In 1988, the F3A European Championship took place in Nörrköping, Sweden. Germany had 4 pilots at the start. This was due to the fact that Bertram Lossen was automatically qualified as the defending champion and decided not to take part in the team competition. This gave Peter Erang a chance to compete.
Here is the report by Peter Wessels. The report is written from the perspective of the German teams.
25-31 July 1988, Nörrköping. Sweden: the fourth European Championships in the F3A aerobatic class. 42 pilots competed for the title of European champion in the individual and team competitions. Unfortunately, there were again no participants from the Eastern European countries.
Due to the fact that Bertram Lossen won the European Championship title in 1986, we were able to send four pilots to the start this time. Bertram kindly made his place in the team available and therefore only took part in the individual competition. This enabled Peter Erang, who came fourth in the 13-man squad in the 87/88 season, to join our team. Together with Tobias Schulz and myself, the three of us had the task of bringing the team title back to Germany.
We met in Travemünde at 6 a.m. on 22 July. A six-hour crossing to Trelleborg was followed by an equally long car journey to Nörrköping. The heavy rain did not bode well for competition weather.
The first morning in our hotel was also unpleasant. Someone had tried to break into my car. Fortunately, nothing was stolen. From then on, we always cleared out the cars in the evening and never regretted it. The next night, all the Austrians’ cars were broken into. Expensive Asano propellers and glow plugs were stolen from the Belgian Sardini.
Apparently, expert thieves were at work here, who must have had a circle of customers. On Saturday and Sunday there was extensive training. As is so often the case at major competitions, technical problems suddenly arose: Bertram’s undercarriage, Tobias’s reso pipe, mine the engine. Peter Erang was hit on Sunday. His engine. It had been running perfectly until then, but suddenly stopped just before the last figure. We knew that the engines in Sweden consume a bit more fuel. But the thirst of Peter’s engine kept us puzzled for seven hours. Firstly, we realised that a 400 cc Kavan tank holds the same amount of fuel as a 300 cc tank from the same manufacturer. But this was not the cause of the difficulties, nor was it the ball bearing in the front crankshaft housing, which we changed next.
The news that H. Prettner would once again not be taking part in the European Championships came as a surprise. There were several versions of the reasons for his absence. His place in the team was taken by F Höller, who performed brilliantly in his international outing at this European Championship. After the non-appearance of H. Prettner, everything pointed to a duel between B. Lossen and W. Matt. Many pilots came into consideration for the other places: the Englishman Binks, the Belgian Degotte and the Austrian Kronlachner were always good for front positions. But you also had to reckon with the possibility of a relatively unknown driver suddenly getting into the mix at the front – an example was provided by the outsider Chip Hide in an astonishing sixth place at the last World Championships. And let’s not forget Peter Erang. Tobias Schulz and I also had justified hopes of being in the leading group.
As Peter and I had to fly so close together, I couldn’t use him as a helper, a function in which we have been a well-rehearsed team for two years; Bertram took over this function and fulfilled it very well, but it still meant a certain change for me. Bertram and Tobias got very good starting numbers and flew in a better group (with W. Matt, K. Binks and A. Degotte) than Peter Erang and myself.
As is almost usual at the European and World Championships, a new rule was introduced on the eve of the competition with regard to the 150 m: the programme was to be flown at a distance of 150-175 m. However, as at the last World Championships, the flight sector was not monitored. The question naturally arises as to why the window in which the aerobatic programme must be completed is set up and marked, but not monitored, when there are clear differences in performance between the individual pilots. Describing the individual flights would go beyond the scope of this report, but we would like to point out a few special features.
Firstly, the 2nd-5th places we achieved certainly represent a sensational success for the German team. In addition, our team harmonised and the atmosphere was very good.
The 1988 European Championships must also be seen as the competition for P Erang, who emphasised his abilities with his third place. What was striking was the fact that neither Tobias nor I had a chance to beat Peter in any of the rounds. to beat Peter. It was already clear to me after the second run that more than fourth place was not achievable. I also felt no pressure from the pilots behind me, as the points gap was too big. Tobias was fighting with the Swede A. Johannson, the Austrian H. Kronlachner and the Norwegian N. Bossum for 5th to 8th place, which is all the more surprising as Peter.
Tobias and I certainly showed the same flying qualities in terms of performance. For me, this European Championship was already over after the second round and the necessary motivation was no longer there. One of my strengths – flying under pressure flying under pressure – I couldn’t play to my strengths. Tobias only managed to achieve fifth place in the last final round, although his performance was certainly better. Unexpected things also happened among the top three: nobody would have believed that Peter Erang would beat W. Matt and Bertram Lossen twice.
Third place is a huge success for Peter; I was also pleased with my thankless fourth place. All four German pilots in the top five is an achievement that is only emphasised by the strong competition. A rule change was made to determine the participants in the final. According to the new rule, the best 20% of the participants will contest the final.
These are determined as follows: In the preliminary round, 4 flights are completed, of which the best three are scored. These three flights, converted into per mille, are added together and divided by three, resulting in a per mille score. This one score is taken into the final. Instead of the usual two rounds, three rounds are now flown in one day. These three rounds, together with the score from the preliminary round, make up another four flights, of which the best three are scored again. Theoretically, it is even possible to cancel the scoring from the preliminary round.
The purpose of this new regulation is to de-emphasise the preliminary round and instead increase the importance of the final flights. The final should therefore practically be a new competition. As already seen at the last World Championships, the order of the three final flights will no longer change.
There were no technical innovations to be seen at this EM, which is not to say that the F3A class has come to a standstill. The optimisations are limited to detail work. As at the last World Championships, the use of Asano propellers, which could be seen in all conceivable sizes, was certainly noticeable. These propellers are now available in quarter-inch pitch and diameter. Many participants also used the “Dyna-Prop” propellers manufactured by W. Smusch (e.g. P Erang. T. Schulz); these are exact copies of the Asano propellers with the same qualities at a considerably lower price.
The models we brought with us were top class in terms of workmanship. Together with the Saphir from W. Matt, they are probably also among those that are ideally suited for the new turning programme thanks to their constant flying speed in all 1k ranges. With the exception of T. Schulz’s model, we all received the noise bonus for our aeroplanes. Together with the Swede A. Johannson, I was able to record the best noise measurement: At a distance of three metres, 86 dBA was recorded for the Swede. then 87 dBA for my OS LS. Nowadays, noise insulation measures include the almost obligatory use of swinging elements; teams such as Italy, for example, who had the engines permanently mounted, also went out without bonus points. New trend in resonance tubes: Almost all top pilots who fly two-stroke engines use the OS/Hattori pipe or its GRP replica from Hafu in Fulda, whereby the latter has the advantage of being more than half as light as the original at just 65 g.
In terms of the engines used, the trend towards long-stroke engines increased, with OS and Webra products leading the way. This time, W. Matt no longer relied on the tried and tested Webra LS, but used a Yamada engine that drove a 12 x 11 propeller. He even dispensed with a needle adjustment. It is certainly noticeable that the propellers are getting larger and larger in both diameter and pitch. The 10 x 10 propeller I still use can be regarded as the smallest propeller today; sizes such as 12 x 11.5; 12 x 11; 11.75 x 11.75; 11.75 x 10.5 were predominant.
Many participants also relied on 20 cc four-stroke engines, with the Surpass from OS leading the way. However, the fact that the 10cc LS engines used today are sometimes quieter than the four-strokes was also noticed by the scorers at this European Championship.
While all four-stroke models received a noise bonus at the World Championships, this was not the case today. H. Krohnlachner probably had the most steam available in his Star-Fly and the Enya 120 RC in combination with a 6.5 reso tube was certainly one of the quietest models. However, I can’t deny the impression that the four-stroke models are too fast for the programme and just race through it. At full throttle (propeller 13 x 12, 14 x 11), these models make a real leap forwards in the air. In order to achieve a balanced flying style, the throttle stick must be used sensitively.
As far as remote controls are concerned, there is a clear trend towards computerised systems. The MC 18 from Graupner certainly led the way here. In some cases, the Robbe CM Rex and the Futaba RCM 1024 were also to be found.
Of course, such systems cannot improve flying skills, but they do make the adjustment and trimming work on models much easier.
With the asymmetric mixers available, it is even possible to correct deviations of the model in the knife-edge flight attitude; this can certainly be an advantage in knife-edge flight with counter-rotation.
Looking back on the European Championships, the German team is naturally delighted with their great success; for the team that won the title for the fourth time in a row, and I include Bertram Lossen in the team. And a great success for Peter Erang in particular, who flew superbly and also had the necessary bit of luck. In retrospect, however, there is some criticism, mainly due to the very modest support of 400 DM from the DAeC in Frankfurt for the German participants; an amount that was not even sufficient for the entry fee. The costs for the individual amounted to several thousand marks and when we then heard from the officials we were told. “Nobody would have forced us to take part”, it certainly didn’t alleviate the problems. Our team captain, who was quite critical of the level of support, faced an attempt to remove him from office. The fact that Peter Erang was to lose his starting licence because he had a DMFV sticker on the rear window of his car was also met with little sympathy.
The team had incurred very high costs, even small items such as the national eagle, the DAeC ties and patches had to be paid for by ourselves. In view of the performances that the top F3A pilots have been showing at international level for years, generous support, such as the Belgian or Dutch participants receive from their associations, would be appropriate.
The organisers in Sweden also left out a few things at the award ceremony that would not have been out of place at a European Championship. Our team captain, who was quite critical of the level of support, faced an attempt to remove him from office.
Also the fact that Peter Erang lost his licence to fly because he had a DMFV sticker on the rear window of his car could hardly be understood.
The team had taken on very high costs, even little things like national eagles, which would certainly not have been a luxury: The participants received neither certificates nor result lists, from fourth place onwards there was only a handshake; not much with an entry fee of DM 600 to be paid by everyone.
But we also have to thank the city of Esslingen and the Graupner company for their help. Esslingen, Nörrköping’s twin town, provided us with a team bus for the trip to Sweden. And the Graupner company, which has been the only company to support the F3A team for years, donated a sum of money that was not tied to the use of the company’s products; this meant that Peter Erang was also able to benefit, even though neither his RC equipment nor his motor come from Graupner.
After the successful European Championships, the next highlight for us is the 1989 World Championships in the USA, for which Bertram Lossen, Tobias Schulz and I have qualified.
And before that is the TOC in Las Vegas this autumn. I’m travelling there with B. Lossen and G. Hoppe and that will take up a lot of time for construction and training.
Results
Text: Peter Wessels c/o FMT
Pictures: Classicpattern
