The 1979 Free Flight Championships

The 1979 Free Flight Championships

By Bob Meuser

Overview

By dawn's early light the first event flown was the Mulvihill—one flight for outdoor rubber-powered models. Bob White won (as he did last year) with a flight of 11 min. 26 sec., about three minutes ahead of the pack.

The Championships were held at Taft on May 26–28. Attendance was about 10% below the usual ~300 because of the gasoline shortage, but roughly 90% of the usual fliers made it and flew enthusiastically in the sun-baked conditions.

Attendance and travel

• Southern California fliers could reach Taft on a tankful, but filling the tank before the trip was a hassle.
• Southwest entrants planned routes to avoid Los Angeles; fueling was generally possible if avoided at night in major metro areas.
• A few would-be contestants were stranded with empty tanks elsewhere (e.g., a week stuck in Utah).

Site and safety

Taft is a compact, tidy town. The surrounding countryside was very dry—wild oats and grasses were thigh-deep and tinder-dry in places. That dryness made fires a concern: four fires produced black smoke during the contest, any one of which could have threatened equipment or fields. Fortunately no modelers' equipment was lost.

Weather

• Day 1: Dead calm at sunrise, then light east winds that shifted to north-northwest; late afternoon gusts to 12–15 mph. Temperatures reached about 100°F. Humidity 20–25%.
• Day 2 (Sunday): Windy with gusts up to ~20 mph and a cloudy sky; many flights required use of a wind machine to steady direction.
• Day 3 (Monday): Clouds cleared to a haze and somewhat cooler temperatures (about 10°F lower).

Events and Results

Unlimited Mulvihill (unofficial)

• Format: One flight for rubber-powered models (built to AMA rules with a few added restrictions); no "max" allowed. Models launched between 6:00 and 6:20 a.m.
• Winner: Bob White — 11 min. 26 sec. (a lightened version of his Twin Fin design).
• Note: Last year's first running was won by White with 9:40; his 11:26 this year is a big improvement.

Hand-Launch Glider (one-design)

• Sponsor: Dave Linstrum.
• Model: Thermic 18 hand-launch gliders (12-inch wingspan).
• Second place: Darline Schertz (Taft) — she had never seen a model glider before.

Nostalgia Event (unofficial)

• Organized by Ralph Prey (editor of Satellite).
• Rules: For 1946–1956-era models; plain-bearing, non-Schnuerle-ported engines.
• Winners: Carl Cogar won 1/4 A with a Ramrod 250; Bruce Norman won the combined Class A–B with a Zeek. Other entries included Spacer, Ramrod 600, and Civy Boy.

Rocket Power (unofficial)

• Threatened by the discontinuation of Jetex fuel production.
• Sustained by Bob Boyer (19), who funded trophies and ran ads seeking fuel and fuse.
• Bob and David Turgeon fly small all-balsa models with Jetex 50 engines.
• If you have Jetex fuel or fuse, contact Bob Boyer, 4129 45th Street, San Diego, CA — (714) 284-7742.

Indoor Hand-Launch Glider (low-ceiling)

• Historically dominated by local Californians (Wittman, Hines, Meuser, DeShields, Tsiknopoulos, Boyer).
• This year Bob Hayes (Midwest) flew a well-tuned Coot to top honors, narrowly beating Ron Wittman. The top four two-flight totals were extremely close (61.7 to 63.2 seconds).

FAI Events

• Format: Flown "in rounds"—each of seven required flights launched within a one-hour period. Fliers who made seven three-minute maxes went to fly-offs until one remained with all maxes.
• FAI Power: No one maxed out. Winner: Al Bissonett. Second: Marty Thompson (new to FAI Power). World Champs team members Galbreath and Simpson sat this one out to prepare for the World Championships.
• A/2 Nordic Towline Glider: Thermal finding was difficult. Two maxed out—Gary Medley and Bruce Hannah Jr.—and Bruce won the first fly-off.
• Wakefield: Four made the fly-offs — Bob White, Bob Piserchio, Dick Gildersleeve, and Roger Gregory. After subsequent fly-offs and some bad luck (motor break, missed max), Bob White emerged the winner over Gildersleeve.
• Coupe d'Hiver: Jason Kendry (Senior) was the only flier to max out. A sixth flight of any duration would have given him a new national record (current record: five maxes).

P/30 (Plastic-prop rubber-power, max dimension 30 inches)

• Senior Open: No maxes. Winner: Hugo Sarnoid; second: Bob White.
• Junior P/30: Marnie Meuser made three 3-minute maxes—becoming the first Junior (and likely the first female) to max out in the event, and the first Meuser to top Bob White in a rubber event.

Junior, Senior and Open Sweepstakes

• Junior Sweepstakes: Dave Turgeon won decisively, collecting at least seven trophies including firsts in Junior Indoor and Outdoor Hand-Launch Glider and Junior A Gas.
• Senior Sweepstakes: Jason Kendry took the Senior Sweeps trophy.
• Open Sweepstakes (Chuck Broadhurst Memorial Trophy): Irv Aker won; Joe Foster trailed by only five points out of 600.

Additional notable results and entries

• Vic Cunningham Jr.: Flew a K&B 4cc-powered Sirocco in Class D Power and won the Nite Flying event with the same model; he retrieved it after a six-minute flight within 100 yards of launch.
• Peanut Scale: A Nesmith Cougar (from a Peck kit) was flown under indoor Forster .049 power.
• Big Pylon / Antique-class: Paul Preshaw (14) took first in Peanut. Van Richardson (16) flew "So Long" in Oldtimer events using a modern .15 Max converted to spark ignition.
• Miscellaneous: Steve Beebe and several Taft residents entered on their home field. Roger Simpson flew a classy model in FAI Power.

People, machines and anecdotes

• Bob White’s winning Unlimited Mulvihill model is a lightweight version of the Twin Fin and uses 80 grams of rubber.
• Marnie Meuser won the Junior P/30 and topped the Senior-Open event score in that class; grandpa helped spot thermals.
• Jetex fuel scarcity hampered rocket power events; David Turgeon test-flew a Jetex 50-powered rocket under Bob Boyer’s watch.

"If only" stories (anecdotes)

• Gary Medley (A/2 Nordic Towline): After regular flights only two maxed out. Gary had lost his best model, then lacked a twanger hook, had trouble with borrowed gear, and ended up missing the extra second needed to beat Bruce Hannah Jr. A classic chain of "if only" mishaps.
• Steve Geraghty (Mulvihill): After making three maxes, his wing inexplicably folded during a long glide in a thermal, costing him a sure fly-off max.
• General: Many competitors and spectators traded "if only" stories—about missing equipment, bad luck, or timing—while packing and heading home.

Closing

Despite the gasoline problems, tinder-dry countryside and a few local fires, the 1979 Free Flight Championships at Taft drew most of the regulars, produced close competitions across many classes, showcased young talent, and preserved several traditional and new events (including the grassroots effort to keep Rocket Power alive). If only the headwinds would calm and the pumpers would stay open, everyone might have gotten home a little sooner—still, there was plenty of flying and plenty to talk about until next year.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.