A full calendar for2009 is nearly complete and will be published shortly. Fees for contest entry in 2009 will in general be similar to 2008 but some increases have become necessary due to increased site hire costs. Centralised meeting, and, Area Centralised meeting fees remain the same at £5 for any number of classes. However, there will be an additional fee of £5 for admission to the site at Centralised meetings – this is payable by all irrespective of whether you come to just to trim or test, or enter the contest. Area Centralised site charges will vary but are, as now, charged by the individual Areas as required.

Team Selection meeting fees have had to rise to make the meetings financially viable. They will now rise to £40 for pre-entry to all three meetings, or £20 for a single meeting payable on the day. These fees already account for the site costs so there will be no additional site admission fee. These rises are larger than we would have liked but are forced upon us. Despite the rises these meeting fees are still comparable cost wise with the regular Centralised and Area Centralised fees – approximately £10 per day total. They also offer a very good discount for pre-entry: i.e. a £20 saving for all three meetings.

Please note that prizes (wine and certificates) are provided at all Centralised meetings. Nonetheless some competitors seem reluctant to stay to collect these from the prizegivings at the end of each day. We cannot afford the time or cost involved in keeping these for later presentation to those who do not come to collect them. If you do not either collect these prizes, or have someone collect them for you on the day, then they will be returned to the 'pool' and be re-used at another contest.

International Teams

Following the conclusion of the 2008 Team Selection meetings the following (subject to ratification by the Council) are the teams for the 2009 World Championships to be held in Croatia:

F1A: D.Oldfield, T.Nicholson and P.Ball. Reserves P.Williams and R Jack.

F1B: R.Peers, B.Martin and R.Jones. Reserves M.Woolner and M.Woodhouse.

F1C: A.Jack, P.Watson and S.Screen. Reserves N.Allen and K.Faux .


In addition applications for Team Manager and Assistant Team Manger for the above team are required as soon as possible. Contact the FFTC Secretary Chris Strachan at 56 Way Lane, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9NQ, Tel: 01223 860498, E-Mail: chris.strachan@btinternet.com. The closing date is 20th December 2008.

Rule Changes

After lengthy debate and consideration of input from fliers the following are the changes for 2009. These will take effect from January 1st 2009 (a full amended Rule Book will be available from the BMFA office early in the new year:

RC/DT         Rule 3.1.1 (a) (i) now reads:

A flight where there is no physical connection whatsoever after the flight has commenced between the model and the competitor. This prohibits the use of transmissions to the model in flight for the purposes of controlling any of its functions, except as noted below.

For FAI class F1A, F1B, F1C, F1E and F1Q models, when flown in contests for these classes, the use of transmissions to the model is permitted but restricted to the DT and motor stop functions as defined in the FAI rules (See rules 3.25.3.1.2 - 3.26.3.2.2 - 3.27.3.3.2 - 3.28.3.5.2 and 3.51.3.Q.1 in this rule book.) The use of the 35mHz and 27mHz transmission bands is specifically prohibited. The FFTC recommends the use of the 2.4 gHz band. Note that transmissions are not permitted when such models are flown in BMFA class or Combined Class contests.

Rules 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 are amended by deletion of the following final paragraph(s):

The use of radio transmissions from the flyer to the model for the purposes of operating functions such as D/T, as set out in the FAI Sporting Code rules for F1A (F1B and F1C), is not allowed in UK competitions.

P30        Rule 3.41.1 now reads:

The Model

Maximum projected span……………………………………………. 30 inches
Maximum length of the fuselage including
propeller and any release D/T wires …….…….…………………... 30 inches
Minimum weight of model (less motor)…………………………….. 40 grams
The model shall have no timed moving surfaces apart from dethermalisers

Plugge Cup         Rule 3.1.10 (a) final lines now read:

together with two additional competitions at each of the six area centralised events as nominated in the contest calendar.

        Rule 3.1.10 (b) now reads:

The points gained by the leading two competitors of each club, irrespective of whether they are in the same team entered by that club, will determine the score for their club, and for this purpose a fly-off may be made in team events, when not required under 3.1.9.4(c), solely for the purpose of determining Plugge points.

To summarise the changes to the Plugge Cup scoring system: there will be 'three' classes (not two) to count at each area event, but only 'two' members (not three) scores to count. The total points available to each club will be the same but they will be spread over a wider range of classes. This will provide more opportunity to smaller clubs, and also clubs with more diverse interests.

The Way Ahead

The changes, to both classes and the contest calendar instigated in 2007, have been largely successful. It is the intention of the FFTC to keep this process ongoing so that free flight contest flying in the UK keeps pace with the ever changing requirements of its participants and the outside world. As a result we intend to hold a conference/workshop in the early months of 2009 to further the process.

The date is Sunday 1st March 2009 and the venue: The Gliding Centre, Husbands Bosworth, Near Market Harborough, Leicestershire. The proposed subjects will include: the calendar, the team selection process, SAM and Space, future classes, and the impact and use of R/C. Full details will be available in early January 2009 from the FFTC Secretary: Chris Strachan, 56 Way Lane, Waterbeach, Cambridge, CB25 9NQ, Tel: 01223 860498, E-Mail: chris.strachan@btinternet.com.

E-mail and Web Site

The FFTC has now combined a number of e-mail lists for the distribution of this news, and other notices. This should ensure that as many fliers as possible receive urgent news. The list is also used for the distribution of results. If you'd prefer not to be on this combined list please contact the distributor trevorgrey@aol.com. In addition if you know of anyone, not already listed, who would like to receive this news and any other FFTC notices please pass the address on to them.

The current issue, together with back issues and other notices and items of interest, also appears on the FFTC Web site.