!) but eventually we ran out of excuses and up he went, right into the middle of the thermal drifting all so slowly across the field. The flight seemed to go on forever and a regular check had to be made on the throttle stick to make sure no cheating was going on but up, up, and up it went. Around the nine minute point Mark was getting a little bored and some mild aerobatics ensued (only a loop mind) resulting in a break from the thermal, which seemed to disappear at the same time, and down he came to a final resting back on the strip at an impressive ten minutes and forty seven seconds.
Dicky's go now (fortunately for him, he was allowed 'out to play' for the afternoon) and not looking forward to following the previous example made the best of the conditions by climbing straight out and toward the maggot farm where a good deal of initial lift took him higher still whereupon some birdies started the drift back across the strip without flapping so he joined them. Gaining in confidence from the initial boost and now worried about climbing completely out of sight, Marks score was fast approaching and Dicky's grin was growing all the way across his face - especially when all the sour, green with envy, comments started to flow from all the gathered losers :D The flight eventually ended with a perfect landing at a massively impressive fourteen minutes and twenty six minutes.
Grahams turn next and fully flushed with confidence after 'passing out' with his wings test yesterday went up with a severe determination resulting in a very steady and extremely smooth flight which didn't show any signs of ending for what seemed like an eternity (specially to Dicky!) but as gravity took its toll he finally completed the flight at a not to be sniffed at eleven minutes and twenty six minutes.
Last to go was the CD himself and Dave came to the strip with a forlorn look on his face with a mountain of a task on his hands to stop himself looking a complete amateur following the previous three 'double figured' flights. Convinced that Dicky had restricted the power somehow, and made the wing sink instead of lift, he did his best to get as much height as he could in the thirty second motorised climbout but all the birdies had got bored with circling around and gone somewhere far far away for lift. In fact, the temperature had noticeably dropped a couple of degrees almost as soon as the model was released at the start of the flight. Dropping like a lead balloon all the way around Dave struggled to keep it up for any longer and a landing on the strip came at a disastrously minimal three minutes and forty one seconds.
The final results were:
1st --- Dicky ..... 14:26
2nd --- Graham ..... 11:26
3rd --- Mark ..... 10:47 (plus aerobatic bonus?)
4th --- John ..... 4:42
5th --- Glynn ..... 4:08 with extended climb!
6th --- Dave ..... 3:41
7th --- Dan ..... 3:11
8th --- Mark ..... 3:06
9th --- Rob ..... 2:42
10th -- Brian ..... 2:36
11th -- Colin ..... 2:34
A very well turned out competition on the best day of the year with a great crowd. Thanks very much to Graham for timekeeping.
The perfect weather and conditions resulted in an interesting day which kept us all guessing all the way to the end with a great deal of luck coupled with a very minor amount of skill but topped with some impressive eyesight all fueled the mixed results above.
Dicky took it all in his stride and showed excellent sportsmanship throughout giving only the appropriate amount of cockiness where required ;)
No Wadsworth points are awarded on this competition and it's not as if Dicky needs any as it is!
Following a relatively quiet and pretty poorly attended 'party night' the comp took place as planned on a superb sunny Sunday and Colin (chief time-keeper) Nolan was kind enough to provide the following report :
After what seemed like weeks [it was weeks!!!] of monsoon weather the morning of the 13th. brought the sun coming up with his hat on;a fine day for the annual All up/Last down competition.
As there were a few guys at the caravan with sore heads from the night before the time for the start was put at 1 o'clock to enable the fog behind the sun glasses to clear.
A total of eight intrepid flyers came to the start line,and after a 3..2...1 countdown,took to the air.First down was Derek,with his Easy Star.This suffered a catastrophic airframe failure,thus recording a very short time.
The other competitors quickly settled into a comfortable routine,shown especially by Graham,who had a deckchair prepared with drinks cabinet and cigarette holder at the ready.
Glyn,John and Richard fell by the wayside between 7min.55sec. and 30min.35sec leaving Dave,Mark,Gary and Graham.
Graham, especially was looking very cool in the heat of battle, even taking time to have a cigarette and a chat about the weather.
Gary noticed that the barbecue had been flashed up and decided that there was definite lift right over it,even at a height of 200 feet or so.
Graham's nonchalance paid off,with his Proteus finally coming down on 43min30sec.This was an excellent time for a 'park flier'.
This left the last three competitors still vying for space,with a lot of sledging occurring between them.The size of their batteries came into the conversation quite a bit.
Gary's Easy Glider finally drifted down with a very good time of 1 hour and 3 minutes,breaking his own personal record.
So,we had Mark's XL-3200 still up,along with Dave's Big Swift.As the minutes ticked away the odour of the barbecue became too much,and a mutual draw was decided at 1 hour 15 minutes.
The final results were:
1st --- Dave ..... Big Swift ___ 100 Wadsworth Points
1st --- Mark ..... XL-3200 ____ 100 Wadsworth Points
3rd --- Gary ..... Easy Glider __ 75 Wadsworth Points
4th --- Graham . Proteus ____ 62.5 Wadsworth Points
5th --- Richard . Cougar _____ 50 Wadsworth Points
6th --- John ..... Easy Star ___ 37.5 Wadsworth Points
7th --- Glyn ...... Flutter Bug _ 25 Wadsworth Points
8th --- Derek .... Easy Star ___ 12.5 Wadsworth Points
All in all,a very enjoyable comp.
It was decided at the last club meeting, held last night, to re-schedule the Party Night and Electric All Up Last Down Competition for Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th respectively.
Unfortunately due to the typical british summer we are faced with terrible weather for the weekend.
Only thing to do is cancel for now and re-schedule later on - watch this space!
Can't say much about the competition tomorrow until we see what the clouds are going to do but for now I'd say that will be held at a later date also.
Remember, this weekend is the party night/stopover event down on the patch. Basically the flying is as normal but at seven on Saturday the beer gets opened, the BBQ lit and all the club rules completely out of the window!
Silent models (sacrificial ones only please!) flown regularly through the night, it helps to have lights of course but we will provide torchlight - and we promise not to keep turning it off, honest ;)
Bring a tent/caravan/chair, whatever you need for the weekend. BUT DON'T FORGET THE ALCOHOL.
Competition on Sunday is the Electric All Up Last Down which means a mass launch, and guess what, last one down is the winner!
Everyone welcome.
It's that time of year again for our flying hours to change.
First flying day this affects is Thursday 29th May.
These times will be in force until after the August bank holiday.
A perfect day dawned (some of us saw it too early!) for the annual spot landing competition at the Tyledsley site and it wasn't long before the pit area was full of planes and members milling around. Competition due to start at 13:00 and a couple of us nearly left it too late to turn up and enter but at the roll call a total of nine entrants stood up to the challange.
First thing to do was the draw to decide the order and first out was John who proceded to faff around for a good fifteen minutes before he was ready.
Around first for the powered landing and he was too high to sink so abandoned it and went up to cut his engine for the deadstick which came in at 14.68m.
Next out was Glyn who got a better result with 3.71m powered and 4.68m 'silent'.
Now Frank had his chance to show us all how it was done. Unfortunately he'd not listened to the CD when the rules were being given out and on his powered landing he did a 'touch n go' instead of a landing and was told to go around and do it again (this brought on much barracking and abuse [justified of course] toward the CD as he'd not allowed John the same)
Second attempt saw his wheels grind to a halt as instructed and the first point of contact with the floor measured 3.95m from the target although his deadstick landing was much better at only 1.61m.
Fourth to go was Dick who, on his first flight of the day, touched down just a barely measurable 0.67m from the target and almost did the same as Frank by 'bouncing' back in the air before coming down to rest a short distance away. Back up for the deadstick and even though the model was electric he managed to keep the prop from spinning and come in for a greaser at 0.34m.
Now Rob, with a determination in his stride, came out for his first attempt at this discipline being new to the club and put in a consistent show measuring 1.46m powered and 1.39m deadstick.
Hon Sec next and we all knew Mark was having trouble stopping his engine so this one could be interesting! The powered stunt came in a reasonable 1.92m but back up for the deadstick and it must have taken a good four or five minutes and much stick banging before the little Irvine finally gave up the ghost and stopped so he could come down for his deadstick which improved to give 1.33m although he took half the runway with him due to landing at such an angle giving the first point of contact as the exhaust instead of the wheels - definately not a 'dive' honest?.
CD next and Dave (very sportsmanly) came out to show us all how not to do it by getting a disastrous 7.17m on the powered attempt but improved slightly on the deadstick by putting in a 4.67m although I'm sure the tape was being stretched a bit!
Penultimately el-Presidente came out with his sons trainer (not sure that's allowed CD - owner of the model etc.. hehehe) and Andy managed the best 'dive at the spot' manouvre of the day resulting in a 2.27m although a bit of straightening of the undercarriage was required before going back up for the deadstick which got a closer 1.95m.
Lastly Graham - only beginner in the comp - came out with his trusty Wot4 to get a 'far from embarrasing' 4.71m and an even better deadstick at just 3.70m thrashing CD Dave much to everyone elses delight.
So, scores on the doors were :
| 1. | Dick | 0.67+0.34 | 1.01m |
| 2. | Rob | 1.46+1.39 | 2.85m |
| 3. | Mark | 1.92+1.33 | 3.25m |
| 4. | Andy | 2.27+1.95 | 4.22m |
| 5. | Frank | 3.95+1.61 | 5.56m |
| 6. | Glyn | 3.71+4.68 | 8.39m |
| 7. | Graham | 4.71+3.70 | 8.41m |
| 8. | CD Dave | 7.17+4.67 | 11.84m |
| 9. | John | 30.0+14.68 | 44.68m |
| Pos | Name | Power+Dead | Total | Wadsworth points |
| 1. | Dick | 0.67+0.34 | 1.01m | 100 points |
| 2. | Andy | 1.25+0.33 | 1.58m | 64 points |
| 3. | Rob | 1.46+1.39 | 2.85m | 35 points |
| 4. | Frank | 2.90+0.00 | 2.90m | 35 points |
| 5. | Mark | 1.92+1.33 | 3.25m | 31 points |
| 6. | Glyn | 3.71+4.68 | 8.39m | 12 points |
| 7. | Graham | 4.71+3.70 | 8.41m | 12 points |
| 8. | CD Dave | 7.17+4.67 | 11.84m | 9 points |
| 9. | John | 30.0+14.68 | 44.68m | 2 points |
Easter Sunday arrived and thankfully it was dry - windy too which adds to the competitive edge.
Nine entrants were present to take part and the day started with a draw to see who flew in what order.
First out the hat was Dave (needs to take some advice from the previous comp's director!) who put in a modest 35m to show us all how it's done!
Next out was Rob - new to the event - who made an admirable 38.9m followed by Dick who fluked a 19.9m (and hit the runway to boot!).
Now it was Gordons turn but only just managed to stay within the max with a lengthy 61.4m and John next with another far try at 50.3m.
Gary now to show us all how it's supposed to be done with a very impressive 13.5m putting an imense amount of pressure on the rest to follow.
Mark followed with a middling drop at 27.6m once he got his trainer high enough to satisfy the CD and Dean put in a good effort with 51.3m.
Last in the first round was Glynn who flicked the switch only to find the egg seemed to have dissapeared! A landing proved that the box was indeed empty so a maxed out 70m was all that could be awarded! A quick break - and some refreshments in the caravan ensued before round 2.
Reverse order now saw Glynn improve on his second attempt but only managing a 57.9m.
Dean was having starting problems out on the strip and resulted in a stripped prop-nut which took him out of the comp and a 70m drop recorded.
Mark next with a real glint in his eye and something to prove put in a disastrous 51.1m followed by Gary who proved his first attempt was just luck with a competely unimpressive 59.3m.
John's second go was equally disastrous with a long 50.3m and Gordons didn't improve with a 64.9m.
Dick now and proving his first attempt wasn't as flukey as everyone had thought got even closer with a first placing of 17.1m.
All that was left now was for Rob to show us what he could have done with a 12.4m albeit too late and lastly the CD Dave with a completely innadequate 26.7m
Final scores then put Dicky way out in front with combined score of 37m, Rob second with 51.3m, Dave third with 61.7, Gary fourth with 72.8, Mark fifth with 78.7, John sixth with 79.5, Dean seventh with 121.3m, Gordon eighth with 126.3, and Glynn ninth with 127.95.
With a flurry of 'Wildcards' being thrown into play, Mark, John and Gary all thought they could do better. Dave had to decide whether to risk his third place or not eventually deciding to play along with the other three. Dick thought that it was probaly wiser to stick with the position he was in!
Gary was in the best position to take the prize but after a couple of dodgy take off attempts eventually scored a maximum to send his score higher at 83.5m.
Next John came out and dropped a very impressive 14.1m although it wasn't quite enough to take 1st leaving him on a total of 43.3m
Mark next and although cheating by not allowing the streamer to fully unravel until just above the floor ;) put in a totally devastating 6.1m to give a winning total of 33.7m - luckily for Mark the rules dictacted that Dicky couldn't change his mind on the wildcard!
Dave finally came out fully confident in throwing us all off the winners podium but failed miserably by extending his best to a measly 35.9 giving a new total of 62.6.
What did all this do to the scores then? Mark jumped from fifth to first place, pushing Dicky down to second, John shot from sixth up to third, Rob got relegated just out side the prizes to fourth, Dave fell to fifth, Gary dropped to sixth, Dean Gordon and Glynn stayed put at the bottom three.
Final scores / Wadsworth :
Mark 33.7m / 100
Dicky 37m / 91
John 43.3m / 78
Rob 51.3m / 66
Dave 62.6m / 54
Gary 83.5m / 40
Dean 121m / 28
Gordon 126m / 27
Glynn 128m / 26
Nice one Hon Sec ;) Look out for the next comp - the Spot Landing Competition, 18th May 2008.
Today was the day and although forecast for windy/rainy conditions, we were met with nice blue skies and windy - but flyable weather.
First, the CD went AWOL pretending to be sick (yeah right!) and then there seemed to be a delay in competitors arriving but eventually we had six.
Dicky, Rob, Brian, Gordon, Gary, and Mark all 'put in' for a go and then Dan (arriving late thinking he was safe!) came in - but on the condition he flew first, decided by the other competitors ;) The 'Rules' were thrashed out and we ended up with the clock starting on the first pass through the gate, and the best score from two rounds counting. Nothing which touched the gate or the floor counted and as long as the gate was left in-tact the full two minutes could be flown.
So, out Dan went to show us all how it was done and put in six passes followed by Rob for his first go at a competition since he joined us late last year with a very admirable ten passes.
Gary next and a few problems with nerves saw him on the floor struggling with a dodgy engine so Gordon took over and put in two qualifying passes during two minutes of bouncing his EasyStar off the gate, floor, and anything else he could find!
Gary came back and matched Gordons two passes finishing before time by using the floor to stop the prop.
'Hon Sec' next and Mark tried to test the structural integrity of the wooden posts used in this years gate construction with his Cougar - unfortunately the post won and, although very entertaining, finished his turn with just two passes.
Brian came out with another EasyStar and did some very interesting manouvres during two minutes to clock up a credible four passes and lastly, Dicky (pulled out of the hat last in the flying order - he was holding the hat, hmmmmm?).
Ready with the excuses, even though flying electric, there were clearly problems with the power setup on Dicky's electric Cougar but the piloting skills came through, making it look very easy indeed, and a winning fifteen passes were completed.
So the first round completed and we decided to take 1/2 hour break before a second go :D.
Dan came out with a strategy this time and although the wind had died down considerably he only managed to match his first score before some interesting 'twisting' manouvres due to being tight with elastic bands on the wing!
Rob next and now he'd seen how it was done the determination was definately there but alas couldn't reach the target and finished on Thirteen.
Gary tried to last a bit longer this time but kept managing to stop his prop from turning and didn't better his earlier score.
"Mark, are you having another go???" but this time, there wasn't enough cyano/epoxy/wood available to mend his model!
Brian was just trying far too hard and managed to bounce his model off the gate too many times without going through it so kept his earlier score of four passes.
Dicky, with nothing at all to prove next and with a head getting too big for his shoulders, started with some fast looping passes but the power faded all to quickly and he ran out of sky in the later seconds pancaking into the floor breaking his prop and modifying the undercarriage beyond all recognition, but managing to increase his lead to seventeen passes.
All that was left was any 'WildCards' from the assembled crew.
Rob, full of confidence now he'd upped his first score, spoke out and wanted another go - especially as it appeared Dicky no longer had a model should he need to continue competing!
Out to the flightine again with his 'clipped wing' LimboDancer and a real 'steadyeddie' flew through the first minute completing eight passes but you could tell the nerves were starting to creep in and the speeded up attempts in the second minute saw some very innovative stick-banging resulting in a touch 'n' go which he wasn't happy with and thinking there was a problem, landed early to be on the safe side.
So the final results of the day were :
1st Place, Dicky with 17 passes and 100 Wadsworth points
2nd Place, Rob with 13 passes and 76 Wadsworth points
3rd Place, Dan with 6 passes and 35 Wadsworth points
4th Place, Brian with 4 passes and 24 Wadsworth points
Joint 7th Place, Gordon with 2 passes and 12 Wadsworth points
Joint 7th Place, Gary with 2 passes and 12 Wadsworth points
Joint 7th Place, Mark with 2 passes and 12 Wadsworth points
Next competition is in a couple of weeks and it's the 'Egg Drop' so get those boxes built and come down for some fun (and chocolate!). Sunday 23rd March.
Just in case you hadn't noticed, the Comp & Events Dates pages has been updated for 2008
1st competition coming up is the Limbo on March 9th and members on the patch are still
debating whether to 'swing both ways' or not! Get out there, and get practising ;)
If unsure or want to know more then contact Dave (Comp Director).
At the January meeting it was anounced that we're going to the RC Hotel this year :D
A few guys went over there some years ago now and I wasn't in a position to join them then, but have wanted to go ever since!
Check out we're going here for more information.
Looking at late April/early May time depending on availability on the Island so if you're interested then let us know by the February meeting.
It was pretty bad last week, but now we can't get near to the main runway, and there's only a rough access to the cross-wind.
Fortunately the wind was from the North and the crosswind strip saw a bit of action today but check the pics of the rest of the field!
Lets hope that the drains start working soon ;).
The date has been set - Friday 30th November 2007 - for the annual Dinner and Prizegiving of the TMFC Club.
The 'Premier' event of our calender is arranged and just awaits your reservation, just contact Andy and let him know how many.
Looking forward to a great meal, some great company, and maybe - if your lucky enough - some great prizes.
Remember guys, the November meeting has been moved a week - to Tuesday 13th.
This meeting is the last before the AGM.
Come along, have your say on the way things are run, be an active member of the club.
Everyone
A poor turn-out today resulted in only four competitors entering the TMFC Climb & Glide competition. One of the members (I'll let you guess who!) turned up with an electric glider and decided, as the CD, that the climb time would be 20 seconds.
Dave started and put in a, not really surprising given the model he elected to use, admirable 5:52 mins. This set the target and Dicky followed with the second electric model - the 'Nats' competition winning Cougar - but could only manage a measly 3:10 before going up for a 'mess around' flight after a 'not so perfect' landing only to find that there was no elevator control! The innevitable happened and the model retired from the competition not as gracefully as he'd have liked.
Mark out next with an IC Cougar funfly model although there seemed to be a problem getting the prop to stop (typical of Irvine engines aparantely). The glide was over in 3:32 mins which put him in second place forcing Dicky into third.
Johns turn next and after a more than impressive climb, a series of aerobatics ensued until enough height was lost to be able to see which was up the model was and a less than adequate time of 2:20 was put in although the runway didn't extend far enough and the long grass served as a final resting place forcing a 10% reduction to give a final time of 2:06 mins.
A quick discussion as to whether the owner/builder of the model rule applied resulting in Mark offering Dicky a chance to fly his model which was snapped up and ended with a new second place time of 3:43 being logged.
Being beaten by his own model didn't go down too well and another flight was logged from Mark but he could only keep it up for 3:10 mins.
Not being satisfied with only flying two of the models in the competition, Dicky then had a go with Johns Cougar although with a complete lack of lift around could only put up 2:48 mins.
Another flight, full of some nice manouvres rather than playing at the silly gliding lark, from John got him a 2:02 mins score and a disastrous third attempt logged a 1:26 score. Mark tried again but the time-keeper got distracted and failed to advise him to kill his engine - this resulted in the highest altitude of the day but unfortunately a void attempt! Up again within the 'normal' boundaries of the rules but only a 3:04 could be achieved.
A challenge was then offered up to Dave to prove his first flight was not a fluke (or that he was somehow cheating) which resulted in a lowly 4:23 mins but he'd already won so it didn't matter too much.
Final scores were : 1st Dave with 5:52, 2nd Dicky with 3:43, 3rd Mark with 3:32, 4th John with 2:06.
Wadsworth points are :
1st Dicky Fry 252+63 = 315
2nd Mark Royal 231+60 = 291
3rd Dave Buckley 188+100 = 288
4th Frank Hulton 140+14 = 154
5th Conner Hulton 100
6th John Emmison 80+40 = 120
7th Gary Stanley 51
8th Andy Ellison 73
'Win a Model' competition still to come - details will be announced at the September meeting. Last comp to be held is the 'electric all up, last down' postponed from earlier in the year due to lousy weather! Details to follow.
Due to the bad weather, the 'Win a Model' competition was cancelled back in July so it's going to be run along with the 'Climb & Glide' competition this coming weekend, August 19th.
Come down an you could leave with more than you bargained for. Competition open to all TMFC members.
Model to fly is the JP Thrush Electric Glider with Brushless motor/controller, all four servos. All you need is some batteries and a receiver to complete.
A perfect day presented itself for the competitors of the TMFC Spot Landing Competition this afternoon. Five entrants with a mixture of electric and I/C models were in attendance.
Only one round was flown, first the 'powered' landing closely followed by the 'deadstick' landing with a wildcard being played by the CD himself following a disastrous first attempt.
Closest to the 'spot' was Dicky with 0.6m and furthest away was Frank with 8.9m.
Final results (combined scores) were 1st:Dicky 2.2m, 2nd Mark 2.53m, 3rd Dave 2.9m, 4th Andy 3.0m, and 5th Frank 15.6m.
Wadsworth Points added to give the following positions overall :
1st Dicky Fry 152+100 = 252
2nd Mark Royal 144+87 = 231
3rd Dave Buckley 112+76 = 188
4th Frank Hulton 126+14 = 140
5th Conner Hulton 100
6th John Emmison 80
7th Gary Stanley 51
8th Andy Ellison 73
Next competition is the 'All Up, Last Down' on 1st July so plenty of time to get some practice in ;)
A very windy day saw an eggtastic competition down at the patch with a good number of drops not even qualifying due to eggcessive distances or vanishing eggs!
Three attempts were made in total by each contestant and the best two scores added to give the following results :
Conner Hulton 1st (100), John Emmison 2nd (71), Frank Hulton 3rd (68), Mark Royal 4th (56), Dave Buckley 5th (54), Dicky Fry 6th (52), and Gary Stanley 7th (51).
Wadsworth Points added to give the following positions overall :
Dicky Fry 152
Mark Royal 144
Frank Hulton 126
Dave Buckley 112
Conner Hulton 100
John Emmison 80
Gary Stanley 51
Next competition is the Spot Landing on 20th May so plenty of time to get some practice in ;)
Today was the day, we all knew about, we all had the reminders, and the determined turned up to the field today.
Six in all (plus two later on after the action), the rest were too chicken and obviously didn't want to show themselves up!
Flying was held over two rounds to the 'usual' rules, five competitors had names drawn out of the hat to give the flying order
and then it was down to business. First to go out was John who put in a perfectly respectable two passes before deciding to find out how hard the floor was right under the tape.
Next out was Frank who proceded to 'up the ante' with a healthy eleven passes. Dave (CD) next with the wierdest model to take part which fluttered on to equal Franks eleven.
Mark turned out fourth to show us all how it's done by leaping into the lead with a very impressive fourteen. Last out was Richard who romped through
very comfortably to take the first round with a whopping seventeen passes.
A short interlude ensued with copius amounts of coffee to calm the nerves before hitting the strip once again, this time in reverse flying order to 'even things' up a bit.
Out to the flightine once again and Richard complimented his first attempt with sixteen passes before running out of elevator and removing half a prop, not to mention re-forming the undercarriage for a much 'lower profile' appearance.
Mark next and a very shaky performance resulted in nine passes bringing his total to twenty three.
Dave came out again with the aptly re-named 'FUGLY' to get blown around for an additional nine to bring his total to twenty passes.
Frank followed up with a very different, but perfectly entertaining second flight to bring his total to seventeen, just outside the medals.
Finally, John had another crack at the gate and braved the ever changing conditions to add another pass to his first two.
Totals after the two rounds were Richard 33, Mark 23, Frank 17, Dave 19, John 3.
More coffee and a discussion about playing 'Wildcards' next to find that both Frank and Mark thought they could get higher scores so another flight for these two next. Richard and Dave both had requirements to carry out necessary maintenance on the models and decided to 'stick' with their scores, John had more than enough fun for one day and stuck aswell.
Mark came out first to improve his measly nine from the second flight to a healthier (but not quite enough) fifteen, before getting too carried away and modifying the construction of his fuselage by adding some of the runway to it.
Frank had a more settled flight and managed to get enough to draw with Dave before tangling with the gate support structure, not to mention retracting his fixed undercarriage, bringing his flight to an end.
This meant that we had a third place tie with both models unfit to commit to aviation which lead to a frenzied cyano filled half hour from both parties in a desperate attempt to be able to outdo each other in a final 'fling'.
Dave sneeked out of the caravan with his model for a cheeky test-flight of his newly repaired 'evenFUGLYier' only to snap the fin off and crash in the wilderness forefitting his fly-off position. This meant that Frank only had to get one pass to snatch the bronze.
Out he went and under the gate he flew with the smoothness of a pro - he went on to fly a total of thirteen passes before he realised that we'd negated to tell him that his time was up.
End of the competition and scores, in reverse order, are :
(5th) John 3, Wadsworth points [9]
(4th) Dave 19, Wadsworth points [58]
(3rd) Frank 19, Wadsworth points [58]
(2nd) Mark 29, Wadsworth points [88]
(1st) Richard 33 the Winner, Wadsworth points [100].
A fantastic day enjoyed immensley by all present, just a shame that more members couldn't get involved.
P.S. Next comp is egg drop 8th April so get them chickens laying.
An Indoor event has been booked for Saturday Jan 20th at the Fred Longworth High School, Noon till three.
It's been a long time, too long in fact, so dust off all those indoor toys and come down to support us.
Children especially welcome.
Competition / Event
page updated now the CD seems to have got his finger out ;)
Happy Christmas Folks
Check this link out for a possible fireworks alternative ;)
Coke 'n' Mentos
Following our AGM yesterday, I've updated the Subscriptions Web Page
and made a start on the Events Web Page
more to follow as and when I get it.
Please note the new 'event' of the Dortmund Show which we'll be trying to organise a trip to in 2007.
Less than four weeks to go until the clubs Anual Dinner and Prize Giving which is to be held at the Chequerbent Resturant on Friday 24th November 2006.
Make sure you get your seat reserved - details to follow soon.
As most of you are aware we took a decision to change the meeting veue from prodesse court
to the Ross's arms in Astley Green at the September meeting.
The October meeting went
ahead at the Ross's and a further decision was taken to continue for November and
December meetings. A permanent decision will be made at the December AGM
(Tuesday 5th).
Still the first tuesday in the month.
Mark Royle
Reviews added to the Fixed Wing Web Page
of the Javelin, Sukhoi, Twister, Solo Sport, Harriers, Chipmunk and Xclaim.
IMPORTANT NOTICE - The indoor bash planned for next Sunday (30th April 2006) has been cancelled. A date in the coming weeks will follow.
First two competitions of the year completed last Sunday - Egg Drop, and Spot Landing.
Results : Egg Drop Spot Landing -------- ------------ 1st Andy Ellison Dave BuckleyThanks to everyone who turned up to support, and help with the event.
2nd Daniel Ellison Andy Ellison
3rd Dave Buckley Frank Hulton
4th Frank Hulton Mark Royle
5th John Emmison Brian Gardner
6th Mark Royle John Emmison
New page of pics of Fred's models : Click for a shortcut
More pics being loaded all the time.
More pics added to 'Fixed Wing' gallery : Click for a shortcut
Comp And Event Dates 2006 updated : Click To Find Out
Following the February club meeting I have booked Westhoughton Sports Centre for Sunday 19th March 1 till 5pm.
Andy
As you are all aware, we have been holding an election for the vacant role of tmfc president. Andy Ellison was the only candidate and had held the position for 5 years previously.After counting all the ballot slips the results were as follows:20 for, 2 against and 4 abstentions(non returned). I announced these results at tonights meeting and Andy is now tmfc president for another five years. Well done Andy and thanks for doing the job.
Mark Royle
TMFC secretary
Just a reminder for everyone that the February meeting is on the 7th. If anyone has anything to discuss could you please let me have it so I can agendaize it.
Mark
P.S. I really like pink, does anyone else?
Most of the 1st page random pictures replaced
Colours changed to main page - just in case you didn't notice (ouch!)
Review posted to the Electric page of the Fliton Extra 300s now complete.
You can reach the page directly by clicking here.
Commitee page now updated with new members.
A couple of models added to the galleries.
DangerousDick has now taken over the running of the clubs website.
Please bear with me while I get my little pinkies in action on the keyboard to do some updating.
Any comments and suggestions will be most appreciated, please try to keep them constructive though ;)
Cheers,
Richard
Members are respectfully reminded that they MUST NOT fly until their subscriptions have been renewed. No insurance cover will be in place until the Secretary or his deputy is in receipt of your funding.
It gives me great pleasure to be able to announce that finally, Colin Fisher is a dad. Angelina gave birth to a little girl last night at around 10:30pm after a considerable wait. Katelin(sp?) weighed in at 7lb 2oz and all are well.
Congratulations Colin and family.
Andy
After our last AGM I am pleased to announce our new commitee for the coming year:
Chairman; Dan Fitton
Vice Chairman;Jim Fisher
Treasurer; Richard Fry
PRO; Andy Ellison
Secretary; Mark Royle
Commitee members; Dave Buckley,John Emmison,Frank Hulton,Gary Stanley.
I would like to thank everybody who attended and would like to count on your continued support throughout the coming year.
Mark Royle
P.s. Subs are due now!!!!