An update from Ian Emery

I know I always begin with similar comments but where has this year gone? And what a year it has been and not only the superb summer we've had. Since I last posted, I've moved house and started a new job so it's been pretty hectic. I normally try and provide updates throughout the season but since I haven't managed that I thought I would give you a season overview. I've always wanted to have a custom fuselage painted and with this year being the RAF's 100th Anniversary, I thought it would be nice to have an RAF inspired paint scheme. Once settled into the new house, I used the winter to start putting my design down on paper. After several modifications it was finally ready to be painted. As I don't have the skills to do it myself, I turned to Mike Coutts at Aurora Customs. He provided regular updates throughout the painting process and I was simply amazed with the final product. If anyone is planning a similar project, I would highly recommend him. With my SAB Urukay still performing flawlessly, I decided to take the plunge and buy another one for the new fuselage to go on. Throughout the 2017 season, I couldn't help but feel a little vulnerable only having the one helicopter. After lots of work planning and organising in what was shaping up to be a really busy 2018 Euro Heli Series (EHS) Calendar, the season was soon upon us. First off was Belgium. We had been to the Haaltert site a few times now but unlike previous years the weather was absolutely glorious all weekend. It was a really good turn out and it was really good to catch up with friends and to see some new faces there. It's really good to see new pilots coming into F3C and the EHS World Cup competitions are fantastic at improving your skills and being able to fly against the best pilots in Europe in a really relaxed atmosphere. As always, I wasn't feeling overly confident as my pre-season training hadn't gone to plan, but after 3 rounds of the P schedule I found myself in the top 10 and had qualified for the finals on the Sunday. I don't fly this as much as I should, but after 2 respectable rounds I managed to finish in 10th place.