Formula 1 on the water: how Ukraine performed at the European Model Boat Championship

The Polish city of Konopiska hosted the European Open Model Boat Championship in the FSR (group racing) class. The championship was attended by ship modellers from 13 countries, with 10 participants representing Ukraine. Unfortunately, due to the military operations in our country, in which several of our experienced ship modellers are involved, our team was not the strongest.

Ukrainian juniors had a successful competition in Poland. The brothers Yaroslav and Rostislav Kavun from Kharkiv won a silver medal each. They were preparing for the competition in Smila, Cherkasy region, where they are temporarily living in evacuation.

OBOZREVATEL talked to Oleg Nikolayenko, the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the European Championships in Poland, a national category judge, multiple champion and winner of the Ukrainian Cup, and master of sports, about model ship racing and group races.

- For some people, model sailing is an interesting hobby, for others it is a sport. Group racing of sports model boats is a kind of Formula 1 on the water, only the pilots are not in the cars, but on a special bridge, from where they control their boats using radio transmitters.

FSR model sailing is an interesting hobby that is accessible to a wide age group, attracted by the spectacle of racing, its dynamics and competition.

The most massive and popular class is the FSR-V subgroup, which has a long tradition. In Europe, these models have been built for over 40 years. Ship modellers from the former USSR first took part in these model competitions in 1977 at the European Championships held in Kyiv. Athletes from the now-independent Ukraine also regularly take part in international competitions.

- What are these models?

- These are models of any design and size, equipped with internal combustion engines with a displacement of 3.5, 7.5, 15, 27 or 35 cc, depending on the category. Models in each category race against models of the same engine displacement and must have a fully submerged propeller.

Up to 12 models take part in the race at the same time, and each model must be equipped with radio control equipment operating on a different frequency from the other models. The fuel for the 3.5 to 15 cc engines is a mixture of methyl alcohol (methanol) and various oils.

- Tell us about the race itself.

- The races are held on water bodies protected from waves and of sufficient size. The course is bounded by five foam buoys with a diameter of 500 mm and has the shape of the letter M.

At the signal of the judges, all participants must start the engines and launch the models around the course. Semi-final or qualifying races last 20 minutes, and the final race lasts 30 minutes. During this time, each participant's model has to complete the largest number of laps, passing all the buoys in sequence. A model that has stopped on the course can be picked up by a boat and launched again. The race continues. The winner is the ship modeller who has completed the most laps.

Another group of models is FSR-H models. This is a younger class of models that is popular in Ukraine. The design is arbitrary, the propeller is semi-submerged. Up to eight models start simultaneously, and the start is on the move, meaning that at the moment of passing the starting line (it is important to cross it in time), the models must already be moving along the course.

The models must complete 6 laps in a minimum time. The winner of the race receives the maximum number of points (400), while the rest of the competitors receive less depending on their place in the race. The points obtained in each race (usually 4-5 races are held) are summed up and the athlete with the highest number of points wins.

Models of this class reach speeds of over 100 km/h and more in races, and the American Andy Brown reached a speed of 190 km/h at the 2004 World Cup in Slovenia.

And finally, the youngest class of FSR-O models, which is becoming increasingly popular. These models first competed at the 1998 World Cup in France. They are smaller copies of their prototypes and have a semi-submerged propeller. These models have rather complicated mechanics, and some models have two engines.

For environmental reasons, the rules of the competition limit the noise produced by a running engine for all classes of models. This is controlled during the race. Therefore, the modeller's task is to have a sufficiently effective muffler that does not reduce engine power.

In order to increase the spectacle and demonstrate the course of the races in the FSR model classes, information is displayed on a special scoreboard to visually inform spectators and competitors.