Author: L. Kruse
Edition: Model Aviation - 1986/11
Page Numbers: 69, 70, 171, 172
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1986 Nats: FF Indoor

By Larry Kruse

Background

After much difficulty securing an indoor site appropriate for a national-caliber contest near Lake Charles, the Nats planners finally opted for the Lake Charles Civic Center at the twelfth hour. Uncertainty—whether the larger Burton Coliseum or the smaller Category III Civic Center would be used—contributed to widespread indifference among potential indoor entrants. The Planning Committee did attempt to secure the Coliseum until planned construction made that impossible.

Flirting with cancellation because of low advance entries, the FF Indoor event was probably saved by AMA's rule that cancellation due merely to low entry is not justified. The Indoor competition was therefore compressed into two midweek days (Wednesday and Thursday) rather than serving as the usual leadoff event.

Schedule and logistics

  • Indoor events were held at the Lake Charles Civic Center over two days (Wednesday–Thursday).
  • The truncated schedule forced some contestants to choose between Indoor and Outdoor events or to race across town between Chennault Field and the Civic Center.
  • Proximity to outside doors produced noticeable, multi-directional drift in lighter-weight events; ceiling height (about 50 ft) limited maximum times for many events.

Peanut Scale

  • Peanut Scale continued to be dominated by the ubiquitous Lacey design.
  • Winners:
  • Open: Curt Sanford (Lacey)
  • Junior: David Brown (Lacey)
  • Senior: Dan Isaacks (competed against himself due to Outdoor schedule conflicts)

Tony Sutter provided a welcome variation with a well-crafted Zippy Sport (MA plans) that placed second in Open.

Rubber Scale

  • Open: Larry Kruse’s Bleriot Type 25 canard prevailed after tense last flights, beating Curt Sanford’s Lacey entry. George Batiuk’s Belgian Renard was third.
  • Senior: Dan Isaacks repeated his win.
  • Junior (Peanut/Rubber context): Lance Ferguson bested David Brown (both flying Laceys).

Easy B

  • The Easy B event was competitive but affected by drifting air from nearby doors.
  • Open results:
  • 1st: Tony Becker — 13:39
  • 2nd: Gordon Wisniewski — 13:04
  • 3rd: Jim Clem — 11:24
  • 4th: Tony Sutter — 11:22
  • Junior:
  • 1st: David Brown — 7:54
  • Senior:
  • 1st: Charles Gagliano — 5:25

David Brown was a frequent and successful competitor both Indoors and Out, collecting many trophies.

Intermediate Stick and Hand‑Launched Stick

(Note: both are hand-launched; classes distinguish model sizes and covering materials.)

Intermediate Stick (Open)

  • 1st: Tony Sutter — 15:01
  • 2nd: Gordon Wisniewski — 14:14
  • 3rd: Charlie Sotich — 13:17
  • 4th: Jim Clem — 13:10

Intermediate Stick (Junior/Senior)

  • Junior 1st: David Brown — 6:58
  • Junior 2nd: Tony Hutchins — 2:47
  • Senior (only entrant): Charles Gagliano — 2:20

Hand‑Launched Stick (Open and Jr/Sr)

  • Open:
  • 1st: Richard Doig — 27:07
  • 2nd: Jim Clem — 13:23
  • Junior/Senior:
  • 1st: David Brown — 6:21

Richard Doig, Indoor Event Director (with assistance from his wife Melody), put in an especially strong performance in HL Stick.

FAI Stick

  • 1st: Richard Doig — 55:44 (exceptional given site limitations)
  • 2nd: Jim Clem — 29:35
  • Best Junior: David Brown — 7:13

Indoor Hand‑Launched Glider

  • Open:
  • 1st: Chuck Markos — 89.8 seconds
  • 2nd: Bunky Dunham — 84.8 seconds
  • 3rd: Mike Clem — 70.2 seconds
  • Senior:
  • 1st: Aaron Markos — 91.2 seconds (beat his dad's Open time)
  • 2nd: Mark Whittemore — 67.8 seconds (two seconds ahead of Charles Gagliano)
  • Junior: Aaron Markos’s performance also placed him prominently among the younger set.

Cabin Events (ROG Cabin and Manhattan)

ROG Cabin

  • Open:
  • 1st: Tony Sutter — 12:46
  • 2nd: Bobby Dunham — 13:04
  • Senior:
  • 1st: Dan Isaacks — 24:41
  • Junior:
  • 1st: Lance Ferguson — 1:08

Manhattan Cabin

  • No Junior entries.
  • Senior:
  • 1st: Charles Gagliano — 3:52
  • 2nd: Dan Isaacks — 2:40
  • Open:
  • 1st: Chuck Markos — 7:34
  • 2nd: Tony Sutter — 7:10
  • 3rd: R.J. Dunham — 5:50

Pennyplane and POP (Plain Pennyplane)

Pennyplane

  • Junior Novice:
  • 1st: Mike Cantelmo — 7:51
  • Senior:
  • 1st: Aaron Markos — 10:00
  • 2nd: Charles Gagliano — 9:17
  • Open (older set):
  • 1st: Jim Clem — 10:23
  • 2nd: Tony Becker — 9:51
  • 3rd: Robert Nichols — 9:05

POP (Plain Pennyplane)

  • 1st: Gordon Wisniewski — 13:12 (well-proportioned biplane)
  • 2nd: Tony Italiano (NFFS) — 9:33
  • 3rd: Vito Gagliano — 8:50
  • Junior:
  • David Brown — 3:24

Observations and notes

  • Low entries and the smaller site limited overall participation and performance potential, but several outstanding individual efforts stood out despite the constraints (notably Richard Doig in sticks and Aaron Markos in glider).
  • Drift from exterior doors and the 50-ft ceiling were recurring factors affecting lighter-weight classes and max times.
  • Many competitors—especially juniors like David Brown and Aaron Markos—showed up across multiple events and classes, collecting numerous trophies.

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