SEN 2474
- Junior World Champs Flash
- Junior World Championships from Pazardzhik, Bulgaria -Report #3
- USA Team F1A comment
Junior World Champs flash
Unofficial F1B results after 2 fly off rounds – all podium places made the 6 minutes.
1. Karl Mannik EST
2. Kyle Gerspatcher USA
3. Tomer Barkai ISR
Our on-site reporter is finding it a tough job in keeping up with everything so is a little behind. It is a tough job both helping and reporting at a World Champs. Anybody who has done this knows how hard it is.
Onsite comment of very challenging air at the event. Great showing by all flyers in tough conditions.
The organizer appears to have some difficulty in getting the results on the official Web Site.
Junior World Championships from Pazardzhik, Bulgaria -Report #3
From : Bob Stalick
Monday in Pazardzhik was set aside for model processing in the morning and an early evening opening ceremony. Processing took place in our hotel so it was easy to get there, but the room was very small for the job assigned to it. The result was the crew soon got behind. Fortunately for our team, we were second in line and had the rest of the day to do some local sightseeing.
The opening ceremony took place in a scenic public park literally around the corner from our hotel. It was a very nice setting and the speeches were short. As in the past, the teams walked in carrying country flags and identification signs. Good atmosphere and sportsmanship were evident and many pictures were taken of the teams.
Tomorrow starts the competition with F1A.
Tuesday dawned early on the field and it became apparent that the location of the flight line would be a challenge for the glider fliers. The contest management moved the HQ tent a couple of times before the opening round. Then after flying one round, the flight line was adjusted again. It was to be a problem all day, as the wind direction continued to shift sporadically during the day, causing all sorts of line crosses, tangles and the like.
Round one was a four minute round, and our team of Joel Yori, Roman Stalick and Adelaide Ulm were up to the task–all recording maxes. An auspicious start for team USA.
Round two started with a three minute max recorded by Joel, but Roman had a towline break, and the glider suffered a poor launch, recording a disappointing 2:22. Adelaide also had a launch into tricky air to record a 2:09.
Round three saw light winds and equally light thermal activity; however, our team pulled out three maxes to redeem their second round showing.
At this point in the story, I’d like to note that the team members who were not flying formed the chase crew for those who were. This is a common practice for US teams and allows active fliers to concentrate on their flying. On a day like today, which was a hot one, the contribution of the chase team is very much appreciated.
Round four began with Joel registering a max after getting a good launch than an unusual drift off to the side of everyone else who launched with him. Roman put up a max. Adelaide recorded a 1:51 even after a number of our team supporters tried to break loose some lift by flapping under her model. At the end of the round, a scheduled lunch break of one hour was much appreciated.
Round five was to be a difficult one for all the contestants, as this is when the wind shifted seemingly every few minutes. Shifts of were sometimes as much as 180 degrees and shifts where fliers were towing nearly down the flight line. We were at pole position number 2, which put us very near the parking area. Joel had to abort his first attempt as he was running into parked cars trying to get a good launch. Line tangles and crosses were common plus determining when lift was present was even more difficult. Joel managed to get his max. Roman didn’t- scoring 1:30 with a launch that somehow veered to the left before release. Adelaide got her max.
Round six was more of the same with the wind. Joel recorded his only drop of the day. His flight was 2:26. Roman decided to change gliders after his difficulties of the prior round, and his windy weather model was just the ticket for this flight as he hooked into a big chunk of lift and was way up when Jim Parker suggested an early RDT. Good thing, too, as the model landed well offsite in a sunflower field.
Adelaide continued her excellent flying, recording another max. She used the same pink wingtip model for all her flights, apparently it’s a a Victor Stamov design, as Jim Parker would call out “Go, Victor” to encourge it. In fact the our local official timer asked if Adelaide’s name was actually Victor!
Round seven was the last round, and hopes were high for a strong finish. Joel was first off again for his max. Roman, still using his windy weather model, got a good launch into questionable air and was down in 90 seconds. Adelaide finished the team’s flying for the day was another max.
Unofficially, the scores for our team were: Joel – 1246; Adelaide – 1200; and Roman-1107. For awhile, it appeared team USA might have a shot at a team trophy, but it was not to be. A weary bunch of fliers and supporters ended a hot and frustrating day, looking forward to cool showers.
Tomorrow is F1B day. Kyle Gerspacher and Joel Yori are our team for this event.
Look for pix on the Facebook/Freeflight page.
USA Team F1A comment
From Jim Parker on FB
Tough day of flying F1A. As the locals have told us, as the field drys out, the thermal rounds become very difficult. I’ll share Bob Stalick’s report later with all the USA details. Joel dropped one round to keep him out of the only 5 Jr fly off. Roman dropped a flight with a broken towline. Adelaide joined the less than a minute to go club with a max in the sixth round.