Collected from: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soaring/message/125441

Most amussing report from the 2004 Nats F3B in USA :-)

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From: "Tom H. Nagel" <tomnagel@i...>
Date: Mon Jul 26, 2004 6:30 pm
Subject: [RCSE] Report on Nats XC and a brief visit with F3-B


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I spent a little down time watching F3-B for the first time. Here is what I understood of it, keeping in mind I might have gotten some of this wrong: There are three parts to F3-B: speed, distance ,and a sort of combination thermal duration and interpretive dance.
It takes a crew of about 47 people to run the event, including timers, spotters, electronics engineers, structural consultants, and aromatherapists. Approximately 3 people on the planet understand all of the rules, which were written by the same group that invented bridge.
The speed event involves launching into low earth orbit and then squandering all that altitude for speed in about 14 seconds, the sailplane equivalent of bungee jumping. If RC sailplane events ever make it onto ESPN-2 it will be the F3-B speed event they cover first.

The F3-B crowd looked intense and athletic and happily engaged in their event. The XC/Scale Aerotow crowd looked a little less intense, a whole lot less athletic (I contributed a lot to that part) and just as happily engaged. It was a fun weekend, despite less than perfect weather.


Tom H. Nagel
Columbus, OH