FAI Free Flight World Cup 2023

1. Allard van Wallene (NED)

2. Adam Krawiec (PL)

3. Tereza Vosejpkova (CZ)

Advance information

FAI calendar, web-page, Facebook

Schedule of competition

Round 1: 08.00, round duration 60 minutes with 15 minutes break in between the rounds.
Fly off F1A: 18.50 (max 8 minutes and altimeter)
Fly off F1B: 19.10 (max 8 minutes and altimeter)

Duration of rounds

60 minutes

Breaks between rounds

15 minutes

Maximum durations in each round

First two rounds 240 seconds, then 3 rounds of 180 seconds followed by two rounds of 150 seconds due to wind direction and thermal activity carrying models into the town of Kozlany.

Interruptions and delays

None. Free lunch was served for the contestants.

Weather and visibility

Clear skies, max 29C for most of the day, variable winds max 3 m/s. A thin cloud cover obstructed the sun for some hours at mid-day.

Flight line - changes of position

Starting poles for all classes. No fixed timekeepers. Contestants were assigned a fixed starting pole for each round (rotation by changing 2 poles for each round for F1A, 1 pole for F1B).

Number of starting poles

F1A: 9, F1B: 5, F1C: 1, F1Q: 1

Number of competitors per pole

Up to 5

Local rules or deviations from Sporting Code

Timekeeping by competitors.

Observations on timekeeping

Random check of timekeeping by jury members. No anomalies were observed.

Prize-giving and issue of results - confirm organisers provide results with full names, nationalities and number of juniors

Results continuously updated on on-line score-board accessible via QR code.
Price-giving in evening on field after last fly off.

Any incident or accident

The contest director and jury decided for a late 8 minute fly off with altimeter as back up should the max be attained by more than one pilot. In all classes all models landed on the field except for the top 2 flyers in F1A. The runner-up model landed in a tree at the edge of the village and the eventual winner landed also in a tree some 3.2 km downwind behind the village as the model glided in a straight line downwind. Both these pilots could not present their altimeters to the jury and got the altimeter data via radio link from the model up in the tree. As it was clear to the jury the models did in fact perform the claimed time, these results were accepted (albeit not according to the sporting code which states the altimeter itself must be presented and read within one hour after the fly off).
Disclaimer: This should by no means be used as a precedent for future fly offs as currently only a single certified altimeter has the radio link option. In this case both altimeters of the models up in the trees had this functionality. Should another type of altimeter without radio link be inaccessible, than the results would not have been accepted.

Protests

Several contestants used their certified altimeter to contest the time keeper s recorded time. All altimeters could be read and most times were upwardly corrected as models disappeared behind an elevation in the field. The winner eventually landed some 30 meters lower than the launch elevation, which explains the substantially higher flight time in the dead air conditions.