Team USA at F3b WC in Luzern Switzerland

djklein21 · Jul 05, 2007, 05:10 AM

Hello all,
I would like to start off by thanking the soaring community for their outstanding support of the 2007 US F3b team. We will keep you all up to date by posting our experience here.

We left for our journey on Tuesday morning July 3rd. We had a bit of a mishap on our flight from Philadelphia to Zürich. About an hour into our flight, somewhere over the Atlantic our Captain informed us that we would be turning around and landing in Philadelphia. One of the outboard flaps on our wing was malfunctioning at altitude. It was an interesting ride back. For an hour our plane flew at 6,000 ft with the landing gear down, the flaps deployed, and the spoilers out. The pilot was trying to increase the fuel burn so that we could land at a lighter weight. You could just feel the life being sucked out of the wing.

After another 4-5 hours on the ground we were aloud to dis-board the plane and spend the night in the terminal. The airline told us many stories about planes and problems. We finally left the US around 5am on the 4th of July.

Our Team co-manager Peter Baumeler, a Swiss national who now lives in Michigan, picked us up with his family from the Airport in Zürich and took us to the field in Emmen near Luzern. Peter's family and friends were extremely gracious and more than helpful. This really made the final leg of our journey very pleasant especially considering how long our flight took.

We arrived at our Hotel, Motel Bruggli around 8pm on the 4th.. It is a very sweet hotel. The rooms feel like they are a scene from the IKEA showroom.

The night finished with a meal at the quaint restaurant attached to the hotel. We were more than surprised by the quality of the meal. It was top notch. I can personally vouch for their NY strip which is more than two inches thick. After the meal we were all exhausted and retired to our rooms.

This is the morning of the 5th, and it is currently raining, the field is closed so we will go over our equipment in the rooms and take the train into downtown Luzern. I wil post some more pictures of our exploits this evening.

For more information about the team please visit our website at http://www.teamusaf3b.com/

Thanks for following along,
David Klein US F3b Team helper

djklein21 · Jul 05, 2007, 05:34 AM

Some more pictures

tonyestep · Jul 05, 2007, 09:13 AM

Great, Dave! Keep 'em coming!

glderguy · Jul 05, 2007, 11:02 AM

What airline were you guys flying Dave? Good luck ovver there guys.
Walter

GoFaster · Jul 05, 2007, 11:06 AM

Thanks for the update Dave! Hope to see more along the way. Have a great time.

- Felix

Daryl Perkins · Jul 05, 2007, 11:17 AM

Good luck guys! Go get 'em!!!!

dp

timmig · Jul 05, 2007, 04:55 PM

Sweet!!! Kick some butt!! Keep the reports coming!
Tim

target · Jul 05, 2007, 10:52 PM

Here's wishing you that all of the bad luck was used up on the flight over!\

Target

Gldrpilot · Jul 05, 2007, 11:01 PM

Awesome!! Best of luck to you all!! Kick Butt and TAKE NO PRISONERS!!! The U.S. is comin'!!

Chris Keller

Pheasant · Jul 06, 2007, 02:39 PM

I'm sure Dave will have a bunch more pictures soon, he's been busy snapping shots of just about everything going on.

Today we finished up our second practice day, Aaron, Mike and Tom got in plenty of flying in some varying conditions. We're still at the field now (8.30pm) getting winches adjusted and models checked in. The organiser supplied batteries have significantly lower resistance than we're used to and the winches require some inventive mods to comply with the limit.

The weekend will involve the 2 round prelim event (Emmen Cup), a good opportunity to fly on the actual WC site and get a feel for the site and conditions.

We'll try and keep you up to date on team progress, and they'll probably have up to date scores on the official site (linked through the WC logo at www.teamusaf3b.com).

Craig.
F3B TM.

Daryl Perkins · Jul 07, 2007, 12:10 AM

Hey, where are those pesky Swedes? I don't see them on the roster. No smurfs this year? A WC just isn't a WC without those guys.

infopimp · Jul 07, 2007, 01:01 AM

More pics!

Pheasant · Jul 07, 2007, 02:29 AM

No smurfs this time Daryl. Apparently very busy with work and home lives.

It's 8.30am, we're on the field waiting for the Emmen Cup pilots meeting, winches are set, models are charged. Aaron up first of our pilots.

CG.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daryl Perkins

Hey, where are those pesky Swedes? I don't see them on the roster. No smurfs this year? A WC just isn't a WC without those guys.

djklein21 · Jul 07, 2007, 01:37 PM

Well guys, I apologize for not posting sooner but it has been a long two days.

After our log 36 hours traveling we slept in on the 5th. We were waiting to get our winch batteries from the contest organizer as well as our line from EMC Vega. We got our batteries late in the afternoon on the 5th and set out to the practice field to check out our airplanes and equipment. The practice field left a lot to be desired. It was rather small making it difficult to accommodate the 200 meter winch lines. We did it, but out turnarounds ended up on the top of a small hill. We were surprised out the lack of contestants practicing. Aaron Valdes had a serious interference issue on his first launch with his Radical. At the top of his zoom, the plane went into PCM lockout and did consecutive loops until it hit the ground. Aaron was able to get some control at low altitude and got the flaps down saving the model. He then spent the rest of the day in repair mode, getting the model fixed up and changing frequencies before the day was over.

The weather was fairly poor with light showers poking through now and again. The wind was also up near 15mph, making for some great launches. With it being summer, flying at a high latitude, and having a serious case of jet lag, we had no problem flying past 8:00pm.

The next day we set out to get some practice in early morning dead air. We left the hotel early and were in the air by 8:00am. Although we were out early, the air was anything but dead. The wind was up again threatening rain all day. The launches were monstrous, and the speed runs were fast. We planed to finish up early, organize our equipment in the hanger space, and adjust our winches resistance before heading into downtown Luzern for dinner. Dinner wasn't in the cards though.

The batteries we ordered from the contest organizer had very little internal resistance. So low, that our adjustable winch resisters were not big enough to accommodate the difference. These Batteries were REALLY GOOD.We had to modify every winch we had to get it legal. We spent the rest of the evening in the hanger, only finishing four winches before the contest organizers kicked us out at 9:30pm. By this time, a trip into Luzern wasn't possible and the hotel restaurant was closed on Thursdays.

Friday morning were arrived at the field around 7:30am. We strung out our winches and were ready with plenty of time to spare for the pilots meeting. This contest is a warm up for the WC. The Idea is to have a mini contest that the workers are allowed to fly in. It really helps to iron out all of the logistics for scoring as well as home field rules ect...

At 4:00pm we took a break for the opening ceremonies. We are now finishing the last of the the speed runs for the day. So far the Germans are bringing the sting. Andreas Herrig started the day off early with a blistering 15.6X. Reinhard Liese finished the day off with a superbly flown 15.7X. Reinhard is flying an Estrella DP. I think he really wanted to beat his team mate, Andreas. Reinhart got a monster launch and flew the tightest coarse of the day. He really made the most of the air he had. If he can do that the whole contest without a cut, he will be standing on a podium.

Enjoy the pictures

Enjoy the upcoming pictures

Pheasant · Jul 08, 2007, 06:05 AM

Some more pictures, had time to take some this morning. We got Round 1 completed of the Emmen Cup, waiting out a little rain right now and hoping to get back to Round 2 Speed soon.

Craig.

Jul 05, 2007, 05:10 AM	#1
djklein21 Challenge is rewarding Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,132	Team USA at F3b WC in Luzern Switzerland Hello all, I would like to start off by thanking the soaring community for their outstanding support of the 2007 US F3b team. We will keep you all up to date by posting our experience here. We left for our journey on Tuesday morning July 3rd. We had a bit of a mishap on our flight from Philadelphia to Zürich. About an hour into our flight, somewhere over the Atlantic our Captain informed us that we would be turning around and landing in Philadelphia. One of the outboard flaps on our wing was malfunctioning at altitude. It was an interesting ride back. For an hour our plane flew at 6,000 ft with the landing gear down, the flaps deployed, and the spoilers out. The pilot was trying to increase the fuel burn so that we could land at a lighter weight. You could just feel the life being sucked out of the wing. After another 4-5 hours on the ground we were aloud to dis-board the plane and spend the night in the terminal. The airline told us many stories about planes and problems. We finally left the US around 5am on the 4th of July. Our Team co-manager Peter Baumeler, a Swiss national who now lives in Michigan, picked us up with his family from the Airport in Zürich and took us to the field in Emmen near Luzern. Peter's family and friends were extremely gracious and more than helpful. This really made the final leg of our journey very pleasant especially considering how long our flight took. We arrived at our Hotel, Motel Bruggli around 8pm on the 4th.. It is a very sweet hotel. The rooms feel like they are a scene from the IKEA showroom. The night finished with a meal at the quaint restaurant attached to the hotel. We were more than surprised by the quality of the meal. It was top notch. I can personally vouch for their NY strip which is more than two inches thick. After the meal we were all exhausted and retired to our rooms. This is the morning of the 5th, and it is currently raining, the field is closed so we will go over our equipment in the rooms and take the train into downtown Luzern. I wil post some more pictures of our exploits this evening. For more information about the team please visit our website at http://www.teamusaf3b.com/ Thanks for following along, David Klein US F3b Team helper Attached Thumbnails 48.7 KB · Views: 479 63.5 KB · Views: 409 57.0 KB · Views: 387 73.3 KB · Views: 439 30.4 KB · Views: 308

Jul 05, 2007, 05:34 AM	#2
djklein21 Challenge is rewarding Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,132	Some more pictures Attached Thumbnails Two of Aaron's children, Kevin and Holly ready for their first trip to Europe. Kevin is sporting a really cool US F3b team jacket 69.9 KB · Views: 395 Tom filling in his girlfriend Betty about our trials and tribulations during our travel 53.0 KB · Views: 373 Aaron, still putting up with my incessant photo taking. 46.9 KB · Views: 369 Mike and his fiancee Jeannie 49.7 KB · Views: 395 From left to right, Holly, Marlene Valdes (Aaron's wife, and professional turn judge), and Jeannie making the best of a really bad situation; spending the night in the Philadelphia terminal. Holly, Aaron's wife, Marlene Valdes, Holly, and Je 62.5 KB · Views: 592 The pilots, Tom Kiesling, Aaron Valdes, and Mike Smith checking out their tails during the long night in Phili 63.3 KB · Views: 404 We had a lot of baggage, in fact every piece of luggage in that frame is ours. Sport tubes for the planes, bags and boxes for the winches, equipment, transmitters, and then enough normal luggage for two weeks in Europe. 73.5 KB · Views: 450 The front of our Hotel, proudly flying the Swiss flag. It has been a bit stormy, bringing both wind and rain. 57.4 KB · Views: 345 A beautiful rainbow viewed from Craig Greening (Team Manager), and Tom Kiesling's room 56.8 KB · Views: 410

Jul 07, 2007, 01:37 PM	#14
djklein21 Challenge is rewarding Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,132	More from the 2007 Emmen cup Well guys, I apologize for not posting sooner but it has been a long two days. After our log 36 hours traveling we slept in on the 5th. We were waiting to get our winch batteries from the contest organizer as well as our line from EMC Vega. We got our batteries late in the afternoon on the 5th and set out to the practice field to check out our airplanes and equipment. The practice field left a lot to be desired. It was rather small making it difficult to accommodate the 200 meter winch lines. We did it, but out turnarounds ended up on the top of a small hill. We were surprised out the lack of contestants practicing. Aaron Valdes had a serious interference issue on his first launch with his Radical. At the top of his zoom, the plane went into PCM lockout and did consecutive loops until it hit the ground. Aaron was able to get some control at low altitude and got the flaps down saving the model. He then spent the rest of the day in repair mode, getting the model fixed up and changing frequencies before the day was over. The weather was fairly poor with light showers poking through now and again. The wind was also up near 15mph, making for some great launches. With it being summer, flying at a high latitude, and having a serious case of jet lag, we had no problem flying past 8:00pm. The next day we set out to get some practice in early morning dead air. We left the hotel early and were in the air by 8:00am. Although we were out early, the air was anything but dead. The wind was up again threatening rain all day. The launches were monstrous, and the speed runs were fast. We planed to finish up early, organize our equipment in the hanger space, and adjust our winches resistance before heading into downtown Luzern for dinner. Dinner wasn't in the cards though. The batteries we ordered from the contest organizer had very little internal resistance. So low, that our adjustable winch resisters were not big enough to accommodate the difference. These Batteries were REALLY GOOD.We had to modify every winch we had to get it legal. We spent the rest of the evening in the hanger, only finishing four winches before the contest organizers kicked us out at 9:30pm. By this time, a trip into Luzern wasn't possible and the hotel restaurant was closed on Thursdays. Friday morning were arrived at the field around 7:30am. We strung out our winches and were ready with plenty of time to spare for the pilots meeting. This contest is a warm up for the WC. The Idea is to have a mini contest that the workers are allowed to fly in. It really helps to iron out all of the logistics for scoring as well as home field rules ect... At 4:00pm we took a break for the opening ceremonies. We are now finishing the last of the the speed runs for the day. So far the Germans are bringing the sting. Andreas Herrig started the day off early with a blistering 15.6X. Reinhard Liese finished the day off with a superbly flown 15.7X. Reinhard is flying an Estrella DP. I think he really wanted to beat his team mate, Andreas. Reinhart got a monster launch and flew the tightest coarse of the day. He really made the most of the air he had. If he can do that the whole contest without a cut, he will be standing on a podium. Enjoy the pictures Enjoy the upcoming pictures Attached Thumbnails Mike doing a final assembly, installing the nose weight and antenna in this new Altus 60.4 KB · Views: 421 Mr. Smith enjoying a first flight in Switzerland, the thermal gods were smiling 62.5 KB · Views: 348 Thomas Kiesling is really happy with his Tool from Skip Miller Models. 65.7 KB · Views: 359 Aaron Valdes finally cracks a smile after repairing his Radical from Martin Webershock. Some Americans have connections huh :) 57.8 KB · Views: 345 Airshow put on from the Switzerland Luftwafe, just before the opeing ceromonies, The Swiss army was really cool to shut down their airbase and put on an airshow for just 150+ airplane geeks. Thanks Guys. 30.3 KB · Views: 272 What a handsome team. 70.2 KB · Views: 410 This is young Matt Goodrum, the pride of the South African Team. 68.9 KB · Views: 292 Michelle Goodrum, an awesome F3b pilot, and probably the best looking too. Her and her husban are part of the South African F3b team here at the WC. 42.7 KB · Views: 421 Mike Smith Proudly displaying his three Altus. These are the only three that call North America their home. 83.2 KB · Views: 552

Jul 08, 2007, 06:05 AM	#15
Pheasant Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: central CA Posts: 680	Some more pictures, had time to take some this morning. We got Round 1 completed of the Emmen Cup, waiting out a little rain right now and hoping to get back to Round 2 Speed soon. Craig. Attached Thumbnails David Klein on our custom pit couch. We removed the back row seat from our Mercedes rental van and it's getting a lot of use in our team pit 92.9 KB · Views: 324 Model rack the Aussies put together. They made it locally with the help of the store people. 107.7 KB · Views: 547 Group 1 distance this morning. Masterpiece just launched. 108.3 KB · Views: 419 Closer view of the distance group flying. 144.6 KB · Views: 366

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Jul 05, 2007, 09:13 AM	#3
tonyestep I sink, therefore I am Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: St. Louis Posts: 1,192	Great, Dave! Keep 'em coming!

Jul 05, 2007, 11:02 AM	#4
glderguy 4 wheels move a body; 2 a soul Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Saratoga, Ca Posts: 1,272	What airline were you guys flying Dave? Good luck ovver there guys. Walter

Jul 05, 2007, 11:06 AM	#5
GoFaster Live for speed Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Bethany, Connecticut, United States Posts: 930	Thanks for the update Dave! Hope to see more along the way. Have a great time. - Felix

Jul 05, 2007, 11:17 AM	#6
Daryl Perkins dp Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lake Havasu City Posts: 403	Good luck guys! Go get 'em!!!! dp

Jul 05, 2007, 04:55 PM	#7
timmig Registered User Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 6,405	Sweet!!! Kick some butt!! Keep the reports coming! Tim

Jul 05, 2007, 10:52 PM	#8
target Builder/Flier/Thinker Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Harbor City, CA Posts: 14,374	Here's wishing you that all of the bad luck was used up on the flight over!\ Target

Jul 05, 2007, 11:01 PM	#9
Gldrpilot Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 78	Awesome!! Best of luck to you all!! Kick Butt and TAKE NO PRISONERS!!! The U.S. is comin'!! Chris Keller

Jul 06, 2007, 02:39 PM	#10
Pheasant Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: central CA Posts: 680	I'm sure Dave will have a bunch more pictures soon, he's been busy snapping shots of just about everything going on. Today we finished up our second practice day, Aaron, Mike and Tom got in plenty of flying in some varying conditions. We're still at the field now (8.30pm) getting winches adjusted and models checked in. The organiser supplied batteries have significantly lower resistance than we're used to and the winches require some inventive mods to comply with the limit. The weekend will involve the 2 round prelim event (Emmen Cup), a good opportunity to fly on the actual WC site and get a feel for the site and conditions. We'll try and keep you up to date on team progress, and they'll probably have up to date scores on the official site (linked through the WC logo at www.teamusaf3b.com). Craig. F3B TM.

Jul 07, 2007, 12:10 AM	#11
Daryl Perkins dp Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Lake Havasu City Posts: 403	Hey, where are those pesky Swedes? I don't see them on the roster. No smurfs this year? A WC just isn't a WC without those guys.

Jul 07, 2007, 01:01 AM	#12
infopimp PNF Join Date: May 2005 Location: Los Gatos, CA Posts: 4,417	More pics!