Category: IOM Events

Helsinki Model-Expo 2006


This years Model Expo was held during 5-7 of May 2006 at the Helsinki fair centre.


The Finnish RC-Sailors exhibited a Noux IOM and a local class boat, the 5.5mrc. Our stand was moderately interesting to the 10000 or so visitors with a handful of people interested in either buying second-hand boats or building a boat from a kit.



These radio yachts caught my camera - both probably too small to sail well in all but drifting conditions... To my annoyment, the importer of the ThundreTiger Voyager continues to market the boat as a 1M, or One Meter, or similar - a boat which of course does not come even close to an IOM, the worldwide premier radio sailing competition class.

Two nicely built still-models of sailboats. I understand the Swan can actually be driven around using an electric motor - unfortunately not sailed !

One of the electric competition boats that were skillfully driven around on the indoor pond. Unfortunately the depth was not enough for us to go sailing... (+we would have needed big fans to generate wind)

The Futaba 2.4GHz system, still not on the market according to the contacts I spoke with. Probably will be during the summer months. If the preliminary price indications are correct the Spektrum DX6 is probably a better buy.

The flying hall hosted all kinds of flying exhibitions with free-flying, rubber-band, or electric helicopters and airplanes. Here a 'freestyle' competition where aerobatic flying is performed to music and judged.

Among the flying modelers, a simulator like this was definitely the thing to have on the stand. Using a video-projector is not a bad idea - maybe something for us to show videos from competitions next year ?

A number of people had set up big slotcar or railway setups.

Cars this year seemed to be either very small, like the micro car above, or very big, 1/5th scale below. Both nitro powered.

A simple hydrocopter-thing...

Two home-built Stirling engines.

Another homebuilt engine

Intricate gear-cutting machinery used by the engine builders.

Cute miniature woodworking machines by Unimat. 'machine-park in a drawer' !

The Model Expo also hosts an annual robowars competition.

More war, a big part of the exhibition hall was set apart for warhammer games. Some kind of mix between a boardgame and a role-game, if I understand correctly.


Still more war. Two examples of the several 'soft-air' vendors at the expo. Distasteful if you ask me, and not a particularly creative hobby for our spes patria...

Results analysis


There's been discussion on the IOMICA Forum about simulating radiosailing races in order to study the effects of different heat racing systems. Specifically, it has been suggested that a bigger number of boats should be promoted/relegated from each heat (currently 4, using HMS).

In order for the simulation to be realistic each in-silico skipper's performance should be varied randomly around some mean performance index. To anchor the simulation in reality, I've here taken the results from the last three international events (2003 Vancouver, 2004 Arcos, 2005 Mooloolaba) and calculated the standard deviation of each skippers score during the series.

There's a clear correlation between standard deviation and final placing indicating that the top skippers perform more consistently than others. I also find it interesting that the datasets from different events are broadly speaking identical.

Update: Along these lines, Lester Gilber has worked on an Event Simulator, with perhaps the aim of figuring out the most optimal heat management system.