Scottish Winter League

[Peter G 645]

We had a good day on Pole Hill, near Kilspindie (Perth) yesterday despite me turning up without the computer bit of the timing gear and having to go home and get it!

So about 1hr and 20 mins late, we got started in a slightly crossed wind of about 10ms and overcast skies.

Ian Simpson was flying his Cyril for the first time in competition and kicked things off with a pair of 50’s. Mike had a Cracken start with a pair of 46’s then both Ewan and Dave had a 49 and a 48 and George went 48 and 46. I had a poor start with a pair of 49’s and wondered what was wrong with the model!

Mike went quicker in rounds 3 & 4 with a 44 /43 combo, Dave was also going well with his new to him FS4.3 flying 46 / 43 and George had a notable 44 in round 3 with his new to him Shinto, there were quite a few golden balls on display! I flew a pair of 44’s which was better but not good enough as Mike was ‘on it’, Robert flew 52 / 53.

That set the pattern really for the first 6 rounds, with Mike flying the fastest times, me not quite as fast and Dave and George going very well dicing for 3rd. We stopped for lunch and I stuck another 400g in the Precision 2after which I was able to match or better Mike for a few rounds. Dave had a moment with the FS4.3 flying through the rotor and having a surprise landing which meant he had to switch to pitbull and spoilt his day really in terms of the results. At the same time, Ewan got his shizzle together with a string of times in the mid-40’s bringing him back into contention.

Ian was adjusting his settings with the Cyril and was quicker with a bit more ballast and a bit more snap with a 47 and a 48 in rounds 9 & 10. Mike flew FTD in round 10 with a 41.67 but I was close behind with a pair of 42’s, not enough to gain ground though. Ewan really came on song or got some good air towards the end with a 43 in round 11 and a 45 in round 14 which blew away both me and Mike on 54 and 55 and brought him 170 points closer to the top.

Mike ended up with a very commanding lead and a solid win, well done Mike! With me 2nd and Ewan not too far back in 3rd. George and Dave were very close for 4th with George taking it with some very smooth flying.

1              Mike McCracken              12806.77              1000.00

2              Peter Gunning                   12382.59              966.87

3              Ewan Maxwell                   12145.31              948.35

4              George Young                   11855.31              925.70

5              David Watson                    11832.95              923.96

6              Ian Simpson                       11327.59              884.50

7              Robert Carson                   10650.16              831.60

FTD Mike McCracken 41.67

All in all a good day on the hill and a good start to the winter league.

[George Young 111]

An excellent start to the Scottish Winter league and a good turnout.

Well done to Mike for a convincing victory; his Precision was so quick and the turns were spot on!

[Peter G 645]

A fine windy day on East Lomond and a good turnout saw us complete 16 rounds starting around 12ms and ending up at 18-20ms.

We set up facing south west with base A on the right and it quickly became apparent that we would be battling a quite severe crosswind most of the time. Occasionally the wind would apparently ease a little and straighten up when some good air came through.

George kicked things off flying his ex. Thornton Shinto with a pair of 51’s followed by Dave with his ex. Thornton FS4 with a 53 and a 55, I was next up with my ex Thornton Shinto and sneaked under 50 with a 47 and a 49. Robert started well with his ex-Thornton FS4 on 51 and 52 followed by Mike and his trusty Precision who flew a 49 and a 44 taking round 2. Ian had an OK start with his Cyril flying 55 and 51 followed by Ewan with a nice pair of sub 50’s (49 & 48) with his Jedi.

Round 1 was to be my only round win as Mike continued his excellent run of form taking the next 15 rounds despite the odd cut. None of us could really get near him as the pumps were very energetic and turns were tight and the Precision looked to start on step and stay on step. After 6 rounds in a cross wind, we stopped for lunch and moved the course a full 90m to the left around the point of the hill and squarer to the wind. The times immediately dropped by 5 seconds on average and it was quick for East Lomond with round winning times in the mid 30’s.

George started round 7 with a 44 and a 45 followed by Dave on 45 / 41 and then me with a 38 and a 41. Mike stepped up and flew 35 / 39 and Ewan was just a few tenths behind me with a 38 and a 41. The wind was really picking up by round 9 at 18ms and Dave couldn’t hear the buzzer so kindly buzzed the rest of us along with Robert for the rest of the comp.

George went sub 40 in round 12 and I was now consistently in the 38-40 range alternating between Shinto and FS5 as part of a learning exercise but all I learned was that I couldn’t get close to Mike no matter how hard I tried as he pumped in times in the 34-36 range. Ewan was flying similar times to me and we both ended up with our best times in round 14, Ewan’s 37.27 besting my 37.94.

So the final results show a clean sweep for Mike that fully reflects what happened on the hill, a pasting! Also 2 out of 2 for Mike in the league standings. It’s (kind of) great to see and I can only hope his new model slows him down a bit ;0)

1              Mike McCracken              14000.00              1000.00

2              Peter Gunning                   13041.48              931.53

3              Ewan Maxwell                   12903.12              921.65

4              George Young                   11922.64              851.61

5              Ian Simpson                       11670.78              833.62

6              David Watson                    6737.71                 481.26

7              Robert Carson                   6395.48                 456.82

FTD 34.31 Mike McCracken

[simon_t 934]

I’m in stitches here reading this report...

Simon

[Nicholls 106]

I can only imagine everyone had spots before the eyes!

[simon_t 934]

25 minutes ago, Nicholls said:

I can only imagine everyone had spots before the eyes!

Oh they have been very creative in ‘de-spotting’ my ‘never raced or rallied, one careful owner’ models

Simon

[Peter G 645]

[Nicholls 106]

Simon , 

They still have their teenage spots, but what a great lineup!

 

 

[oipigface 1,124]

....and not one of them is Ukrainian!

[Sloper 144]

that mccracken has sold his soul!!!

[Maxscotland 73]

Think he got a good deal   !!