F3C & F3N – Helicopter Flight line at the BMFA Nationals
F3C is the category assigned by the FAI (The World Air Sports Federation) for precision helicopter aerobatics.
In F3C, each pilot must perform the same schedule consisting of complex hovering and aerobatic manoeuvres. Each manoeuvre must be executed with high precision and skill in all weather conditions.
F3C comprises of 2 set schedules: the Preliminary (P) schedule and the more complicated Final (F) schedule. Both will be flown this weekend at the Nationals.
F3N is the category assigned by the FAI for Freestyle Helicopter flying. It consists of 3 specific rounds following a similar format to many of the world’s major 3D competitions:
- Set Manoeuvres (each pilot chooses their own 7 manoeuvres out of a selection of 40 with varying K factors / difficulty)
- Freestyle (flight lasting between 3-4 minutes)
- Flight to Music (again lasting between 3-4 minutes)
The purpose of the introduction of F3N is to provide a competition which will have consistent standards of judging throughout the world and also to give countries the opportunity to select a team to compete in FAI World and European Championships.
At the time of writing, both the F3C and F3N teams are busy preparing for the World F3C Championships in Germany.(3-11 August 2019). Team members will be competing at the Nationals so you are in for a treat with some top notch flying this weekend.
The AHA (the Association of Helicopter Aerosports) is the specialist body within the BMFA
representing all r/c helicopter disciplines. We are responsible for organising the FAI competitions (F3C & F3N) in England and for providing technical support on all matters of model helicopter operation and safety.
We also have a large scale helicopter membership with scale events taking place throughout the year.
So if you are interested in finding out more about r/c helicopters here in the UK, whether you are interested in competing or not, the heli flightline is the place to come. Details of our competitions / events can also be found on our website www.theaha.co.uk