2023 Welsh Open F3F
15-17 September 2023
Applause as Fernando Moro cheats the sink at the Back of the Wrecker
Welsh Open
The Welsh Open is the jewel in crown of the UK F3F calendar, taking place in some of the finest slopes in the land.
This year's entry comprised 26 pilots from the UK, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Holland - a little down on last year. As in recent years, the competition was sponsored by T9 HobbySport - thanks guys!
Day One.
Friday saw us all assembled at the Back of the Wrecker... flying DLGs and electric! We managed to start a round - twice - but there was was insufficient wind to complete a full round. Oh well, what better place to chat than the Back of the Wrecker on a sunny day!
With the first day a writeoff as far as the competition was concerned, what would Saturday hold?
Day Two
Saturday started overcast, but with a decent breeze on the Wrecker. Thanks to some slick CD'ing, we managed to pack in five rounds before rain put an end to the proceedings.
At the end of the day, it was JP in the lead, closely followed by Mark Redsell then Joel West. The leading visiting flyer was Alvaro Silgado in fifth place.
Day Three
Sunday was plagued by low cloud and drizzle, preventing any further flying, and the competition was abandoned in the early afternoon. Rather fittingly, the trophy presentation took place in pouring rain.
Acknowledgements
While it was a shame about the weather, we did at least complete the comp, with a very high standard of flying from the top pilots.
JP continued his winning streak with some great flying with his Saker. This model continues to impress with its combination of performance and relatively low price.
Thanks to all our visitors from abroad for making the event what it is. It was great to be joined again by three-time winner Espen Torp.
Big thanks also to our sponsors T9 HobbySport and MKS servos. And last but not least to Kevin Newton, Andrzej Tabero, Mark Treble and all helpers for their hard work.
Results
After 5 rounds (1 discarded):
1 John Phillips 3960.04 2 Mark Redsell 3938.46 3 Joel West 3875.67 4 Peter Gunning 3710.90 5 Alvaro Silgado 3700.22 6 Stefan Bertschi 3687.57 7 Fernando Moro 3684.96 8 Arjen van Vark 3643.35 9 Graeme Mahoney 3640.52 10 Mark Passingham 3632.47 11 Mark Treble 3593.78 12 Aleix Ingles Elias 3568.19 13 Espen Torp Norway 3564.31 14 Andy Burgoyne 3563.04 15 Kevin Newton 3558.55 16 William Fourie 3548.04 17 David Rumble 3530.08 18 Paul Stubley 3480.99 19 Les Wood 3473.23 20 Mike Shellim 3414.39 21 Jason Bioletti 3381.33 22 Ian Mason 3362.56 23 Dave Demott 3331.32 24 Graham Hill 3238.25 25 Bruce Hudson 3231.46 26 Allen Elliott 3167.08
Fastest time 36.73 seconds by Joel West in round 2
Number of rounds won: John Phillips (3), Alvaro Silgado (1), Joel West (1)