2024 F3F Nationals
27-28 April 2024
BMFA F3F National Championships
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first: the numbers were down again this year, with just 11 entrants - a little dissappointing though some of the fall could be attributed to the one week postponement due to bad weather.
Now for the good stuff... starting with the location: what better place than the Bwlch to hold a nats! The comp itself was actually a good one, at least on the first day when we managed to get in 8 rounds in total, on the Wrecker slope. That was in spite of a half hour pause due to low cloud. Day's end saw Mark Redsell in the lead, followed by Andy Burgoyne with myself in third place.
That first day was a long one - there were four or five pilots on the landing trail at any one time, with the result that we were a bit pushed for manpower. (This is the reason behind the lack of photos during that first day!)
Day two took place on the Ice Cream slope with shifting wind and thermals making for rather fickle conditions. Nevertheless five further rounds were flown before the wind went round to the West and conditions went off completely.
All in all, it was a great weekend - a lot of fun, with lots of flying and a meal in excellent company. So congratulations to Mark Redsell for becoming the 2024 BMFA F3F National Champion. Runner up was Andy Burgoyne who achieved fastest time. And in third place was Mike Evans. Well done all!
Finally a big thanks to Mark Treble for keeping the show on the road during a demanding weekend.
Results after 13 rounds
1 Mark Redsell 11646.03 2 Andy Burgoyne 11143.54 3 Mike Evans 11028.25 4 Graeme Mahoney 10966.30 5 John Philips 10879.66 6 Mark Treble 10848.26 7 Mike Shellim 10843.59 8 Dave Rumble 10769.07 9 Bruce Hudson 10282.32 10 Les Woods 9280.43 11 Rob Coles 4459.10
Fastest time 34.60 seconds by Andy Burgoyne in round 4