A lot of clubs running fly in events for radio control helicopters seem to have lost their web presence. Several UK clubs have handed back their domain names, while others have had no new updates for months. The clubs themselves are still thriving, so maybe the owners are just too busy flying electric helicopters to bother with their web pages.
Park Hall, as usual, never lets us down. As well as an excellently maintained website (at http://www.parkhallheli.org.uk) they are constantly coming up with new ideas to keep the world of radio control helicopters thriving.
Hot off the press is a new 3D event for August. It ties in nicely with the UK 3D Championships being held in September (for more on this, see separate article) The Park Hall 3D Cup event takes place on the 8th and 9th August at the club field in historic West Hallam Village, Derbyshire. Details of the event can be found on the club website, together with an entry form.
As usual it’s a friendly event, open to all-comers. Camping is provided on site and if you get tired of watching RC helicopters, there is always the historic village to explore.
This is an excellent occasion for those of you who have been flying RC electric helicopters for a while to get a taste of what competitive flying is all about. Park Hall have devised it with championship newcomers in mind, allowing pilots to practice in a championship environment before the event itself. However, the format has been adapted to allow as many as possible to take part, including newbies to the sport of flying RC helicopters.
The Park Hall 3D Cup has two rounds: set manoeuvres and freestyle flying. The two scores added together will determine the fly-off. All electric helicopters are judged as one group, with prizes for each category (electric, 50 nitro and 90 nitro RC helicopters) with an overall winner selected from the three groups.
More details on the competitive classes and other events will follow in the next article. If you’re anywhere near Ilkeston in August, we’d say this is one RC event you can’t turn down.