World championships for scale model aircraft lands near Grantham

Pilots from around the world are arriving near Grantham this week as the FAI F4 World Championships for Scale Model Aircraft gets under way at Buckminster.

The championships, running from 9 to 18 July at the British Model Flying Association’s National Centre for Aeromodelling, see competitors fly miniature replicas of full-size aircraft, judged on both how accurately they’ve been built and how realistically they fly.

It’s the first time the event has been held in the UK since 1978. Great Britain hosted the inaugural world championships at Cranfield in 1970, and again at RAF Woodvale eight years later. It returns with a record turnout: 23 competing nations from five continents, with 111 competitors and 112 aircraft entered, an increase of 35 competitors on the previous record. Iran, Colombia and Luxembourg make their international debut, and the event will see the largest number of junior and female competitors in its history.

Competition is split into two parts. In the static round, judges scrutinise each model’s craftsmanship and accuracy against the original aircraft, scoring for detail, colour and markings. In the flight rounds, pilots perform manoeuvres designed to show how the full-size original would fly, from take-off and landing to smoothness in the air.

Three classes will be contested: F4B (control line scale aeroplanes), F4C (radio-controlled scale aeroplanes) and F4H (radio-controlled stand-off scale aeroplanes). The reigning champions — Peter Bauer of the USA, David Law of Australia and Reto Senn of Switzerland — will all be defending their titles.

Championship Director Graham Kennedy said: “Returning the F4 World Championships for Scale Model Aircraft to the UK has been a long-held aim of the BMFA Scale Technical Committee, and with the creation of the BMFA National Centre and its superb facilities, this dream has become a reality.

“We are looking forward to welcoming participants from across five continents to the UK in July.”

Competition flights run from 10 to 17 July, with the closing ceremony on 17 July.

Spectator tickets and camping can be booked at worldscale26.bmfa.uk/spectator-tickets-and-camping, with full event details, entry lists and daily schedules at worldscale26.bmfa.uk.