AMA Nats: CL Speed
Gene Hempel
Thanks to CL Speed Event Director Santo Rizzotto (Fall River, MA) and his staff of volunteers Frances Garzon and Bob Middleton for the excellent job they performed at this year's Nats. There would not be a Nats if it were not for the dedication and effort of individuals like these.
This was the third time the Nats were held in Lincoln, NE (previously 1979 and 1982). The 1988 Nats will be held in Virginia Beach, VA — make plans now to attend!
Weather: Monday of Nats week was pleasant for half a day. A cold front moved through Tuesday bringing a record low in the upper forties. The remainder of the week saw upper-nineties temperatures with strong afternoon winds.
Monday, July 13 — 1/2A Speed and Proto Speed
Open 1/2A Speed
- 1st: Charles Legg (Council Bluffs, IA) — 130.86 mph
- Model: basswood fuselage, balsa stabilizer, total weight 7 oz.
- Engine: homemade bar-stock .049, tuned pipe; bore .408 in., stroke .3845 in., ABC piston/cylinder; crankshaft machined from mild steel OD 3/16 in.; dual ball bearings.
- Carburetor/tuned-pipe header details and metal suction tank used.
- Plug: Glo-Bee; prop: 5 x 4.25 (Cox gray or single-blade props were also common).
- 2nd: Warren Kurth (Davenport, IA) — 114.45 mph (modified Cox .049 in a Peanut design)
- 3rd: Dave Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) — 110.79 mph (home-design ZIT .049 with fuel regulator and pipe)
Junior 1/2A Speed
- 1st: Todd Lee (Topeka, KS) — 75.91 mph
Senior 1/2A Speed
- 1st: Joe Mantel (Plantation, FL) — 71.90 mph
- 2nd: Jane Johnson (Rockford, IL) — 61.07 mph
Profile Proto events
- Half-A Profile Proto (AMA provisional)
- 1st: Warren Kurth — 98.70 mph
- 2nd: Tom Harrington (Tullahoma, TN) — 90.06 mph
- 3rd: Brown team — 81.19 mph
- Senior 1/4A Profile Proto
- 1st: Joe Mantel — 64.98 mph
- 2nd: Jane Johnson — 60.99 mph
- 1/8A Junior Profile Proto (only entry)
- 1st: Todd Lee — 73.02 mph
Notes: Props among 1/2A Speed fliers varied — single-blade composite, Cox gray 5 x 4, and some wooden props.
FAI Speed and .15-size classes
Senior FAI Speed
- 1st: Carl Dodge (Richmond Heights, OH) — 172.40 mph
- Engine: home-built .15 with machined backplate and pipe; used a cam instead of a tapering attachment to produce a constant compound curve on the diverging portion of the pipe. Pipes are not soldered to the engine; very fine threads used to seal.
- 2nd: Dave Williams — 152.64 mph (homemade ZIT .15)
- 3rd: Bill Hughes (Collingswood, IL) — 128.09 mph (progressing using K&B/Cox .15s)
All FAI Speed entries used composite-construction single-blade props.
Open A Speed (12 entries)
- 1st: Steve Perkins (Houston, TX) — 173.67 mph
- Equipment: Super Tigre X-15 modified (per past "CL Speed" column); used a steel cylinder instead of ABC; monolithic Rev-Up prop; inlet mix 78% nitro, 2% propylene oxide, 20% synthetic oil.
- 2nd: M & M team (Fred and Joyce Marjorie, Fremont, CA) — 173.00 mph
- 3rd: Akeshi Kusumoto (Japan) — 172.84 mph
Junior A Speed
- 1st: James Buxton (Bethel Park, PA) — 81.08 mph
Common .15 engine types observed: Rossi, OPS, K&B, Nelson, Super Tigre, and a prototype OS .15.
Fuel/feed systems: Majority of models used a form of uniflow suction feed. Information on these systems has appeared in past "CL Speed" columns in Model Aviation.
.21 Sport Speed (unofficial event)
- 1st: Frank Garzon (Central Islip, NY) — 137.03 mph
- 2nd: Glenn Lee (Batavia, IL) — 133.57 mph
- 3rd: George Brown (Staten Island, NY) — 133.08 mph
- 4th: Gene Hempel (Garland, TX) — 132.10 mph
Notes: Event easier than Formula .40 — any .21 engine allowed, two-wire control line, fuel restricted to 10% nitro. Fuel for this Nats special event was donated by Dick Ritch (Ritch's Hobbies); contestants received a gallon of 10% fuel plus a share of the cash prize pot.
Wednesday — B Speed and Formula .40
B Speed
- 1st: Billy Hughes (Bolingbrook, IL) — 178.87 mph (using K&B .049 and homemade 7 x 10½ glass prop)
- 2nd: Akeshi Kusumoto (Japan) — 178.86 mph (used a DJS .29 engine)
- 3rd: James Van Sant (Penndel, PA) — 178.10 mph
Notes: Mix of glass and wood props; common prop size ~7 in. diameter, 10½ in. pitch. Flights mainly completed by lunch; wind increased in afternoon.
Junior B Speed
- James Buxton — 109.87 mph (used K&B .21 on original-design model; Buxton has ~10 years flying experience)
Formula .40 (10 entrants; only one Senior entry)
- Open results:
- 1st: Glenn Lee — 158.66 mph
- 2nd: Bill Wisniewski — 157.00 mph
- 3rd: Frank Garzon — 155.51 mph
- 4th: Akeshi Kusumoto — 150.44 mph (used OPS .40 VRP with glass 8 x 8 prop)
- Senior F.40
- 1st: Jim Ricketts (Sioux Falls, SD) — 135.90 mph (flew a Rat Racer)
- Note: Joe Mantel did not make an official flight.
Notes: K&B .65 was the dominant engine in F.40; most models used glass props. F.40 is relatively easy to fly; contest-supplied fuel and two-wire control line; no wing area restriction.
Thursday — D Speed and Jet Speed
D Speed (Open-penalty event, 14 entries)
- 1st: Akeshi Kusumoto (Japan) — 209.21 mph
- 2nd: Frank Garzon — 203.99 mph (current D Speed record holder)
- 4th: Bill Nusz — 198.81 mph
Notes: Akeshi and Frank used OS Max .65 engines with 9 x 12 glass props. Fuel: 78% nitro, 3% alcohol, 19% synthetic oil. This engine will turn ~200 mph out of the box.
Jet Speed (best turnout with 15 entries)
- 1st: Joe Kirn — 205.86 mph (Jerry Thomas asymmetrical design)
- 2nd: Dimmitt Perkins (Houston, TX) — 205.39 mph (sidewinder-type model) — very close finish
- 3rd: Jerry Thomas — 201.03 mph (Hummer design)
- 4th: Bill Nusz — 198.59 mph
Notes: No Junior or Senior Jet entries. Models included sidewinder designs, Super Bird designs, and Jerry Thomas' Hummer (may be kitted soon).
North American Speed Society (NASS) dinner and awards
NASS held its annual get-together and dinner at Lee's Restaurant near Lincoln; Chris Sackett is the NASS newsletter editor. Awards presented:
- NASS Perpetual Speed Trophy: Akeshi Kusumoto (Japan)
- High Time Trophy: Charles Legg (Council Bluffs, IA) — for 1/2A Speed flight of 130.86 mph
- Junior/Senior Trophy: Todd Lee (Topeka, KS)
Congratulations to the winners — let's keep Speed moving ahead!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
