ESSA 2024 Events Calendar

Below are the ESSA competition and event dates for 2024:-

(For BMFA/National events click here)

 

Please note that ESSA no longer has specific competition dates

The location (Slope or Crowlink) will be decided on the Friday before the fly in date and the decision to run a competition will be decided on the slope by a committee member based on slope side interest and model suitability 

ESSA club competitions are open to any BMFA member. Just contact the comp. secretary first.

The Fun Fly contest will now count towards the points for the year and the best three results out of four will be taken into account.

This makes it fairer for those who may miss a contest

14th April	Essa Fly in
28th April	PSS Meet
2nd June	ESSA Fly in
21st July	ESSA Fly in
11th August	ESSA Fly in
22nd September	ESSA Fly In
29th September	PSS Meet
13th October	ESSA Fly

 

The reserve dates will be used for whichever event is cancelled first. For instance if the Aerobatics Competition has to be cancelled due to adverse conditions it will be run on Reserve Date 1.

Start Times

All competitors should meet at the most suitable hill for the conditions on the day at 9.00-9.30am with a start time for each competition of 10.00am.

Rules

The rules below are intended as a guide for practice for each of the events.

Aerobatics

This competition is judged by a panel of 3 judges, selected by the competitions secretary, 2 of which will be used to score. The judges will discuss the score after each manoeuvre and issue a single mark out of 10 for each manoeuvre. A total of 10 points is available for each manoeuvre. Each competitor flies separately and will be asked to complete all manoeuvres in sequence. All manoeuvres should be flown so that the judges can best see them.

NOTE - the requirements below are new for 2015, the aim is ta make these accessible to all abilities and models.

1 – Big circles (Big Circuits) - From a starting point in front of the pilot and judges, fly a right hand circuit (in a circle) arriving back at the starting point (both height and direction) followed by another to the left. Both circuits should be a consistent arc of a circle and should maintain a consistent height.

2 – two consecutive stall turns - Right then Left

3 – Big loop across slope - any direction

4 – Slow roll across slope R - L

5 – Slow roll across slope L - R

6 – Cuban eight - starting at height, dive at 45 degrees and level out to starting height (low’ish) with speed this is where the manoeuvre starts, pull up into part loop for 225 degrees until diving again at 45 degrees, roll 180 degrees in this dive, pull up into loop for 270 degrees until diving at 45 degrees, roll 180 degrees and level out at starting point.

7 - Inverted loop

8 - Judged landing - within a designated zone. Not a spot landing.

Maximum points available – 80

F3F / Speed

The speed competition follows the recognised F3F rules. The course is made up of 2 bases (Base A and Base B) 100 meters apart. The pilot stands with the course judge at the centre point between the 2 bases. From launch there is 30 second maximum climb time available to the pilot in which time they must fly outside of the course Base A and re-enter the course (if this is not achieved then the timer will start and the pilot must still exit and re-enter the course). 10 legs of 100 Metres are flown with a 180 degree turn at each Base. The plane must pass each base at every turn, the base judges will “buzz” the pilot when this is achieved. If no Buzz is given when the pilot turns then they must go back to and pass the same base.

Each run is timed to an accuracy of 100th of a second. We will try and run as many rounds as we can and we must achieve 4 rounds for the competition to become valid. Each round is scored thus, the fastest run of the round is awarded 1000 points, the other pilots are awarded points as a percentage of the fastest time. (Eg. Fastest time 40 seconds = 1000 points, Pilot flying a 50 second round gets (1000 * (40/50) = 800. For every 4 rounds flown the total score will be made up of the best 3 rounds for each pilot. If we fly 8 rounds, only 6 will count.

Cross Country

The course will be set up with 4 “Turning Points” on the hill (flags) as well as a “Low Pass” point (one of the designated Turning Points) and a “Spot Landing” area. Each competitor will walk the course with a Marker to keep their score. When the pilot has reached a turning point they declare to the Marker that they are going to start their “Turns”, the Marker starts their stop-watch and gives the pilot 60 seconds in which time they have to complete as many 360 degree turns behind the Turning Point. A “Turn” is defined as a “complete” 360 degree turn behind the turning point. (Eg. a pilot flying towards the slope and going behind the turning point actually has to make a 540 degree (1 and a half turns) turn to count as their first complete turn.

Subsequent turns need only be 360 degrees.) If the pilot fly’s in front of the turning point without fully completing their turn then this does not score. Other than the 60 seconds per Turning Point there is no time limit for completion, time and care can be taken going between Turning Points. At the designated “Low Pass” point the pilot must fly the plane below the horizon as seen by the Marker. The final task is the spot landing, a disk with a cord attached will mark out a circle of approximately 5 metre radius in which the pilot must land.

Depending on the conditions (if they are good enough for the duration of the whole event as judged by the Competition Director) there may be an additional rule of “No Landing” during the task. Any pilot landing will have 2 points deducted

Scoring is made up of:

Reaching a turning point (flying the plane behind the course flag on the slope side) = 10 points

Each Completed turn behind the Turning Point within the 60 seconds = 2 points

Low Pass = 10 points

Spot Landing = 10 points

Landing penalties, if applicable)

Fun

The Fun competition will be made up of various disciplines depending on the slope used and the conditions, these will be made up of:

Limbo

Inverted Limbo

Loops in a minute

Rolls in a minute

Landing (nearest the spot)

plus whatever we can think of!

 

The Long Man Trophy

This will be awarded to the pilot with the best overall score from the 3 main Competitions – Aerobatics, Speed and Cross Country.

Please Enter!

We usually see the same 6-8 pilots turning up for all competitions, it would be great if we could increase these numbers this year. Competitions are a great way to increase your flying skills (by having to practice) and try new things you may not have thought of before as well as supporting the Club. You do not need the latest and greatest plane to enter, we all have suitable models that can be used in all competitions. (If we get enough competitors we may fly 2 classes, moulded and foamy.) So please, please, please ENTER the comps!