Author: Louis Joyner
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/05
Page Numbers: 144,145,146
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Free Flight Duration

Louis Joyner [[email protected]]

EVERY TWO YEARS, young modelers from around the globe come together for the Junior FF World Championships. This contest offers both team and individual competitions in three events: F1A Towline Glider, F1B Wakefield Rubber, and F1P Power.

The US teams have done well in the past. At the 2006 FF Championships in Germany, the American Juniors swept the three team events and Cody Secor captured the Gold Medal in F1P. (For a detailed account of that contest, see Dave Rounsaville and Terri Popiel’s article in the March 2007 MA.)

US Junior Team — 2008

The 2008 US Junior team is as follows:

  • F1A Towline Glider: Timothy Barron, Oliver Cai, Kyle Jones
  • F1B Wakefield: Michelle Radziunas, John Shailor, Evan Simon
  • F1P Power: Anthony Ferrario, Chinmay Jaju, Brian Pacelli

In addition, 2006 Junior World Champion Cody Secor will be defending his F1P title. George Batiuk is the Junior team manager.

The contest will be held July 28–August 3 in Kiev, Ukraine.

Although AMA offers support for airfares and entry fees, the Junior team can use your financial help to defray some of the other costs of competing in a contest in Europe. You can make donations to the AMA Junior Free Flight Fund.

If you or a Junior you know is interested in trying to make the 2010 FF World Championships team, check the National Free Flight Society (NFFS) web site for information about rules and team-selection procedures. A considerable amount of help, including kits and engines, is available to qualifying Juniors.

F1P Power

FAI established the F1P Power event a few years back as a less-expensive alternative to F1C. Key F1P rules and characteristics:

  • Engine displacement limited to 1 cc (0.061 cu. in.).
  • Minimum model weight: 250 grams (just heavier than 8 ounces).
  • Maximum wingspan: 1.5 meters (approximately 59 inches).
  • Minimum wing area: 26 dm2 (roughly 403 square inches). Note: wing area is the minimum, not the maximum.
  • Motor run: 7 seconds (effective this year; previous run was 10 seconds).
  • Format: flown in seven rounds with a three-minute max for most rounds.
  • Timer-operated auto rudder and auto stabilizer are allowed; more complex auto features such as bunt (often seen in F1C and F1J) are not permitted.

By limiting wingspan and requiring a fairly large wing area, the rules-makers have effectively slowed the models a bit in the climb, making them easier to trim. F1P’s span and minimum-area rules virtually eliminate the need for the expensive, high-tech construction used in most other FAI events. Conventional balsa structures work fine for F1P. However, some competitors use composite structures such as carbon-fiber tube booms and carbon-fiber D-box wing construction. Because carbon fiber is less affected by humidity changes than balsa, composite construction can offer improved day-to-day consistency.

A popular F1P design is the AstroStar, designed by Terry Thorkildsen and modified for F1P by Terry Kerger (originally an AMA Gas model more than a quarter-century old). As an F1P, the AstroStar has amassed an impressive contest record, including Junior World Championships and America’s Cup wins in 2006 for Cody Secor. The AstroStar was selected as one of the NFFS Ten Models of the Year and was detailed in the 2007 Symposium. Bob Van Nest has full kits, plans, and precut ribs available.

Another popular option is the Ralph Prey–designed Witch Hawk. Ukrainian modeler Vasily Beschasny (through Vasily’s Free Flight Factory Outlet) offers a composite F1P. The Russian-made Cyclon .061 is a popular engine for the class; US sources of Cyclon engines include Doug Galbreath and Dave Edmonson.

Although F1P is the Power class flown at the Junior World Championships, it is not a Juniors-only category. An increasing number of Open fliers are taking up the event at contests across the country. The Juniors do well competing against Open fliers: in the 2007 America’s Cup, three of the top five F1P fliers were Juniors (Cody Secor, Brian Pacelli, and Anthony Ferrario).

2007 America’s Cup

The America’s Cup uses a multicontest format that encourages modelers from the US, Canada, and Mexico to compete in as many as 30 competitions across North America. Points are awarded at each contest (first = 25, second = 20, third = 15, fourth = 10, fifth = 5), with additional points based on the number of contestants. The best results from four contests are counted. Detailed rules are on the NFFS web site.

Winners:

  • F1A Towline Glider: Rene Limberger (Oliver Cai, top Junior)
  • F1B Wakefield Rubber: Alexander Andriukov (Evan Simon, top Junior)
  • F1C Power: Ed Carroll
  • F1P Power: Bob Hanford (Cody Secor, top Junior)
  • F1G Coupe: Peter Brocks (John Shailor, top Junior)
  • F1H Towline Glider: Brian Van Nest (Taron Malkhasyan, top Junior)
  • F1J Power: Faust Parker (Brian Pacelli, top Junior)
  • F1Z Electric: Dick Ivers
  • F1E Glider: Peter Brocks

Cody Secor’s F1P score was high enough to place second overall. Brian Pacelli’s top F1J score tied for fifth place overall.

Ed Carroll’s F1C

For his first place in the 2007 America’s Cup, Ed Carroll used a pair of F1C Power models custom-built by Ukrainian modeler Eugene Verbitsky. Verbitsky, inducted into the Free Flight Hall of Fame last year, is a two-time World Champion; many top Power fliers worldwide use his models.

The T-tail on Ed’s models is the main difference from most other Verbitsky designs. The T-tail raises the stabilizer out of propwash and wing downwash so "the stab is in cleaner air," making it less sensitive and giving excellent glide performance.

Construction details:

  • Wing: carbon fiber D-box for bending and torsional strength in the six-panel wing.
  • Tailboom: unidirectional carbon fiber wrapped with thin aluminum.
  • Engine: designed by Verbitsky, featuring 4:1 planetary gears to allow use of a larger, slower-turning propeller for increased efficiency.

Sources

MA

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