Model Gliding Association

Results - HTL # 1 GEMS 22/1/12

2012-01-25T13:40:00.002+02:00

Competitive equivalence badges - part #2

2011-10-12T13:02:00.000+02:00

The following individuals are being recognised for competitive partiicpation at local National Championships or international World Championships.

Slope (Gulls)

Electric (Falcon)

Hand launch (Swift)

Congratulations to all these achievers.

Fly safely

Badges - competitive equivalence

2011-10-11T13:29:00.001+02:00

The MGA has always been proud to promote its pilots’ sporting achievements; SA has been represented with honour internationally by our RC Glider Pilots & local events are also fiercely contested in the best spirit.

It is generally recognised that to compete at the highest level within a discipline inherently implies that a reasonable standard or skill has been achieved. During 2010 the MGA initiated a process to promote "competitive equivalence" to provide a recognition of the skills of our competitive pilots. We have subsequently trawled through all the records available to us & wish to congratulate the following pilots on their new badges!

Should we have missed anyone, please do not hesitate to contact the MGA, who on written application by the pilot/club the following rating equivalence will be considered :

Note that the MGA will treat each "sporting equivalence" application on a case-by-case basis.

Thermal (Eagle) National championships

We have trawled through the various records of events and postings to identify as many individuals as possible - but are concerned that not everyone has been recognised. So if we crashed befoe launching, let us know...

Note that we have not included those individuals who already have a similar or higher rated badge (for example if you are already a Diamond A thermal then a Gold is not listed below).

Thermal (Eagle) Internal competition equivalence

At this time there are no equivalences for the Diamond ratings - as these include reference to local & international competitions results already.

Badge announcements for slope, chuckie & electric will follow shortly

Fly safely

2012 F3J Team Trials

2011-10-11T10:56:00.000+02:00

Hi Guys & Girls,

As you are aware (& if not, why not?) the next F3J World Championships will be hosted at the GEMS field during August 2012. The results from the two qualifying events have yielded a list of the top ten pilots who are invited to the team trials as per the SAMAA ratified National Team selection process. The pilots must confirm / decline to Herman Weber if they intend flying at the trials before Friday, 14 October 2011 as the next pilot then becomes eligible.

It is also not a secret that SA are campaigning the FAI to include a second or development team to fly alongside the WC's - this as a fully fledged SA "B" or even as privateers to increase the skills exposure & improve overall development of the sport. For this reason, it is likely that those top ten positions are going to be even more closely watched than ever before!

Fly safely

2011 MGA F3J Open

2011-08-01T10:38:00.000+02:00

Some fantastic organisation & world class systems, allowed the MGA to host a very succesful F3J "not so international" competition as precursor to the 2012 F3J World Champioships. Although the objective was to test systems, fun, comaraderie & serious competition also were involved to a large degree.

The weather was perfect for the event; the early morning starting off with challenging winds but good thermal activity until round 4 which saw the wind drop significantly & the single largest number of throwaways too. Good lift could be found, but was surrounded by African style sink - lethal!

Winches were used for launches alongside the F3J towing, & the 15 metre corridors ensured no cross-over/crashes even with a almost 90 degree wing swift during select slots. The field was initially laid out to the South, but the wind was predominantly E - SE so was swung around before the event started at 10h00. Good markings & spots ensured no confusion & the "swop-over" approach proposed would also ensure that landings cannot be confused (as per Turkey). Thanks to Evan for th einitial & swop over layout!

The sound system, although short of the intended number of speakers, was very clear on the flight line (were it counts), and will lkely be supplemented with an LED countdown display later in the year. The wireless microphones worked, but did seem to be very sensitive regarding feedback/static & will need some "fine tuning". The fixed standby mike worked perfectly. Speakers would also need to be considered for the spectators/tent area to provide feedback / overhead safety warnings. I thought that the tall flag poles over the club house & tent area were rather good (Rodney probably differs from my opinion) as this would ensure that anyone wishing to "slope" would have the risk of striking a grounded object in the designated safety areas & the resulting penalty would probably see the end of any WC aspirations. However based on wind direction, an approach corridor for landing may overfly the safety area & a wider field & blanked landing spots to be considered (after all - we have the space!).

The countdown time (F3J Timing) was flexible, & although the oldish PC's suffered from run down batteries, once the small generator was fired up, these ran without hitch & considerably eased the CD's load. During the 1 slot without power, the standbuy "system" of the CD calling time worked perfectly without loosing anything more than a few minutes in the overall schedule. Scoring was tested with GliderScore programme - a deviation from the F3JScore used in past years, but provides a far more statistically "fair" matrix & better reporting for results. Scores were captured after rounds & were available in less than 15 minutes after the final slot was flown. Many thanks to the excellent data capturing & card collection services of the two young ladies who very capably performed this role independently. Score cards & pilot cards also worked - although suggestion was made to print the pilots name on the front cover of their scorecard. Two issues still arose: the wrong person's card in the team was completed & time/landing were entered in the wrong position. Through training this is unlikely to occur at the WC. Some queries were raised regarding the "penalties" etc. but at a WC level, this becomes a responsibility of the pilot/team manager to know & time keeper/official to spot. A short summary will be produced highlighting these for local pilots & the pre-event.

Prize giving was also approached differently: instead of the same top pilots walking away with the loot, a selection was made by the organisers of deserving individuals who did not make the top 5 positions & thankls to Mad Models for making the prizes available:

1. Most capable thermal flying of the day by Evan Shaw - who spent almost 4 minutes circling a bubble at 10 metres or less
2. Most capable Newbie being Garrin Smith for his first ever event & well done
3. Crash landings by Rodney & Piet who selectively identified the only vertical objectives in an almost 300 metre radius :-)

Special thanks to Sanitech for the loo which included handwash facilites & towels - made our day a lot more pleasant than the rather raw "pick a bush" approach.

Thanks to Gordon for CD'ing us so capably again(!), to Martie for the food, Evan & his team for the field layout, Herman & his team for the stakes / turnarounds, Cian & Jessie for scoring, and a HUGE THANK YOU to Michelle for the awesome organisation of everything.

A special mention to our "internationals" all the way from the KZN, who represented the last outpost with honour.

One thing that I did note about the scorecards, was that a large number of pilots entered landings of 1.03, 2.01, or similar. I am immensely proud to witness this level of honesty amongst our pilots!

Results below (click on the table to "zoom"):

Excellent flying Jason (jnr), Chris & Craig G.! Thanks to everyone for a superb event!

Fly safely.

2011 RC Soaring national Championships

2011-06-29T11:52:00.000+02:00

The 2011 Combined RC Soaring Nationals was hosted at the Noordsberg Country Club (Polo Fields) just outside Dalton, KZN. The disciplines involved included the FAI class F3J (hand towed “open” class glider), provisional FAI class F5J (electric powered launch & glide), FAI class F3K (hand launch “HLG” or discuss launch “DLG”) and local class 2M (2m metre wingspan). A total of 36 entries were received across these classes, which is significantly down from previous years & possibly due to the F3K World Championships scheduled the next week, school holidays & various other commitments.

Chief organiser & CD: Dennis Bird

Leading the organisation was Dennis Bird, with“Camo” Rudi heading up scoring, Don as CD across most events, and Simon assisting. A selection of pilots was made to represent the jury, as the event was also slated as one of the F3J 2012 National Team qualifiers.

Day 1: Howling wind and ominous clouds

Arriving the night before, we settled into our very comfortable accommodation in New Hanover. The warm meal & wonderful “boma” fire were well received & potentially an omen of the weather to come. A huge farm-style breakfast at 07h00 saw us at the field & ready for pilots briefing around 08h30. Frequencies were verified, basic rules confirmed, safety areas outlined, jury selected, field laid out, planes setup, runners warmed up – we were ready to go!

Day 2 Early morning was cold. Very, very cold!

Around 09h00 in rather chilly & windy, overcast conditions, the first flight was underway & it was pleasing to see that the smaller turnout had not affected the quality of flying, nor the effort each pilot was making to participate. As each round of F3K, F5J, 2M and F3J was underway, we settled into the natural rhythm of the competition – flying, calling, assisting, running with scores, timing, laying lines, etc. The weather continued to get colder, with the wind increasing in speed & decreasing temperatures dramatically. The 10 minute flights for F3J & F5J left pilots with numb fingers – almost not able to hold onto the transmitters. By the second round, the cloud layer had descended even further, temperatures had dropped to below zero, wind chill was in double figures & occasional raindrops served to make breathing, let alone flying, a challenge. Everyone wore at least two jackets & when the clouds opened and small hail stones pelted us, the decision to stop proceedings was swift & unanimous – people quickly dismantling models & seeking warmth within their cars. At around 15h15, the rain stopped, clouds cleared & the wind even dropped for a very pleasant 5 degrees, but by then everyone was too exhausted to continue due to the extreme cold conditions previously (actually most were soaked to the bone) & we all headed back to our respected shelters.

Frosty (the snowman from hell?) visited New Hanover, KZN, with a vengeance

During the night, battery chargers beeped & blinked as various sets were charged up for the next day – each time I stood up to change a battery pack, I felt the temperatures dropping further & further. The next morning we were greeted by what looked like snow – but was in fact a very heavy layer of frost. Cars parked outside were covered with ice even down their sides – when I tried to open my car’s boot remotely it only “clicked”. Disgusted I spoke sternly to it in my finest “Germanish” but was ignored& eventually I had to pry the boot lid open the old way. Brr! Even another farm-style breakfast did nothing to allay the fears of another ice cold day, but by 08h30 we were back on the field & starting pilots briefing. Sadly we had to say goodbye to Nigel who retired early do to family commitments.

Local colour: Simon "Porn star" Nelson, being ably directed by Michelle "10 minutes" Goodrum

Problems with the sound system the day before had the local flyers bring in a new recording/amp., and during the very first slot of F3J a difference in how the slot was announced saw one team launch a full 15 seconds early. They immediately protested & the jury agreed that due to “benefit of doubt” the entire slot would refly after the round as per FAI rules regarding F3J. Condition were “challenging” with the icy wind was pushing miniscule thermals along the ground very quickly & most competitors could barely achieve a turn or two, before loosing any advantage they may have had. A number of pilots suffered the long walk of shame, after landing out of the field having being blown back so far. Everyone tried flying over the trees on both side of the fields, across to the factor, towards the club house etc., but only those pilots able to manage energy the best were able to keep their models aloft for the full time. During discussion we recalled a rather erroneous statement made a few years ago by about RC gliding in that the launch only counts for 1.3% of the flight (assuming 8 second launches), yet those few seconds of launch, powered by the awesome towman, made for 99% difference for the remainder of the flight!

Chris Adrian waiting to launch Johan Bruwer's Pike Perfect

During the 2^nd day, we also witnessed the only incident of the event: when Chris & Paul’s F3J gliders came together during the launch. Some explanation: F3J provides ten (10) minute window or working time in which the competitor must launch their model& land. Every second spent on the line during the launch & every second prior to the signal to end the 10 minutes, is deducted from the score. This requires that all pilots launch simultaneously & if possible land simultaneously. The spectacle of watching up to 15 gliders launching from the ground & a standstill to almost 150 kph upwards of 200 metres in less than 2 seconds is often described as “Phoar!” & various other similar sounding derivatives. During this particular launch a sudden side gust caused the two models to veer within their 15 metre “launching lanes”, the launch lines crossed & within milliseconds both gliders contacted. Paul’s Explorer fin was immediately snapped off, whilst Chris’s Pike Perfect seemed OK, but was entangled in the line. Even with full flaps extended, the line snapped his model vertically into the ground & a broken centre panel was the result. Both pilots were awarded a reflight as per the FAI rules regarding F3J.

Chris's Pike Perfect centre panel snapped after launch line entanglement

Whilst conditions were challenging on day 2, we were still able to complete 3 full rounds of each discipline & before 17h00 we had packed up as the sky darkened & headed over to the club-house for the annual “banquet”. Interestingly, I believe more hot chocolate & coffee was consumed that beer/wine – a sure sign of the professionalism of the pilots rather than the weather. Tongue now removed from cheek: we once again were spoilt with huge fire & enough barbeque meat to feed a small nation, salads to satisfy even the most ardent vegan (at a braai?) and the close proximity of the bar ensured that we did not want for beverage that evening. After the meal, we turn our thoughts inwards, or more accurately headed towards the lovely inside the bar & talked for some time about flying, the days events, models, competition & everything else that makes RC Soaring so wonderful. The camaraderie and friendship of our common passion often spills over into our social lives, and even though most pilots are strongly competitive, off the field we remain best of friends!

Paul Carnall's Supra II - these did well in the very "light" conditions

Day three saw us dragging ourselves out of bed (probably due to the strenuous activities of the previous two days and nothing to do with the bar tab the night before of course. Again the farm-style breakfast was awesome, but the chill in the air was rather intimidating. At 08h30 we huddled together for the pilots briefing. The reflight awarded to the early launch the day before was discussed, with the jury providing their reasons. It was recognised that the time lost on the first day due to hail had cut short the advertised 8 rounds, & a call around the pilots determined that 6 rounds could be completed, fulfilling FAI qualification requirements & also permitting the Gautengers to return to the Highveld before the envisaged 15h00 that afternoon.

Lionel "nailed" the spot for a full 100 pint landing - very satisfying

We soon saw the final F3J slots completed & although conditions were very tough yet again, most people managed relatively good flights for the last round. We quickly packed up after this, dashed for the club house for something warm & soon the AGM was underway. As is becoming tradition for the MGA, the AGM was dealt with without frivolity or time wastage & in less than half an hour we were ready for the results.

Paul - launching his DLG on Day 2

Dennis announced the results in reverse order & presented the amazing trophies to the top three competitors in each class.

F3J (FAI towed RC glider class)

Rank	Name	Score (%)
1	Chris Adrian	100.0
2	Paul Carnall	99.2
3	Craig Goodrum	97.5
4	Lionel Brink	94.0
5	John Monk	93.4
6	Ryan Nelson (Jnr)	93.2
7	Michelle Goodrum	91.8
8	Simon Nelson	90.8
9	Rodney Goodrum	87.2
10	Johan Bruwer	83.0
11	Craig Baker	82.2
12	Evan Shaw	80.0
13	Ivan Williams	76.5
14	Wolfgang Steffny (EW)	74.7
15	Rudi King	66
16	Nigel Wilkinson	Retired

2 Metre (Winch – 150m)

Position	Name	Score (%)
1	John Monk	100.0
2	Evan Shaw	99.1
3	Chris Adrian	96.3
4	Rudi King	93.5
5	Dennis Bird	87.2
6	Simon Nelson	87.0
6	Lionel Brink	87.0
8	Johan Bruwer	83.6
9	Ryan Nelson (Jnr)	63.5

F3K (Discus Launch)

Position	Name	Score (%)
1	Craig Goodrum	100.0
2	Paul Carnall	92.9
3	Johan Bruwer	73.7
4	John Monk	69.7
5	Chris Adrian	58.0
6	Nigel Wilkinson	25 (retired)

F5J (Electric)

Position	Name	Score (%)
1	Johan Bruwer	100.0
2	Ryan Nelson (Jnr)	95.4
3	Simon Nelson	95.3
4	Ivan Williams	95.1
5	Rudi King	93.7

The final announcement was for Victor Ludorum: Johan Bruwer with good results in all classes.

We bade all a sad farewell until next year, plans being made to practice more often, build/obtain better models, & avoid those blooming Natal speed traps!

Our sincerest thanks to Dennis & his team for organising & running this event so well. Thanks also to the Noordsberg Country Club for the use of their facilities. Special appreciation for our fellow competitors for establishing such a high standard & maintaining the sense of fun that we always seem to achieve in competition. And finally, a heartfelt thank you (!) to our families for affording us the time to fly in this wonderful sport.

Fly safely

RIP: Don King

2011-04-18T12:46:00.001+02:00

Hi,

The following sad news from Rudi:

Just want to let those of you that knew Donald (Don) King, know that he passed away yesterday morning. He was ill in hospital (Bethlehem) for the last two months or so and eventually died of a rare virus.

I don’t have any funeral details yet, but should be in Bethlehem later this week.
Regards,
Rudi King

On behalf of the MGA & its members, we wish to extend our sincerest condolences to Don's family & many friends.
Lionel Brink

TOSS PSS Festival: 18 - 19 June 2011, Cape Town

2011-04-11T10:04:00.000+02:00

2011 HTL - May at WHRF

2011-04-04T10:10:00.001+02:00

I was rather nervous about the weather for the week leading up to the HTL at WHRF - WHRF is essentially a power club and the flying field is thus a lot "smaller" than most RC glider fields. However, the club's field is blessed with vast open spaces around it, so winch direction is not really limited by the weather (just grass height) - only the landing area which can accomodate only a few directions. However, we were most fortunate to be blessed with a NW for most of the day, which allowed 15 m wide lane spacings across the entire field.

To increase the "flying" component of competition, I had elected to use the "F3J Final's " 15 minute task in a 15 minute working time/window approach - this requires mass launches and landings, but also shifts emphasis towards flying (90% of the round's score) which in trying conditions requires the pilot to search for and use multiple thermals during a single flight. 200 m winch launch reduces the amount of helper effort, an unlimited relaunches/ no penalty for outlanding - made for a more relaxed competition than the stricter F3J. This was intended to make for a tougher competition, but still be enjoyable by all level of pilots.

We had 22 pilots entering ( the same number as 2010) which indicates that we are simply not growing the sport - but, that is talk for another thread. The top F3B and F3J pilots were all in attendence and the F3B pilots bravely indicated that they would be flying their F3B models in the event. A tall order when compared to the dedicated soaring machines of F3J, but these pilots are made of tougher stuff (huge quantities of carbon fibre and aramid, I suspect).

Anyway, back to the weather - the previous weekend's aerobatic event at the club had been rained out and the long term weather prediction also showed a potential for showers. Sunday morning dawned bright and very humid; the first 2 rounds were huge fun and really wonderful to fly in with fantastic "smooth / thick air". Some pilots were caught out by the starting time (only delayed by 15 minutes!) and also the CD's strict adherance to the working time.

The first casualty for the day was Nigel who performed a rather fast down-wind landing and "reverse Concorded" his F3B model's nose. A couple of people decided to venture beyond (and strictly advised against) mown landing area and into the vast bushveld to find their models - in fact at one point we paused for almost 20 minutes for 2 candidates to return, but prep. time was restarted promptly - much to the delight of the evil CD. During round 2 one of the junior pilots had to return to land very, very (!) quickly when his Tx' started to beep frantically with a low battery voltage warning - which simply shows that a good event requires good preparation (and attention to detail), but interestingly he was not the only Tx with battery issues that day! The only unfortunate crash of the day was during the final rounds' launch when Craig B's winch line hooked the stab off Rudi's Cere's and their two models briefly bumped wings: a broken Cere's fuselage but repairable. One of the teams (who shall remain nameless) simply forgot to fly round 5 - i.e. all three pilots missed their slots for an instant zero score & throwaway. Eish!?

Round 1 started off with most pleasant of thermal flying conditions (albeit very humid, with a light breeze) and as can be seen, more than half the field maxed their time with general good landings for their first flight. Was this going to turn out to be a landing competition?

Superb conditions in Round 2 again, with the field gradually improving their results towards the 15 minute task. It is interesting to note that the top 10 round scores all recorded sub 1 metre landings! Weather was generally awesome throughout the round & scores are high. teh best round of the day was recorded - see the top of the list below!

An indication of the weather challenges ahead, slot 2 (or "poo" as some called it) caused some early retirements - just look at the differential between 1st & 13th position times!

A brief respite in the conditions, but the challending conditions were entrenched for the remainder of the day with far fewer numbers of pilots maxing the rounds in each slot - you needed to hook a thermal quickly and then max that out before finding 2 or more thermals to achive the flight time. Amazingly the top F3B pilots were still in contention - but they were using the freshining breeze to good advantage & huge launches!

Some slots were just downright naaaaasty in round 5, but as with all competitions, someone (or more than a few) will always max the round. Here massive altitude and the confidence to fly your model very, very far away were requirements. Some impressive heights were achieved during this round as the pilots began to fully work the few thermals flowing past.

The final round for the day, wind was 90 degree off centre (and 180 degrees off prediction) but the sink was far more prevelant! The only incident of the day when two gliders clashed on launch - winch line hooked off a v-tail stab & both models rapidly drawn together. It's in situations such as this that full butterfly / crow mixing is critical to slow the decent of the otherwise OOC model.

Whilst maxing flying time was critical, landings still remain an important aspect with the top pilots consistantly landing under a metre or closer for the best scores. It was also noted that as the conditions became more challenging, launches off the 200m winch were a few seconds longer than the earliest rounds.

Overall results then: well done to Craig for another win; and Jason for first Junior (and only 1 point ahead of Dad!!!)

A big thanks then to everyone that attended and assisted - particularly Martie for the catering, herman for the MGA competitions box & clean-up afterwards. A special thanks to the WHRF club for the dedicated use of their field, hopefully the visitors were treated to some exciting flying with the mass launches and landings, with beautifully elegant flight that only high aspect ratio gliders can achieve, in-between.

See you at the next event and Fly Safely!

Airspace

2011-03-31T12:52:00.000+02:00

With all the nonsense of airspace and altitude restrictions, sometimes its just great to kick back & watch nature at work - were inane beurocracies & outdated rules are not a factor for ruining the enjoyment of your hobby.

During a trip to the Tamatieberg, Piet Rheeders was able to film a juvenile Martial Eagle that buzzed an RC slope soaring glider.

Please refer to this website for Piet's encounter & story.

Qualification of National RC Glider Teams - process

2011-03-28T15:07:00.001+02:00

Hi Everyone,

Please be advised that the SA National team selections process is applicable across all MGA disciplines (F3B, F3J, F3K,...) in terms of selecting individuals to represent SA as a national team and for SASCOC National Colours eligibility.

Also, please note that this process has generally been in place since the MGA was formalised: in 2008 it was consolidated across all MGA disciplines with revision in 2009 to eliminate the need for qualification rounds if 3 or less pilots were eligible for a National Team.

It is important to note that NO qualifier is compulsory - but at least one qualifier must be flown to be eligible to be selected for team trials.

National Teams are only selected for FAI/CIAM recognised World Championship and when applicable World Air Games in which an appropriate RC Soaring discpline for Airsport Promotion is represented.
The final award of National Colours for the individual/team remains the decision of SASCOC.
Only SA citizens may be selected for represent members of any SA National team (this was highlighted during January 2011).

Procedure: Qualification of National RC Glider Teams

Applicable: Across all MGA disciplines

General rules applicable to the selection of National RC Gliding teams:

All selections must be completed sufficiently prior to the applicable World Championship, to permit adequate teams practices
Selection events should ideally be scheduled for two days duration, were the second day is available for additional rounds to be completed. In the event that no rounds can be flown on both scheduled days, then the entire selection event must be postponed to a later date
In the event that the selections are interrupted (due to weather, etc), then the outstanding portion of the selections must be postponed to a later date that is agreeable to the pilots who where present at that selection event – the CD to confirm this within a reasonable period after the postponement
The CD is responsible for determining if an event should be delayed/postponed
The discipline of the World Championship to be attended will define the FAI/CIAM rules to be applied during the selection events
All the competitions will be flown according to the applicable current FAI/CIAM Rules and applicable local rules must be agreed by all pilots prior to the event
Qualification rounds may be flown in teams, but the Team Trials must be flown using the “man-on-man” format defined within the applicable FAI/CIAM rules
The National Team composition/structure is based on the applicable FAI/CIAM Rules
Only SAMAA members are eligible for National teams selection
The eligibility and allocation of National Colours are subject to SASCOC conditions and requirements
Members of a National RC Glider Teams are required to comply with the stipulations defined within the SAMAA MOP

In the event that more than 3 pilots are able to qualify for the team, the selection process for participation as a member of the National RC Glider team to represent the Republic of South Africa at an FAI World championships are:

There will be at least 3 selection events held preceding the World Championships
The first two events are scheduled as Qualifiers events and the last competition will be a Team Trial event
Using each pilot’s best score from either of the two qualifying rounds, the top ten ranked & available pilots will be eligible for participation in the Team Trials event
Final Team selection is based on the combined results of the Team Trials and the best results from either of the two Qualification events (i.e. the lowest qualifier score will be deemed a “throw-away”)
The top 3 pilots qualify as members of the National Team, 4th place will be 1st reserve (non-travelling), 5th place will be 2nd reserve (non-traveling), etc.
It is recommended that one of the two Qualifying events coincide with the Gliding Nationals and the other as a stand alone event
It is recommended that the Team Trials are held at a neutral venue

In the event that not more than 3 pilots (or the team size as defined by the applicable FAI/CIAM Rules) are available to qualify, then in terms of development, the MGA may still consider approving a team of pilots who individually and in the appropriate discipline have each achieved a minimum of 80% of the previous National Championships winner’s score.

Additional team members who are not pilots and who may be eligible for National Colours are selected by the qualifying pilots. The MGA will agree this selection only when the additional team member(s) are motivated :

already qualified to participate in the applicable Team Trials, or
have actively participated as pilots in local and national competitions of the appropriate discipline to a level considered acceptable by the MGA, or
have adequately demonstrated their proposed team role in local and national competitions of the appropriate discipline to a level considered acceptable by the MGA during the selection period.

The team may still motivate selection of individuals outside of these criteria, but the awarding of National Colours to these individuals will not be usual, and the SAMAA Team Grant may be withheld pro rata for these extraordinary selections.

Fly Safely

2011 RC Soaring National Championships

2011-03-28T12:45:00.000+02:00

Hi,

Please be advised that at this time, the 2011 RC Soaring National Championships will remain scheduled for 24 June - 26 June 2011 in KZN as previously advertised.

Fly safely

2011 RC Soaring Nationals advisory

2011-03-10T09:01:00.000+02:00

Hi,

At present the RC Soaring Nats are scheduled for 24 June - 26 June 2011 in KZN. Concern has been raised regarding the proximity of these dates to the F3K World Championships starting the following week on 3 July 2011. The 2011 Nats organisers have very graciously managed to secure alternate dates at Noordsberg from 27 - 29 May 2011 (without affecting the June booking).

Whilst the 2011 dates were scheduled almost 5 months ago, just as a quick show of hands on the MGASA forum, would anyone object to the 2011 RC Soaring National Championships being moved from June to May 2011?

Fly Safely

HTL#1 @ GEMS

2011-01-24T09:32:00.002+02:00

Despite an ominous start in the weather the day turned out to be an excellent start to this year’s League. The tough conditions had everyone on their toes. Congrats to the winners and thanks to all the pilots attending and making such a success of this event, and to ever appreciated Martie for the catering, although we all missed the promised pancakes….

With four pilots entering the 2M class I hope we can keep (or pick up) the momentum to keep this important entry level class alive. Congrats to Stewart, our new junior, for placing so well in his first HTL appearance.

Slope soaring

2011-01-10T12:58:00.000+02:00

I must go down to the slope again, to the lonely slope and the sky,
And all I ask is a Zagi ship and a breeze to steer her by,
And the stick's kick and the wind's song and the white tail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the slope's face and a grey dawn breaking.

**Ivan Williams (With apology to John Mansfield)

2011 National Postals - RC Soaring

2011-01-03T07:56:00.000+02:00

Revised for 2011 by Gert Niewoudt
Issued 02 January 2011

Introduction

The Postals competition is a typical “thermal duration” competition, which includes a restricted launch, defined flight task and scored landing. The Postals competition attempts to place everyone on an equal footing, but permits “home ground” advantage. This competition is considered the ideal development and promotion tool of the Model Gliding Association (MGA) Special Interest Group.

Climbing the Postals ladder is part of the fun, sliding down the ladder is a definite indication that you aren't doing enough flying.

Dates
1. The National Postals contest consists of four rounds, flown on any day in February, May, August and November, the four scores giving the total for the year.
2. Each pilot may make only two attempts to record a score during each round. These may be on any day of the month but, once started (stopwatch running on first flight), the pilot is committed to completing that day’s score for one of the two submissions. Note that only one attempt per day is permitted.
3. The highest score of the two attempts will be entered as the score for that round.
4. The club score does not have to be recorded by pilots on the same day but must be scored from the same venue.

Dates
5. Each entrant is entitled to FIVE (5) flights, which must be flown consecutively (allowing for legitimate reflights, or test flights which have to be nominated before launch).
6. All FIVE (5) flights, count towards the pilot’s round score.
7. Timing must always be performed by someone other than the pilot.

Launch

8. Launching may be by one of the following mechanisms:

electric winch (max available line from turnabout to ’chute 200 m)
bungee (200 m maximum stretched length)
200 m hand tow, and two towmen
electric powered (the motor may only be used once for launching in a window of 30 seconds maximum and limited to a launch height of 200m - an onboard altitude limiting device should be used to achieve this)

Relaunch

9. A re-launch may be called for if the line breaks, or the model pop’s off and “re-launch” is called before the parachute touches the ground. The flyer must then land and re-launch as quickly as possible – if the parachute touches the ground before re-launch is called, then the flight will count.

10. A re-launch may be called by the pilot if the electric motor malfunctioned during the 30 seconds launch window.

11. Once re-launch is called by the pilot, the flight is immediately cancelled even if the model continues to be flown.

12. If any part comes off a model during launch or in flight, then the pilot may request a re-launch.

Models

13. There is no restriction on the number of models an entrant may use in the course of the contest.

14. The models will be classified into one of the following classes:

2M = Model with a projected wingspan not exceeding 2000 mm and any number of controls
RES = Model with any wingspan but controls are limited to Rudder, Elevator and Spoiler
Open = Any other Model

Scoring

15. Scoring is as for Task A in the (old) F3B rules, i.e. to a precise six minutes and a landing bonus of 100 if the model’s nose is within one meter of the spot

16. The flight time is taken from the moment the model leaves the line/electric motor cuts out, until it comes to rest

17. The landing bonus is measured after the model has come to rest and is reduced from 100 by 5 points for each meter beyond the spot (e.g. 95 points if the distance to the spot is from 1 meter to before 2 meters) down to 30 points or within 15 meters.

18. The maximum score per flight is 460 points and 2300 points per round.

19. A single table of results will be produced quarterly and will include details of the model class and pilot class.

20. The club score shall consist of the top four individual scores posted for the club per round. Each pilot can only enter one score towards the club total per round.

Submission of Scores

21. Scores are to be sent to the Postals Coordinator & must include:

Club
Pilot name
Pilot Class (Senior, Junior, Rooky)
Model Class (2m, RES, Open, Electric)
Total score (only, no round by round times, etc.)
Model
Span
Launch method

22.Please submit only the final scores of each round to the Postal Coordinator, Gert Nieuwoudt — by e-mail to

gnieuwoudt@telkomsa.net

23.These scores should be in the last day of the designated month, or you will receive a zero score!

24.Scores not specifying pilot class will assume “Senior”, and similarly scores not specifying model class will assume “Open” – there will be no retrospective changes permitted

25.Scores not specifying the model, wingspan & launch method will be withheld from the table

Fly safely

2011 Events Calendar - provisional

2010-12-31T10:00:00.001+02:00

The provisional MGA Events Calendar has been posted to the MGA BLOG & has forwarded to SAMAA for the National Calendar 2011.

MGA Glider proficiencies - rating framework

2010-12-21T11:55:00.002+02:00

The MGA RC Glider training framework was established so that aspirant RC glider pilots can achieve a Solo proficiency as verification that a satisfactory level of skill has been achieved by the RC pilot, permitting them to fly on their own, and as per SAMAA Insurance requirements.

As this assessment of a level of RC pilot skill is a qualitative measure , it is necessary that an MGA authorised and independent instructor ensures that the pupil has achieved the required level of skill to achieve the relevent rating.

AUTHORISATION

No proficiency test should be conducted by an Instructor who has instructed the Pilot under test
Only the MGA Committee is authorised to appoint RC Glider Instructors upon written request from a club

RATING APPLICATION

Proficiency and achievement application sheets are available from the MGA
These application sheets are designed to record the achievements that the Pilot has completed, and need to be independently witnessed
Rating tests must be arranged and conducted in a formal manner, with the appropriately approved persons present at the tests
Rating test results must be submitted to the MGA together with the evaluating individual(s)recommendation
An Instructor rating may only be applied for after the relevant Gold achievement badge has been achieved
The Club Committee may recommend any RC Glider Gold rated glider pilot to the MGA for Instructor proficiency consideration
It remains the sole discretion of the MGA Training Committee’s to award Instructor status

RETROSPECTIVE SOLO APPLICATION

Already competant RC Glider pilots are not expected to complete the Solo test
The retrospective application is intended to provide Solo status to already competant glider pilots who have been flying regularly for years, and who in the view of their club's safety committee, are adequately RC Glider experienced
The Club Committee may recommend any competant RC glider pilot to the MGA for retrospective Solo consideration
It remains the sole discretion of the MGA Training Committee’s to award Solo status

PROFICIENCY RATING REFLECTION

All applications must be forwarded in writing to the MGA using the appropriate channels
The MGA will inform SAMAA of the relevant proficiency/achievement, but is not responsible for ensuring that the SAMAA membership card is updated/produced
All RC Glider rating applications will be recorded and kept in a central data base at the SAMAA offices
As and when your SAMAA Cards are re-issued they should reflect the Pilot’s gliding proficiency
Remember that Glider Solo does not mean you are Solo for other types of aircraft, nor does holding a Solo badge for any other types of RC aircraft automatically imply you are Solo for RC gliders (please refer to the Cross Skills section below)
A scroll will be issued to all successful applicants and can be displayed in conjunction with the relevant Achievement Badges.
The proficiency scrolls should be displayed above the gliding discipline round-all badge

INSTRUCTOR RATING

According to the MGA, an Instructor rating does not reflect a proficiency level; it only suggests that the individual is adequately able to teach others to fly RC Gliders and/or is capable of independently assessing the level of skill of a RC Glider Pilot. Any Instructor applicant must first have achieved the Gold Achievement Badge in the relevant MGA discipline.

Applications for this rating must be submitted by the applicants club committtee in writing to the MGA, detailing the individuals’ potential to be a Glider Instructor. The MGA training committee will evaluate all applications on a case-by-case basis and may decide whether to award the rating. In general all RC Glider instructors should be able to comply with:

Possibly the best quality any Instructor must have, is the desire to teach others how to fly
Instructors must be able to teach a beginner how to fly their model in a variety of conditions and ensure that safety is maintained at all times
Instructors must be able to take a beginner from assisted flights all the way through to preparing the Pupil pilot for the Solo test (the requirements of Solo & other achievement badges are available from the MGA)
Instructors will be required to teach a beginner all aspects of the safety code and explain the importance of frequency control
Instructors should have a good understanding of how to trim a model to fly “hands off” and be able to teach this to beginners
Instructors should be able to demonstrate how the various control actions operate and how they affect a model in flight
Instructors should be able to set up a model before its first flight and be able to recognize if the model is unsafe, warped or out of trim
Instructors must be able to teach a beginner how to test radio equipment and to carry out range checks

In addition, specific RC Glider disciplines also requires of the instructor:

For thermal RC Gliding, the Instructor must be able to teach a Pupil all aspects of bungy, hand tow & winch operation and how to set it out, particularly when they are used in conjunction with others lines at competitions
Thermal RC Gliding also requires the Instructor to possess a good understanding of how thermals work and be able to recognize when their model encounters one and be able to pass this knowledge on to others. The Instructor must also be able to recognize sink and how to react when flying through these areas
Electric assisted RC Gliding requires the Instructor to be capable of communicating all aspects of power management and safety to pupils

INSTRUCTOR EQUIVALANCE (new from 2011)

Promotion and development of RC Gliding within SA is a key focus area for the MGA, but it is recognised that not every club has access to RC Glider Instructors. To compensate for this, the following equivalence table is suggested as a minimum standard for onsite instruction/application purposes:

Notes

All Student pilots that have not yet achieved their Solo rating, should always be accompanied by at least a Bronze rated pilot in that discipline
The equivalent independent assessors above are based on MGA awarded proficiencies in the specific discpline only
Up to the Silver badge assessment level, either an Instructor or the identified equivalent independent assessors can sign off the application - for the Gold application, the MGA will only accept an suitable Instructor's assessment for the application

SPORTING EQUIVALENCE (new from 2011)

The MGA is very proud of our sporting achievements; SA has always been represented with honour internationally by our RC Glider Pilots. It is recognised that to compete at this highest level within a discipline inherently implies that a reasonable standard of proficiency has been achieved. On written application by the pilot/club the following rating equivalence will be considered by the MGA:

The MGA will treat each "competitive equivalence" application on a case-by-case basis.

CROSS SKILLS (new from 2011)

The MGA recognises that a certain inherent level of skill from other disciplines would enable an RC pilot to safely fly an RC Glider under similar circumstances and without the need for “assistance”. Note that this does NOT provide grounds for application for an MGA badge.

Due to the safety hazards of winch operation & hand tow, the MGA views that NO other RC discipline provides sufficient safety background or understanding, and a Solo rating remains the minimum proficiency level required to fly thermal RC gliders.

There are reasonable similarities between power fixed-wing and electric gliding, bar the potential differences between ROG/hand launch. The MGA therefore recognises that any SAMAA fixed wing proficiency (SOLO or greater) would be sufficient for piloting an electric RC glider without the need for assistance. As always, site access & local rules may require further qualification for use of the local field by the relevant or associated Club(s).

There are also reasonable simialrities between power fixed-wing and RC Slope Soaring; such that the MGA recognises SOLO and above SAMAA fixed-wing badges as being sufficient to participate in RC Slope Flying without assistance. Please be advised that due to ecological and site control factors, further qualification may be required for local Slope site use by the relevant or associated Slope Club(s).

Fly Safely

Notice of TOSS January 2011 Slope Aerobatics Competition

2010-11-23T10:46:00.002+02:00

2010 RC Soaring National Championships

2010-10-20T12:57:00.001+02:00

A fantastic three days of flying fun was had by all. The weather really was brilliant and we would be hard pressed to have had better conditions anytime this year! an untimely harddisk crash has robbed me of the individual class details and scoring spreadsheets, but attached is the normalised summary of scores across all classes in the Victor Ludorum table.

Fly safely

2010 HTL Log

2010-10-20T07:23:00.002+02:00

Click on the table below for the latest 2010 HTL Log.

For those web challenged folks out there.... :) Remember that your browser may open an image that has been zoomed to fit you browser window which makes it difficult to read. You may have to zoom in to make it legible. Alternatively right click on the table and select "Save target/link to...", save it on your hard drive and open with your favourite picture viewer. If you still have problems, email me and I'll send you a PDF version.

Unfortunately for all the other clubs out there, GEMS has already wrapped up the club title with a perfect 5000 score (actually at the previous event already)..... :) but the individual race is still on for top honours and with the past history of the final Triathlon event in Heidelberg we may still see some swings and roundabouts in the top couple of spots.

HTL# 6 - GEMS - Scores

2010-10-20T07:08:00.002+02:00

Finally got around to posting the scores. Work has a nasty habit of getting in the way when you least want it to.....

Hope you all enjoyed the relaxed format. Based on the feedback we got the format of the competition was well received, so we'll definitely be doing at least one (possibly more) of these next year.

Well done to Alan for taking first, albeit by one point :) and then also placing 13th flying a DLG!

The league standings will also be posted shortly. It is getting interesting in the top 10 with a couple of shuffles since the last update after the first throwaway has kicked in..... Watch this space!

Cheers,

Izak

2010 RC Soaring National Championships

2010-09-20T16:31:00.003+02:00

Hi,

The final bulletin has been posted in the Yahoo Groups MGASA Files section, under "2010 Nationals". The bulletin contains flight matrices for all 6 classes to be flown.

Please advise me directly of any issues.

Fly safely

GEMS field: Notice

2010-09-20T10:38:00.001+02:00

Members of GEMS (Greenfields Eastern Model Soarers) were informed on Saturday of a Falcon breeding / training site located next to the field. To prevent startling these highly strung birds, and with immediate affect, no powered flying (gas, IC, electric or electric assist gliders) is permitted from or around the field. This implies that only thermal RC soaring is permitted.

We have informed the landowner that we will notify all prospective pilots of this restriction & sincerely request that you comply with this. We will shortly consider erecting a signboard at the field informing members & visitors of this specific requirement.

Should you have any queries regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact Paul Carnall or myself.

Regards,
Lionel Brink
Greenfield Eastern Model Soarers

HTL 2010 Leader Board

2010-09-13T08:10:00.013+02:00

Being curious as to what the current standings were after taking part in the last HTL at SGC I offered to the organizers to collate the scores. Hopefully this will spark some more interest for the remaining two events this year; it's not too late yet. Some notes on the scores:

Only "Open Class" scores are shown. Unfortunately the score sheets I have do not indicate classes flown, so every one is assumed to have entered in "Open Class". If anyone would like to have their scores re-allocated to the proper classes, let me know and we'll see what we can do :o)
No throwaways have been taken into account yet. Two throwaways will be allowed in the end so for those that have missed one or possibly even two events there is still an outside chance of getting into a top slot....

2010 F3J WC

2010-08-11T09:51:00.005+02:00

The 2010 National F3J teams (juniors and seniors) returned to South Africa on Monday morning, 9 August 2010.

After enduring appalling conditions and "interesting" organisation, the seniors placed 12th out of the 29 nations participating & the juniors 4th. The latter were actually slated for 3rd right until 10 minutes before prize giving, when an error by the scorers was rightfully acknowledged & Slovakia was moved up to 3rd place.

A warm welcome awaited there return at ORT, with senior executives from SASCOC, SAMAA, Transformation & Development, the MGA, family & friends all cheering their arrival. Well wishes have been received from Gideon Sam (SASCOC), Kev Storie (GM AeCSA, etc, etc - suggesting that we have achieved a tremendous amount of awareness amongst the very top echelons of sport & aerosport in South Africa.

I am immensely proud of each person in these awesome teams!

Fly Safely

2010 RC Soaring National Championships

2010-08-06T08:08:00.003+02:00

Hi,

Due to preparations for the 2010 F3J WC, the organisers of the 2010 RC Soaring National Championships have agreed to extend the deadline for entry (& fees) from 31 July to 31 August 2010.

The revised bulletin and included entry form has been uploaded to the MGASA site.

Fly Safely

TOSS PSS Report

2010-06-22T15:57:00.005+02:00

Hi,

TOSS held a PSS event at the Hout Bay slope from 19 - 20 June 2010. The standard of models was incredible & a large number of entries was present.

The report together with pictures & results are available on the TOSS BLOG.

Fly Safely

3rd 2M Challenge for 2010 at BERG, 13 June 2010 - REPORT

2010-06-14T09:46:00.002+02:00

Although it’s winter in “sunny” South Africa, the morning was not as cold as I expected... I met Piet just after 07h00 at the field and soon the other pilots started to arrive. Nigel was the only one to arrive after 09h00, but I guess it’s not too bad for someone with baby twins... The pilots’ briefing was short and sweet and the games begun!

A coldish North Eastern wind set testing conditions for round 1, but round 1 turned out to be the easiest for the day, for me anyway... The wind direction maintained consistent throughout the day, but the wind speed increased at a steady pace. While staring up at your glider with the wintry wind in your face, one could easily have imagined yourself to be standing on a slope.

Thermals blew through so swiftly that I didn’t even know they were ever there. More than one pilot showed bravery in following a bubble of warm air, downwind and more than one pilot paid the price of “the walk of shame”... It’s always a little funny, until you have to walk 200m or more to pick up your own model... The tricky conditions challenged everyone and the Greenhorns and Juniors were very impressive with the way they performed in the wind.

Martie served delicious boerewors-buns after round 5 and all pilots then decided to call it a day because of the wind.

Thank you very much for everyone that came out to the field today and added to the spirit of the 2M Challenge! Below are the scores after 5 rounds, with no throw-away round.

Congratulations to Alan, Mark and Michael who took first places in the 3 classes!!

2010 HTL #4 - WHRF Report

2010-06-07T16:51:00.005+02:00

On Sunday, 6 June 2010, the WHRF club, just west of Centurion (Pretoria) hosted the 4th installment of the 2010 Thermal League competition. Initial weather reports suggested mild conditions, with the wind gathering strength from midday. I arrived at the field & found the majority of pilots already there! I also found to my joy that the weather prediction was only partly correct: the mild conditions predicted were an understatement for "superb"!

Fortunately local knowledge of the field combined with the weather report allowed the launch line to be extended to accommodate all 7 teams, but at less than 15 metre spacing, we agreed not to fly 10 minutes working times with mass starts & landings: opting instead for 12 minutes working time. To ensure a quick turnaround, preparation time was reduced to 3 minutes. Also, although pilots briefing was scheduled for 08h30, my late start saw this end at 09h05 & first slot started promptly at 09h20 (and only 20 minutes later than advertised).

The overall event ran like clockwork: all pilots knowing what needed to be done in an extremely good humoured way & the natural HTL process of friends, fun & competition allowed for smooth transition between slots/rounds. I am not aware of any incidents involving competing pilots, although John Monk did seem to loose reception on his OD 2M craft during his first slot, but managed to recover it shortly after the launch & some hair-raising antics. Alan Drew also arrived at the field, but his Shongololo's left flap was not working & he elected not to compete. During a practice flight he performed a down-wind landing & snapped the v-tail.

Overall the conditions were superb, comments of "this is why we stay in SA" were heard! Now, there were thermals all around, these had to be worked fairly well & for some time before being released, and I was aware of at least two or three slots where the sink was evil. I reckon the conditions would have been close to European perfect if only it had been sleeting/raining.

After four rounds, we slacked off for a 30 min lunch (thanks to Martie), but the horrid CD soon had everyone back onto their feet before the afternoon sun & siesta could take firm hold (for some, it was too late after the 30 minutes - I promised not to mention Izak's name regarding this). The scores were captured throughout the day after each round scores; with the result that the rankings were available approx. 15 minutes after the last flight. I allowed some gremlins into the spreadsheet's scoring table, & it was particularly the new F3J 20cm rules of scores awarded up to the mark that resulted in a small change from the provisional results announced at the field compared to the audited values - the existing sheet cutting off on the mark!

Anyway, The 2010 SA Snr F3J National Team were awesome. Chris & Craig were joint first with 1000 point (max) throwaways. Eish! At only 2 points behind (due to that evil sink after lunch), Paul with 4,998 was 2nd. The SA Juniors, Johan Bruwer replacing Ryan (who elected to enjoy the warm KZN weather for the weekend) were second, showing what these youngsters are made from. Our sincerest wishes go out to these for the WC in France. later this year.

The round by round results can be enlarged by clicking on the image below:

Thanks to everyone that made the day so enjoyable & a special mention to:

The WHRF club members & its committee for permitting us exclusive use of their field for the day
Martie for the catering
Volney for traveling from New Zealand to compete (although I suspect he had other motives)
Gert, for risking life & limb against unroadworthy taxis / speedcops from Secunda
All the moms that brought along their new babies to expose them to the sweet joy of HTL
Everyone who took part, helped, had fun!
The weather bureau

The next event will be published through the usual channels.

Fly safely

MGA Founding Statement

2010-05-28T09:24:00.004+02:00

During 2003 the MGA was formally instantiated, as the first SIG under SAMAA, to represent the special interests of RC Soaring and provide a basis for promoting the various disciplines to RC pilots. The Founding Statement forms the basis and outlines the objectives of the MGA.

The Statement has been reproduced here for record and refernce purposes.

Fly Safely

MGA badges

2010-05-19T17:06:00.003+02:00

Hi,

Please be advised that the contact details on the badge application forms is no longer valid. Please email your forms to Juanita or Evan until such time that we have changed these forms & this posting will be updated to reflect the new details.

Fly safely

CIAM Plenary 16-17 April 2010

2010-05-10T08:01:00.003+02:00

This report may not be 100% correct and does not cover all items as the agenda which spanned some 93 pages and which needed to be dealt with in 1 ½ days. We need to wait for the official minutes for exact details. However I wish to highlight certain items which I think are of special interest.

Once again this was a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow modellers from around the world, renew and extend contacts. It confirmed that South Africa has a special place in this community with many well wishers and greetings to friends in SA. The voting procedure was simplified with only yes and no votes counting and the option to record a non-vote.

F3x: I was able to attend the RC soaring sub- committee meeting chaired by Tomas Bartovsky in a rather dry but correct manner. The meeting was well attended and the voting on most items was in line with our preferences and a copy of these minutes is attached.

F2 Control line: Here voting in the sub-committee was generally in line with our preferences.

F4 Scale: Many items were withdrawn by the sub-committee for further study, the rest being in line with our preferences.

F3 Aerobatics: Not being a rulemaking year there was no sub-committee meeting. Of special interest was that the Bureau ruled that variable incidence propulsion devices were not in the spirit of the rules and therefore not allowed at present. This raises the issue of other devices such as contra-rotating and variable pitch propellers, and other systems that are not control surfaces but could influence the behaviour of the model. A similar ruling has been made in respect of separate tail rotor motors in helicopters.

F3 Pylon: The big issue here is noise reduction, both engine and propeller and is considered work in progress.

We were able to present the SA bid for the 2012 F3J World championships and this was successful against counter bids from Croatia and Slovakia. The real work starts now and the organisers have a mammoth task ahead.

Also of interest is that disciplines that do not already have a junior world championship category can now include a 4th member in their teams, the 4th being a junior who is less than or turns 18 in the calendar year of the championship. It is assumed this also depends on if the organisers make provision for such juniors.

Another issue that will receive attention in the coming year is the proliferation of World Championships, the financial burden this places on the NAC`s, and whether some poorly supported categories should be retired.

Talks are ongoing for the IJMC to integrate with the CIAM, and achieve FAI world championship status, etc.

Other developments are granting provisional status to F3N Helicopters and introduction of F3F slope soaring class. The proposed F3R Q500 pylon racing class was referred back to the sub-committee.

An enjoyable but intense experience where our participation is not only appreciated but considered essential.

John Brink

SAMAA-CIAM delegate

Call for RES representative

2010-05-07T12:31:00.003+02:00

The MGA is urgently looking for somone to assume the role of RES representative on the committee, and who will be crucial to ensure that the RES class is included in the upcoming 2010 RC Soaring National Championships, 24 - 26 September.

Willing applicants to please send their "CV" to myself or via the MGASA forum.

Thank you in advance for your assistance

Preliminary notice of 2010 RC Soaring National Championships

2010-05-05T10:57:00.007+02:00

On behalf of the MMS organising committee, please be advised that the 2010 RC Soaring National Championships will be hosted from 24 September until 26 September 2010, at the BERG field near Krugersdorp.

The committee intend to provide opportunity for all RC Soaring (thermal) disciplines during this competition; including F3B, F5J, F3K, Open, RES and 2M but this will depend on the interest shown based on preliminary entries.

The first advisory bulletin & preliminary entry form will be provided before the end of May 2010 through this website, the MGASA forum & the SAMAA Newsletter (the latter as per publication dates).

Notice that this competition forms part of the F3B qualifiers, and as such the FAI Sporting Codes as at 1 January 2010 is applicable.

Fly safely

2012 F3J World Championships: South Africa

2010-04-20T07:42:00.004+02:00

South Africa is one of the top thermal flying destinations worldwide. Following some months of preparation, the proposal for South Africa to host the 2012 F3J World Championships was accepted at the CIAM meeting during April 2010.

The MGA would like to congratulate Michelle Goodrum for her sterling effort with this bid, and requests all interested RC pilots who may be keen to attend, assist or participate to keep an eye our for notices regarding this matter in the future.

The winning bid can be viewed here - be advised that it is a 4Mb download.

Fly Safely,
Lionel

2010-04-12T17:36:00.004+02:00

Hi Guys

Here are the summarised results from Sunday HTL 3.

Conditions were very challenging with crosswind launches and strong wind most of the day.
Morning mist delayed the start but we still managed to fly 6 rounds by 14h30.

Not a single pilot managed to max all 6 rounds, which is an indication to how varied the conditions were. Congrats to Craig on the win and nice to see Dion at the top of the leader board.

Tshepo is making good progress with a 7th placing and no damaged equipment.

Next event is scheduled for 6th June and May is postals month.

Regards

Herman

2010 National Postals - Q1 results

2010-03-17T08:50:00.003+02:00

Gert Niewoudt has assimilated the 2010 Q1 scores across the country, with the resulst shown below. Click on the image for a better view of each table.

Open

Club
2M
2m Unlimited

Fly safely

HTL 2 SGC MARCH 2010

2010-03-16T05:59:00.006+02:00

Hi All

Here are the summarised results from Sundays HTL
Many thanks to Johan Bruwer and his team for organising and Martie for catering.

CLICK ON THE TABLE TO GET A BETTER VIEW

No flying at Shongweni Slope - please

2010-03-01T14:59:00.002+02:00

Hi Everyone

I have been requested to advised that with immediate affect, no RC flying is permitted at Shongweni Slope (aka Tower Hill and Hooker's Hill) due to the proximity of Shongweni Model Flyers Club and Summerveld Thermal (DMAC). You can get updated information about this & other slopes in KZN at DMAC's Springfield BLOG.

Should you wish to use 2.4 Ghz, please notify SMFC & DMAC clubs in advance, as 2 x clubs of grounded pilots may singularly fail to see the humour in your 2.4 Ghz security!

Regards,

Lionel Brink
Chairman: Model Glider Assocation

GEMS F3J OPEN RESULTS

2010-02-21T19:54:00.003+02:00

Result after 2 x 15 minute fly off rounds

Results from 5 x 10 minute rounds with 1 x throwout.

2010 TOSS Aerobatics report

2010-02-17T11:24:00.012+02:00

The Two Oceans Slope Soarers Aerobatics Event scheduled to run on the 30th and 31st of January 2010 for the second time in the annual event. The weather was watched with anticipation the whole week prior to the event, and true to this skinny piece of ocean surrounded land, called the Cape Peninsula, the weather forecasts changed on a daily basis and kept shifting in a somewhat maddening fashion-particularly if you are trying to organise slope soaring competition on that very skinny piece of land.

In the end nature would devise the outcome and the committee organised all that could be organised, packed all that could be packed, generated a mountain of score sheets to be utilised by each of the 4 judges. Based on last years event we hoped nature would lend us at least sufficient time to complete two rounds, but possibly three rounds, across the 16 competitors who had entered the competition.

On Friday the 29th a good few of the competitors escaped from their respective businesses, had a Traditional gut filling breakfast at Dixies, and gathered at Red Hill for a practice session in what were pretty strong conditions for that slope. Dave Greer flew in from Durban followed by Russell Conradt and Michel Leusch later in the day, and the stage was set for some fun in the sun. After about 2 hours at Red Hill and one fairly wrecked competition plane later, the victim of some insane rotor in the landing area, the Red Hill slope eventually blew out at about 50 odd kilometers an hour, and the crew moved off to Smitswinkel Bay for the rest of the day, and even more practice.

Smitswinkel Bay is unique in being positioned right at the end of the Peninsula, a stones through from Cape Point, and in the lee of the mountainous point itself. This allows for the prevailing South Easter to sheer by and allows for great slope soaring when all other spots are being reduced to a twig by the incessant howl of the South Easter. At the end of the day the now legendary meet and greet took place at Dixies, and in a somewhat more restrained manner than last year due to lessons learnt on the nature of hangovers and competition.

ROUND 1: Saturday 30th January 2010

Saturday dawned windy as predicted and a quick flight at Red Hill confirmed that the ever strengthening South Easter was once again going to wreak havoc in the landing area, and thoughts of damaging or destroying half the fleet of gliders in the first round led to the decision to move the competition to Smitswinkel Bay. On Arrival all the necessary elements of the competition site were rolled out, the ADT caravan which served as the food stall for the weekend was powered up to serve awesome meals to starving competitors, under the guidance of Annelise van Niekerk, while her husband Tinus van Niekerk, TOSS Vice Chairman flew his rounds through the day.

Great teamwork that, and another pointer to the RC sport of slope soaring being a family affair. The four judges for the competition, who had selflessly offered their time for the two days of the competition, Head Judge Andrew Anderson, Johnny Calefato, Kurt Mackrill and his father Claude Mackrill, gathered and issued a pilots briefing on what they wanted to see on the day. Which areas worked as the centre lines and outside lines of the flying box, how to present the manoeuvres and how to call your manoeuvres throughout your scheduled routine. With Jeff Steffen TOSS Chairman and contest director finalising the briefing, the competition kicked off in glassy smooth lift. With Damian Hinrichsen and Kevin Farr the first to step up to the line and take on the challenge.

The whole event has been refined to a selection of 4 mandatory manoeuvres and then the selection of six optional manoeuvres as chosen by each pilot based on his ability and willingness to risk the K-Factored manoeuvres in what could be changing conditions. This led to some interesting choices of manoeuvres based on trying to find a balance between risk and reward, while trying to ensure a high scoring routine and not being left in the dust of those who chose high K-Factors and completed those well.

The scheduled slots of pilots was flown in tandem to ensure speed and efficiency and the highlight of the day was undoubtedly the round flown by Steve Meusel, rated later in the day as one of the best rounds flown in any year of the competition so far. Other highlights included a really good round flown by Michel Leusch and an equally impressive round from last years winner Marc Wolfe. As the first rounds completed and a 15 minute break was taken for the awesome foods on offer, the wind began an unfortunate shift towards the south, the demon wind in our part of the world that renders virtually every slope unflyable, and the lift became unpredictable. After attempting to fly the first 2 scheduled slots of the second round, the lift went to the dogs and gliders fell out of the sky with indecent regularity.

This led to one of the longest fetches in history, as Marc Beckenstrater’s glider lost all lift and disappeared down the slope. After about an hour of searching, Mac found his glider 50 meters from the water, a good 100 meters vertically down the cliff, and if you look in the photos you will see just how far away that is. The poor lad was about as wrecked as his glider by the time he made it back to the top. Another notable casualty was Pieter Grove who in a brilliant attempt at keeping view of a sinking glider, rushed to jump onto one of the rocks on the side of the road, slipped and did a very neat head over heals tumble into the bush, emerging later with a smile on his dial, but after finally collecting his undamaged glider from the depths of the slope. To add insult to injury the judges were unwilling to add bonus points for the notable attempt, or even the form he managed to hold during the entire exercise.

With these two particular incidents showing the vagaries of the declining lift, the second round by agreement with the judges was cancelled and called off for the day. That night an awesome dinner was had by one and all at the Dixies watering hole and due diligence was taken to keep ones head clear for the Sunday rounds.

ROUND 2: Sunday 31st January 2010

Waking to a beautiful Cape morning the glee full pilots took to the slope in a Le man’s style race and found a light but super clean South Wester blowing up the Kommetjie cliff face. With haste the pilots were gathered, the judges seated, and the round kicked off as soon as possible to attempt to ensure a speedy turn around for the completion of at least two rounds during the day. Pilots are permitted to change their sequence to suit the conditions between rounds to allow for adaptation of you flight schedule to match the conditions at the time. With the light to medium conditions on hand the lighter, smaller gliders proved to be invaluable, and with a lot of sharing of specific planes such as the Aldij and the Mini Dragon, pilots were able to complete their schedules with a fair amount of speed and efficiency. As the rounds rolled off, the heat in the bowl began to once more kill the lift, and the later participants had to really work to gain height for the chosen manoeuvres. In the end Steve Meusel grabbed the moment and flew another great round, Dave Greer flew a beauty and Malcolm Riley flew his Aldij as if on rails, and produced possibly the best round of the day. With the second round complete, lunch was ordered for the hard working judges, and the ever waning lift taken into account.

After waiting it out for an hour or so, taking in the awesome Cape scenery, and watching the wind switch to the West, the Contest Director finally called off the third round and called the competition complete.

AFTERMATH:

All the contestants, judges and supporters then headed for the Kommetjie watering hole called Fishermans. The prize giving took place and Steve Meusel duly took the honours with first position, keeping the floating trophy in the Cape, against seriously tough competition. Michel Leusch flew his way into second, Marc Wolfe into third and Damian Hinrichsen into fourth spot. The Floating trophy was handed to Steve, the 2nd, and 3rd place trophies to the respective winners and each and every participant congratulated on a contest well flown.

The list of sponsors and prizes were phenomenal, as long as your arm, with each participant taking away something of value right though to the last position. For this we can only say a huge thank you for all the generous support and look forward to seeing the same great crowd of delightful judges, participants and sponsors for next years event.

As much as you plan, scheme, and study the weather patterns, you can only so often expect an event to be a success two years in a row!, Specifically when bound by nature, but that’s what once more was handed to the grateful pilots and participants in the Two Oceans Slope Soarers Aerobatics Event 2010.

Roll on 2011!

Winners (one and all):

1. Steve Meusel 100.000%

2. Michel Leusch 95.465%

3. Marc Wolfe 93.700%

4. Damian Hinrichsen 86.280%

5. Dave Greer 75.710%

6. Kevin Farr 72.875%

7. Malcolm Riley 72.195%

8. Russell Conradt 68.840%

9. Theunis van Niekerk 62.905%

10. Gus Thomas 60.725%

11. Pieter Grove 56.180%

12. Bobby Purnell 55.845%

13 Jeff Steffen 12.980%

14. Marc Beckenstrater 11.425%

15. Tim Watkins-Baker 4.725%

And will grateful thanks to all our sponsors AMT Composites, ADT for the Caravan, Micton Hobbies, Clowns Hobbies, Hobby Warehouse, Fragram Tools, Russel Conradt, and all the Two Oceans Slope Soarers members who dipped into their own pockets to add more and more prizes, give aways and welcoming gifts for the event.

We cherish you one and all.

Kevin Farr

2010 2M Challenge - February at SGC

2010-02-15T09:23:00.009+02:00

The first round of the 2010 2M Challenge kicked off with 22 pilots! Two Juniors, four Greenhorns and sixteen X-League pilots pitched up to take part in what turned out to be an awesome day for flying, filled with lots of action.

I arrived at the Silverton field just before 07h00. There was a slight breeze coming from the East, but I consulted Johan and he confirmed that the wind will be coming from the North for most of the day… and he was spot on. Thank you Johan for all your help with the sound system, timing clips, field setup etc! The conditions were perfect and the sound of the fish eagle completed the setting.Martie served bacon, eggs and buns on time, but the pilots briefing and first round still started a little later than planned.Nigel Wilkinson and John Monk failed to convince anybody that they should re-enter the challenge as Greenhorns, so the two “grey horns” flew in the X-League. Once we started with the first round, everything went as planned with Axel managing the sound system and also entering the scores after each round. Thank you very much Axel, also for helping to pack up afterwards!!Each slot was filled with thermals with a few spots of sink here and there. The 8 minute working time for a 6 minute flight added to the relaxed and informal atmosphere and gave everybody a chance to launch at their own time.Some of the gliders that I saw were Fling, Spirit, Gentle Lady, Sagitta, own design and a lot of Tsotsis. Craig flew a V-tail Tsotsi and calls it a "Tsetsi"-fly (we think…).

The day didn’t go without a few incidents… Zak had an excellent, 6 minute flight in his first round, but damaged his plane on the landing and had to pull out for the remainder of the day. Tony Phillips had an interesting first landing with his 2m Fling, but Johan came to the rescue with a plane saving catch. The CG was way back, but after some weight to the nose, each flight and landing got better and better. Justin had some difficulties with the launching of his plane, which eventually had a “hard landing” on one of the winch attempts. Gordon’s Fling was on finals, coming in to land, when it disappeared behind the dam wall. I believe that he found it and I know that he will be back for the next challenge! In one of the rounds Stewart’s and Jochen’s gliders got tangled in the air not very high up. After a few seconds they unhooked again and made safe landings without any major damage.

It was amazing to see how the Greenhorns and Juniors improved round on round and it was the perfect day to get any newbie hooked on gliding! This day proved that the 2M class remains the cheapest and easiest way to enter competitive flying in a fun way!The X-league results were very close with only 1 point between 1^st and 2^nd place.

Thank you very much for everyone that came! It was great to see you all there and I am sure that we will be more at the next challenge. The next challenge is on the 28^th of March at ETB.
Congratulations to the winners!! Below are all the results and some more photos. Make sure to be at the next one!!!

Rudi King,

2M National Co-ordinator

Notice of PSS event - 19 & 20 June 2010

2010-02-10T11:33:00.001+02:00

National RC Soaring Postals

2010-02-08T13:59:00.003+02:00

Hi,

The MGA has received numerus requests to relax the "first two weekend" restriction of the Postals due to inclement weather & calendar clashes.

To encourage participation, the MGA has agreed to permit Postals particip[ation on any day of February 2010, with scores to be submitted to Gert Niewoudt on or before 5 March 2010 for inclusion.

Should numbers prove statistically sufficient, the MGA will consider opening up the Postals for the remainder of the year wrt "any day of the month" participation & scoring.

Fly Safely

2010-02-05T13:55:00.001+02:00

There is a very nice live wind and weather forcaster for Volksrust which includes a 7 days forecast

The web site is extremely usefull for wind and weather for many places all over SA. Thank Izak for finding the site in the first place & BERG for posting the link.

Fly safely

F3J World Championship Raffle

2010-02-02T14:47:00.006+02:00

Instead of bemoaning the Eskom price fixing conspiracy, the intolerable traffic congestion/road works, & our leader's rather dubious achievements in his private life, here is an offer that I am confident you can warm to.

The 2010 South African F3J National Teams need your support participate in the World Championships to be hosted in France, from July 2010. To accomplish this we are offering a fully installed Kwikot 200lt Solar Water Heating System valued at R15,000 in a raffle competition!

Tickets are only R100 each & you can purchase as many as you wish by depositing your monies into the MGA account with the reference "F3J" and you name. Raffle lists will be available at MGA sanctioned thermal events until July 2010.

Please email proof of payment and you contact details to rsaf3j2010@gmail.com. Please contact a MGA committee member for banking details. The raffle is open to everyone with the practical limitation of local (South African) installation only (but we would gladly accept your USD, Euro, DM, etc. donations).

The independent draw will take place on 16 July 2010 at the SAMAA offices. Winners will be informed by telephone.

Be green & support the team!

TOSS 2010 competition

2010-02-01T08:16:00.005+02:00

Following a fabulous competition in 2009, it appears that those TOSS chaps have done it again with another brilliant event. From Kevin Farr:

"... hot of the press and following and awesome event, the 2010 TOSS Aerobatics Event are as such

1. Steve Meusel
2. Michel Leusch
3. Marc Wolf

Seems all the practice the TOSS lads did, paid off finally.
Steve is the founding member of TOSS, and flew an awesome round on Sunday - one of the best yet seen
So the trophy gets to stay in Cape Town, and in fact in the Club House! ..."

We will publish the report & pictures as soon as we receive these.

Fly safely

Notice of 2011 F3K Team qualification process

2010-01-29T08:32:00.003+02:00

The 2011 F3K World Championships will be hosted in Arboga, Sweden - the FAI to advise the competition dates.

The selection is open to all SAMAA members in good standing and who have at least an MGA Solo or higher Thermal rating.

The only compulsory event wil be MGA RC Soaring National Championships - the results from the best 2 of the 3 other events to be used for ranking purposes. The top 3 ranked pilots will automatically qualify for the team, the 4th rankled pilto as 1st non-travelling reserve, etc. The pilots will nominate their Team Manager & the MGA will approve the nomination based on the existing National RC Soaring Team Selection process.

Prior to ratification by the MGA, each team member will be required to agree the SAMAA Team Selection - Individual Undertaking (SAMAA MOP PO.8). Note that during qualification and Nationals that the decision of the CD is final.

The venues for these events will be announced closer to the time:

Qualifier 1: 21 & 22 March 2010
Qualifier 2: 10 & 11 July 2010
Qualifier 3: 6 & 7 November 2010
Nationals: 24 - 26 September 2010

Each event will be held over to the spare day in case of bad weather

For more information please contact Stephane du Ponsel on 074 115 2891, or email as listed above

Fly Safely

Notice of 2011 F3B Team - qualification & trials

2010-01-29T08:17:00.003+02:00

The 2011 National F3B Team selection process is open to all SAMAA members in good standing, and who have a MGA Solo or higher Thermal rating.

The 2011 F3B team selection follow the previous years process agreed in 2008. Three events will be scheduled (refer to 2010 MGA calendar), where the first 2 events are considered qualification rounds. The individual pilots achieving the top 10 results wil be invited to participate in the final Team Trials event.

The results of the pilots best qualification event & team trials result will be used to determine an overall ranking. The top 3 ranked pilots will automatically qualify for the team. The top 4th pilot as 1st non-travelling reserve, etc.

All pilots intending to participate in the team trials are required to agree to the SAMAA Team Selection undertaking (SAMAA MOP PO.8 Team Selections - Individual Undertaking) prior to the team trials (to be collected by the Team Trials CD). During qualification & team trial events, the decision of the CD is final.

Good luck & safe flying

Ode to Alan

2010-01-27T11:38:00.003+02:00

Once upon this earth we are bound,
By gravity far and wide and loud,

We make the mistake of being above,
And try insist on being the birds above.

To this we throw our item of love and hope,
And pray above it will stay afloat,

With luck and care and careful guiding,
It drifts and bobs without a hiding,

Then gravity says all is not wright,
And takes a hold with glee and smite,

We aim, we glide, we fly, we cringe,
To finish at last and not to whinge,

To at last land with dignity and style,
and miss the bloody spot by a mile.

(Simon Said)

2010 MGA calendar

2010-01-26T18:38:00.003+02:00

Posted on behalf of Evan. Click on the image to get a bigger view.

ETB League result

2010-01-25T19:33:00.004+02:00

Hi All here are the results from Sunday. Click on the table to get an enlarged view

2010 MGA Classes

2010-01-20T14:36:00.004+02:00

Hi,

Some discussion has arisen with the definitions of the different classes within MGA sanctioned competitive events. I trust this will serve to address these queries.

Model Class

2M - a RC glider for which the "projected" wing span does not exceed 2,000 mm. Unlimited control surfaces are permitted
2MRE - a subclass of the 2m glider, with the same wingspan limitation & also limiting control surfaces to Rudder & Elevator only
RES - an RC glider which only uses Rudder, Elevator & Spoiler control surfaces. There is no limitation on wingspan
Open - any FAI class RC glider model

Pilot class

As per the FAI / SAMAA definition, a Junior would be any individual pilot who is not older than 18 years on 1 January of that calendar year. This status is maintained until 31 December of that year
The MGA have elected to introduce the "rookie" class for 2010. This is to encourage people who by 1 January of the calendar year had never flown in any competitive RC Gliding/Soaring event before, and forms a sub-class to the events sanctioned by the MGA. Notice that the status is maintained for 1 calendar year from 1 January until 31 December as per Junior.
A senior pilot is also as per the FAI / SAMAA definition and refers to all pilots who are not within the other class(es).

Launch class

Winch launch is considered to be roughly similar to the FAI F3B class, where an electrical motor is used to pull a length of monofilament chord, accelerating the model RC glider into the sky. Typically winch launches require the launch line not to exceed 200 metres from the turnaround to the release point (parachute/ring/loop) although some events will specify variations on this.
A towed launch requires two towmen (two for safety reasons) instead of a winch, who pull the model RC glider into the sky. This is roughly based on the F3J class, where the line length does not exceed a total of 150 metres. Local events may specify variations to the line length.
A bungy launch uses a combination of a line & an elastic chord, which stretched should not exceed a total of 200m or as per local competition rules.
Electric launch (this is different to the Electric Extreme class were motor restarts are permitted) uses an electric motor to power the model to a height of approx 200 metres whereafter the motor is automatically cut by an onboard electronic circuit & may not be restarted
Hand launch/Discuss launch is used where the glider is thrown into the sky by an individual (usually the pilot themselves)

Should you have any further suggestions or feel that any of the above explanations are not sufficiently clear, please do not hesitate to contact the MGA or discuss this via the MGASA forum.

Fly safely

Postal Rules 2010

2010-01-19T07:34:00.004+02:00

The MGA Postal Thermal Contest
Revised for 2010

Introduction
The Postals competition is a typical “thermal duration” competition, which includes a restricted launch, defined flight task and scored landing. The Postals competition attempts to place everyone on an equal footing, but permits “home ground” advantage. This competition is considered the ideal development and promotion tool of the Model Gliding Association (MGA) Special Interest Group.

To further encourage participation, 2010 sees the addition of electrical powered glider models and encouragement for clubs to bring new pilots into the sport with low cost 2M models.

Climbing the Postals ladder is part of the fun, sliding down the ladder is a definite indication that you aren't doing enough flying.

Dates
1. The contest consists of four rounds, flown on the first two weekends in February, May, August and November, the four scores giving the total for the year.
2. Each pilot may make only two attempts to record a score during each round. These may be on any day of the two weekends but, once started (stopwatch running on first flight), the pilot is committed to completing that day’s score for one of the two submissions. Note that only one attempt per day is permitted.
3. The highest score of the two attempts will be entered as the score for that round.
4. The club score does not have to be recorded by pilots on the same day but must be scored from the same venue.

Flights
5. Each entrant is entitled to FIVE (5) flights, which must be flown consecutively (allowing for legitimate reflights, or test flights which have to be nominated before launch)
6. All FIVE (5) flights, count towards the pilot’s round score.
7. Timing must always be performed by someone other than the pilot.

Launch
8. Launching may be by one of the following mechanisms:
· electric winch (max available line from turnabout to ’chute 200 m)
· bungee (200 m maximum stretched length)
· 200 m hand tow, and two towmen
· electric powered (the motor may only be used once for launching in a window of 30 seconds maximum and limited to a launch height of 200m - an onboard altitude limiting device should be used to achieve this)

Relaunch
9. A relaunch may be called for if the line breaks, or the model pop s off and “re-launch” is called before the parachute touches the ground . The flyer must then land and relaunch as quickly as possible – if the parachute touches the ground before relaunch is called, then the flight will count.
10. A relaunch may be called by the pilot if the electric motor malfunctioned during the 30 seconds launch window.
11. Once relaunch is called by the pilot, the flight is immediately cancelled even if the model continues to be flown.
12. If any part comes off a model during launch or in flight , then the pilot may request a relaunch.

Models
13. There is no restriction on the number of models an entrant may use in the course of the contest.
14. The models will be classified into one of the following classes:
2M = Model with a projected wingspan not exceeding 2000 mm and any number of controls
RES = Model with any wingspan but controls are limited to Rudder, Elevator and Spoiler
Open = Any other Model

Scoring
15. Scoring is as for Task A in the (old) F3B rules, i.e. to a precise six minutes and a landing bonus of 100 if the model’s nose is within one metre of the spot
16. The flight time is taken from the moment the model leaves the line/electric motor cuts out, until it comes to rest
17. The landing bonus is measured after the model has come to rest and is reduced from 100 by 5 points for each metre beyond the spot (e.g. 95 points if the distance to the spot is from 1 metre to before 2 metres) down to 30 points or within 15 metres.
18. The maximum score per flight is 460 points and 2300 points per round.
19. A single table of results will be produced quarterly and will include details of the model class and pilot class.
20. The club score shall consist of the top four individual scores posted for the club per round. Each pilot can only enter one score towards the club total per round.
21. In the Unlimited 2M Club sub-event, each club has the opportunity to register any number of 2M scores for the quarter (but these must be from unique pilots) and will be kept separate from the individual & club competition. The MGA will sponsor a 2M glider (Tsotsi) as prize to the winning club as part of its “Development” initiative at the MGA’s end of the year function.

Submission of Scores
22. Scores are to be sent to the Postals Representative & must include:
· Club
· Pilot name
· Pilot Class (Senior, Junior, Rooky)
· Model Class (2m, RES, Open, Electric)
· Total score (only, no round by round times, etc.)
· Model
· Span
· Launch method
23. Please submit all scores to the Postal Coordinator, Gert Nieuwoudt — by e-mail to gnieuwoudt@telkomsa.net

24. These scores should be in the first Wednesday following the second Postals weekend of the designated month, or you will receive a zero score!
25. Scores not specifying pilot class will assume “Senior”, and similarly scores not specifying model class will assume “Open” – there will be no retrospective changes permitted
26. Scores not specifying the model, wingspan & launch method will be withheld from the table

2M Challenge for 2010

2010-01-13T12:17:00.004+02:00

Dates
The 2010 2M Challenge will consist of four rounds, on the following dates:
· Sunday 7 February (SGC)
· Sunday 28 March (ETB – TBC)
· Sunday 2 May (BERG – TBC)
· Sunday 15 August (SGC)

Basic Format/Structure
2m RE Glider
200 m Winch Launch
3 Pilots per team
8 Minutes working time
6 Minutes flight time
Unlimited number of launches within working time (last flight counts)
NOTE! If you intend using your scores for the National Postals as well, you will have to abide by those relaunch rules!

Categories
There will be three categories namely Junior, Rookie and Senior. Refer to the MGA definition of pilot class for explanation.

Models
The aircraft must be a RC glider as defined by the MGA — no on-board propulsion of any type will be allowed.
There will be only one model class namely “2 Meter, Rudder Elevator Only” (G2K).
The only two control functions allowed are rudder and elevator (V-tails will be allowed).
The maximum allowable span is 2 metres projected span. This implies that the glider wing should be able to fit lengthwise through a ring exactly 2 metres wide.
There is no restriction on the construction techniques used in manufacturing any parts of the aircraft.
There is no requirement for the pilot to be the builder of the model although this is encouraged.
The model may be controlled with any make or model of radio providing it is able to operate simultaneously with other radios as per the latest SAMAA specifications.
Transmission must be on one of the SAMAA approved frequencies.
There is no restriction on the number of models an entrant may use in the course of the contest, a different one for each flight if he/she so wishes.

Launching and Re-Launching
Launching will be done through the use of an electric winch with a maximum distance of 200m between the winch and the turnabout.
There is no restriction on the number of re-launches, but the last flight counts.
NOTE! If you intend using your scores for the National Postals as well, you will have to abide by those relaunch rules!

Flights
2 Minutes preparation time.
8 Minutes working time.
6 Minutes flight time starts when the glider leaves the winch line and stops at the end of working time, or when the glider touches a “grounded” object.
Flight time outside of working time does not count (i.e. flight time stops at the end of working time).
Landing score outside of working time does not count.
Landing after 7 minutes flight time also does not count.
“Landing” further than 15 metres from the spot does not count.

Scoring
One point is allocated per completed second of flight time from release of the parachute/flag until the model touches a “grounded” object. One point per second is deducted for each full second after six minutes before the model comes to rest. The maximum possible flight score for each task is thus 360 points.
Landing points are calculated by subtracting five points from a maximum of 100 for each full metre that the nose of the model comes to rest away from the spot. 100 if the nose is within one meter of the spot, 95 if within 2 meters and so on down to 30 if within 15 meters.
The landing score is added to the flight score to obtain the task score. (Example: A 5 minute 54 second flight with a landing 1.4 m from the spot will receive a score of (5 x 60 + 54 = 354 flight points plus 95 landing points = 449 points)
Flights that extend 60 seconds over their target time lose all landing points.
For a flight to be recognized the pilot must have a separate timekeeper — timing for yourself is not permitted.
The maximum score is 460 points per flight, from 360 flight points (6x60 seconds at one point per second) plus 100 landing points.
1000 points are awarded to the pilot with the highest combined flight score in each slot. The other pilots’ scores are calculated proportionally.
Conditions permitting, ideally, six rounds will be flown. The best 5 scores will be used in calculating the pilot’s total score.
The pilot with the highest score in each class will be declared the winner for the specific Challenge.
Each individual pilot’s best three scores will count towards his/her total for the year.
The club’s total for the year will consist of the top 4 individual pilots’ scores, including a minimum of either one Junior or Rookie.

F5K Postals

2009-12-12T03:17:00.002+02:00

A special thanks to the guys from KMAC in Durban for their support in flying F5J postals this time round. Welcome to the gliding family. I hope you all get involved next time as well.

The results of our very small entry were:

1st - Lionel Smith
2nd - Leon Boshoff
3rd - Damien Clark
4th - Bruce Clark

Next round will be in February... I'm sure that there will be changes made to the rules before then, but I will send an update as soon as final decisions have been made.

Regards,
Juanita

2010 Slope Aerobatics Event - Notice

2009-11-24T08:57:00.004+02:00

F3K League

2009-11-08T20:22:00.004+02:00

We arrived at the polo field bright and early this morning looking forward to the F3K comp. On getting out of the car we were nearley blown away. Fortunately I was the only one to chicken out of the comp because of the wind, so we were left with 5 pilots for today's comp. Nice to have John Monk join us, even though he had servo problems and was not able to fly, but thank you for you help. Also nice to have Volney join us and we hope to see him for at least a few of the comps next year. Thanks to everyone that jointed us and flew all 6 rounds under less than pleasant conditions. The results are as follows:

1st Alan - 5000 points
2nd Johan - 4858 points
3rd Rudi - 4268 points
4th Volney - 3869 points
5th Reino - 2063 Points

	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Total before throw away	Total after throw away
Rudi	1000	613	824	851	907	686	4881	4268
Alan	1000	1000	877	1000	1000	1000	5877	5000
Johan	741	944	1000	1000	1000	914	5599	4858
Reino	835	926	302	0	0	0	2063	2063
Volney	569	1000	1000	819	378	481	4247	3869

Regards,

Juanita

2010 National F3J Team - Seniors

2009-10-26T08:06:00.003+02:00

Hi everyone,

Following the advised selection process, the National F3J Team has been selected for the World Championships in France, 2010:

Congratulations to Craig, Chris & Paul for this achievement.

The pilots must still select their Team Manager ("coach" as per AeroClub / SASCOC definition).

Fly safely

2009-10-12T10:26:00.004+02:00

Hi All

List below shows the 9 pilots that have responded by the cut-off Friday
9th October.
Please can all now confirm so I can do score sheets, field layout, frequencies, etc.

Regards

Herman

2010 F3J National Team - Jnr team trial results

2009-10-12T07:55:00.002+02:00

Congratulations to the 4 junior pilots who flew in challenging conditons this past weekened. The outcome is the selection of the top 3 pilots for the National Jnr F3J team to France in 2010.

Well done to Conrad, Jason & Ryan for qualifying & special congratulations to Tsepho (non travelling reserve).

Fly safely

2009 Bill Vos results

2009-10-07T09:17:00.001+02:00

The final round of the BVMT was flown in some really challenging conditions. Every competitor had at least one bad flight. In slot 2 of the final round Andre Leusch took the honours with a time of 2min10seconds and a 4m spot!

Michel Leusch, who was 20 odd points behind Simon and Allan at the end of round 3 produced the best results of the day, closely followed by yours truely with 996. Allan was 3rd and Simon 4th. After a very shaky start young Ryan started to get to grips with the challenging conditions to finish 5th. Don, who was having some serious problems with his planes finished 6th and Andre 7th. Andre finished the day in style by wining slot 2 in the final round.

The Championship: As mentioned above, the scores were very evenly poised at the end of round 3. After his victory today, Michelle leap-frogged Allan and Simon and is the BVMT Champion for 2009. Simon Nelson finished second with Allan and Dennis joint 3rd. Ryan, the only junior in the competition finished a very creditable 5th overall.

I would like to thank all of those that participated in the event and hope that we can have even more pilots participating in 2010. Thanks also to Michel's girlfriend (sorry I have forgotten her name) for her assistance with the scoring. With her assistance the results were available before the planes had been packed away.

Cheers for now. Hope to see you at the field in the near future.

Kind regards,
Dennis

2009 Nats - F5J Report

2009-10-05T09:53:00.002+02:00

If I remember correct the first Nats where I flew an F5J event it was at Groengoud 2006 Nats. At that stage mostly S400 motors were used. The launch times were 60 to 90 seconds if you found lift soon. I think Dion or Mark won with a Graupner Culumlus 1.8m S400 glider same as what I was flying at the time.

The entries have increased steadily the past 4 years for the event. This year we had 13 entries, the second largest number per category following F3J/EW. The models covered the spectrum from the foam ARF models (Wolfie, Zimmy, Craig/Tshepo), Balsa 2m ARF (Lionel), 2m Tsotsi-E (Rudi) , Purpose built balsa/composite 2.5m (Gert), Troodon 3.7m (Simon), Ex-Pro/ shadow with motor pod on wing (Herman, Paul), XPro-E (Johan, Dion used 2 moldies, although I only saw the 20" prop) to a 1.4m E-Hawk (Craig, it always looked high but was only 'cause his model was so small).

All the motors used this year were brushless and in most cases Lipo battery packs were used. The format of the event is similar to F3J where your launch time (motor on) is subtracted from the flying time of 10 minutes. A re- launch is allowed with the penalty of losing the landing points to a max of 30 points. This allows for some strategy to be worked out on each flight depending on the air conditions. The objective would be to reduce launch time and find lift for the rest of the 10 minutes. The choice is yours how high you want to launch and reduce risk of not finding lift.

From the scores I see the motor on times were at best 20 seconds and worst 120+ seconds. The competitive models were averaging 40 seconds and less. My launching time is between 10 seconds and 15 per launch. In order to optimize this, a tradeoff is required between motor /battery size and airframe weight. I would be able to improve my launch times but the lightly constructed airframe would not be able to withstand that. The molded models can withstand higher powered launches, but would need a thick checkbook to afford a power system to do better launch times. As proven with this Nats the launch times is a factor but if you are able to thermal and read air well you will come out tops.

Johan did very well with his eX-Pro. He made his 10 minutes in most flights with only one launch and added the landing bonus. I think Dion missed the podium due to a misunderstanding of the rules on landing points for round 1. I had to use 2 launches most of the flights and lost my landing points, but due to the fact that my motor on times was very short, I gained in score.The moldies with motor pod was most interesting to me. This allows you to convert your standard F3J glider to a motorised electric model with little effort. According to Paul/Herman the pod do not have any significant effect on the model's performance. These accessories can be acquired from SoaringUSA.com at around $400.

Stats of motor setups I could get hold of:Dion: 1. Xperience Pro-E, 4s Flightpower 2150, ESC CC 60A with BEC. Kontronic FUN600 1500 u/V with 2/1 gearbox, Graupner precision spinner, Freudenthaler hand laid carbon 20x16 prop! Problems were experienced due to overheating of the BEC2. Eish 4S Flightpower Green, Hobbywing 65A ESC, Kontronic Fun 480 with 4/1 gearbox, Graupner precision spinner, Graupner CAM prop 13x7.

Johan: Xperience Pro-E, Scorpion motor & ESC, 4S 3300, 12x6 prop.Gert: SP2.5 , E-flight 15, 4 cell 2200, 13x8 prop (details on blog www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=16783)

Simon: Troodon, 3 cell poly, outrunner, 14 x 10 prop (supposed to be a Kontronic 480-33 but it burnt out in another model)

Lionel: Primera "Flaper", 2.7metre span , Axi 2814/16 motor, Scorpion Commander 35A ESC, on Flightpower EON 250 mAh 3S battery. Prop was a Graupner CAM 11x6.

Herman & Paul: F3J Xperience Pro, pod motor, folding 13x8 props, 3s LiPo

I hope our new F5J Rep Juanita Smith will organise more events for us during the next year.

Cheers,
Gert

2010 F3J National Team Trials

2009-10-02T09:43:00.004+02:00

Following the 2009 Combined RC Soaring National Championships hosted at Noodsberg during September 2009, the results & invitations for the 2010 F3J National Team Trials are attached. Please notice that some scores WILL have changed since the Nats announcement, as these were for the combined Electric Winch & F3J. The results for the F3J team qualifications have been normalised without the EW winch scores, and this may have caused the ranking to change.

Ranking have also further been split between Snr & Jnr, although we have normalised these together. Scores have been calculated as per the F3J Rules issued by the FAI on 1 January 2009 (20 cm rule).

Qualifier #1 (BERG)

A moderately challenging event hosted in Guateng with moderate wind all day interspersed with strong gusts & a shift by 0ver 90 degrees during the course of the event.

Qualifier #2 (NOODSBERG)

A relatively challenging event, hosted in KZN, with wind swinging by 180 degrees during the days, varying from light to strong conditions.

Team trial invitations

As per the selection process advised previously, and following the 2 qualification rounds, the individual scores are used to rank the pilots & the top 10 are invited to participate in the Senior Team Trials (venue to be announced) during October 2009:

Each senior pilot has until 9 October 2009 to verify with the F3J representative if they will be participating in the team trials or not. In the event that any top 10 placed pilot is unable to attend, then the 11th ranked pilot will move into the tenth place, and so on.

Whilst there are not 10 pilots competing for the Junior team, the fact that 4 pilots are competing for the team eliminates the 80% minimum score rule:

Congratulations to all these pilots!

Logistics

Please be advised that all competing pilots need to provide their own team, which may include their Caller, a Team Manager and 2 x Towmen. All pilots must also provide an independent time-keeper who does not fulfil one of these roles, and who will be allocated to the other pilots on a rotational basis. The organisers will not accept times from your yourself/Caller/Team Manager/Towman!

Entry fee for the Team Trials is R200, and will include lunch for the team members.

Fly safely

2009 Noodsberg Nats (Gert's Report)

2009-10-01T09:46:00.000+02:00

I drove down on the Thursday morning (big mistake) when all the Gauteng long weekend holiday makers were on the N3. The day before the event a few of us enjoyed the beautiful flying weather at the Noodsberg club. I stayed over with Johan, Rudi, Chris, Conrad, Evan, Christo, Tia and Victoria at the Castaway guest farm house. Nice dinner made by the Tia and Vici and long stories around a few cold beers made us ready for the next day.

Friday morning started off with winds gusting up to 30km/h. It got a while to get organized at the field but no one was complaining. Most of the time was used to check out the competition and determine who’s was the largest. (Dion’s 20” prop won this round) The event got off with F5J, RES and 2m rounds with F3K following. By this time we had to change the winch direction already from first setup and clouds moved in followed by mist clouds. A few more slots of F3K was done but F3J launching could not be done safe and flying was cancelled. The AGM was held in good spirit at the country club before we moved off to Wartburg Hoff (What a letdown) for some Eisbein. Zimmy was to happy to have us all there as the place was like a "spookhuis". We were entertained till late by the Italian and had a lot of good laughs.

Saturday morning promised good weather and we had a great day of flying. There was a few spectacular and painful mishaps. Johan lost his Pike in the sun on a launch and it went in full speed. Allen lost his Supra due to a line tangle. Conrad damaged his model when he tried to land on the other side of the sewerage farm. A tree jumped in front of Little Ryan’s model on the way back to the field. I must say the juniors show BIG character flying at this level and performing this well. Lionel tried to destroy his F3K model all weekend but it was repairable every time. All in all the conditions was very challenging and very difficult to read. Most of the day was crosswind launches. We flew the last round of F3K just before sunset. The day was ended by all the tired pilots having a super dinner at the country club.

Sunday morning we were out again early. For the record, myself and Evan was first at the field every morning. Man it is a beautiful venue for gliding. Sunday was probably the best thermal weather of all the days. We had to do cross wind launches but could find lift easily during the morning. The wind picked up later and I think we ended just in time before it became un-flyable again (Evan will disagree).

Lionel. Well maybe I can write a separate chapter about this man. When a model is 5m up in the tree then Lionel will fetch it. When the scores have to be done, then Lionel will calculate. Who is collecting the spots after all has left? Lionel. If there is a major protest, Lionel is in the middle. If you need a 2 man tow, then Lionel will give you that tow all by himself. Who can compete in at least 5 classes (2m, RES, F3J, F5J, F3K and towman) and do a lot of the side organizing and scoring? Lionel! ………………… Gee wiz guys have we become so competitive that we only think of ourselves and can’t help this man.

A note to Wolfie who is organizing 2010: It is not necessary to plan 8 rounds for 2m, RES, F5J, F3K. Only 6 rounds I think is sufficient. Some pressure to start earlier will also help. Best time of year is a gamble but maybe June the risk is lower for rain. The idea of a class per day also surfaced again with a lot of pro’s and cons.

I would like to report on the F5J comp in a separate mail when I have more details as the evolution of this class the past 4 years was amazing.

Now why do we do this every year?

Up to this year I was lucky to be able to take home a memento of the Nats for the past 4 years and it makes it real special. Thanks to everyone who made it possible this year and congrats to all the winners.

Cheers
Gert
PS now I am waiting for your versions!