Tag Archives: F400

Event Report – Camperdown 2013

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Matt Carter & Mark French

Victorian pylon racing started in earnest for 2013 on the first weekend of February with a 2 day event at Camperdown, situated in the western districts of Victoria. The Corangamite Model Aircraft Club is located at the Camperdown race course where they utilize the centre field of the course for r/c aeromodelling.

Events at this time of the year can be a rather hot affair. Luckily this year we experienced mild conditions with both days in the low 20s, partly cloudy and only one rain shower that stopped racing for a short time on the Sunday.

Gary Davidson & Toni Axon

This event consisted of our usual 3 classes of Q500, F400 and FA1 (AUST F3D) and we were able to run 9 rounds of each class over the 2 days.  It worked out quite well with roughly half the rounds of each class on Saturday and the balance on Sunday.

The racing was a very clean affair with not one plane destroyed in a mid-air or ground impact. It is a testament to the skills of all when there were at times, some very close racing whilst avoiding planes tangling in the air. There were only a few under-cart repairs required due to the rather hard/dry ground. We were all pleased to have Gary Davidson back racing with us after his accident late last year.

F1A

The Murphy’s were again in fine form with Beau in particular who is preparing for the World Champs later this year, coming in 1st place. Barry came 2nd & Tom Wetherill in 3rd place.

F400

Terry O’Connor came 1st, Tom Wetherill 2nd and myself (John Schmidli) in 3rd place although a long way off the pace.

Q500

This was a bit of an upset (well at least for James Hurley and myself)! Daniel Arapakis in only his 3rd Q500 race (and before that a couple of races with a trainer), gained 1st place with some very quick times. James clawed his way back and finished less than 3 seconds away from Daniel in 2nd place. I (John Schmidli) came 3rd place.

Daniel Arapakis & Beau Murphy

Congratulations to Daniel. If you look at his past average times, you can see a large improvement each time. Nearly all his times were under 100 seconds and his best was 93.96 seconds. His acceptance speech was very amusing, referring to all who have helped him to date as uncles (ie Uncle Beau – his caller, Uncle Barry etc).

At the age of 12, Daniel’s path into pylon racing is a great example of how you can take up the sport beginning with simply having a go on some sports pylon races with a trainer (or similar) then getting into it a bit more seriously with the Q500 class. The Q500 class is a very affordable way to start racing and can be every bit as exciting as the faster classes. He has a great amount of support from his father but has also made friends with many of our experienced members who are very happy to give advice and guide him in the right direction.

Championship

At last count we only have three more races for F1A and F400 and five for Q500 in this 2012-2013 season.

FA1 – There has been no change with the top 3 although Beau Murphy in 2nd place is closing the gap on Tom Wetherill at the top. Glenn Matthews is still in 3rd.

F400 – Jim Orenshaw maintains the top position but now in 2nd is Tom Wetherill and 3rd is myself (John Schmidli).

Q500 sees the top 2 still being James Hurley and me (John Schmidli) respectively but Daniel Arapakis has moved up to 3rd place.

Next Event

Our next 3-class event is back at Bazza’s paddock in Munro on March 23-24.

Before that, there is a Q500/EF-1 and Sports event at Baccus Marsh on March 10.

Although not an official VMPRA event, we are all welcome to participate in a 50 Lap Endurance race at Lilydale (LDMFA) on Feb 17. Classes will be Q500 and Sports.

Anybody interested in taking up pylon racing is encouraged to come to the Bacchus Marsh or Lilydale events. Introduce yourself and give it a go!

The championship table has been updated and there is also a photo gallery from this event.

John Schmidli

January 2013 Update

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Happy New year and all the best for the 2013 pylon racing year. By now, most of us will have returned back to our usual work activities and thoughts are returning to pylon racing (if ever out of our minds!).

This year is another exciting time for the VMPRA with the AMPRA Champs being held in Victoria (Munro) on June 8, 9 & 10 plus the World F3D Championships being held in the Netherlands at the air force base Deelen from 23rd – 28th July 2013. The Australian team includes VMPRA members, Beau & Barry Murphy plus Matt Young who has a chance of attending as a junior if funds can be raised (Matt’s fund raising Facebook page). There are also a number of members travelling to Europe for this event to help and spectate.

Camperdown

Again for this year, Camperdown is the location for our 1st competition for 2013. This is a great location for racing and it’s always a pleasure to visit this town.

As usual, there are some access restrictions at times, which is important to note so as to ensure a good relationship with the turf club and continued use of this great venue into the future.

NOTE – On Saturday the “Trackwatch” turf club rep. will allow access to the flying site in-between horse movements until 10.00am when we are then actually ok to fly. We can set up inside prior to 10:00am but there is not to be any flying before then.
From 10.00 onwards it is obviously open entry. If anybody turns up on Friday, they MUST NOT ENTER the field before 11.00am. Anytime after that is fine.

On Sunday there is no horse activity.

Camping on site is ok if we keep a low profile – especially early Saturday morning.

LDMFA 50 Lap Endurance Race.

The LDMFA club is hosting a 50-lap race on Feb 17, 2013. This event is being supported by the VMPRA with members and equipment provided for running the day. The event is open to LDMFA & VMPRA members as well as members of other VMAA affiliated clubs.
There will be Quickie 500 and Sports classes. Sports will cover pretty much anything, but usually consists of 46 size trainers and other sports aircraft. Two compulsory landings are required during the 50 laps of the race.

This is a great opportunity to try pylon racing for the first time, get more experience flying around a pylon course or just have a fun day of racing.

Calendar Update

There has been a number of additional events added to the calendar so please add them to your diaries so you don’t miss out on any of the 2013 events. All of the events are confirmed except for Swan Hill which is still being discussed.

Thanks to Andrew Davies for putting in the hard work of contacting the clubs and organizing the events for us to go racing this year. Without this work, there would be no events.

Event Report – Munro Nov 2012

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Team Lilydale with their new T-Shirts. Jim fixing his F400 for it's final flight (lost elevator control).

Munro was our last scheduled pylon racing event for 2012 before a 2 month break over the Christmas/Summer holiday. The weather was forecast was fine and warm, particularly on the Saturday, so there was no need for the cold weather gear of recent events.

There was a slightly smaller turnout than usual with some regular competitors busy with other activities. Quickie 500 had better than usual numbers for the weekend.

We started the morning with a update on how our mate Gary Davidson was after having a serious accident earlier in the week, when a spray paint can he was heating, exploded. Gary lost an eye, has lacerations to his hand and arm and is now in need of skin grafts for the burns to his chest. We all wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him out at a pylon field before too long. He was greatly missed during the weekend.

Nice Launch as the Minute Master has just lifted off the mat.

The event was run one class at a time with Q500 up first. With the quick preparation times between races for Q500, we were able to take the fuel out to the line and run 4 rounds of 2 heats fairly quickly. F400 was run next with a break in the middle for lunch and FA1 was run after that. There were always enough competitors free for each class to man the #1 pylon cage.

It was a really warm day and many of us found that we had to ration the water we’d brought out to the field as we were going through it quicker than usual. There was plenty of re-hydration of one sort or an other later that day.

Sunday was another fine sunny day but was a little cooler. We repeated the previous day’s schedule, this time running 5 rounds each.

Highlights and incidents

Daniel Arapakis at only 12 years old, doing a really great job flying Q500 in only his 2nd event for this class.

We were all very impressed with Daniel Arapakis’s flying in Q500. Beau Murphy was calling for him, and Daniel was racing low and tight with a good pace on his Viper. This was only his 2nd competition flying a proper Q500 aircraft. Before that he was flying a trainer. Well done Daniel. There are now some nervous Q500 pilots around.

I sheared both blades off the prop of my Q500 (Thunder Tiger) having collected Mark French’s wing tip after a failed takeoff, resulting in a damaged engine and flying my spare for the subsequent races on the Saturday.

There was Glenn Matthews and Jim Orenshaw’s mid-air collision in F400 and Jim lost his spare F400 due to a elevator failure.

Season Championship

Go-Fast Team - Murphy.

F3D – No changes in 1st and 3nd position, but Beau Murphy has now moved up to 2nd place.

F400 – Gary Davidson and Jim Orenshaw have swapped places with Jim returning to 1st place. Andrew Davies has moved up into 3rd place.

Q500 – The was no change for Q500, but James Hurley has increased his lead.

Next Event

The next event is Camperdown on February 2-3, 2013

There are now a number of events listed on the event calender and although this is not yet complete for 2013, be sure to pencil these dates into your diary.

The championship table has been updated and there is also a photo gallery from this event.

 

November Update

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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.

Event Report – Hamilton 2012

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What a great weekend of pylon racing we had at Hamilton this year. The weather was great for Friday practice and Saturday’s racing. Sunday was a little windy but not bad enough to stop us flying. This event was our Victorian State Championships with trophies provided by the VMAA. On top of this, the F3D racing was the last of the Australian World Championship team selection trials. The aim was to fly 9 rounds of each class but with priority given to completing the F3D comp particularly as Tyler & Warren Mees needed to return to QLD asap to work on Monday.

Saturday morning, we started on time with 3 rounds of Q500 & F400 and finished up at 12 noon sharp. F3D started at 12:30pm after 25 minutes of testing and we were able to run the races through very efficiently, especially with the great help of the Hamilton club members who were manning the pylons (1,2 & 3) plus the start finish line as the 10 lap FAI course was being used for the team trials. Before we knew it, 9 rounds where complete. There was some very fast and spectacular racing with positions on the team at stake.

Sunday was a bit more relaxed affair although there was lots of close racing to be had with 6 rounds of Q500 & F400 to be completed. This was all done and dusted by lunch time. After another great BBQ lunch along with a vast selection of slices. we packed up, presented trophies and headed off home at about 2pm, a lot early than we normally finish.

Team Selection Results

With Beau Murphy’s win, he secured a place on the Australian team. Leigh Hocken and Tyler Mee’s fort it out for a possible 3 place on the team with Tyler winning this battle after his final re-run. I say a possible position because it’s not currently clear as to whether Chris Callow is going to be competing as a member of the team or as the returning World Champion. Time will tell!

The 2 team selection events run here in Victoria this year have been a high-light with having quite a few visitors from interstate. This time, besides Tyler & Warren driving down from QLD, we had the SA contingency of Stuart Humpherson, Trevor Pearce and Frank Weeks racing. The more competitors there are, the more fun to be had.

We also had 2 new pilots flying in Q500. Daniel Arapakis flew his new Viper having flown previously a trainer at Werribee. What a great job he did while enjoying the challenge of bringing his race times down, race after race. Also Paul Pollock flew Q500 for the first time and although a very experience r/c pilot, really enjoyed racing this affordable yet challenging class.

Season Championship

F3D – No changes in 1st & 2nd position, but Glenn Matthews has now moved up to 3rd place.

F400 – Gary Davidson & Jim Orenshaw have swapped places, Gary now in 1st place and like in F3D, Glenn Matthews has popped up into 3rd place.

Q500 – James Hurley & John Schmidli  have swapped places now with James in 1st position (JS – it pains me to say). Ian Haigh remains in 3rd place.

Next Event

The next event is at Bazza’s Padock down at Munro on November 24-25, 2012.

Also note that we have our first event for the year (Camperdown) now listed on the event calender, so be sure to pencil this into your diary.

The championship table has been updated and there is also a photo gallery from this event.

October Update

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Victorian State Championships – Hamilton

Not long now until the Victorian State Championships, being held in Hamilton on October 20-21, 2012. This will also be the final selection trial event for the 2013 Australian F3D World Championship Team. We should see another good turn out with some interstate competitors from Queensland and New South Wales. Often at Hamilton there will also be a South Australian contingency.

This event will consist of our usual 3 classes, FA1 (AUST F3D) F400 (VIC) & Q500 so all you Q500 racers can come racing after the Cohuna recess.

Notes:

  • The field will be available for practice on Friday.
  • There will be breakfast available at the field on both days.
  • The field closes at 9:00am on each day.

Hamilton 2011

General Meeting

Also to be held on the Hamilton weekend is the next VMPRA general meeting.

  • Venue: Lake Hamilton Motor Village and Holiday Park, 8 Ballarat Road, Hamilton.
  • Start time: 8:00 pm

Note: Visitors to park out front

So come along and have your say and support pylon racing in Victoria.

Event Report – Cohuna 2012

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Tyler & Warren Mees on the way to the line

It was great turning up to the Cohuna field on Saturday morning to a mass of activity, camper-vans, caravans and gazebo’s and the field in the process of being setup. A hive of activity that started the day before with many pilots arriving early to practice; the Cohuna field looked in great condition. To top it off, the weather was spectacular and promised to be good for the whole weekend.

Walking through the pits, it was great to see a good number of competitors, including interstate compeditors, Chris Callow, Tyler Mees, Ranjit Phelan & Tony Howse in attendance for the 3rd F3D team selection trail for the 2013 F3D world championships.

Plane ID - Chris Callow's Voodoo being held high

F3D

After some initial timing equipment setup issues (which were resolved thanks to Kevin Callow), the scene was set for 9 rounds of F3D. As the day went on, the usual suspects rose to the top of the timing sheet with some really fast times being flown. There was a great deal of interest world wide with regular postings of the results on Facebook and many comments posted. As we started a little late and the sun was getting too low, the day’s racing was finished after completing 7 rounds.

We had our usual evening dinner out to talk all things pylon (and the occasional non-related subjects) and after a good night’s sleep (for some), it was back to the field for the remaining 2 rounds. On completion of these rounds the results were:

1st Chris Callow
2nd Ranjit Phelan
3rd Leigh Hocken
See Full Results>>>

AUST WC Team Selection Standings

With the 3rd team trial completed and only the VIC State Champs left, where the 4th trial will be run, this is how the scores look as of 18/9/2012:

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
Barry Murphy 63.47 140.51
Tyler Mees 65.28 60.42
Beau Murphy 80.9 60.32
Rick Townsend 63.5 63.2 63.35

F400 VIC

After all the excitement of the F3D, we had 7 rounds of F400 to fly. There was the first significant carnage for the weekend with a mid-air between Mike Kellet & Tony Howse. Tony came off 2nd best, but Mike was able to land with just half a horizontal stabilizer. Andrew Davies also lost a plane after impacting the ground during a race.

Gary Davidson & James Hurley (hiding behind his wing - his first time in F3D)

Gary Davidson came 1st making great use of his new Loki, Rick Townsend came 2nd and Tom Wetherill 3rd.
See Full Results>>>

“All in all, this was a great event. Thanks goes out to the Cohuna club for the great food and help all weekend. Another thank you goes to David Axon and Mike Kellet for cut judging for F3D Trials (David’s voice doesn’t carry as far as you would think when he is 100 meters away!). Lastly to starter extraordinaire and all-round good sort, Toni Axon who slugged it out and kept the guys in line for both days.” – (Quote – Terry O’Connor)
Also thanks to Terry and Kim (walking wounded) for the smooth running of the event.

The championship table has been updated and there is also a photo gallery from this event.

The next event is the VIC State Champs at Hamilton on October 20-21, 2012.

John Schmidli

 

September Update

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Well, according to the VMPRA.org.au event  count-down, it’s just over 2 weeks before the event at Cohuna. This event (Sept 15-16) is the 3rd selection trial event for the next F3D World Championship in the Netherlands 2013. It promises to be a hotly contested event in F3D with several of our northern friends making the trip down to compete and we should see most if not all of the winning 2011 F3D WC team flying at Cohuna.

As this is a selection event for the F3D WCs, this will take priority, but there is also going to be F400 flown after 9 rounds of F3D has been completed.
Note: There isn’t going to be any Q500 flown at this event but you can still come along and get involve with helping out, fly in the other classes and enjoy some really quick racing.

So it’s time to make your preparations and have accomodation organized ready for this great week end.

While we are at Cohuna, over in Romania, the F5D World Championships as getting under way. Having seen Rick and Beau fly these models earlier in the year, we have had a chance to see just how quickly they fly. Australia is sending a team, so we’ll being keeping an ear out for news on their progress. Good Luck guys.

See you are Cohuna
John Schmidli 

August Update

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Next Event

It’s time to start preparing for our next event which is down at Munro at Bazza’a Padock on the week end of  August 11-12, 2012. If you haven’t raced down there before, it’s a fantastic field and purpose built for pylon racing. I encourage you to come down to compete, especially if you are flying Q500. So sort out where you’re staying, Stratford is the closest accommodation with a Motel and Caravan Park. If you don’t know where the field it, as it is a private field, contact a member of the committee for details.

Bendigo 2012 place getter's

Our last event at Bendigo went really well and the weather was kind to us this time. There are more photo from the event now on the gallery page courtesy of Bill Matthews from the BRCAC club.

Calender Update

If you check our calender you’ll notice that the classes and schedule hav been updated for the Cohuna event in September. The priority is F3D as this is one of the selection evens for the next World Championships in 2013. This important event could see some competitor coming from interstate. Once F3D has run 9 rounds, then F400 will run 9 rounds. There will not be any Q500 run this week end.

Look forward to see everybody down at Munro.

John Schmidli 

Bendigo 2012 – Event Report

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Bendigo once again played host to the VMPRA for a weekend of FA1 (F3D), F400 & Q500.

On the start line and on time

Despite a bleak forecast, the weather was not too bad. Saturday, there were a few showers that stopped racing, but Sunday was much better and wind conditions were good.

All 3 classes completed 9 rounds, with 3 each on the Saturday and 6 each on Sunday. This event was competely void of any flying incidents which is quite unusual but a testiment to the skill and clean racing that went on.

Tom Wetherill's F3Ds

Saturday saw a lot of FA1s struggling with a quite a few flame-outs which wasn’t evident on Sunday and pylon 3 was a bit of a challenge for some reason (or was that just me?!).

Saturday night was the VMPRA Annual General Meeting where office bearers were elected. Glenn Matthews is now the president, I’m the secretary & Andrew Davies is the contest organizer. Gary Davidson was good enough to stay on as treasurer for another 12 months. Thanks goes out to the previous office holders, Davis Axon, Tom Wetherill and Mike Kellet for all their time and effort. Without these people, we wouldn’t be pylon racing in Victoria.

Special thanks should also go to Rick Townsend & Matt Young for their big effort in

Matt Young (left) - A very successful weekend flying F3D

preparing the airfield for this event. It was a great weekend of racing and congratulations goes to Matt Young for his 3rd place in FA1 in only his 2nd go at flying this class. Great to see new talent joining the ranks. This should inspire other young pilots to give pylon racing a go.

Check out the results >>>

Check out photo gallery >>>

The next event is Munro on August 11-12. Check out the calender >>>

John Schmidli