A Belgian Story at the 2015 French Championship
In this year of the bicentennial of the Battle of Waterloo (a victory for Europe, we’ll say), history seems to stutter. For Malesherbes 2015 had many of the traits of a barren plain. How to understand, and this is where the matter gets… complicated (!), that a resident of… Waterloo could, after 3 days of competition, bring down the F3Q eagle (Olivier Ch.)? The victory for one and the defeat for the other were decided by the slightest of margins. Allow me to present my very personal analysis of the events. Perhaps you’ll find a few things to reflect upon.
At least ten pilots finished with more than 95%. This says a lot about how many contenders—whether declared or not—there were. The young pilots are very skilled and have already integrated everything: piloting, strategy, and aerology. The older pilots, like true veterans, still have the drive. And all of it is a real pleasure to watch. The next generation is certainly in good hands. Thanks to the Southwest. But what about the Noooorth?
Luck remains an important component in competition, but it only smiles upon prepared minds. Two examples: In round 3, I broke my wing key due to a piloting mistake at the end of the first event (speed); I pulled out my spare key, which turned out to be… cracked and therefore not usable. I thank Philippe I. for lending me a third one; I ballast to get back to the nominal weight, and I make multiple trips to keep the officials updated and re-validate the plane’s weight to the exact gram. I line up just in time for the duration event, set a decent time, and save the round. In round 5, I’m out of it after 4 minutes in the first event (duration). I take risks, flirt with the tops of the trees, and end up crashing into an oak at 10 meters high. It’s the Bérézina! Thanks to Rémi (again, thank you, without him, we’d still be there), it takes us a good 45 minutes to get the plane down with minimal damage. Once again: repairs, check-in with the officials, and we’re ready for speed. The round is lost, but the super time set in speed (31.0) is going to hurt all the other competitors. Nothing is ever lost. Every move counts.
The well-known F3Q saying, “you win thanks to speed and lose because of duration,” once again proved true. I won because of the speed event in round 5, and Olivier lost because of the duration event in round 6.
To compete, you need two planes in working order. This competition was exceptional. Only the unfortunate Adrien broke his plane in the final event. But others had some trouble staying in the race: one plane was apparently too heavy, no spare, but—miracle of teamwork—a carbon key appeared and allowed the plane to come in under the 5 kg threshold (Ph. M); a recalcitrant receiver needing replacement and reprogramming (M. A); a tired fuselage glued together with cyano and tape (Ph. R); a plane stuck in a manure pile and a not-fully-ready spare (Ph. I). In my case, I was lucky: my spare wasn’t adjusted, but I didn’t need to use it. Olivier, on the other hand, had two planes, both ready, well-adjusted, and well-mastered. In the last round, probably sensing the pressure, he decided to switch planes and went for the full points (2000). Maybe he didn’t fly with the best of his two planes?
Regarding planes, what do we see? The trend of using wings from F3J continues: Argema (3 or 4) and Explorer (2 or 3), with a dihedral reduced by half, offer a very good Duration-Speed compromise and, according to the pilots involved, great flying enjoyment. Michel A.’s wings are also well-represented and clearly very effective. The stabilizers seem to follow the F3B/F3F trend: “V” designs are flourishing. As for the fuselages, the JCH is timeless; there are Austral, Omega, and Rac fuselages, all very beautiful, but personally, I have a soft spot for the Varianne.
As for the most beautiful duration flights, I mention Brigitte and Daniel G. True soaring! No hesitation to follow the thermal, fly downwind, and trust the plane and piloting when you can no longer see it.
Regarding coaches, I would like to mention 4 people: Ph. R coached all my Duration events and supported me through all my struggles to keep my plane in the air; I salute the sportsmanship and quality of Olivier Ch. For Speed: my trajectories and anticipations owe everything to him; Jérôme B. provided many people with insight, analyses, and good advice. Jean Ch., finally, who I confirm really has 3 eyes: unfortunately, only one for his plane, but another for all the pilots he trains and equips; a third eye, finally, on the competition and its future.
As for the rules of the Speed event, I need to remind Hervé Ch. that it’s necessary to do 4 passes (not 3).
As for good spirits, I mention Phil.I. He endured a tough competition without ever losing his good mood. And with him (and his Ti Punch from the islands)… you can’t hear the South sing anymore! However, the best drinks are from the Southwest (cow stories?). I also want to mention all the others I didn’t name: they made for a great championship, all in a fantastic spirit. I thank them all.
As for wishes, I would ideally like more rounds with a draw that takes into account the history and allows for challenging all the other competitors in Duration. I would have liked to see Julien G. join us, but I understand his current attraction to F3B. Lastly, personally, I haven’t given up on one day owning a beautiful fuselage. Some—who will recognize themselves—might follow my gaze…
And now, there’s no question of retirement or exile, the hardest part is yet to come: staying on top and honoring the title! Malesherbes 2015 is dead. Long live the Emperor!
Happy flying to all,
Gh.