I started to write this report three months ago but work and other commitments prevented me from getting it completed and off to Traplet, it’s amazing how time flies !, next years event will be here before we know it and I’ll be writing another report for the mag.
June 13th 2002 and here we were 6 miles south of Aberdeen at Aberdeen Aeromodellers Club site. It was Thursday this year, two days before the event, that Dave Wilshere, Mark Tibury, and Dave Fisher, to name the three main competitors, arrived to start practice and relax after the long drive from the south of England. The main difference this year was that the weather was reasonable nice with a light wind and even some sunshine. A fair amount of fuel had been burnt by Thursday evening and all retired satisfied and ready for a repeat on the Friday.
Friday turned out to be a complete washout. There was rain for nearly all the day and was given up as a bad job by early afternoon. Dave Wilshere and the Motors and Rotors team retired to their accommodation but did report that they found a local park to fly in if it did stop raining. When the rain did stop, they did just that but with the electric Cubs so as not to disturb the locals.
Saturday dawned with broken clouds and some sunshine so the event got quickly under way. For one reason or another the attendance for the FAI was well down, only four brave sole’s. Two of the regular’s were involved with school and college exams, and there is also a new schedule, which with it being early in the season may be holding some back, especially with the poor weather leading up to the event. With only four entries it was decided to run two round concurrently to save some time. The plan was to do the same with the sportsman’s event. Half way through Mark Tilbury’s round the sky’s opened, he stopped his round until the rain stopped after which he completed the Aerobatics. The sportsman’s event was also suspended for a short time to allow another shower to pass. By the end of Saturday all three FAI and Sportsman’s rounds had been completed and the weather was clearing up nicely.
Heli nats Saturday evening is also the one closest to the longest day, this only means that it is the Aberdeen Aeromodellers Club electric evening. A few of the local members arrived with electric models for the fly-in. The Motors and Rotors team as usual stole the show with numerous electric models to fly from the small Cubs to standard size helicopters. With three Cubs in the air Dave calls ‘combat time’ just as my Pico Jet screams through the middle of them. Neither Dave’s Cub nor my Pico Jet flew again that evening. It’s amazing how much damage a 10oz Cub can do to a 2-3 lb. Pico Jet! The Cub would have flow if we could have found the elevator control horn, but the Pico Jet certainly came off worst.
Sunday was a bit more windy, but warm and sunny so on with the Free-Style followed by Scale and Auto-spot. As usual I only saw some of the Free style, but the results say it all. This year saw four entries in the Scale event again with some nice looking models and rather nice paint jobs. Pity about the non scale rotor heads however. Once again Dave Wilshere threw away the first place by calling ‘3D in a scale like manner’! say no more.
As for Auto-spot, usual standard and uneventful. I see I need to practice a bit more!
Again even with the rain delays on the Saturday we managed an early presentation of the prizes. I hope we see the old regulars and a few new ones next year, as usual everyone is always welcome, so put a date in your diary for the 16th & 17th of June 2003 for next years event, (to be confirmed nearer the time).
Lastly thanks to the Judges, Competitors and helpers without whom there is no event to run.
Don’t forget to visit the web site for updates on the event, entry forms, directions and maps etc at www.shn.ukf.net.
Ian Corse
Contest Director.