Radio Control: Soaring
This is the second part of an interview conducted in February with Joe Wurts, world champion F3B Soaring pilot, sailplane designer, and Slope flier. The first part was featured in the July Model Aviation. F3B, or "multitask" competition, is the international event that determines the world champion Soaring pilot and the world champion Soaring team. It involves flying a Thermal Duration (TD) task, a distance task on a closed course, and a speed task on a closed course, all with the same sailplane. F3B is a test of design and flying skill, and is impressive to watch. Joe's F3B achievements are:
Radio Control: Soaring
PEOPLE START in Radio Control (RC) Soaring every month. Often, they visit a flying site, watch, then ask questions. If you've been flying sailplanes for a while, it's likely that you've heard the following inquiries; if you're a newcomer, here are one man's answers to what might be your first 10 questions. How do sailplanes stay up there without engines? They stay up when you fly in rising air. A sailplane is always descending, relative to the parcel of air in which it's flying. To make an extended flight, you must find and fly in rising air, of which there are two main types: thermals and slope lift.
Radio Control: Soaring
Hand-Launch Gliders (HLGs) are the purest form of Radio Control (RC) flight. With nothing but yourself, your sailplane, and your knowledge of the air, you coax the airplane to defy gravity. Hand-launching into a thermal, coring it, and watching your airplane soar into a tiny speck in the sky can be one of the most rewarding events in RC Soaring, but HL flying can also be a frustrating experience, requiring many launches to find lift, and creating sore arms by the end of a flying session. Following is information from Joe Hahn, the Midwest's premier hand-launch pilot, that will help you achieve success in HL. Joe flies with the Dayton Area Thermal Soarers (DARTS), and I have had the good fortune to fly with him at the last three Nationals in Muncie, Indiana. He and his partner Don Stackhouse are principals of DJ Aerotech, makers of the well-known and successful Monarch, Wizard, and Chysalis HL airplanes.
Radio Control: Soaring
Finding thermal lift is the central challenge in soaring flight. It's a tough and continuing odyssey because every flying day differs, every flight differs, and every thermal differs. What is learned about finding lift on the previous flight may or may not apply to the next flight. I've flown Radio Control (RC) sailplanes every month for the last 10 years, and the most common question heard at a thermal field is "Where's the lift?" Heck, it's the most common question in my own mind most days. This column lists the 12 best tips, tricks, and techniques that I've learned in those 10 years. ( Be prepared: The Boy Scout motto has stood me in good stead for decades, and it applies to RC Soaring in several fundamental ways. Preparation begins the day before with inspection for damage, trimming, and battery charging.
Action Photography
Action shots are the highest form of model aviation photography. They fire the viewer's imagination far more than static or posed photos. They can make the reader say to himself, "Hey, that looks pretty cool. Maybe I'll do even more flying." Given that we like to have photos of our flying buddies, photographing people and including people in action photographs gives us some of the most-treasured images in our photo collections. These two types of photos can be the most difficult images to capture competently, but preparation, technique, and practice can boost your chances.
