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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.)
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
The 2008 US Junior team has been chosen
[[email protected]]
Free Flight Duration Louis Joyner
Brian Pacelli’s high-tech F1P features a carbon-fiber D-box wing, carbon fuselage front,
and carbon-aluminum boom. The model is from Vasily Beschasny.
Reigning Junior F1P World Champ Cody Secor will defend his title
this summer in Ukraine flying an AstroStar.
Anthony Ferrario’s F1P—a modified Witch Hawk—uses a Cyclon
.061 with folding carbon-fiber blades. Auto rudder and auto
stabilizer are tripped off the same line. Bunt is prohibited.
Also included in this column:
• F1P close-up
• 2007 America’s Cup winners
• Ed Carroll’s F1C
05sig5.QXD 3/25/08 8:37 AM Page 144
A 2.5cc Verbitsky engine drives a three-blade carbon-fiber propeller through 4:1
planetary gears on Ed’s model. Flap over venturi opens for starting and motor run and
then shuts to cut off air for quicker stop.
Californian Ed Carroll won 2007 F1C America’s Cup honors.
Eugene Verbitsky custom-made Ed’s T-tailed model. The six-panel
wing spans roughly 9 feet.
F1B Wakefield team member Michelle Radziunas’s Vivchar model
has a carbon-tube wing spar. Wing covering is Polyspan; stabilizer
covering is chrome Mylar.
• 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 teamselection
procedures. A considerable
amount of help, including kits and engines,
is available to qualifying Juniors.
F1P: FAI established the F1P Power event
a few years back as a less-expensive
alternative to F1C. The rules restrict
engine displacement to 1cc (.061 cu. in.)
and require a minimum model weight of
250 grams (just heavier than 8 ounces).
The maximum wingspan is 1.5 meters
(approximately 59 inches) and the
minimum wing area is 26 dm2 (roughly
403 square inches).
The motor run is seven seconds,
effective this year; the previous run was 10
seconds. As with F1A Glider and F1B
May 2008 145
Wakefield Rubber, F1P is flown in seven
rounds with a three-minute max for most
rounds.
The wing area is the minimum—not the
maximum, as in most other events. By
05sig5.QXD 3/25/08 8:39 AM Page 145
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. Timeroperated
auto rudder and auto stabilizer
are allowed, but more complicated auto
features such as bunt, which is often seen
in F1C and F1J, are not permitted.
F1P’s rules limiting span and
minimum area 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-fibertube
booms and carbon-fiber D-box wing
construction. Because carbon fiber is less
affected by humidity changes than balsa,
composite construction does offer
improved day-to-day consistency.
A popular F1P design is the AstroStar
designed by Terry Thorkildsen. Terry
Kerger modified this AMA Gas model,
which is more than a quarter-century old,
for F1P. 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. Contact him for more
information.
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 Russianmade
Cyclon .061 is a popular engine for
the class. US sources of Cylon engines
are 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.
However, 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: This event offers 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, with a
first worth 25, a second worth 20, a third
worth 15, a fourth worth 10, and a fifth
worth 5. Additional points are awarded
depending on the number of contestants
flying in the event. The best results from
four contests are counted.
To encourage travel, only two contests
at any one site can be counted; the other
two results must be from two other sites.
In case of ties, results from more contests
are counted. You can find detailed rules
for the America’s Cup on the NFFS Web
site. Here are the 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)
• F1Q 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 that were
custom-built by Ukrainian modeler
Eugene Verbitsky. Eugene, who was
inducted into the Free Flight Hall of Fame
last year, is a two-time World Champion.
Many top Power fliers around the world
use his models.
The T-tail on Ed’s models is the main
difference from most other Verbitsky
designs. The T-tail’s purpose is to get the
stabilizer up out to propwash and
downwash from the wing.
“The stab is in cleaner air,” said Ed.
“It’s not as sensitive. It glides really,
really well.”
The wing’s construction utilizes a
carbon fiber D-box that provides both
bending and torsional strength for the
six-panel wing. Unidirectional carbon
fiber, wrapped with thin aluminum,
forms the long tailboom. The engine,
which Eugene also designed, features
4:1 planetary gears that allow the use of
a larger, slower-turning propeller for
increased efficiency. MA
Sources:
Bob VanNest
[email protected]
Doug Galbreath
(530) 757-6058
www.the-printer.net/DookCat.html
Dave Edmonson
(612) 220-5239
www.glidetek.com
NFFS
www.freeflight.org
Vasily’s Free Flight Factory Outlet
+380572933792
www.vasi.scana.com.ua
146 MODEL AVIATION
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05sig5.QXD 3/25/08 8:58 AM Page 146
