tonym Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Better late than never. As I've signed up to go on this course - https://www.unilad.co.uk/life/german-university-is-offering-grants-to-people-who-want-to-do-absolutely-nothing/ - I'd hoped that someone else might step in This is a for fun challenge, anyone with a hand-launch glider that conforms to the F3K (up to 1.5m) or Mosquito (less than 1m) class can post a time. Object: Fly your F3K or Mosquito class hand launch glider for as long as possible from a flat field, the person who's time is unbeaten for 14 days 'wins' and a new challenge starts. Rules: Fly safely. No slope soaring. *New last year* I've added two new classes - Sportsperson F3K and Sportsperson Mosquito. It's all very well 'us' experts getting long flights but it may be disheartening to the many sports flyers out there thinking 'I can't beat that!'Expert = pilots that regularly fly (or have flown) thermal duration contests - F3x & F5x classes, eSoaring, Kent leagues, Bartletts Leagues, etc.Sportsperson = everyone else Post your times as follows:-. Pilot Name, Expert or Sportsperson, F3K or Mosquito class, model name, length of flight minutes and seconds, plus date of flight. (Please do the posting within 48 hours of the flight.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikef Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Promising looking day but very turbulent in lift which was small in area and for ever shifting around. Quite calm on the ground at times but gusty when lift came through. 0 to 10 mph, clear blue and warm 20+ C temperatures. mikef, F3K, 'expert', Vibe Mk 1, 3:48, March 22nd 2021. Every day is different..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulR Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 I managed to get out three times yesterday. Before work, lunchtime and after work. First thing in the morning was lovely and calm, no significant lift but generally nice smooth air. Lunchtime was a bit weird - expected lots of lift and found small pockets of turbulent, weak lift that didn't really sustain anything. After 5:30, things seemed to have smoothed out, but still just small pockets up to launch height. It was only when I finally managed to ride that up to 70+ that I found the bigger, more sustained lift. PaulR, F3K, "expert", C5, 27:06, March 31st 2021. Red line is flight mode: speed, cruise and thermal which quite nicely shows the process of coming back from downwind and moving between lift... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechalster Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 What a good Friday got board after 1/2 a hour of specing out follow buy diving back to launch height. Very active air with stiff breeze so flying with 75g ballast. mike. Challinor vortex 3 33:44 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutogen Posted April 15, 2021 Share Posted April 15, 2021 Ben J, Mosquito, "sportsperson", Toro, 4:37, 10th Aril 2021. First real flight this spring apart from some tests. Nearest field to me never has great air but managed to find a small rising column that I could return to. CG felt just slightly reward from normal so was very twitchy. Anyway, came away pleased with +4 mins given the conditions. Much more to learn. Cracking day today. Lunch time fling on the cards. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikef Posted April 19, 2021 Share Posted April 19, 2021 An opener for expert F3K challenge 4. mikef, F3K, 'expert', Vibe Mk 1, 44:04, April 19th 2021, Earth. Wind very light 0-5mph variable direction due to strong lift. I had about 6 flights total - first proper launch was 8:35.... An easy day with a clear sky and very strong lift at times. Quite tiring staring at the sky at high angles and felt I was losing concentration, so I took a few risks coming low and climbing out several times. Too low to find anything useful on the last bit..... Congratulations to JPL for their achievement on Mars. I flew around the Moon and got very close to Mars several times but these were only line-of-sight effects. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cirrusRC Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 Missed the comp as was working today. Got to the field for 6:30pm. Gusting to 15 mph. Impressive black menacing sky and a bit of low sun. At 8 pm the wind disappeared. Launched at 8.20, specked out and came down 18 mins later. Really energetic lift despite it going dark and plenty of ballast. Crazy fronts moving through. Put a smile on my face. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDLG Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 Nice flight and surprising given the time of day. But we did have pretty good conditions in between rain at the comp. sorry you couldn’t make it, you were missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cirrusRC Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 Thanks Mike, yes shame I couldn't make it. Forecasts are hopeless at the moment, amazed you got 6 rounds in. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutogen Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 Quiet thread so I'll lob one in: Ben J, Mosquito, "sportsperson", Toro, 6:40, 28th August 2021. Finally back flying after badly spraining my ankle. Cracking day Saturday so I took advantage of a recently harvested field to find a better flying location. Four or five flings (1 to 3 mins) before finding some more stable lift tracking downwind. Didn't take long before it was clear I'd passed a threshold and everything was going up. Started to feel a bit high and far off so wanted to start bringing it back down but every time I turned into the wind it just nosed way up, then corrected and round back again for the same many times over. I wondered if my failsafe (full flaps + full up elev.) might have been kicking in? Also, forgot about my flight modes in the panic but then managed to work it down by keeping the wings vertical as much as possible. Little Toro did not want to come down. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightEdge Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 Assume this is still running? If so, then I can post the following from yesterday with my newly-completed Auri: Calm, still (except in infills), hot, high cloud cleared by lunchtime. Poor launch heights (between 20 and 25m) but relatively easy in the conditions to identify low-level lift (the streamer on my bamboo 'aerial' is really useful), which the Auri itself also signals very well. Several 6-12min flights, in amongst which was the best one approaching 20mins which got me to a max of 300m, during which plenty of opportunity to ride up then down, then up again, etc. 1.5m seems very small at altitude against a blue sky! Jon, sportsperson, Auri, 6th Sept, 2.43pm, 19:23 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cirrusRC Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 40 mins +, but not a valid flight. Flew my dlg from the sand dunes at the beach. Perpetual lift, great fun and very relaxing. The lift assist was giving me 10-15 meters additional launch height!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikef Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 Pleasant looking day with light winds and sunshine, so off to the local common after lunch. Parking can be a problem but all five spaces were empty. The grass has been cut and the Skylarks are gone so I had the entire field to myself. Almost got away from a one third power trimming throw - made 2 minutes from 10 metres. Soon had a 6 something and then tried some 'one flight only' practise. No real signs for the first two…. 0:55 and about 1:45. On the third, coming up to 2 minutes in, the gentle drift went round more than 90 degrees and I went to the downwind side. Got 8:05 as the slot ended but I was way up and being joined by a Red Kite so I kept going. I think that one was about 16 minutes in the end. I was soon away again and thinking 30 minutes plus…. but down at 22:53…. Away again after a few low ones and this time it was gentler lift but plenty of it. I was doing really well until a large cloud turned off the Sun… mikef, F3K, 'expert', Snipe mk1, 24:47 September 21st 2021 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDLG Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 On 21/09/2021 at 17:28, mikef said: mikef, F3K, 'expert', Snipe mk1, 24:47 September 21st 2021 Does this mean you fixed your snipe? Or do you have another? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikef Posted September 23, 2021 Share Posted September 23, 2021 I'm flying the Yellow Snipe I got in about 2014 and assembled in 2020. The Orange Snipe is still broken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon B Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 First session this year on Monday afternoon, patchy sun, nothing big, but I did get to play with the red kites, it went quite still late on and I managed an 11.34, all bellow launch height, some of it very low, it was a good test, working low level lift when one wrong move would put one on the ground, most enjoyable. Simon B F3K 14/3/22 11:34. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StraightEdge Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 Oxford Port Meadow, around lunchtime today, quite warm, almost cloudless, no ambient wind just infills, thermals popping so not exactly challenging conditions but very pleasing nonetheless. Jon F3K (am I still a 'Sportsperson'?) Auri 24/3/22 15mins 8secs PS My launches are still rather inadequate - normally mid 30s, the occasional 39m or so - but even off what looks like just 28m if the timing is right... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikef Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 (edited) You are still a 'sportsperson' according to the top post. I should have flown F3K today - I chose F5RES and couldn't beat 22 minutes - if you're not in lift you come down like a sack of hammers. Edited March 24, 2022 by mikef couldn’t not could! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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