Thanks to John Lewis for the write up on the QLD E36 State Championships...Queensland E36 State Championships August 25 2021Traditionally August is our windiest month but this year we have had probably the best August weather I can remember with light winds and pleasant temperatures. Sunday provided the perfect opportunity to run our most popular Free Flight class and a reminder of why we enjoy Free Flight. The wind direction (what there was of it) constantly changed throughout the day however the starting line location near where the old rusting machinery (was once located) provided good recovery options in all directions. Even the cows kept a respectable distance for most of the day only wandering past to get a closer look at the fly-off at the end of our flying session.Most were keen to get started in the ideal conditions and with minimal preparation required for E36, there was soon a number of short test flights in progress. Peter Nash was first to record an official score and was fancied to do well after some impressive flights after the power events the week before. Disappointedly however, Peter’s model after gaining impressive height on the climb developed a stall to end his winning aspirations. Kathy showed the boys how it was done to record the first max of the day quickly followed by John, Des, Malcolm and Ben all recording maxes. Annika’s first flight suffered from a poor transition and although the model glided well the lack of initial height resulted in a sub max. Ron Munden had a short motor run but still recorded a respectable score. Albert Fathers was less fortunate having his model go off trim in the climb resulting in a crash that ended his E36 flying for the day. There were less maxes to go round for the second flights leaving only Ben and Malcolm with a perfect score with Annika the only other competitor to score a second flight max. Perhaps the lift improved later in the morning or perhaps the models were better trimmed with 5 third flight maxes and two other scores only a few seconds short. Peter was still having stalling issues recording the lowest 3rd flight score. The lift appeared to be in small patches and as the day wore on uppers and downers were more effective resulting in some impressive flights and a few low scores. Peter, Malcolm and the three generations of Lewis’ all maxed their 4th flight. Annika’s model landed near (Graham’s) tree where a Magpie family have taken up residence. Annika discovered the advantages of wearing a hat although one of the aggressive birds still drew blood on her head. Ron missed his last flight due to feeling a little unwell with Peter, Malcolm, Ben and John all finishing on a high. After a good start Kathy's last two flights found poor air to place her uncharacteristically down the list. Annika had a chance to make equal 3rd place but dropped her last flight by 16 seconds to take 4th spot. After five flights it left only Ben and Malcolm in the fly-off .Flying in a ten minute window with the power runs reduced from 10 to 5 seconds both models caught helpful air with Ben’s marginally higher. As the models approached the danger zone (Graham’s tree) Malcolm’s model was closest to the Magpie habitant and survived a few attempts to bring it down but the model survived the attack and maxed.Ben caught the better of the air on his second fly-off flight gaining good height clear of the Magpie tree. Malcolm had marginal air that brought his model once again into the Magpie airspace. Well, that bird had had enough of us and our model planes by then and decided it was getting serious as it went into a frenzied attack leaving Malcolm’s model with a range of battle scars and torn tissue but more disappointedly a sub max score and therefore second place. Ben had a new model ready for flying on the day but had to resort to his Nu Skool design he used to win last year’s E36 State Champs. It will be interesting to see if Ben’s new model performs as well as his current design.Certainly a great day for Free Flight fun in the sun. ... See MoreSee Less

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