go here for an explanation of the tasks - http://www.silentflight.org/F3B/F3BTasks.html
There are lots of ways to get involved in F3B. The best is finding a group of guys in your area that are interested in learning and flying. It's very much a team sport. The initial investment can be a bit high if you try to purchase all the necessary equipment on your own. 2-3 winches - 2-3 models etc... If you find some guy to team up with, you all can share in the winch and line expenses.... once you have a winch... it'll pretty much last forever... figure 1K for a new winch. (I typically only have 1 flyable F3B model in my quiver at any time) F3B is the "Formula 1" of our sport. The challenges the tasks provide will make every pilot a better pilot. It'll give you much better understanding of thermals, their size, optimizing L/D vs sink rate... you'll learn about ballast, how it really works, and how to use it... you might even learn to fly a straight line... something even some of the best contest TD pilots struggle with... You don't need an "f3B" model. You can begin to learn the tasks with a good strong TD model... just make sure you have ballast capability. The Pike Inferior to name one. I saw Darrell Zaballos crank out multiple 17's with his J Icon. (I went 28 laps with my Psyko - a molded 7035 TD toy - one year at the NATS pounding everyone in my group) You don't need elaborate sighting devices. 2 tripods with a hoop on top will suffice, and a way to measure 150 meters. You don't need alaborate signalling devices. A walkie talkie with a beeper will suffice for speed practice. What I enjoy about F3B is that is contested/flown/and won in the air... it's not about what happens after the model hits the ground. F3B is the ultimate challenge for a RC soaring pilot and glider. You must be competent at all the disciplines - from reading air, to flying fast, to slowing the model down and thermalling... Give it a shot - you'll be glad ya did... D __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
