What a great couple of weeks!
Any concerns I had about Belgrade proved completely unwarranted.
Everyone we met was kind and helpful – from the event coordinators to
the taxi drivers to people on the street. I felt perfectly safe
walking from the hotel to get a slice of pizza around midnight or
winding through the 200,000+ people at the Beer Fest during our off
day – even with my Team USA shirt on. We toured the city, visited
stunning landmarks like the fortress in the center of town, ate at
nice restaurants, and had an all-around wonderful time.
The International Open "Pre-contest" served as practice for the World
Champs, both for the competitors and the organizers. We quickly
learned that the air was turbulent during the daytime when the
sunlight beamed through the multitude of magnifying-glass type
windows on the roof, but quickly calmed down around 4pm when the sun
began to set. The timers, however, began to bail out before then
after having suffered through the heat for several hours. It was
difficult to secure one during the "good air".
This knowledge carried over to the WC. The event directors kindly
adjusted the rounds schedule so that we could fly in the good evening
and nighttime air. The modified format caused some logistics
problems with food and transportation, but I think it was well worth
it. Flying comes first at the WC! Timers weren't problem during the
WC because each team gets an assigned pair.
Congratulations to World Champion Ivan Treger. His models looked
simple and clean and had an amazingly solid flight pattern. While
some planes floundered during launch in the low-level daytime
turbulence, his just rocked gently and went about their business.
Ivan's Variable Pitch props worked nicely, too, with his last flight
only peaking at about 75% height and still turning in 35:25. His WC
victory and new World Record are a clear indication of his
preparation and skill. Great job, Ivan!
Silver medalist Lutz Schramm's models were on the other end of the
complexity spectrum. They featured parabolic wings, molded carbon
prop outlines with a prop spar that stopped at the first rib, hollow
molded carbon wing posts with an offset for adjusting wing warp, and
a bevy of other innovations - a beautiful example of German precision
engineering.
I managed to hold on for the last podium spot, but there were several
others in close contention for one of the top three places. Jim
Richmond lost three flights to steering problems resulting from
vision and balance issues. The matter was brought before the FAI
Jury and after some consideration they decided that the empirical
evidence before them was as convincing as any doctor's note and
granted him a proxy steerer. I was honored to do the duty and, a few
steers later, Jim's next flight was a "safe" 33:10 backup that locked
in the team win for the USA. His final one was wound for bear, but
the prop folded very late after losing most of its altitude and
landed with a bunch of turns.
We tease Doug Schaefer about his models and boxes (a few of his props
looks like something out of Dr. Seuss), but you can't argue about his
times. Doug overcame a first round launch stall that touched just
after the "attempt window" and posted a solid set of times to finish
mere seconds behind Richmond and contribute to the convincing team
win.
As Karol mentioned, steering skill was once again an essential
element in the top competitors' arsenal, and some of the most
impressive examples I saw were by the Czech Junior team. I'd guess
that their youngest member was around 8, but they all demonstrated
great form – getting on and off the models cleanly with little
altitude change, and moving the model on the line at the proper
pace. My only disagreement would be their choice to walk backwards
during the steer (it seems too easy to trip), but the rest set a
great example for others to follow (just remember to look up when you
are walking back with your balloon! :) ). Their models looked
identical to Treger's, so I assume he is involved in their coaching.
If so, their steering skill is another testament to the World
Champion.
Thank you to our Serbian hosts for organizing an excellent contest.
I felt safe and secure, and very welcomed. Anecdotally, on the
second to last day I inadvertently left my camera and stopwatch on
the table outside our cubicle. The following morning it was
missing. We searched everywhere and even looked through the security
guard's detailed log for the night. Nothing. Our hosts were very
embarrassed that such a thing could happen. Well, it turns out it
didn't. The organizer had seen the items lying out as he was leaving
the night before and stowed them away for safe keeping. Since he
left late, he came back the next day around noon, items in hand.
That was the closest thing to a problem that I experienced, and it
wasn't even a problem!
p.s. the food was great, too
Received on Mon Aug 25 2008 - 08:20:33 CEST
This archive was generated by Yannick on Sat Dec 14 2019 - 19:13:45 CET