AMA Nats: CL Speed
SPEED turnout at the '88 Nats was quite good, with 128 event entries. Junior and Senior entrants were scarce across events. The site was far from perfect, but filling the holes with plaster made it usable.
Monday — 1/2A Speed & 1/4A Profile Proto
Flying began Monday with a strong showing in the smaller classes (1/2A Speed and 1/4A Profile Proto). Turnout was excellent: 40 entrants in the 1/2A and 1/4A profile classes and 43 official flights were completed. Flying continued right up to 5:00 p.m.
- 1/2A Open record attempt:
- Nick Sher (holder of the 1/2A Open Speed record at 132 mph) posted an early flight that read over 133 mph.
- He immediately backed it up with another flight; pilot George "Slugger" Brown III just barely caught the pylon and the flight established a new Open 1/2A record of 137.14 mph.
- Charles Legg placed second (asymmetrical model); Tom Hartvigsen was third.
- 1/4A Profile Proto / Junior & Senior:
- Junior (only entrant): Michael Byrd — 75.94 mph (first).
- Seniors (three entrants): Todd Lee — first (stock Cox .049 on commercial 25% nitro), Sharon Ybanez — second, Jane Johnson — third.
- Todd Lee used the same airplane in both Senior classes.
Tuesday — A Speed, FAI, and .21 Sport Speed
Tuesday featured A Speed, FAI Speed, and the unofficial .21 Sport Speed.
- A Speed:
- Nick Sher — first at 176.57 mph.
- Akeshi Kusumoto (Japan) — second.
- George "Slugger" Brown III — third.
- Mike Byrd turned the only Junior Class A flight and took first in that class.
- FAI Speed:
- Many FAI Speed flyers were en route to the CL World Championships in Russia, so only four competitors took part at the Nats.
- Glen Vansant and Ed Gifford were the successful fliers in this class.
- Unofficial .21 Sport Speed:
- 12 entrants, 28 timed flights recorded between official events.
- Frank Garzon — winner at 144.17 mph.
- Chris Montagino — second at 143.60 mph.
- Fred Randel — third at 143.60 mph (on 10% nitro fuel).
Wednesday — Formula 40 (F40) and B Speed
Wednesday saw Formula 40 and B Speed flying.
- Formula 40:
- Randy Ritch (Senior) flew and turned 140.90 mph.
- Open F40 (13 contestants): Team Wisniewski (Bill and Rick) won at 162.98 mph.
- B Speed:
- 12 flyers competed.
- Team Wisniewski flew early; Rick had difficulty staying on the pylon and that attempt—unofficially clocked at 208 mph—did not stand.
- Nick Sher posted 204.10 mph (officially fastest and effectively first).
- Team Wisniewski managed 194.40 mph.
- Bob Mathison (Portsmouth, VA) — third at 183.35 mph.
Thursday — D Speed and Jet
Thursday featured the higher-speed classes, D Speed and Jet, where high-nitro fuels and high speeds took a toll on engines.
- D Speed:
- 23 entrants, 16 flew; 33 timed flights and 24 attempts.
- Nine flights exceeded 200 mph.
- Akeshi Kusumoto (Japan) — first at 207.77 mph.
- Team Wisniewski and Tom Brown tied for second at 204.93 mph; Wisniewskis had a backup flight of 204.49 mph.
- Jet:
- Hot, muggy weather reduced performance, but competition was strong.
- Ned Norris (Indianapolis, IN) — first at 194.48 mph.
- Charles Serie — second.
- Ted Black — third.
- The nylon safety net was tested when a pilot slipped and fell during Ned Norris's flight.
Notes and observations
- Overall, the event drew strong participation in Speed classes despite site imperfections and scarce Junior/Senior entries.
- High nitro fuels and hot weather made engine reliability a continuing challenge across the faster classes.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
