FxRES November 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 F5L 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  

[AnthonyB]

cRESt / F5RES / 7/11/23 (16:00hrs) / 8:02.

I was out (between showers) testing the heavier (<500g model) 2piece wing with 2 spoilers as I have got the 4S batteries for it. All went well and the last flight was quite good (as it was going dark).

At this point the battery ( only charged to 4.1v/cell) had done a few launches.

It still managed 8m/sec when climbing more vertical.

I just ordered some 4S batteries, but when they came, they are HV ones. That will mean resetting my charger (or not) – it climbs all I need.

I did have to push the whole lot back a bit to balance.

Oh - and they came with the shortest leads I have ever seen on a battery.

[martynk]

Table..

 

[AnthonyB]

I must say that it was about an 8mph breeze. That's 3.5m/sec.

Below is an expanded part of the middle of my flight.

You can actually see that I did 3 circles (not well centred) and after that I had drifted 100m down wind (over my head). 

Then you have to get back upwind and lose height. If you get it all right (better centred) then there would be a net gain in height.

If you don't get it right, you just come down.

Make one mistake and you are down on the ground.

 

[AnthonyB]

One more thing. It was about 8mph on the ground. 

Just gain some height and the wind increases a lot.

On another site it had the wind over 12mph at 100m, but this one shows the wind a bit higher.

 

[Phil Morrell]

X-Dream Electro, F5, 11th Nov, 2min 55 secs, Seal Rd Bramhall

A beautiful day down at the very soggy BATs club site, clear blue skies and no wind. Just had an hour to spare so tried my luck with my electric X-Dream. I tried every corner of our small field but could not find any lift. The posted flight below is the best of a bad bunch. I really had to work for the near 3 minutes pumping the elevator in a tight thermal turn as I picked up some weak lift just after the motor cut. Soon  stalled and dropped out of it after a minute. Consistent though, as I managed my monthly standard of near 3 minutes.

 

 

[SteveH]

Date 11.11.23  Fish Meadow.  Purito E.  Flight claimed  35 mins.

Finally a day with light winds and no rain. After 3 launches with a 19 min best I saw a buzzard thermalling so I joined him.

As soon as I entered his thermal he shot off and was not impressed but he showed me the lift and I managed just over 400 metres. I had to use the spoilers as it was difficult to see the model in the clear blue sky. The thermal disappeared and then it was a slow decent.

[cirrusRC]

Medina F5 || 11th Nov || 29:46

Glorious sun for November.  Still braving the shorts.   Wet muddy field so flew F5 with repaired rx aerial.

Windy to start but improved just gone midday.    Don't remember much about the flight as was talking to chairman - I was on autopilot.   

Edited November 11, 2023 by cirrusRC

[martynk]

11/11/23 SCRCS Mad Hatter 2e 08:21

My humble effort today down at a very soggy and muddy SCRCS flying field. This was intended to be a test flight but I found lift fairly quickly and managed to hang around in a tiny bubble until it faded then found another bubble. I guess that my circles were flat but about 5m diameter.

Total 521secs- 20 secs = 08:21

Fairly pleased with that as it went rapidly downhill afterwards. Flat calm, model never drifted more than 50m from when the motor stopped until I ran out of good air and had to bring it back for landing. Absolutely flat calm. Interesting that when the lift vanished the air went very cold despite full sun. It was a bad omen..

[martynk]

Updated table:

[Graham Lorimer]

Date 11.11.23  Fish Meadow.  Purito E.  Flight claimed  4 mins - 28 seconds

A great day for winter flying 2 meter, first launch highlighted an Altis problem that I spent a lot of time trying to resolve and test, with no success.

Kindly loaned an Altis by a generous fellow flyer (many thanks Mike) but I seem to have missed the best of the conditions.

A very mediocre effort, but looking at the weather forecast for the rest of the month, this may prove to be the most points I have ever scored for the least amount of flying time.

Graham.

[martynk]

Well done Graham. Id be interested to know what the Altis problem was:

Updated table

     

[Graham Lorimer]

Hi Martyn

When I tried to connect the Altis Micro to my PC, the USB connector fell out in my hand, so a little difficult to be sure where the problem started.

It was working fine as passing the power through to the receiver, just would not shut the motor down at 60 meters or 20 seconds.

Bin job I think.

 

GL

[martynk]

Oh dear, that is a shame. I use the Altis Nano and that uses an external usb connector. However, I always find it a fiddle to get the cable to fit. I am sure that it will fail in due course. The joy of micro electronics coupled with fat fingers.

[andyharrold]

4 hours ago, Graham Lorimer said:

Hi Martyn

When I tried to connect the Altis Micro to my PC, the USB connector fell out in my hand, so a little difficult to be sure where the problem started.

It was working fine as passing the power through to the receiver, just would not shut the motor down at 60 meters or 20 seconds.

Bin job I think.

 

GL

I'll have it!

Ok for F3 Res.

 

[AnthonyB]

cREst / F5RES / 20/11/23 / 21:43 / Ribble Valley

First – there is a second green blip on this flight. I launched, closed the throttle and then moved my hand to change from Launch Mode to Normal Glide. The cuff of my very padded down jacket caught the throttle and moved it just enough to register. I realised and closed it straight away. It did NOT change the flight path / altitude one jot, so it does feel like an entry to me ?

Looking at the score chart now, it only affects Martyn – Your choice ?

I have made quite a few models in the last few months. They all got a test fly, but they never really got a full evaluation. So today was almost good enough to test. It should have been about measuring the sink rate …..... 100% full low cloud, with lots of tiny drops of water in the air. Not the sort of day to find “thermals” or the associated sink. So very kind air. Even at the end where it would not go up, the sink rate was only 0.29m/sec. Well, even here there was going up air and going down air, but not strong enough to actually go up (much). This is not a super light model, flying at 380g – the lightest I dared fly. To be fair, everywhere said 8mph (plus gusts) yet it felt like 6 with a very short spell of about 10mph. No going backwards. Even no wind, where I pushed forward to find the rising air.

Also (like many others) I was flying over a swamp.

[martynk]

Updated table:

[AnthonyB]

cREst / F5RES / 21/11/23 / 43:47 / Ribble Valley

Yesterday was embarrassing, so I decided to do it again.

I really hope others in NW had a fly – it was super smooth, a total joy to float about. Nothing like yesterday.

2 -3mph NNW veering to just east of north.

Flew lighter than yesterday (194g fuz + 128g wings) at 322g.

When the motor cut I followed the path that some Gulls had taken until it was too far away, then came back parallel, but slightly South of that path.

Wish I could say I was using some super-skill, but I just flew along and if it seemed to be coming down, turn at right angle. As odd Gulls came past, I tried to follow their path. Even the best climb was only at 0.57m/sec.

I did climb too fast 5.86m/sec and so I got cut off very early at about 56m and just zooming to 60m – Thanks Mr RC Data Manager ! But I did want to be behind the Gulls and not scare them.

Even at the end where a big wet low cloud came over, it only sank at 0.19m/sec.

The whole descent from 95m took 6:54......... Now I feel like a hero, without too much effort being put in.

[martynk]

Thats a cracking flight for late November - well done.

     

[Hydeflyer]

Claiming 3 min 15 sec. F5L Eli. Seal Road Bramhall.

Only managed two flights before my motor started vibrating horribly and I had to pack the model up. I then had a couple of F3 flights but with zero wind the model just kept pinging off the bungee.

Still I'm back in the game...