Glider Racing

There are two types of glider racing that I enjoy taking part in, Man on Man pylon racing and F3F pylon racing.
F3F is often likened to F1 as far as glider racing is concerned, but I prefer to think of it as the WRC of the Slope.




It is all about you and the stopwatch with a smattering of technological advancement thrown in for good measure. Experience and skill are the two major contributors to winning rounds though, as is luck with regards to the conditions.
The speeds these 3 metre, hollow moulded, composite gliders achieve over the 10 laps of the 100 metre course are incredible. It is all done within feet (sometimes inches) of the cliff top and the challenge of improving your personal best time keeps me hungry for more. The class is growing rapidly worldwide with the inaugural F3F World Championships to be held in Germany in 2012.
More info can be found on RC-Soar

The other is a form of Man on Man racing. In the UK it was called EPP60.
It is a fantastic class that gets your adrenalin pumping and the resilient models made predominantly from EPP foam are extraordinarily fast and responsive. The competitors are friendly and supportive with a fair amount of banter flying about the place on competition days.
More information can be found on RC-Soar.





Unfortunately EPP60 has had its final season in 2012 in the UK. The numbers of participants have dwindled all over the UK to the extent that there weren't enough participants to hold events.

I have heard a rumour that there might be moves to hold a few 60" Man on Man races around the place using moulded 60" gliders. I have also heard that the Saturday before the National League F3F might be used for aerobatic competitions and F3F clinics. Looking forward to having a go at either at my local events.
I should be found at most of the local F3F events held in Wales and hopefully a few national events about the UK in 2013 and beyond.

In Wales we are hoping to start a resurgence in participation levels of F3F. Andrzej Tabero is the foundation for this resurgence and now that I am able to spare a little bit of time for flying, I hope to be able to help him to get more people involved locally again. Andrzej has started a blog called Welsh F3F which will be filled with race reports and stories from Andrzej and the Welsh F3F scene.