Author: Jim T. Graham
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/11
Page Numbers: 75,76,77,78
,
,
,

The Bruce 2012: Donkeys, Fried Chicken, Heat, and a DLG Competition

Jim T. Graham — [email protected]

I have seen many stages in my evolution of this hobby, and I am currently in my Discus Launch Glider (DLG) stage. DLG is as cool as it sounds. It has no motor and only servos to control the airplane's surfaces. It is the purest form of RC flight.

A DLG weighs roughly 9 ounces and has a peg in the wingtip. To launch it, you spin around like you are throwing a discus. When you release a DLG, it screams toward the sky at approximately 70 mph.

I can attest to this because I once accidentally hit my elevator transmitter stick on my shirt right after a launch and stuck the airplane into hard-packed dirt like an arrow. If you do everything right, your aircraft should rocket up to roughly 170 feet. The experts can launch them more than 200 feet in the air. I am not an expert, but I refuse to give up until I'm at least proficient.

I attended my first DLG competition this year and saw some of the best DLG pilots in the country do their thing.

How I Got to The Bruce

Pete Goldsmith, the bass player for our band, The SEFF Tones (also known as the Nallman Brothers), is a great DLG pilot. He called me one day and said, in his Australian accent, "Jim, you have to come to The Bruce next year! It's DLGs and a bunch of guys in a pasture that are just like you!" I found that hard to believe, so this year I loaded up the truck and headed to the DLG contest.

I drive across the country to attend events in exotic locales such as Muncie, Indiana; Woodruff, South Carolina; Andersonville, Georgia; and more. The exciting thing about The Bruce is that it's in my own backyard. The Bruce is in Shelbyville, Kentucky, also known as "The Gateway to Bluegrass."

Donkeys in the Distance

As I got closer to The Bruce, the roads narrowed and the front yards turned into pastures. I was definitely in the country. I finally drove on a gravel road that led me to a house and a pasture. When I got out of my truck, two things hit me: the 105° heat and the braying of a donkey.

I grabbed my Nikon and went to the back of the house. Popup tents surrounded two sides of the field, and in front of them was a pasture full of DLG pilots throwing their airplanes and following the commands of an automated timing clock system. It was mind-blowing!

The Bruce

The founder of the DLG competition, Bruce Davidson, said that it was never his intention to host the world's largest F3K contest in his backyard.

Approximately 10 years ago, Bruce searched for the perfect RC property. He wanted to be closer to his slope-soaring site and have enough acreage to fly DLG on his own land. He acquired the property, "The Thermal Farm," allowing him to start his own contest.

"After 15 years of competing in various sailplane contests, I had a good idea of what I liked and wanted to expand on that with my own contest.

"From the first contest, I worked very hard to have everything planned and prepared in advance so I could actually compete. To help with that plan, I put together a timing file on the iPad that calls out flight groups, tasks, and pilots’ names for each heat. The file also announces the flight window and keeps time. The entire competition starts with a push of a button and keeps things moving for two days.

"The event starts for pilots on Thursday afternoon as they arrive for a day of open flying. By that time, the cantina is in full swing—cooking up burgers, dogs, and brats for the early arrivals. From a breakfast buffet to barbecue for lunch and a fish fry on Friday evening, there is plenty of food, drink, and ice available on the field for the duration of the event.

"Friday is open flying all day with a couple of organized events thrown in for fun. The premier sponsor for the event is Horizon Hobby, and for the last two years the company has donated eight RTF Radian Pro electric sailplanes for the Radian Challenge.

"On Friday afternoon, eight pilots who use either a JR or Spektrum radio are designated as team captains. The remaining 32 pilots draw cards to see who makes up the eight five-man teams. With teams sorted, it is game on!

"Each team rushes to pick up a model and get the programming process started. There’s no set time limit to getting the model ready to fly, but there are bonus points for finishing early.

"When a team has the model ready, test-flown, and trimmed out, it brings the radio and airplane to the start line. The first team that is ready receives 35 bonus points (seconds), with the second team getting 30, and third getting 25."

There is no contest committee. Bruce adheres to the F3K rules, which don’t limit the amount of fun you can have in a DLG contest. Pilots travel from around the world to compete.

Competition Mechanics

Because the attendees are all F3K glider pilots, Bruce settled on a mass launch with an 8-second motor run and a 3-minute duration flight. Each team is required to launch and land within the field boundaries. It is up to the teams to decide their flying order, but each pilot is required to put up one flight against the other teams with everyone launching at the same time.

The team with the longest total flight time is the winner, and each team member takes home a Radian Pro model. The remaining models are raffled Saturday night.

This type of flying is about efficiency and appeals to people with a knack for engineering. A DLG airplane is strong enough to take a 70-mph launch, yet can float on thermals.

A good DLG pilot can keep one in the air with no wind or thermals for approximately two minutes. In a contest, the pilot must keep a DLG in the air for longer periods of time (maximum 3 minutes) and do it multiple times.

Competitors have three throws in 7 minutes. If you get 3 minutes on your first throw, you have time to assess the air by watching the other airplanes, trees, bugs, etc.

If you get 3 minutes on your first launch, you have 45 seconds to observe the air. Then you have to throw your airplane, find lift, and keep it in the air, catch it, and relight or relaunch back into a thermal.

Some tasks emphasize your ability to stay in the lift, and others require catching and relaunching as quickly as possible. There are many ways to catch the DLG airplane, and some are beautiful.

Some pilots will land at their own feet, pick the airplane up, and throw. Others will fly the airplanes at themselves, hit the flaps, catch the nose, and throw.

If your task window is short, then the time it takes for you to get that airplane back into the air costs you points. The faster you can relaunch, the more points you get for staying in the air.

A good pilot can bring that airplane in, hit the flaps, catch it, and get it back in the air in less than two seconds, so in a timed window your landing and relaunching is only 8 seconds.

Unique to The Bruce is the team competition. Bruce Davidson has always thought of soaring as a two-person event. While the pilot is in charge of flying the model, the caller can play an important role in his or her performance.

The caller's primary job is to keep time, but he or she can also observe the conditions, watch other models, and advise the pilot where the best lift might be found. When lift is found, the caller helps the pilot discover the best part, avoid other models, and make decisions for the next flight.

Camaraderie

Spending time with the on-site campers is Bruce's favorite part of the event. The flying toys come out after the last round, and the big fun begins. Most nights, they stay up too late, but who needs sleep anyway? You only have to be around Bruce Davidson for roughly 20 seconds to realize he is there to have fun and compete at the same time.

As I walked from tent to tent at the 21-acre site, I was greeted with smiles and handshakes. The DLG community is small, and it seems as though everyone knows each other. The best part is that they all enjoy each other's company.

The difference between me and a reader who is just learning about this sport is that I own an airplane. I don't consider myself knowledgeable or accomplished in DLG in any way.

The great part about this aspect of the hobby is that you don't have to be extremely knowledgeable to enjoy it.

Good Friends, Good Chicken

On Saturday night we all met up at the Claudia Sanders Dinner House.

The original home of Colonel (Harland) Sanders and his wife, Claudia, had been at this site. It was rebuilt after a fire. The contestants met in the banquet hall and had their fill of good, southern cooking.

It's not only a night of fine dining, but also where Bruce gives awards and prizes. The top 10 pilots in this year's contest were:

  1. Gavin Trussel
  2. Frank Dumas
  3. Oleg Golovidov
  4. Phil Barnes
  5. Reto Fiolka
  6. David Klein
  7. Craig Greening
  8. Bruce Davidson
  9. Ryan Gonsoulin
  10. Jim Kokonis

The winning team was Dirty Thirty, with pilots David Klein and Reto Fiolka.

Congratulations and Thanks

Congratulations to all of the winners and a big thank-you goes to Bruce for hosting this great event each year. Another big thanks goes out to those who help make this event great: Christine Davidson for keeping things upbeat; Johnny and Stephanie King for all the great food; Team Horizon for the support; Cliff Whitney of Atlanta Hobby/RC Radio Network for the beer and Mercury Adhesives; Momentum Model Technologies for the Polaris; Thomas Cooke from MKS Servos USA; SoaringUSA; the Louisville Area Soaring Society; Radio Carbon Art; Tony Utley for the photos; Adam Weston; Brian Padovini of BP Composites; and many more.

Events such as this need a good team to make things go smoothly and easily! Thanks to everyone for the southern hospitality and a great time. Now, all of you readers go out there and get yourself a DLG so you can be a part of this event next year!

SOURCES

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.