Jury Report on 2016 Indoor Free Flight World Championship F1D for Seniors and Juniors
FAI Jury
| Srdjan Pelagic | SRB | President |
| Wilhelm Kamp | AUT | Member |
| Marius Conu | ROU | Member |
Dates
Location
General Comments
Information
Accommodation, Food, and Transportation
Weather
Flying site
Flying field was positioned at a very unusual location in the ex-salt mine that was established in 1936, has a very intensive salt production between 1943 and 1970. There are two levels of the mine: one where indoor competitions usually were being held with a ceiling at 80 m above the floor and is not used for visitors and the other deeper (200 m under the ground) which is much bigger, but arranged for tourist visits. This time a limited part of this lower level was arranged for competition. The flying field was divided into flying area, preparation area, practicing area and restricted area (forbidden admittance). There was provided one table with chairs for every competitor, a table for a computer center, model processing box and the jury’s place. There was also at the same level a restaurant with very good lunches. There were available Salt Mine very tidy toilets with warm and cold water for washing hands, but located at five minutes walk distance! Two liter bottles of drinkable water per participant were available at the flying field every day.
The competition area was about 30 x 75 m and 54 m high and allowed flying of up to 15 models at the same time. Seniors and juniors competed simultaneously without any problem. Time-keepers where gathered in a pool and a pair of time-keepers assigned to a team was always available. Time-keeping was without any problems or complaints. Illumination of this hall was better than that in upper level hall commonly used for indoor competitions.
Participation
The Championships were participated by Senior NAC teams from 15 countries from Europe, Asia, America and Australia (AUS, CAN, CRO, CZE, GBR, GER, FRA, HUN, JPN, LIT, RUS, ROU, SVK, UKR, USA) and four Junior NAC teams (FRA, ROU, UKR and USA). There were 37 senior and 13 junior sportsmen. CAN, SVK, CRO and AUS were represented by only 1 senior competitor.
Model and motor processing
Model processing was in the processing box where scales and necessary dimension limits were provided.
Flying
Flights were controlled by the Contest Director for seniors and juniors and time-keepers. This allowed efficient flying procedure. Time-keeping (TK) was fair and correct. There were 37 TKs (17 pairs and some reserve TKs), which was enough for 15 senior and 4 junior teams, because competitors of one person teams agreed to fly as one group.
One briefing was held in the evening of the practicing day.
Data Processing
Data processing was at a computer center located in the preparation area. It was equipped with laptop computers, printers and skilled operators. Next to the computer center was a scoreboard and in front of it a large monitor for presentation of the results. All necessary data were posted there(after each flight) in real time.
Protests
There were no protests or complaints during this Championship.
Ceremonies and Prizes
Opening Ceremony was held in the practicing area. It was short and friendly.
The Closing Ceremony was held at Hotel Roberto in Slanic and was followed by the Closing Banquet in the restaurant of the same hotel.
Three best individuals and three best teams received the FAI medals in both senior and junior classifications. The organizer awarded nice cups to the all team members of the best three teams and individuals also in seniors and juniors classifications. The FAI diplomas were not received with the FAI medals and the organizer gave its own diplomas promising later distribution of the FAI diplomas when he resolves this problem with the FAI office. The best senior and the World Champion for 2016 was Lee Yuan Kang (USA), who defended his title earned two years ago. The best senior team was the Hungary. Also the best competitor in junior classification was Bulai Calin (ROU) and the best junior team was Ukraine. There were awarded the following FAI perpetual trophies:
– Rushbrooke Trophy to the best senior competitor: Lee Yuan Kang (USA),
– Langley Cup to the best senior team: Hungary.
It is worthy to note that the second longest flight flown by Zoltan Sukosd (HUN) (27:57) was only two seconds behind the winner!
Conclusion
a) The Championships were organized in accordance with the FAI/CIAM standards in spite of the financial restrictions.
b) The organizers showed up a great enthusiasm and ensured a very pleasant event.
c) Missing of the FAI diplomas in the package with the FAI medals just before the Closing Ceremony was a very unpleasant surprise to both the organizers and the winners. It was resolved by awarding the organizer’s diplomas and a promise that the FAI diplomas shall be sent later when this situation is resolved with the FAI office.
d) The following remarks were noticed in relation to the new F1D rules:
– 1) Models should be marked in future and a proposal how to do that should be prepared for the next CIAM Plenary meeting.
– 2) Heavier models and lighter rubber made flights shorter for up to 6 to 10 minutes in relation to the previous rules and flights of best seniors and best juniors became close!
– 3) New models are more robust, which can be an advantage, but some competitors prefer former designs.
– 4) Some competitors prefer former competition hall because of a much bigger flying space and smaller drought in spite of not so good illumination.