2022 F1D World Championship

2022 F1D World Championship

2022 F1D World Championship

Back to the salt mines

By David Lindley | nffspresident@freeflight.org

Photos courtesy of John Kagan, Michael Rose, and the author

As seen in the March 2023 issue of Model Aviation.

After the COVID pandemic caused the cancelation of the 2020 FAI World Championship cycle for F1D, we were all pretty excited to get back to the salt mines to fly, compete, and commune with friends again. Last year’s F1D World Championship was held in a salt mine in Slănic, Romania, the site of several previous world championships, on December 12-15, 2022.

01 and 02. A view of the official flying area. It is 183 feet to the ceiling and each team has a balloon stationed around the perimeter in case of the need to steer.

01 and 02. A view of the official flying area. It is 183 feet to the ceiling and each team has a balloon stationed around the perimeter in case of the need to steer.

01 and 02. A view of the official flying area. It is 183 feet to the ceiling and each team has a balloon stationed around the perimeter in case of the need to steer.

Team USA included three previous world champions (Emily Guyette, John Kagan, and Kang Lee) and one reigning world champion (Brett Sanborn)! The Junior team was selected during the July 4 weekend at Johnson City, Tennessee, and included four amazingly talented youth fliers (Odessa Wignall, Elijah Rose, Quinn Sorbello, and Guha Ekambaram) who came up through the Science Olympiad program. With managers and support personnel, we had a traveling party of 16 people to Romania.

Odessa Wignall (back turned), and coach Chuck Andraka work on repairs in the pit area.

Odessa Wignall (back turned), and coach Chuck Andraka work on repairs in the pit area.

John Kagan’s model is locked, loaded, and ready to fly!

John Kagan’s model is locked, loaded, and ready to fly!

When you have limited space in the pit area, you have to get creative with storing your models ready to go!

When you have limited space in the pit area, you have to get creative with storing your models ready to go!

Quinn Sorbello winds his rubber motor while preparing for an official flight.

Quinn Sorbello winds his rubber motor while preparing for an official flight.

As Team USA awaited the awards ceremony and banquet, Guha Ekambaram sat with the Senior team, trying to learn all of the secrets!

As Team USA awaited the awards ceremony and banquet, Guha Ekambaram sat with the Senior team, trying to learn all of the secrets!

Entry in the 2022 World Championship included 33 Senior competitors from 14 countries and 12 Junior competitors representing six countries. These are the best of the best from around the world, and the competition was fierce!

Since 1961, Team USA has had an incredible record throughout the years in FAI F1D World Championship competitions, including:

  • 20 Individual World Champions
  • 16 Team Champions
  • 5 Individual Junior World Champions (since 1992)
  • 3 Junior Team Champions (since 1992) For those who are unfamiliar with FAI International Indoor Free Flight (FF) competitions, following is some context about the logistics:
  • Official flights are flown in six "rounds" throughout three days.
  • A "round" is a three-hour window in which each competitor completes one flight.
  • A competitor’s score is the combined total of their best two flights over six rounds.

The model specifications are defined by the FAI, and although it has adapted the dimensions of the model throughout the years, the basic planform is designed to fly approximately 25 to 30 minutes on the power of a rubber band:

  • 55 cm maximum wingspan (21.65 inches)
  • 1.4 grams minimum model weight
  • 0.4 gram maximum rubber weight
  • The competitor must be the Builder of the Model (one of the few remaining FAI disciplines that retains this requirement)

Team USA arrived several days before the start of the event. There is a pre-contest that all competitors use as a practice time to get their models trimmed and ready for the World Championship. Although the European contestants have access to the mine almost anytime they want to use it, the US has no site that is similar in which to practice. The Slănic mine that we fly in is roughly 183 feet to the top, but the top—and the floor space for that matter—are very narrow compared with most of the sites we regularly use in the US.

This narrowness means the competitors need to trim for a much steeper, tight climb pattern and cruise in a smaller circle than we are used to. The mine is deep underground, so it also happens to be fairly chilly, a constant 45° to 50° F, which means you are wearing a coat nearly the whole time.

Needless to say, this extra practice time is invaluable for all of the competitors. The other nuance that competitors want to get an understanding of during practice time is the general drift. Although the mine is roughly 800 feet underground, there are entrance tunnels that provide enough air movement that you need to be aware of what the drift is.

If your model should happen to drift into the rough salt mine walls, in all likelihood, it will slide all the way down the wall, killing your opportunity to achieve a decent time, and quite possibly doing some degree of damage to your model.

In some of the pictures, you will see a number of helium balloons stationed around the perimeter of the mine. These are used for steering the model away from trouble. FAI rules allow a competitor to steer to avoid collision with the building or another model. Imagine trying to catch one of these delicate models on the string of a balloon, 180 feet straight over your head. Understanding the drift and being able to anticipate well in advance is critical!

The practice days went reasonably well for both the Senior and Junior teams. There were certainly a lot of broken models, but when you are dealing with models this delicate, breaking and fixing things on-site is part of the sport. All of the Senior team had flown in this mine before, but for the Juniors, it was their first time flying in these conditions.

New World Champion Brett Sanborn (center; USA), with (L-R) John Kagan (USA), second place, and Dmytro Sednov (UKR), third place.

New World Champion Brett Sanborn (center; USA), with (L-R) John Kagan (USA), second place, and Dmytro Sednov (UKR), third place.

Senior Team winners were Team Ukraine (center), first place; Team USA (L), second place; and Team Romania (R), third place.

Senior Team winners were Team Ukraine (center), first place; Team USA (L), second place; and Team Romania (R), third place.

Junior Team podium. Junior Team winner Romania (center); Team USA (L), second place; and Ukraine (R), third place.

Junior Team podium. Junior Team winner Romania (center); Team USA (L), second place; and Ukraine (R), third place.

Day One, Rounds 1 and 2

The entire Senior team was well prepared and trimmed by the end of the practice day, so with models already trimmed and assembled, they were able to each put up respectable times in Round 1 without taking any risks of damaging their airplanes. Ivan Traeger (Slovakia) posted a 28-plus-minute flight in Round 1 to set the bar for everyone.

In Round 2, those who had the option seemed to wait until later in the round to fly, hoping for better air. The trade-off in waiting is that the air can get very crowded with other models, which risks midair collisions or additional steering to avoid such. In that crowded air was Brett’s model, which was line-fouled by another competitor while steering, bringing Brett’s model straight down.

Because of the line foul, Brett was allowed a reflight. He launched his reflight as Round 2 ended, so he had all the air to himself. He had a great launch and the model climbed to slightly beneath the catwalk (about as high as anyone wanted to push it on Day One). Half of the competitors had already boarded buses back to the hotel by the time Brett landed at 27 minutes. That put him in first place, with his two-flight total at the end of Day One.

The Junior team also had some great flights on Day One, led by Quinn in fourth place overall in the Junior classification. It was clear that the Romanian and Ukrainian Juniors had the advantage of extra time practicing in the mine.

Day Two, Rounds 3 and 4

The USA F1D Junior team showed solid improvement on Day Two in the formidable salt mine. Day One saw flights to less than 120 feet, which, in a 180-foot ceiling, is quite limiting to the flight times. Elijah was able to get a stronger climb on his model on Day Two and move himself ahead of teammate Quinn in the overall standings.

Team USA was excited to participate in the competition.

Team USA was excited to participate in the competition.

John (L) and Brett (R) flank Horatiu Somesan of Team Romania.

John (L) and Brett (R) flank Horatiu Somesan of Team Romania.

Odessa continued to put up solid scores. Guha, who won the team trials, learned just how unforgiving the mine can be! His airplanes had robustness issues, leaving him to many late-night building/repairing sessions. Despite the challenges of competing against the home team, the Juniors were doing well and learning a lot. Competition at this level is not easy, especially in a highly technical class such as F1D.

The Senior team started the morning with big plans to make some moves. Emily was our leadoff hitter for Round 3 and had tuned up in the hour before Round 3 started on some half motors that were looking incredibly good and pointing toward a possible 27-plus-minute flight.

After the round started, she processed immediately, wound her motor, and felt confident. She released her model and it started into a perfect climb pattern then snap—5 feet out of her hand. Apparently, the thrust bearing decided it no longer wanted to be attached to the fuselage. Honestly, for as catastrophic as a fully wound motor can be, she did no damage to the wing, but she broke her propeller and knocked off the stabilizer. She ended up taking a zero in Round 3 while she did some repairs and retrimming in one of the mine halls off to the side of where official flying occured.

Kang went second and posted a nice 25-plus-minute flight, which was his best flight in official rounds thus far. He got good altitude, but it seemed that the air wasn’t quite as good as it had been.

John batted cleanup for Round 3 for Team USA and posted a 23-plus-minute flight. He drifted up the hall in the opposite direction where the primary drift had been for the past few days and hit some turbulence toward the top that caused his model to stall and lose some altitude before he had a chance to steer it back down toward more stable air. Unfortunately, the altitude had already been lost.

Brett posted the round’s best time at 28-plus minutes. He was super consistent in his flying and his model was well tuned. Round 4 followed in similar fashion, but none of our Round 4 scores moved the needle much because they each had two better flights already on the board. Brett remained in first place overall, but his lead had narrowed.

Final Day, Rounds 5 and 6

The Senior team went in that morning with a plan to gain some ground in Rounds 5 and 6. John was the leadoff hitter for the Senior team in the morning and went off right as the round started, putting up a 27-plus-minute flight. It was his best flight so far, and it moved him into second place at the end of Round 5!

Emily upped her second flight, and Kang was batting cleanup for the morning round for the team. With 30 minutes left in the round, he began winding and proceeded to break four consecutive motors, which left him no time to wind a fifth to get a flight in for the round.

Meanwhile, Brett put in a strong 28-minute flight to up his second flight total and solidify his first-place standing after Round 5. At that point, unless someone came on strong, he might not even have had to put in a final flight.

Team USA Podium Placings for the 2022 F1D World Championship

Individual Senior

Brett Sanborn, first place

John Kagan, second place

Team Senior

Team USA, second place

Team Junior

Team USA, second place

Junior Female

Odessa Wignall, second place

Senior Female

Emily Guyette, first place

Teams were packed in tight quarters in the pit area to leave the main floor open for official flying.

Teams were packed in tight quarters in the pit area to leave the main floor open for official flying.

In Round 6, Emily led off for the US Team. She posted a 21-plus-minute flight, but it was not good enough to increase her two-flight total. Her flight profile was generally good, but it seemed to catch some bad air and sank too quickly in the last half of the flight.

John came up next and wound for the ceiling. He reached a few meters short of the ceiling but had a beautiful cruise and posted another 27-plus-minute flight to strengthen his second-place standing. Kang, batting cleanup, had a tremendous 27-plus-minute flight that ended up being his best flight of the competition.

Brett waited until late in the round, but one of the Ukrainian team members had the possibility to best Brett’s score, so he opted to take a chance and make a Round 6 flight. Brett and Dmytro Senov (Ukraine) launched within a minute of one another, and both raced to the ceiling in similar circles.

At the top, the two aircraft had a slight midair, which entitled them both to a potential reflight. Dmytro recovered fine and posted a 27-plus-minute flight. Brett did not recover quite as well and ended up running into and sliding down the wall, ruining his flight and his airplane!

Brett immediately declared that he would take his reflight option and went back to the pit area to get his backup model. Brett prepped and launched just as Dmytro was landing his flight at the end of the round.

From the launch pattern, you wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between his number-one model and his backup. It circled straight for the ceiling and looked to be a good flight. Dmytro decided not to exercise his reflight option, being satisfied with his 27-plus-minute flight, even after the midair, so Brett’s would be the final flight of the 2022 World Championships.

Roughly 80% of the competitors had packed their gear, loaded on buses, and left while Brett’s flight continued. When he finally landed at 29 minutes even, Brett solidified his victory and posted the best flight of the competition. I believe he also posted a new two-flight total world record in competition!

Our Junior team all had good flights on the last day, and I am so amazingly proud of how they all comported themselves throughout the competition. They each had their struggles, but they persevered through adversity and did well as a team, helping each other to succeed! Several of this team are young enough that they will still be eligible to compete for the next cycle and what they learned this year will serve them well.

If you have never been to an Indoor FF competition, you should definitely try to attend one. We don’t have dramatic crashes, we don’t make a lot of noise, and there is no overall smell of nitro in the air. In fact, it is more like being in a library than a top fuel race—things are quiet and people walk slowly.

If you want to see the essence of flight, creating sufficient thrust to generate enough lift with models made by craftsmen, an Indoor contest will never disappoint. Until you have witnessed a rubber band-powered airplane staying aloft for upward of 30 minutes, you can’t fully appreciate the technical nature of this part of the hobby!

SOURCES:

NFFS

www.freeflight.org

 

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