FxRES October 2023 F3L/F5L Monthly Duration Challenge

[martynk]

FxRES Monthly Postal Rules

This is a “for fun” challenge for UK based pilots. Anyone may enter with:

1. a bungee-launched F3L specification glider using the reduced length Hi-Start. The reduced length Hi-Start bungee has a maximum of 10m of 6/4mm surgical tubing and 50m of static line (minimum 30lb breaking strain). Lighter/smaller/shorter bungee rubber may be used.

OR

2. an Electric motor launched F5L specification glider fitted with an Altitude Limiter set to 60m and a maximum motor run time of 20 seconds.

Object: Fly your F3L or F5-RES glider for as long as possible from a flat field. Each monthly challenge will commence on the 1st day of the Calendar month and  the person who's time is unbeaten at the end of the Calendar Month 'wins' and a new challenge will start. The annual challenge league will end on the 31st December of each year. A new annual challenge league will then commence on the 1st of January.

Rules:

Models must comply with the Model Specification rules for F3L or F5L as appropriate.

You may self-time your own flights

Flight times begin when the tow-line falls from the tow-hook  for F3L or in the case of a F5L glider when the motor stops.

The model must land in the launch field or (if there is no field boundary) within 150m of the launch position for times to count. There is no landing bonus.

If you are using a bungee launch (for this event or any other), then the launch line MUST be secured using a corkscrew dog tether or similar bungee stake to minimise the risk of injury caused by a loose stake.

Scores must be submitted on the relevant monthly postal event posting on the FxRES forum at www.barcs.co.uk/forums/   

Scoring flights must be submitted within 24 hours of the flight taking place.

A flight log graph from the Altitude limiter should also be submitted if entering with a F5-RES glider.

All scoring flights must start with a hand release from Ground Level with (if applicable), the motor running.

No flight information telemetry permitted except for Received signal strength and Receiver battery status.

Submitted scores will be amalgamated into an annual league. Points will be awarded as follows:  1st -25 points, 2nd - 22points, 3rd - 20 points, 4th to 22nd, 19 to 1 point respectively.

You may enter as many times as you wish using as many different models as you wish, but only your longest duration flight will count towards the league position.

Please enter your best/latest monthly scores below in the following format...

ON THE FIRST LINE OF YOUR POST

Model Name : Class (F3 or F5) : Date of flight : Time Claimed

Any text or commentary or images please add afterwards.  Thanks  

[SteveH]

08/10/23.  Fish Meadow.  Purito E.  Flight claimed  30mins 27 secs.

A very strange day at Fish Meadow - forecasted wind was 2-3 mph but was closer to 5 mph and difficult to penetrate.

Managed to work several very small thermals and didn't get much above 120M during the whole flight!

Hard work but good fun.

[Phil Morrell]

X-Dream f3, 8/10/23, 3 mins 10 sec, Seal Rd Bramhall

Nice afternoon down at the Bats club site. Few weak thermals about. Whenever I caught one I couldn't get high enough to safely fly over the woodlands on the downwind boundary of the field. Still very enjoyable if only one tenth of the flight and enjoyment posted by Steve earlier.

[AnthonyB]

cRESt / F5RES / 8/10/23 / 7:04

This was the second flight of a new variant.

This set of wings was a “viability” exercise. Stronger (stiffer) and heavier wing using 14 / 12 / 10mm tube. The fuz being made for a 28mm motor for 3S or even 4S.

All went and flew to plan. Inside being different, but the outside identical to all the others.

The first flight was with the prop spinning, so I had to connect to computer to correct (BlHeli-32). This was the second flight and the third was not quite as good.

Went back to change battery and do a few tiny mods, then back out. The next 4 flights were nowhere near as good – the air had changed.

On this flight there is a tiny little blip on the throttle trace. I had turned right down the min-throttle on all flight modes except spoiler. This did not make the prop spin, but registered as a blip (now turned town to same as other modes).

Frustratingly, had I been flying one of the lighter models, I could have easily done a far longer flight – but this had to be flown.... c’est la vie !

 

[Graham Lorimer]

09/10/23.  Fish Meadow.  Purito E.  Flight claimed  16mins 37 secs.

Looked like a perfect 2 meter flying day, and all began well.

Second launch of the morning gave over 16 minutes in the very smoothest of lift, how could I not beat Steve's flight from yesterday once the day warmed up?

But that was as good as it got, lots of 6 minute flights, but no great height achieved in 20 flights, and bumpy air down low made it very hard to join two thermals together.

 

Graham

[martynk]

October table. Keep those scores coming in:

     

[Norman Turner]

Purito-E  F5  9 Oct 3 min 10 sec

Annoyingly, had a few longer flights but Altis shows emergency motor restart. Need to check that out. 

[AnthonyB]

cREst / F5RES / 9/10/23 / 35:45 in Ribble Valley.

Started with yesterdays new model and got nowhere.

Very very low cloud base. I could find reasonable air, but not enough to go up before I lost where it was (very small column).

Decided it was too heavy at almost 500g, so changed to lightest. After all there was no breeze except for little gusts (5mph) that pointed to rising air.

Changed to this at 340g.

It would have been lighter but for the big old RC electronics lump. It also has a very strict height limit, put in 60m and you will not get beyond that, no matter how fast you climb.

I spent more time in speed mode (for first half) coming down to visibility (no brakes). You could hardly see Longridge fell across the valley. Everything is soaking wet, including the model, once it has been on the ground.

It then cleared a little and was OK up to 120m. Then as the cloud went, so did the lift and that was that !

This is what I love the most, slowly floating round, gently turning into little bits of lift and trying your best to go up.

[StraightEdge]

Medina-E      F5RES      09/10/23      14mins:18secs

Oxford Port Meadow, just after lunch.

Light winds and sunny enough once the morning haze had lifted, but I suspect that a rather low inversion layer remained.

Second launch:  quickly dropped to 40m but then found just enough buoyant air to hold a not unreasonable altitude for a few minutes, after which found and worked something a bit more useful up to 100m before it decayed, then scratched around for another few minutes just below that ceiling until, when coming down, picked up another useful little rise, which itself eventually disappeared... i.e. I lost it! 

So, while nothing stunning in terms either of duration or eye-watering height, nonetheless a curiously relaxing and very satisfying flight.

 

[martynk]

Updated table:

     

[martynk]

Re-revised table - with apologies to Norman, I left him off

 

     

[cirrusRC]

Swapped Altis firmware but forgot it was plugged into laptop - tried to move laptop and pulled Medina off the desk!!  V lucky to only pull aerial out of rx.....

Blue bird day and fantastic booming lift for mid October, T shirt weather.  Had a few flights with bungee but it was too windy for Res.  

Flew DLG all afternoon with the Stern brothers.  All up last down marathon.

Medina F3L | 15th Oct | 8 mins 43

[martynk]

Updated table:

     

[andyharrold]

Went out with my F3res Purito this afternoon, learning the art of stretching latex. Great fun. A bit chilly. Most flights were sled rides back to earth, but on 2 occasion managed to defy gravity for a bit longer.

Only about 10 mins!

I will download and crop the relevant flight later on today.

 

[StraightEdge]

Well done Andy... there is something enormously simple and satisfying about the latex method! 

[andyharrold]

10 mins 37 secs.

F3 Purito

Ramsey MAC

Not sure if you are willing to accept my entry.

Here is why.......The Multi 2 trace says that I am pinging off the top at over 100m.

I measured my 50m of fishing line and 10m of latex as accurately as I could. It is new,

Until today I had only had 3 launches on a calm day. Today, with about 8 mph of wind and  increasing confidence I have been progressively launching with a bit more tension. I am guessing that the line / latex has stretched?

Q1. How high do you expect to get when launching into good air off a 60m bungee?

 

 

[andyharrold]

Here is another flight from today showing the same tendancy. I think that I need to drill a hole in the fuz!

[cirrusRC]

Andy, with zoom, 70 - 80 is typical in a good breeze.   

Over a hundred and you are into full bungee territory.

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by cirrusRC

[StraightEdge]

I assume your 10m of latex is indeed 10m long and is indeed 6mm outer diameter?

However I agree with David in that I've frequently got up to 70-80m launching into a good breeze, but I've had a rummage through my old logs file and found one when I did keep going to 100m!  So it is certainly possible!

These are the plots:

[Richard Newsham]

Cor blimey that stuff from China's good. Be careful stretching it into the middle of next week as you might open up a portal to another dimension and lose your model! Just saying......

100m.....nice.  Is there a 100m club? 

From my post below my height was about 90m. Could be due to the bungee being new. My other best from what I have posted was 80m.

PuRES V2 : F3L : 19/5/23 :  22m3s  

Finished work and straight up to Harden Moor for 4pm. Wind roughly 7mph at its strongest NE.

New bungee has arrived from China earlier than planned.  This is it's second outing. Blimley what a difference 6mm by 4mm tube is compared to what I was using.  When it's stretched is goes very thin.  Does the job. 

ADDITION : The graph shows 86m

Edited October 24, 2023 by Richard Newsham
The graph shows 86m