Solar Challenger
Paul MacCready, whose team made history with man-powered flight, has done it again. As we go to press, the news has arrived that the Solar Challenger has completed its flight from Paris to London-200 miles-using nothing but the Sun for power. Here's some of the story behind Solar Challenger: the ship, the people, and the science . . . as told by a member of the team.
Free Flight World Championships
WHILE AUSTRALIANS were celebrating their recent capture of the America's Cup, a silver trophy-no less important in the world of aeromodeling-had less-conspicously arrived on the Australian continent for the first time in history. Tradition had been broken in 1954 when an Australian, the late Alan King, had won the premiere model flying event for the Wakefield Cup. Until then, the individual winner's country would host the next World Championships, but the rules were being changed to give the team winner that privilege; besides, Australia was too far to go! In fact, the trophy never made it to Australia due to a stopover in England by the World Champion. Similarly in 1958, when fellow Australian Bond Baker won the Wakefield Cup, neither it nor hosting of the event made it to Australia.
Gold Rush
This HL Glider (a Chuckey, as the author calls it) won at the 1983 U.S. FF Championships in Taft and was named one of the Ten Models of the Year for 1984 by the National Free Flight Society. It has a unique pop-up wing dethermalizer.
FIA Technicalities
THE CURRENT FIA GLIDER World Champion, Matt Gewain, is only the second American to win the title since the Nordic event became a WC way back in 1946. The first was the late Gerry Ritz in 1959. Matt has been a leading Free Flighter in Florida, where he is now living, and all three of the 1983 team members came from the same state. Like the other two Florida fliers, Matt's models feature much use of carbon-fiber reinforcement. This material has become very desirable for reinforcing wings to make strong, lightweight structures able to withstand the enormous loads imposed during zoom launches.
F1B Technicalities
DOUBLE CHAMPION. The highly-competitive sport of model flying at the FF World Championships level makes consecutive winners a rare breed. Since the Wakefield Cup was initiated in 1928, only two individuals have had that honor. America's Joe Ehrhardt won the cup in 1930 and 1931, and Finland's Arne Ellila was the F1B World Champion in 1949 and 1950. Only in F1A Glider, started in 1946, was there another consecutive winner: Rudi Lindner from Germany in 1954 and 1955. No one has managed the feat in F1C Power. All the more remarkable, then, that Germany's Lothar Doring should join this select group at the 1983 FF World Championships at Goulburn, Australia. Lothar's performance was truly outstanding for many reasons. With many more nations competing in WCs than in the early days, the field of competitors is considerably tougher.
