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Surprise! No photos of models for the A1 champs -- instead, here's Ron Munden with his new APS Lulu flying his postal event times. When these shots were taken, Ron had just retreived the Lulu from a totally OOS flight using a tracker. The model was built from his scrap bin and had a bit (bit!?) of a warp in the stab that did not affect it at all. Now, lets see... he builds a model from his scrap bin and fits it with a brand new, $40 FAI clockwork timer that for some reason neglects to do exactly what it was there for. No wonder he put a $100 tracker in it! Now regarding the A1 titles, there were 13 entries and a respectable number of maxs, but nobody managed to max all rounds, so no flyoff. The eventual winner was, I think, Pieter De Visser who was last seen casting his tow line into a reed filled pond trying to retrieve his model. Normally, this would be a time to go swimming, but the pond looked like it could easily host the Creature From The Black Lagoon, so 'twas time for discretion...
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Dateline: Wyvenhoe Field, Friday April 13, 2001
Good Friday? No way! Not for me anyway - it was Friday the 13th in fact and folly. Once again, I've towed the wings off a sailplane in a state title. Well that's the last time, let me tell you. Next wing I build will be hi-tech carbon fibre, kevlar, bullet proof and probably thermal proof as well. At least I was not alone. Heather Thomas also suffered elastic limit problems in round one (I at least got as far as round two). The day was mildly overcast, the air was hard to pick and there was the distinct lack of breeze that we usually reserve only for A1 contests. Result of which, as seen in the pics below, there were far few maxes than anticipated. Even Top Dawg deVisser managed only two, circle towing all over the field. He even circle towed into a tree with an enormous loud crack then to everyone's amazement, circle towed out again and maxed that round! George Barnes came second with a margin of only 2 seconds separating him from glory. The dude managed third with his vintage Seraph (which was good 'cause he's positively insufferable in victory). Other shots here show CD Ron Munden testing the effect of DT'ing under power (note to self, don't try this at home) and a visitor, 80 years young, explaining the complexities of modern Wakefield models to a grandson.
"bugger"
"bugger me"
Generation gap
Dateline: Coominya Field, Sunday March 19, 2001
