'91 All American Nationals: CL Navy Carrier
Dick Perry
Editor's note
Scoring in AMA CL Navy Carrier events (Class I, Class II, and Profile) is based on each competitor's best official flight score. The flight score is the sum of the high-speed and low-speed points (seven laps each), landing points, and any applicable bonus points. If a flight is terminated after the low-speed signal, the score is the sum of any bonus points and the points for all flight phases completed prior to termination.
Event overview
Except for the corn growing in the background, this year's Nationals felt tropical—hot and humid. Although conditions were uncomfortable for spectators, they were well suited to Carrier flying: light winds and low turbulence prevailed throughout both days of official flying.
The Carrier events were located adjacent to the AMA Headquarters tent and along the path to the Radio Control flight areas. That placement provided a steady stream of spectators and a good opportunity to introduce newcomers to the event.
Participation was good, with several new faces and most returning contestants from last year. Competition was strong: Class II and Profile scores were generally higher than the previous year, while Class I flights proved a bit harder to execute and produced a tighter point spread among the top finishers.
Good officiating is essential to a good contest. Brenda Schuette served as Event Director and, with a capable crew, ran the events smoothly. Judging was fair and consistent throughout the flying. Brenda's assistants included John Holliday (center judge), Joe Just, Jim Brown, and Art Johnson. Carol Johnson handled tabulation; Rusty Brown was pit boss. Joe Dzialo and John Castiglioni handled processing.
Flying summary
Flying began Thursday, with Profile Carrier as the lead event. Winds were essentially calm early in the day and picked up slightly as the day progressed. Except for occasional thermals, winds generally held near five mph.
Gary Hull's Vought Kingfisher was first off the deck. Bill Melton and Marc Warwashana each displaced Gary from first place early on. Last year's champion Pete Mazur put up a midmorning flight, but the light wind made four-and-a-half-minute low speeds difficult to achieve and his score fell below his previous performance.
Marc Warwashana and Dick Perry recorded the best high speeds of the day; one craft touched ground during slow flight due to stability problems. The afternoon's top three places remained fixed until Carlos Aloise finished Speed and entered the Carrier circle.
Carlos Aloise flew a handmade, left-rotation model powered by a Super Tigre X-40 that climbed to 91 mph on its first attempt. Carlos specializes in slow flight; his model was in near-perfect trim. A slow flight of over five minutes at about 5.7 mph plus a 100-point landing moved him six points ahead of his nearest rival, and those top placings held for the remainder of the day.
Junior and Senior Profile
Junior and Senior Profile combined for five contestants—a positive sign for the future of Carrier flying.
- Junior: Ryan Calkins (Sugar Grove, IL) finished first in Junior Profile, pulling off a three-minute low speed. Howell Pugh finished close behind; Howell's first flight looked strong but a missed landing kept him out of the win, and his second flight was less impressive though he did land the model.
- Senior: Senior Profile was closely contested. Jason Kegel and Charles Curtis both missed early landings. Jason recovered on his second attempt and held first place despite a strong later effort by Nick Pugh. Jason flew a Sturdivant AM-1 Mauler to the Senior win.
Class II
Class II saw strong performances and close scoring.
- Bill Melton set the early pace with a Rossi .65–powered Grumman, recording the contest's best high speed at 117.3 mph and posting a solid low-speed performance.
- Bill Calkins recorded the best slow speed of the day with a three-minute second flight in his O.S. .65–powered MO-1, finishing a close second.
- Pete Mazur looked threatening on his first attempt but touched before landing. On his next try he put it all together and edged Bill Melton by just three points to take the Class II win.
- Joe Dzialo and John Castiglioni came close but could not displace the top three.
Class I
Class I featured tight competition and some noteworthy performances.
- Joe Dzialo posted the first complete flight in Class I flying an original Bearcat powered by a K&B 5.8. Despite being the smallest Class I model (about 160 sq in wing area), excellent trim and pilot skill produced a low speed of over three minutes—the best low speed in either Class I or Class II (except for a Profile ship entered by Gary Hull). Joe remained solidly in first throughout the day.
- Several Junior and Senior Profile contestants also flew Class I. Jason Kegel won Senior Class I flying the Sturdivant AM-1 Mauler. Ryan Calkins put together the only complete flight for first in Junior Class I.
Awards, society activities, and unofficial events
After the competition the Navy Carrier Society gathered at a Vincennes restaurant for an evening of food and fellowship. The highlight was the presentation of the Eugene Ely Award, named for the first pilot to take off from and land aboard a ship; it recognizes the outstanding Navy Carrier contestant for the most complete performance. This year's Eugene Ely Award went to Bill Melton—his Guardians placed either second or third in each event, and his consistent low-speed performance and reliable equipment made him the best overall contestant.
For the second year the Navy Carrier Society selected a Rookie of the Year from those flying their first Nationals Carrier competition. Last year's winner, John Vlna, presented the 1991 Rookie of the Year award to Terry Bull.
As is traditional, unofficial Carrier competition occupied the Saturday following official flying. Gusty winds (over 10 mph) made flying difficult. Results included:
- Mike Greb — winner of the Navy Carrier Society–sponsored Sportsman Carrier (Profile Carrier for those who entered none of the official Carrier events)
- Jim Kirby — winner of the .15 Carrier event
Special thanks were extended to the Paul K. Guilow Company for sponsoring the Profile Carrier trophies, and to Mike's Hobby Hangar (Carrollton, Texas) for sponsoring the .15 Carrier event.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
