F3A Pilot Troy Newman of Goodyear, AZ with his Wei Yang Proteus Biplane.
By Jerry Budd
Nineteen Masters-class pilots gathered at 8 am on Wednesday morning for their third and fourth rounds. However, the weather gods had other ideas as the clouds were low, and the ceilings were only 400 to 500 feet at the start time. After several flights to determine whether the clouds had risen high enough to enable competition flying to begin, it was finally okay to fly without constraint.
Masters pilots flew two rounds, with the judges rotating to allow for equal exposure per round. The flights were completed at around 1:30 pm, at which point 19 FAI pilots prepared to fly their third- and fourth-round flights.
The weather conditions were challenging. Most pilots applied their crosswind techniques to minimize point deductions due to wind drift. The more skilled pilots were able to compensate while maintaining maneuver geometry and positioning, earning them higher scores.
With the delay, the competition ended at approximately 5:30 pm. The day’s results can be seen at the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) website:
Scores
Competition will begin again tomorrow, August 21, at 8 am on Sites 1 and 3 with Masters pilots flying rounds 5 and 6, followed by F3A at 1 pm. The Advanced class will continue with rounds 5 and 6 on Site 4, followed by Sportsman and Intermediate. The top eight qualifiers in Advanced, Masters, and F3A will advance to a three-round final on Friday. Sportsman and Intermediate will fly rounds 7 & 8 on Friday.
