Day 1

For this years Canadian Nationals we have 21 competitors signed up with 5 Intermediate, 5 Advanced, 2 Masters and 9 FAI pilots. The field is in excellent shape and the contest details are well in hand by CD Harry Ells and his crew from the Pine Ridge Flyers club.

Weather was much nicer than Fridays practice session with light winds and sunny skies. In fact the direction of flight was left to right for most of the day. Later on in the afternoon the winds shifted and a few clouds moved in to provide some additional shade.

Pilots meeting was promptly held at the appointed time and Harry reviewed the usual flight order and judging assignment for the first rounds. Also no fly zones and the usual pilot meeting type stuff... like when’s lunch etc :-)

Everyone progress smoothly through the flight order as all planes were sound tested before each round. Fail safe setting were also check on the initial flights as well.

Round one unfortunately started off with a bang as Scott McNaught’s Typhoon and Colin Chariandy’s Xigris become floating debris after a midair. Both pilots had backups and were able to continue.

I witnessed some great flying with Chad setting the standard as per usual. Ivan just started practicing a couple weeks ago but still has that magic touch with a pattern plane.   Although suffering the loss of his primary plane Colin still put up good flights with Michi having consistent flights close behind. The biggest improvement I have seen is Colin’s son Ethan. This 13 year old is flying phenomenally and seems to be one with his plane. He has come a long way since I met him back in 2008 when I judged him in Sportsman.

We finished up with 3 rounds flown in FAI and the other classes all getting in 4 rounds I believe. A large group of us then headed into town for a nice dinner at a local restaurant.

Round two scores are posted in the picture album.

Practice Day

Up early (with the 3 hour time change for us West Coast types) but luckily we were greeted by this note on the kitchen counter.....

Wow is all I can say! It's no wonder we keep coming back:-)  Thanks Rosemary!

Harry was heading off to set up the field while we finished breakfast. His crew will be putting in the marker poles and box lines this morning so the field was closed until 11ish to get this accomplished.

We gathered our gear and headed out to the flying site.  A bit of tweaking on expos etc. due to the air density and some prop changes to find the feel we are accustomed too back home. Well at least that was the plan! Michi and I called for each other as we got in our practice rounds in very windy, bumpy cross wind (blow out) conditions. 

The rough ride & winds made for some interesting piloting work. Landings were also a bit of a chore but we all managed to put in 5 - 6 rounds of P-13 & F-13 without bending anything.

We headed back to the Ells farm for plane processing and a nice BBQ dinner awaited us thanks to Rosemary and in part, her mother Mary. It was a very laid back affair and a nice wind down for the day.

Harry did the official weigh in and dimension check and everyone made it through. These are the weights I recorded... not sure if Ethan is flying one of the Xigris's for the event.

Richard’s Adrenaline 4728
Xavier’s  #1 Xigris 4959
Xavier’s #2  Xigris 4938
Dave’s Xigris 4730
Michi’s #1 Xigris 4870
Michi.s #2 Xigris 4910
Chad’s Caelestia 4859
Colin’s #1 Xigris 4823
Colin’s #2 Xigris 4892
Ethan’s Integral 4993

I finished charging and we had a little pattern discussion on some rule interpretations and the contest format. Looks like a large contingent of flyers with 8 in FAI alone... I’ll  nail down the numbers tomorrow and publish them time permitting. Off to the rack.

A safe arrival!

I started writing this post at 39,000 feet above our country... just east of Thunder Bay. Just some short notes.... hey I am trying cut down :-0

Headed to the baggage area and picked up my bag & plane box then off to Avis for the rental pickup. I was unable to secure a minivan online (a prime choice of us fly-in types due to the folding seats) but managed to snag one on arrival in Toronto.  It has plenty of room for my needs as I’ll be by myself pretty much the whole trip out.

Headed to Cobourg and met Chad & Will at the local Wal-Mart for some juice and other snacks that will keep us hydrated and nourished over the coming days. I was going to pick up a folding chair but Harry advised me that the two chairs Mark and I left behind at the 2008 team trials are still in his garage! Proof positive that pattern folks never throw anything out!

Off to the Ells farm just north of the 401 on Jamieson Road.. what a beautiful area they live in... quiet and peaceful.  It was great to see both Rosemary and Harry again as I last saw them in Muncie at last year’s Worlds. Michi and Liyan stopped by to pick up his batteries and then Chad, Will and myself began putting planes together for the upcoming weekend.

Xavier is also staying with the Ells and Richard is camping at the flying site. Both of them flew up at the Pine Ridge flying site again today 

As planned, my power package arrived at Harry’s this afternoon and was ready for charging. We socialized and enjoyed the banter and camaraderie that makes up part of the human experience.

Planned practice at Pine Ridge tomorrow or perhaps a jaunt up to Kawartha Lakes flying site.  Not 100% sure what I’ll do.





As darkness fell Xavier showed us his special lighting modification.... Great idea!

Let the travelling begin....

I had just finished up work today and was surprised to find both Michi and Liyan in the Victoria Airport passenger holding area. They were about to get on the short flight over to Vancouver where they would connect to a late night flight to YYZ (Toronto's Pearson Airport) This is commonly called a "red eye".... and there is a reason for that :-) This was the cheapest route using points so the cost was very low..... and so was flexibility in flight choice. All of Michi's boxes were loaded and he's on his way to his first Team Trials as a competitor. He has worked very hard and it's nice to see his dream come true.

 Liyan was exhausted and they were just starting the trip!  The sacrifices the supporters make is incredible and she is a trooper considering that she is expecting. She has been a bit under the weather but is very excited about the trip and competition.

I put the finishing touches on my packing this afternoon and will head out in the early morning for the flight to YYZ. The excitement is starting to build and I am looking forward to seeing old friends and participating in the competition.

 

Everything fits inside nicely!

Preparation... it never ends!

Check your packing lists folks! Nothing like arriving at the field and remembering you left your wing tube on the work bench... 2200 miles away! ... don't worry mine is packed!

My sources tell me that Michi Akimoto and Liyan will depart Wednesday night on a Red Eye flight to Toronto with two planes in tow. They should arrive early Thursday morning and head towards Cobourg and his hotel. I believe he has a package at Harry's place that he will have to pick up sometime Thursday afternoon. Chad has packed up his plane according to pictures & posts on Facebook. He joins Will Gross and they depart Thursday morning from Calgary, AB.

I'll be doing the same except from Victoria and hope to arrive around 3:30 pm local time... grab the rental vehicle and head to Cobourg... yep at the start of rush hour....Welcome to Toronto! Now you'll notice I said "hope" as I travel on a standby basis with my airline discount. This can be a great thing... and a terrible thing depending on flight loads... I have some flexibility and may go through Vancouver but it's looking good right now. Fingers crossed :-)

If all goes well we should have a pretty good assembly session going in Harry's garage... this way I can take pictures of Chad's secret prop and longitudinal stabilization augmentation project :-)

I am sure Xavier, Paul and the other contestants are prepping their planes and gear for the upcoming weekend. Should be a great time and I am looking forward to seeing everyone again.  Off to bed.. up early tomorrow in Kamloops, BC for my last day of flying "big" planes :-)

Here we go!

Hi folks and welcome!

Yes it's that time again! Pattern West iNews is set to travel to the 2012 Canadian Precision Aerobatic Nationals and F3A Team Trials at the Pine Ridge Flyers site in Ontario, Canada. CD Harry Ells performs double duties as not only CD of the event but as Canada's representative to the FAI F3A Precision Aerobatics Judging Panel.  Harry and his gang of hard working helpers will be host to many local and out of province flyers that will attend this years event. For our FAI flyers, this event is also the Canadian Team Trials used to selected the top three team members that will represent Canada at the 2013 FAI F3A World Championships in South Africa.  The FAI class is open to anyone but special application and qualification criteria must be met in order to enter the "Team Trials" portion.

The Team Trial events are usually run opposite the World Championships which, for those unfamiliar, go every two years. Many countries will be running their respective trials this summer in an effort to establish their teams and allow for proper planning and practice for those selected. It's a major deal for those trying out as the time commitment to practice and travel can be costly.... but the chance to represent your country on the world stage is the greatest reward you'll find in precision aerobatics.

We will see a change in participants as numerous former team members have stepped down to pursue other interests. Both Deszo Vaghy and Mark Byrne have left the RC scene and we have a new FAI pilot in Michi Akimoto from Victoria stepping in to try and fill the shoes of these top individuals.

Chad Northeast continues to dominate the FAI world in Canada and has shown strong improvement internationally with his second place finish at the 2011 US Nationals last year. He hopes to improve on that outcome in the months leading up to the 2013 Worlds event. Chad has been the top Canadian since I came into this hobby/sport and has a huge list of achievements including design work on aircraft and RC parts.

Chad's ZNLine Caelestia

Xavier Mouraux continues to push for a spot and will be ready this year with his Xigris airframes. Xavier has been involved in the Canadian team as both an alternate (2009) as well as helper/caller in Argentina (2007) and in Muncie at last years World Championships. Xavier enjoys taking pictures and has an extensive Picasa Web album with plenty of plane pictures.

Paul Hepworth is also in the mix but I know he has been very busy with a new house acquisition... hope he's been practicing :-)

I hope to have a list of all the precision aerobatic competitors as well as those competing in the trials in the next few days and will list them when I can. Please feel free to share this page with anyone interested. As well I will continue to grow this page with additional links and other interesting RC related items concerning this event. As I mentioned on the PWN site, I will be taking a more relaxed approach to this year's trials reporting and focus on the flying portion as a priority.