Oct - Rcsoaring.com

quite as grand for this club competition,everybody on the field mucked in tomake sure that the event ran smoothly.Every pilot in the three slots per roundhad an independent timekeeper andscorecards, the computer churned outresults, when the timing system brokedown, a loudhailer was used to start andfinish slots and check that all pilots wereready. Regular breaks were called to eatand drink. Pilots went out to the line withtwo helpers, one to act as spotter andcount down the six minutes, and one toretrieve the bungee in case a second orthird launch was necessary and sort outany crossed lines.The standards of flying was very mixed.Everyone knew that Philip and Muratwere international standard, severalothers were well experienced whileothers were at various stages in thelearning process. Each slot had mixedabilities, rivalries were intense and ribbingand joking went all down the line.A number of the pilots had yet to beindoctrinated into Dave Thornburg’s“River of Air” guidelines. They persistedin pushing upwind where they wereconfident that the factory roofs weregoing to lift them to the clouds. OzgurVural is an experienced model helicopterand power flyer, but thermal flying isdifferent. He had yet to be convincedthat it is worth following a thermaldownwind. But after flying out his sixminutes in three consecutive rounds, withA few of the happy band of two-metre pilots at the end ofthe day, with the jet overhead on its approach to SabihaGokcen airport on the Asian side of Istanbul.October 2008 51