1982 AMA Nats: FF Indoor Duration
Larry Kruse
Site and attendance
Commenting on this portion of the 1982 Nationals is analogous to the story of the preacher who spent the better part of his sermon complaining to those few members of the congregation who were present about the large number who were absent. The bulk of the fliers who typically make the trek to West Baden and other indoor meccas apparently chose to attend the ’82 Nats disguised as the empty seats of Pershing Auditorium.
As a low‑ceiling site, Pershing is pretty good. Lights are recessed and the ceiling is fairly smooth (although only 57 ft. to a rather flat apex) and does permit a large amount of ceiling “scrubbing” without hanging up planes. Most knowledgeable competitors took full advantage of the scrubbing potential (witness Dan Domina’s 30:03); consequently, flight times on the whole were rather good. Very little drift was evident, although spectators came and went freely through four sets of double doors exiting into a circular foyer that completely surrounded the arena floor. Humidity and temperature remained comfortable inside, even though outside temperatures were in excess of 100°.
The gist of why most of the name fliers stayed away seems to lie somewhere between the proximity of the Nats to the West Baden contest, the acceptability of Pershing Auditorium as a Nats site, and the sheer economics of travel during difficult economic times. Stan Stoy commented that people came to Lincoln initially in ’79 not knowing what the site was like. This year was different, since people knew where they would be flying and simply chose not to come for that reason. Perhaps young Jason Tryon summed it up succinctly when he said, “The Nats are kind of losing importance—but they’re still fun.”
And fun it was for those who chose to compete.
Officials
The first day, Sunday, had a total of five official and a couple of unofficial events slated which went off without a hitch. Special thanks to Homer Smith and Murry and Sandy Frank who, along with Ralph Biddle and others, manned the officials table. These gentlemen did their best to make everyone comfortable, keep events moving, and inform the spectators of what was happening and what they could look for as various types of planes took to the air.
Pennyplane
Pennyplane was one of the first events flown on Sunday. From all evidence, Grandpa Meuser did a good job when he designed the No Non‑Cents. Meuser models more than any other were flown, and flown well, even by some of the more inexperienced juniors.
- Junior Pennyplane
- 1st: Melissa Groebe — 8:04
- Senior Pennyplane
- 1st: John O’Reilly — 8:33
- 2nd: Tom Morrell
- 3rd: Mike Clem
- Open Pennyplane
- 1st: Gordon Wisniewski
- 2nd: Earl Hoffman
- 3rd: Charlie Sotich
Easy B
Easy B, which has become anything but easy under the new rules, had some very good flights considering site limitations.
- Open Easy B
- 1st: Earl Hoffman — 14:27
- 2nd: Gordon Wisniewski — 12:38
- 3rd: David Erbach — 11:33
- Junior Easy B
- 1st: Carl Linstrum
- 2nd: David Brown
- 3rd: Melanie Sanford
- Senior Easy B
- 1st: Bryan Fulmer
- 2nd: Brad Fulmer
- 3rd: Mike Clem
Throughout the two days of indoor competition, Mike Clem and the Fulmer brothers frequently interchanged positions in Senior events.
Indoor Hand‑Launched Glider (IHLG)
Indoor Hand‑Launched Glider did not bring out the innovative folding‑wing hardware many had hoped to see; most fliers flew fixed‑wing models. Dan Domina’s very nice Drela Upstart, impregnated with carbon fiber in the wing and fuselage, was very much in contention during the day, but for some reason Dan could not get the necessary altitude to place in the top three.
- Open IHLG
- 1st: Tony Vaughan (ancient foam‑winged HL glider)
- 2nd: Bobby Dunham
- 3rd: Stan Stoy — 6 seconds behind Bobby Dunham
- Senior HLG
- 1st: Bryan Fulmer
- 2nd: Mike Clem
- 3rd: Brad Fulmer
- Junior HLG
- 1st: Aaron Markos — 69.2 sec
- 2nd: Eric Vaughan
- 3rd: David Brown (Thermal Piglet — primarily an outdoor HL glider)
Tony Vaughan’s foam meat‑tray wing performs very well in low‑ceiling settings; ultra‑slow, stable ships like his are difficult to beat there.
Indoor Cabin
Indoor Cabin, relegated to extinction in the minds of most competitors, is still alive at the Nats. There’s something about a transparent, spindle‑legged, indoor cabin job making an ROG takeoff that's inherently attractive—and deserving of preservation.
- Open Indoor Cabin
- 1st: Dan Domina — 20:56
- 2nd: Bobby Dunham
- 3rd: R. J. Dunham II
- As the Dunhams figured it, Bobby’s plane was about 14 years old; other than replacement of wing, tail, propeller, fuselage, and wheels over time, much of it remained original.
- Senior Indoor Cabin
- 1st: Brad Fulmer
- 2nd: Bryan Fulmer
- Junior Indoor Cabin
- 1st: Melanie Sanford
Indoor Stick (FAI, Paper, AMA)
Indoor Stick events (FAI, Paper, and AMA) generally had good participation with some nice times recorded. Rumor had it that several new national records had been set, but AMA’s Frank Ehing did not have the appropriate data immediately at hand to confirm or deny that report at the Nats AMA HQ setup at the Lincoln Air Park.
Dan Domina figured prominently in Open Stick events, winning FAI and AMA, but being edged out of first in Paper Stick by Dan Belieff.
- Open Paper Stick
- 1st: Dan Belieff
- (Dan Domina was edged out of first)
- Open FAI Stick
- 1st: Dan Domina
- Open AMA Stick
- 1st: Dan Domina — 30:03
- 2nd: Earl Hoffman — 25:33
- 3rd: Dan Belieff — 24:43
- 4th: Paul Tryon — 22:43
The AMA Stick story: Domina put up a ceiling‑scrubbing 30:03 early and then watched others attempt to catch him. Late in the day Dan Belieff and Paul Tryon were holding second and third at 24:43 and 22:43 when Earl Hoffman, finishing other events, put up a last flight at 8:55 p.m. Hoffman’s flight went to the ceiling and stayed for 25:33, moving Hoffman into second, bumping Belieff to third and knocking Paul Tryon out of a trophy position. Hoffman’s flight was a fitting conclusion to the indoor portion of the ’82 Nats.
Closing thoughts
The opening commentary of this report was not meant to denigrate the quality of flying at Lincoln. The intent is to suggest that if a true “national” contest is to be held in the future as it has been in the past, the powers that be in NAMS and NFFS, and those who make decisions at AMA, must communicate with each other and arrive at a mutual decision about site and scheduling. Otherwise, to paraphrase T. S. Eliot, any future indoor Nationals may not end with a bang, as they should, but end as this one did—with a whimper.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
