See a video here of Steve Neu flying F5B.
Mandatory Technical Inspection of Team Selection Equipment shall take place Friday, September 23rd , at 6PM at Steve Neu’s, home, 4981 Armin Way, San Diego, 92115, (619) 318-8301. Conduct of the contest (except for SEFSD Field Specific Rules below) and equipment shall be per the requirements of FAI Sporting Code, Section 4C – Aeromodelling, Volume F5, 2011 Edition with changes approved at April, 2011 CIAM Plenary session and listed herein.
5.5.4.1 Definition
b) Model Aircraft Specifications :
Minimum weight without battery ……….1000g
Minimum Surface Area ………………….26.66 dm^2
Type of battery …………………………..Lithium Polymer
Maximum number of equivalent cells in series :.6 10
(cells in parallel are not permitted)
Minimum weight of battery pack……… 450 g
Maximum weight of battery pack……….600 g
Limitation of energy by an electronic
limiter that stops the motor………………1750 watt-minute (maximum)
5.5.4.2 Course Layout and Organization
a) …The sighting device for the safety plane is placed at a distance of a
minimum of 20 m from Base A or B outside of the course (if possible).
5.5.4.4 Launching
d) After the aircraft is hand launched and the stopwatch is started, no
further launching is allowed and flight is being considered as official, the
model aircraft being airborne or not.
5.5.4.5 Distance Task
e)…must remain at Base A on the safe side of the safety plane until the
distance…
g) The flight is annulled if the duration and landing task has not been
started and also the landing does not occur on the designated flying side
of the safety plane and within 100 m from the intersection of that line with
Base A or B.
h) If the model aircraft shows technical problems (i.e. motor stop, radio
problems etc.) and/or flies in a unsafe manner during the distance task,
scoring will stop competitor must land the model immediately. The flight is
given a score of zero (0) for the round. Unsafe flying includes crossing of
the safety line as defined in 5.5.4.2. Erratic flying may also be considered
unsafe and the flight stopped at the discretion of the contest director or his
designated official.
5.5.4.6 Duration and Landing
h) Flying through or close to the distance course in a manner that
interferes with another competitors distance task flight will result in a
penalty of 100 points from the pilots score of this round. This penalty can
be applied by the CD or a designated official.
SEFSD Field Specific Rules
Organization of Starts. Flight order for the first round will be by random draw Friday Evening. The first flight will be at 11:00 AM Saturday morning. We plan to complete 4 rounds on Saturday, and 4 rounds on Sunday. There will be one throw out score. Due to use of lithium batteries and allowance of 1 battery pack per 2 rounds per competitor, the contestants are expected to be able to fly consecutively without delays for battery charging.
Course Layout and Organization. SEFSD Club field cannot accommodate simultaneous and uninterruptible Distance and Duration flight tasks. Therefore, we will strive to have at most (2) models on Duration or (1) model on Distance and (1) model on Duration with 4:00 to 7:00 minute spacing. There will be (2) sets of landing circles provided : one at the West end of the field and one adjoining the Distance Course. The first pilot in the air shall use the West set and the 2nd pilot either the West or Distance set. There should be no landings occurring during a Distance task if the Duration contestant seeks maximum points. In the event of an emergency on Duration, the Administrators shall reserve the right to abort the Distance flight to allow the Duration Contestant to safely land.
Altitude Restriction. SEFSD Club field has a 400ft altitude restriction enforceable during proximity of full scale aircraft . Interference during Distance will be judged by the Base A official, the pilot directed to land immediately and be granted a reflight. Interference during Duration will be judged by the timing official; the pilot may be directed to change course and/or lower altitude and may be granted a reflight if interference is judged detrimental to flight and not collateral to circumstances within the control of the pilot such as running out of battery energy. The pilot is expected to honestly communicate his circumstances with the official timer.
Distance Safety Plane. SEFSD Club has an East-West fence adjoining the pit area. The Base A and Base B sighting devices will be aligned with that fence. Pilots are expected to fly from the South side of the fence, behind the sighting devices. The safe flying area is nominally 5 m North of the fence and not South of the fence in any case.
Entry fees for the Team Selection Trials will be $75 USD. Entry fees will include lunch, and drinks at the field each day. Lunch will be available to non-contestants for $15. San Diego weather in late September ranges from 65 to 85 degrees f. The event will be held at our field at the South Shores Park in Mission Bay, San Diego, CA.
F-5B Team Selection entries must be received by September 11th 2011. Entry shall consist of E-mail to the Contest Director containing Contestant’s name, address, phone #, AMA #. Payment of entry fees is expected prior to or at Equipment Check in. F5B Team Trial entrants must separately meet AMA’s deadlines, FAI Program entry fees and FAI program eligibility requirements. No attempt will be made to vet eligibility prior to or during the competition. The unofficial contest results will be forwarded to AMA with 2012 Romania Team comprised of the top 3 placing eligible competitors. The FAI program contact at AMA is Ms. Colleen Pierce (800) 435-9262 x252 or cpierce@modelaircraft.org . Any entrants needing certification as Qualified to Fly FAI F5B Team Trials may do so at our monthly club practice sessions (appointments in advance are required), here in San Diego, or contact AMA for other methods to attain eligibility.
Further information may be had by contacting Steve Manganelli, smanganelli@earthlink.net (619) 534-1383 or 119 W. Walnut Ave. #9, San Diego, CA 92103-4842.
Best of luck to all entrants and please feel free to pass this information on to anyone interested in joining the competition.
Steve Manganelli
Member, Silent Electric Flyers of San Diego
Contest Director
