November Update

F3D World Championship Team Selection

The team selection has now been finalized. After some confusion as to the team line-up, Chris Callow elected to participate as the returning world champion which made room for Tyler Mees to take up the final position on the team.

Mees & Murphys

The team is made up of Beau Murphy, Ranjit Phelan & Tyler Mees. There is now a chance that Matt Young will be going as a junior team member pending raising funds and all the boxes being ticked with AMPRA & MAAA. Not sure where this is at but there is a Facebook page setup dedicated to raising funds for Matt to attend the World Champs. HELP MATT GET TO THE 2013 F3D PYLON WORLD CHAMPS

The final results for selection events are below:

Name AMPRA QLD champs Cohuna trial VIC champs Final result
Chris Callow 56.85 56.72 56.78
Leigh Hocken 60.28 62.44 drop 59.92 60.1
Ranjit Phelan 61.54 drop 59.64 57.65 58.64
Frank Cassella 63.41 62.58  63.44 drop  62.99
Barry Murphy 63.47 140.51
Tyler Mees 65.28 drop 60.42  59.51 59.96
Beau Murphy 80.9 drop 60.32  57.81 59.06
Rick Townsend 63.5 63.2 63.35

Next event

Bazza's padock - After the F3D action, out comes so more fast toys

The next event is upon us. Down at Bazza’s padock at Munro on November 24-25. All 3 classes are being run. Q500 & F400 in the mornings and FA1 in the afternoons. So make sure all you gear is ready and you’ve got accommodation sorted. Lets have a great last weekend of racing before the Christmas/Summer break.

Events for Feb 213

So far there is only the Feb event confirmed for next year which is Camperdown on Feb 2-3, 2013 which is quite early in the year. Keep checking the calender as events will be added as they become confirmed.

50 Lap Endurance

Not a VMPRA event but worth considering is a 50 lap endurance race to be held at the Lilydale Club (LDMFA) which is being run on Feb 17, 2012. This event is open to all solo qualified pilots.

There is going to be both a Q500 c& sports class which pretty much allows for everything else. We had a great time last year, so all you budding pylon pilots, Q500 flyers or even experts, come along and have a great day of flying.

Camperdown – VMPRA Trophy – Event Report

View from the field of Mt Leura. David Axon in the forground.

What a fantastic start to the pylon racing year. Fine weather, great club and venue and a good turnout of competitors.

2 days of flying FA1, F400 & Q500 plus Beau Murphy & Rick Townsend flew their F5D planes as a demonstration event. These things really go. Beau’s 1st event of racing this plane saw him doing a 57.63 on the 10.5 lap cause. The best time with a FA1 was  59.20! I can see that this class has a good chance of gaining traction among the regular pylon racing fraternity plus bring in new pilots from the electric scene.

F400s being identified. Barry Murphy holding Beau's F5D

F400s being identified. Barry Murphy holding Beau's F5D

The results are now on-line, including lap times for the FA1 rounds. You can find the results via the “Results” menu button at the top of the page or follow this link.

Barry Townsend with his GoPro Camera

During this weekend, Barry Townsend took some video with his helmet mounted GoPro camera. It gives you a great view of the scene from the pilot area during a pylon race. It starts off with some Q500, then F400 & FA1 plus there is some vision of the F5Ds. It’s really well worth a look (especially at full scene as the video clip is HD).

Event Calender Update

Not long now until we go racing for the first time in 2012 and I think we’re all itching to go. First up is the VMPRA Trophy at Camperdown on the weekend of Feb 18-19. See the calendar for details.

Note the course restrictions and details of the VMPRA meeting.

There has been some minor changes to the calendar so make sure your diaries are all up to date so you don’t miss any of the action.

See you at Camperdown.