Full Practice Day 1

We were up at 7am for breakfast.  It was very good.. especially the coffee!

Both Michi and Henry headed off to the practice field with the rest of us hitting up the local grocery store for supplies (water,  lunch makings, etc). After a few emails I finally got in touch with John Bentley and he was also headed to the practice field. 

An hour later we all met up with the entire 2019 team together for the first time. We introduced ourselves to the local RC folks that manned the practice field. Through broken "Italish" I thanked them for letting us come and use the great facilities. The guys flew,  everyone critiqued, and the sun baked the heck out of us.. 36º!!! Luckily the breeze helped keep the heat in check.

The planes at rest.

The whole team finally together.

Very fitting.. except no rain... only Sun!

We finished up and headed home but first a stop at the local electronics store to get our EU Sim Cards for our phones. It took a good 30 minutes but we now have 50GB of data for 9 Euro (plus a one time 10 Euro setup fee) each.. Includes unlimited texting... but no phone calls.. perfect (sorry crew scheduling!)

Pizza night Italian style!

Dinner was a short 8 minute walk up the street to the local pizzeria... very good too!  Off to the rack... again.

On the ground in Italy.

Our flight over to MXP was uneventful and we got off the plane fairly quickly. Unfortunately our bags took some time as the Italian "pace" kicked in. The rental car pickup was straight forward for us and after waiting for Chad's car to be washed (?) we were on our way.

Approximately 100 minutes later we arrived at our AirBnB.  Chad set to work unpacking his plane and charging a couple packs for some planned flights at the World's site.  We got settled into the place and then headed out to grab some supplies (cooler, chairs, etc.) and some dinner. (Burger King)

We met up with Michi, Henry, Norm Morrish, Russell Edwards and Andrew Palmer to name a few, at the world's site. Chad managed a flight while Andrew sorted out some fail safe issues with his plane.

Andrew Palmer gets ready to go.

We wrapped up about 8pm and headed back to the AirBnB for a debrief and some preliminary planning for tomorrow. Chad also made some wire repairs to his electrical setup after experiencing issues after the assembly. All good now!

Off to the rack.

Travel Day

Well the bags are packed and we are off to Milan, Italy via Toronto.  Kelly has all her band stuff loaded up as she is off to Scotland for the World Pipe Band Championships following the F3A competition.  Both Chad & Agnes Northeast got to the Calgary airport early to allow ample to to get checked in.

Kelly is under the 50lb limit.. again!

The hardest part of any trip!

 Both Michi and Henry flew a couple rounds in the Grand Prix before the rains came in hard, halting the competition.  This is all I received as Michi flew pretty well and Henry had to return his rental car to the airport. (a long story)

On arrival in Toronto we met up with Agnes & Chad and quickly got caught up on both family and RC news.  With a two hour wait before the flight to Milan, we enjoyed a couple bevy's at the bar.

We boarded the flight on time and we were off to Italy

Practice Day & Grand Prix F3A FIAM

Both Michi and Henry got in numerous practice rounds at one of the practice fields in the area. They had a good day and have like the fields used so far. They did try to use/visit two others but they were locked up tight.

They headed over to the Worlds location to check out the layout and and also managed to get some flights in. They met up with several other competitors for this weekends Grand Prix event. Michi says that there are 20 entrants for the early competition.  I stole these pics off FB :-)

Word has trickled down that the organizers would like teams to book practice fields and times for their respective teams... wish this was in Bulletin #4!  Although these efforts are well intention-ed, weather, delays etc. will turn these into a first come first served kind of deal. I will keep an open mind and as soon as I learn how to translate Italian and figure out the booking protocol, I hope to get some times & fields booked... although I really have no idea what sites are good/bad for our team.  A tad early in the game but I do have a couple "spies" onsite to assist in this.  I am hoping for updates on Day 1 of the Grand Prix F3A FAIM from said spies :-) 

Arrival & Unpacking - Phase 1

Both Henry and Michi successfully arrived at MXP (Milan) airport yesterday. They collected their boxes and everything was in good condition. They grabbed their rental vehicles and loaded up for the 140km trip to the AirBnB that the team has acquired for the upcoming event. Pictures are coming in so the connectivity seems good so far!

Everything in good shape.

Once at the airBnB they settled in and got some much needed rest. Up early this morning, Michi started the usual assembly process.

Assembly underway.

Henry also got his Element ready and after some breakfast, they headed off to find a suitable flying site. As they are there early they will do some site scouting for the team :-) The site they chose was approximately one hours drive from the guesthouse.

Practice underway.

Henry says conditions are nice at this flying site but the temps are high at 36º C so keeping cool with proper hydration is important.

As the time zone change will effect my blog reports, I may add more info to this one once evening reports flow in from the guys.

Henry & Michi in Italy

Packing and Preparing

Both Henry and Michi have been busy packing planes and bags as they both leave Tuesday for Italy and the World FAI F3A Championships. They will meet up in Toronto and take the "red eye" to Milan arriving midday Wednesday.

They will both fly at the Grand Prix F3A FAIM/ACAME event this coming weekend then continue to practice for the start of the World's competition.

I am sure the time has crept up on them both as the excitement builds.  Chad has also been prepping his boxes for transport as well.

Chad's boxes had to be modified to fit the higher fin profile. Looks good!

Not to be outdone, Chad made up his own stick plane so he can practice on the flight over... should be interesting to watch :-

Henry's boxes feature a plexiglass cover.

Michi has the packing down!

Unfortunately Chad suffered a bird strike last week and had to get Nedim Bek to apply his repair skills... looks like it worked out nicely!

Before....

After....

The Paypal pool has been shut down and we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received both through this pool and through private donations. At this point all the team's FAI & Entry Fees have been fully covered! A huge Thank You to all those that contributed!

Team Canada F3A - Progress Update

Hi folks

A quick update on the team's progress towards the 2019 F3A World Championships in Italy.

To date we have submitted all our required paperwork and paid the entry fees to the Italian organizers.  We have just added an additional 'Helper' to the team with John Bentley joining us for the journey to Italy. John previously helped out the 2017 F3A Team in Argentina. His experience and knowledge with only make us stronger as a team.

So now we are seven with pilots Chad, Michi & Henry, helpers Agnes, Kelly and John and myself as TM. We have accommodations arranged, rental cars/vans reserved, flights book and all the pilots have several planes prepped and ready to go. Both Chad (he has three now!) and Michi have a new Excess Bip under construction and they will both be ready for the trip. Henry is loving his contra powered BJ Element.

The entire team was recently in Cloverdale, BC for the Pattern In The City Contest. We had some good discussions on setups and flying styles and also took the time for some team photos.

We have started a funding pool for those that want to contribute financially towards the team. We get some funding through MAAC's FAI Fund but this is only for a portion of travel. The balance is paid by each individual out of pocket. All funds donated to this pool will go towards covering FAI Licenses fees, a portion of airfare, accommodations, auto rentals, etc.

The pool is at Paypal and is an easy way to donate... any amount is appreciated!!

 https://paypal.me/pools/c/8elZQAoMNa

If you don't have a Paypal account or prefer another donation option, you can e-transfer to dave.reaville@gmail.com with F3A Donation in the notes.  We have also received individual donations from fellow flyers, 50/50 draws as well as contest donations from both the Team Trials and PITC.

I will update as required and we look forward to a strong showing in Italy!