(By Espen Torp)

 

The first DS-Fest is over and a relatively small group of people who attended made history in DS-flight! Many of the best DS pilots had gathered to compete for pure speed. Only me came from Europe to witness and participate. The rest of the pack came from the US. The DS-fest was organized by www.shredair.com which had help from Cliff Lindgren and lots of sponsors. The set was easy; try and fly as fast as you can when you want. This meant a pretty laid back competition and pilots choose pretty much when to make their attempt. Some basic rules were set up such as 20 lap for each attempt for speed records.

There were 4 classes:

Foamies were not allowed!

I had to use my carbon Blade with a borrowed receiver and transmitter since my luggage was lost. This plane was not really good in the 60-100 inch class since it was to small. In the ten circles I did quite well and got second place behind Joe Wurts. Unfortunately I crashed the Blade in this task, totally my own fault. Too bad because it happened to early on day one. I also made a run of 149 mph or 238 km/h, not bad for a model with a weight of 1250 grams! I have already ordered a new Blade from Vektor Modelltechnik in Germany. In the same class Dave Reese got a 186 mph (299km/h) in only 9 laps of flying.

After going back in again the elevators gave in, possible because a small earlier damage. Dave flew Steve "Scoop" Cooper's heavy double carbon Wizard Compact.

Unlimited was won by Scott Hewitt, another DS addict and flying buddy with Dave Reese. He used a double carbon Ellipse 2. Also this plane broke in air due to flutter in the tail section. This E2 was totally destroyed unlike Dave's Compact which only suffered total radio havoc after landing in the water. Scott's speed was 183 mph. (293km/h) The sixty inch class was a thriller were Joe Wurts had the lead at 138 mph for a long time. This speed was equalled by me and Barry Baskin before Barry set it all straight by getting an unbelievable 143 mph (229km/h)

All speed runs was measured with two radar guns. The Cape Blanco DS-fest was a big success and I hope to be back next year for another one. Safety must improve and I think we all learned a lot about safety issues here.

No limits, just DS! It will change your life!

Espen Torp

ET-AIR www.torp.as

 

Espen and the pieces of the Blade

 

Other pictures and also videos can be seen on GLIDERKING.COM

 

 

Copyright © 2002 Planet Soaring - Espen Torp
No commercial use or publication (e.g. on other www or ftp sites, print media) without a written consent.