We had a great time at the Istanbul F3J EuroTour event. Europe runs monthly
F3J contests during the year hosted by participating countries much like the
monthly Southern Calif Soaring clubs and East Coast clubs competitions. I used
to fly EuroTour events with my flying buddies in the mid 90's and it was great
to meet my European friends again, most who I haven't seen since the 2000
World Champs.
First of all, I never been treated so well as I have in Turkey. It was my
first visit and I was impressed by the generous hospitality of all those I had
the pleasure to meet. I'd like to list names, but I'd feel bad if I missed
someone.
The contest organization was fantastic. The Contest Director did a great job
as did the many people who put in a lot of time to make the event run
smoothly. As most know, Turkey will host the F3J World Championships this
summer and
this was a good opportunity for them to have a practice run. Judging from this
event, the World Championships should be a huge success.
Under Larry's guidance and coaching, the Turkish Team is flying very well.
For example, I was first at bat in Round 1, Slot 1 and Turkish pilot, Mustafa,
beat me by over a minute in the dead air of the morning. Of course I wouldn't
have minded having his 500 pounds worth of tow men, but there is no doubt that
he is a fine pilot. I look forward to flying with my new Turkish friends (and
my old EuroTour friends) again this summer.
Someone else already posted the standings. Of nearly 60 pilots, I ended up
10th and the top 7 did a 2 round fly-off with my team mate Primoz Rizner
winning
by a full 3 minutes (did I mention this was a soaring contest and not a
landing contest?). Larry's air combat skills paid off and put him in 2nd. His
opponent, Philip Kolb wasn't quite so lucky and lost an expensive plane in the
process of proving that, while a Pike Perfect is a strong plane, a birch tree
and
solid ground are no match. Larry and Philip will hopefully improve their
formation flying skills.
Someone wanted to know about the planes. I did note that they all went up in
lift and came down in sink. I also noted that who was flying was more
important that what they flew. I guess we all know that. It looked like there
were
plenty of Pike Perfects, but maybe that was because I hung around with people
that flew them. Shadows and Xperience Pro's were common. Primoz flew an
Explorer
(the same company that makes the longer spanned Shadow, Nan Models).
I brought an Aspire and an old Pike Superior, both on 2.4 GHz. Myself, Larry
and Jo Grini flew JR 9303 2.4 GHz systems with no problems. Its nice not to
have to worry about frequency conflicts, especially since 4 planes "shot" each
other down prior to the contest. Jo's planes and my Superior are full CF
fuselages and Jo probably has his setup on his website. I won't go into 2.4 GHz
installations here as I'm sure there's plenty in info on other threads.
I can't wait for the World Championships. It will be great fun with great
friends. With a little luck, we might even bring home the team trophy. But to
really expect that is like the Top Gun movie quote," ...that's pretty arrogant
considering the company you're in"
Ben Clerx
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