National Free Flight Society

Jury Report on Free Flight Junior European Championships 2019 F1A F1B F1P

Jury Report on Free Flight Junior European Championships 2019 F1A F1B F1P

FAI Jury

Ian Kaynes GBR President
Per Findahl SWE Member
Valentin Savov BUL Member

Dates

July 30 to August 3 2019

Location

Prilep, North Macedonia

Information

Bulletin 1 was issued in January. Participation lists were posted on the web site but problems prevented displaying the second bulletin. Bulletin 2 was distributed in Prilep before or during registration. Results were posted on the web site after each day of competition flying.

Participation

19 Nations participated. There were 46 competitors in F1A including the defending champion and these were from 16 nations. F1B had 34 competitors from 13 nations, and F1P 15 competitors from 5 nations. In view of the coming rule change, it is interesting to record that girls already fly in each class:- 3 in F1A, 7 in F1B and 1 in F1P, and took third place in F1B and in F1P.

Accommodation

Competitors were accommodated in various hotels in Prilep.

Flying site

The competition was held on the Prilep Sports Airfield which was only a few kilometres from the town of Prilep. The central part of the field on which the starting line was established was grass, but with some weeds that easily tangled with f1A towlines. The surrounding area was occupied by fields with various crops and some uncultivated areas with weeds. There was a village and road 800m away which was a factor during the preceding World Cup event but did not affect the Championships.

Weather

The weather for the three flying days of the championships was very good. There was very little prevailing wind and the wind that was present was variable and generally related to the passage of thermals. Each day was dry and sunny with temperature reaching about 30C by completion of the rounds at 14.00.

Competition

Model processing was carried out on the day before the first competition. In contrast to the requirements of the CIAM Sporting Code, models were marked with one sticker on the fuselage and one sticker on the wings. A towline check was provided but there were no scales for competitors to check the weight of models or rubber motors. A scale was provided during the competition days and competitors were able to check model and rubber motor weights. Random processing was carried out on each competition day on at least 20% of the competitors. The competitions were scheduled to start at 7.00 with seven rounds of 55 minutes and a 5 minute break. On the first day F1A started a few minutes late since here were not two timekeepers at each starting position. In order not to have a lengthy delay, the Jury allowed team members to act as second timekeepers at the poles with only one timekeeper. This did not last for long and soon there were two timekeepers at every position and this continued for the remainder of the championships. F1A was flown to a maximum of 240 seconds in rounds 1 and 2 and 180 seconds for the remaining five rounds. 6 competitors had a full score and, after an afternoon break, these assembled in the evening for the first flyoff at 18.45 to a maximum of 360 seconds. This eliminated two flyers and the remaining four attempted 480 seconds in the second flyoff at 19.30. This gave a clear winner, with all models clearly visible for the flights. F1B started at 7.00 as scheduled and followed the same maximum flights times used for F1A. The same number (6) reached the flyoffs which were held to the same schedule. Two flyers took part in the second flyoff and the winner achieved the 480 second maximum. F1P started at 7.00 and followed the class rules of having seven flights all to a 180 second maximum. The winner was the only person to achieve all seven maximum times and no flyoff was necessary. The models of the winners were checked each day and all passed the checks.

Timekeeping

The timekeeping was by a combination of older people with experience of timing and young people with less experience. The combination worked well and there were no significant complaints about timekeeping.

Opening and Closing Ceremony

The opening ceremony was held in the early evening in the centre of Prilep. The teams were assembled and then a display of traditional dancing was given. After that the teams marched across the road to the part of a park where the opening ceremony was conducted. The awards and closing ceremony was made in the same location in the town park. There was podium large enough to comfortably hold complete teams at each level.

Protests

There were no protests.

Briefing

One rather smooth and short technical meeting was held in the evening of the second practice day. Some short questions were answered and/or negotiated only.

Observations

On the reserve day the organisers arranged a coach trip to the city of Ohrid including a boat journey and time to see sights on the way and in the city. This was a free excursion and was enjoyed by the participants. North Macedonia has been awarded the 2020 European Championships F1A F1B F1C. It is planned that this will be held at Prilep and will possibly use an alternative field further from the town. The field was shown to one jury member on the departure day. The European Championships are a much larger event than these Junior European Championships and the Jury will be corresponding with the organisers with suggestions about enlarged organisation and the flying field.

Conclusions

The Championships were run efficiently and in good weather. The Jury thank Zdravko Todoroski and his organising team in North Macedonia for the successful completion of the Championships.