F5J Electric Glider Vic State Champs 2017 Diggers Rest

Forecast looked great for f5j, light winds and 30 degrees, and arriving at the Diggers Rest field and it was calm but fairly overcast.

First few rounds and the air was buoyant in places with very light lift. The trick was to find the best area, when the effect was very subtle, and not fly out of it.

Anyway with the buyant conditions, launches were getting lower with pilots finding the minimum height they needed to get 10 minute flights.

This continued until around lunch time, when the sun started to peek through the clouds and the gusts picked up a little with stronger lift and sink cycles.

We had the usual suspects roll up, plus a couple of new faces. Scott Matthews all the way from the Sale club in eastern Victoria, and who flies a bit of everything, decided to give f5j a go.

Flying a stork, he did well and enjoyed himself in his first f5j glider comp, and I’m sure learned a lot.

The second new face was Ladislav (Laz) Safarik all the way from Newcastle NSW, and probably more familiar to interstate f5j flyers up North.

He was happy to be flying an event, as many had been cancelled up north of late due to inclement weather. Laz was also flying a Stork.

Otherwise is was the usual mix of maxas, avas, pulsars, perfections, and home brews.

Alan had a forgettable day, with a start failure in one heat, and a flat battery in another.

Bob flew fairly consistently, and was good enough to get a placing.

I think score-wise it was pretty much  neck and neck between me and David at the top end, with David doing better than me in the light conditions of the morning.

The afternoon conditions suited my flying style a bit more and my launch heights got lower, and I chased the lift more aggressively, and although I stuffed one flight,

when I couldn’t find a strong core downwind, it didn’t slow me down.

Alternatively David who performed well in the morning, also stuffed up one flight, and then got much more conservative in the afternoon, to the extent that I overtook him in the scores.

Placings: 1st Jim Houdalakis, 2nd David Pratley, 3rd Bob Wilson