TEAM USA TAKES TOP HONORS IN SOUTH AFRICA
by Mark Atwood
The pinnacle of precision aerobatics competition is the F3A World Championship, which took place in August 2013 in Gauteng, South Africa. I had the pleasure of serving as team manager for Team USA as we pursued a repeat as Team World Champion.
Team selection
The journey to the F3A World Championship officially began at the 2012 AMA Nats, which served as the Precision Aerobatics world team selection tournament. Andrew Jesky, Jason Shulman, and Brett Wickizer earned places on the team. Chip Hyde served as team alternate, and Joseph Szczur, the highest-placing competitor younger than 18, became the first U.S. Junior competitor.
Planning and logistics
Planning for the competition occurs on many levels. Individual competitors were responsible for preparing multiple aircraft for the event, along with required support equipment and packing crates for transportation. As team manager, I faced additional challenges organizing the trip itself.
Early estimates put our required budget near $60,000—a significant fundraising challenge. Trip logistics included:
- Obtaining airfare for 10 team members departing from nine locations across the U.S. to Johannesburg.
- Securing 15 days of lodging.
- Arranging ground transportation for 10 people and eight 2-meter aircraft.
- Securing practice facilities in South Africa and shipping our equipment.
We received amazing financial and logistical help from modelers across the country, numerous corporate sponsors, and generous support from the AMA, which helped us pull it all together. (Sponsors are listed on our team website.)
Travel
The team gathered in Atlanta or Washington, D.C., and took a 16-hour flight to Johannesburg. If you’ve never experienced a 16-hour flight, imagine watching four full-length movies and realizing you’re only halfway there.
We encountered travel trials, mostly involving the Transportation Security Administration while checking large crates filled with aircraft and carrying RF transmitters as carry-on items, but we fared well. Our most daunting travel challenge was the hour-long nighttime drive from Johannesburg to Meyerton. Maneuvering a five-vehicle caravan with only one GPS, driving manual-transmission vans configured for right-side driving (shifting with our left hands) on the left side of the road was an experience not to be forgotten.
Practice and local support
We arrived in South Africa four days before the contest to allow time for repairs, adjustments, and practice under local conditions. The 5,000-foot altitude was our biggest concern; thin air significantly affects control-throw sensitivity, power, engine tuning, and downline speeds.
We had contacted a local RC club long before arrival and were graciously given complete and exclusive access to their flying field for the duration of our stay. The Snoopy’s Squadron RC Flying Club was welcoming and had a nice grass runway and ample flyover space. The field was approximately a 90 km (roughly 55 miles) drive from our lodging, so each day was an all-day pilgrimage.
Local club members met us each morning and provided generators to recharge flight batteries. A nearby hobby shop supplied Brett, our only glow-fuel pilot, with several cases of 30% nitro fuel. Part of the club’s hospitality included throwing us a “braai” (the South African version of a cookout) for lunch several days—steaks and Boerewors (a local sausage)—which was excellent food and a great example of their generosity.
Geoff Dale, the Snoopy club president and my primary contact, helped me source necessary hobby parts and tools in town, including a visit to Aerial Concepts, Johannesburg’s premier hobby shop. Because South Africa’s postal system is less reliable, local hobby shops carry enormous inventories—dozens of turbine jets, 40% aircraft, and accessories—so the entire team made multiple shopping trips.
Our practice days went well. The team critiqued every flight to perfect each nuance. It was windy every day, which proved excellent conditioning for contest conditions. It was also cold—end of South African winter—so morning temperatures were often just above freezing, and bitter winds made for uncomfortably cold hands on the transmitters.
Let the Games Begin
Any event of this size comes with formal processing: weighing, measuring, and inspecting aircraft for every team. With 30 countries participating, each team had designated times for aircraft processing and a one-time slot for a practice flight at the official flying site. Our turn passed uneventfully—team members were well prepared.
The opening ceremonies were run by event coordinators in conjunction with the FAI and the South African Model Aircraft Association. The stage was surrounded by 30 flagpoles flying the flags of participating countries. As team manager, I had the honor of returning the perpetual World Championship team trophy won by the U.S. in 2011. Christophe Paysant-Le Roux of France returned the individual perpetual trophy—something he has done multiple times. Every country, team, judge, and event director was introduced.
Competition format
For those unfamiliar with F3A or RC aerobatics: each country may send three pilots and a Junior competitor (under 18). Every pilot flies four rounds of the preliminary (P) sequence; the best three of four P flights are combined into a normalized score. The top 30% of pilots move on to the semifinal.
The semifinal consists of two rounds of the final (F) sequence. The best two of three scores—the combined preliminary plus the two semifinal scores—determine the finalists. The top 10 advance to the final.
The final round consists of four flights: two Known F sequence flights and two Unknown sequences chosen at random from a catalog of maneuvers. Both Unknown scores are kept, along with the better of the two F scores, to determine the individual world champion. The team champion is chosen based on the combined placing of all three team pilots.
Preliminary rounds
The first four days consisted of flying the P sequences. Because of the large number of pilots, we were divided into four groups, each judged by a different panel. Raw scores were given after each flight, but comparisons across all judges required waiting until every pilot had flown before all scores could be compared.
All members of our team flew well. Andrew consistently posted the best raw scores, with Jason and Brett close behind. Joseph also flew well; at 13 years old he showed strong potential but was competing against very experienced pilots.
At the end of the preliminaries, Andrew sat in eighth place, Jason and Brett in 13th and 15th, respectively. All three comfortably made the semifinal. Joseph finished 54th overall—respectable for his first World Championship but short of semifinal qualification.
Semifinal and finals
With a day off between preliminaries and the semifinal, we returned to Snoopy’s for intensive practice on the F pattern. Jason and Brett each flew more than 10 flights to refine their routines.
The semifinal saw colder temperatures and stronger winds, which seemed to favor our pilots. All three Team USA pilots flew spectacular flights. Andrew moved up to third place, and Jason climbed into 10th, securing a spot in the finals. Brett moved up to finish 12th—disappointed not to make the final 10, but his strong placing was critical to our eventual Team Championship.
The finals were intense: 10 of the world’s best pilots flying in 20-mph winds through very difficult sequences. Andrew and Jason excelled in the wind, positioning their aircraft precisely in strong crosswinds. They, along with Christophe Paysant-Le Roux (France) and Tetsuo Onda (Japan), were in a class of their own.
The finals were not without incident. Gerhard Mayr of Austria had difficulty initializing his ESC and missed his flight when his time ran out. Sebastiano Silvestri experienced a catastrophic power failure: his contra-powered biplane’s high drag and strong winds drew too much battery, leaving him without power on landing and badly damaging the airplane. In the end, Christophe Paysant-Le Roux claimed his seventh individual World Championship.
After the contest
After 15 days of dawn-to-dusk intensity, we didn’t want to leave Africa without seeing wildlife. A few went home immediately, but most of the team stayed an extra day for a one-day safari—an incredible experience highly recommended.
A full picture diary of the trip and my daily blog can be found via the links in the Sources section below.
The next World Championship was scheduled for Dübendorf, Switzerland in 2015.
—Mark Atwood [email protected]
SOURCES
- Team USA F3A website
- Team USA blog
www.2013WorldsTeamUSA.Shutterfly.com
- 2013 F3A World Championship website
- National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
