RC Soaring World Champs
IT WAS IN 1977 at the First F3B RC Soaring World Championships in South Africa when Ralf Decker of West Germany showed the rest of the F3B world what the state of the art was, and what was to come. His fiberglass, foam, and carbon-fiber ship didn't place in the top five that year, but a refinement of that design nearly scored an upset two years later when Ralf placed second by less than two points behind Austria's Wackerle and the famous Dassel. In the Third World Championships in Sacramento, Ralf placed fourth between two teammates, and together they won the team cup for West Germany.
Radio Control: Soaring
THE STAR. As mentioned in the F3B report last month, the most-photographed model at the Fourth World Championships in York, England, was Ralf Decker's 2.8-meter beauty. Also mentioned was the fact that Ralf doesn't put a name on his birds, so we simply refer to his masterpieces as "Ralf's" or "Decker's Models." Usually, a report like last month's is closely followed by a mailbag at this end which contains inquiries for more details on a winner's model or on a model which differs from your favorite kit. This column will try to outjump the postman.
Radio Control: Soaring
CRAFTSMAN-an artisan or one skilled in the mechanics of his craft (Webster's dictionary). It's craftmanship that punctuates the aesthetic quality of any Sailplane. Check the top scorers at most major contests, and you'll usually see the artist's touch applied-whether it's reflected in the construction, the flying surfaces and the way they are fitted, or in the overall finish itself. Any top-notch flier knows that gapless joints such as hinge lines and wing/fuselage junctions, along with overall smooth uninterrupted surfaces, can pay off in contest points.
Radio Control: Soaring
SOAR-CROSS '83. Back in July, the Michigan International Soaring Society held its second annual cross-country race, and it truly was a race. The course, although a formidable challenge, is one which can be completed if the gods of good air cooperate. On Saturday, they didn't, which is good enough reason to schedule such an event for two days or longer. Sunday proved the planning committee knew what it was doing. Shortly after noon, Dennis Chall and the Brighton RC Club were the first team in two years to cross the finish line! They finished the 12.1-mile course in an hour and one minute. Twenty minutes later, Ken Bates and the Michigan RC Society-still fresh from their Great Race VIII victory a month earlier-lopped eleven minutes off Chall's time.
1983 LSF Tournament
THE LONGEST-RUNNING annual Sailplane contest is the tournament sponsored by the League of Silent Flight. Starting in 1970, the first event had nearly the complete LSF membership show up, but that wasn't such an amazing feat. Membership was less than 100, and the majority of the members were Contest Board back in 1970 came from the LSF. Those rules included three types of tasks: duration, distance, and speed. The Italian aero club picked up on that theme a year or so later, modified the tasks slightly, and sent them to the FAI/CIAM in Paris. The result was F3B.
