AMA Nats: FF Indoor
Larry Kruse
Overview
The year 1987 proved exceptional for indoor model flying. From the Johnson City experience under the 122-ft. minidome to the rebirth of true Nationals competition at Lincoln, 1987 marked a renaissance of micro-gram models and their pilots. Returning from the near-oblivion of Lake Charles, Indoor became the crown jewel of Free Flight at Lincoln, with a larger turnout, a better site, and more records set than in recent National Contest history.
Venue — Pershing Auditorium
Pershing Auditorium proved a very user-friendly site. Although Indoor had been held there on two previous occasions, this contest benefited from the noticeable absence of the large suspended scoreboard, which opened up full access to the 49-ft.-plus arched ceiling and recessed lights. Hanging up on obstructions, a usual concern for indoor fliers, was not a problem; as a consequence, ceiling scrubbing was commonplace.
Category II records — Day One
Category II records began falling from the word go on Sunday, the first day of Indoor competition:
- Pennyplane (Open): Gordy Wisniewski — 12:39 (almost a full minute better than Walt Van Gorder’s previous 11:40).
- Novice Pennyplane: Richard Miller — 10:27 (tied Walt Van Gorder’s existing record). Walt Van Gorder subsequently responded with a new record of 10:38.
- Manhattan Cabin (Open): Walt Van Gorder — 9:32 (28 seconds better than his previous best).
At the same time, young Don Slusarczyk dominated the Senior age class and began a string of records:
- Senior Manhattan Cabin: Don Slusarczyk — flights of 6:28 and 6:48 (almost triple the existing Senior national record).
- Senior Hand-Launch Stick: Don Slusarczyk — 23:16 (winning time and new record).
Other notable Day One results:
- Charles Gagliano: second in Senior Manhattan Cabin; won Senior HL Glider.
- Matt Gagliano: second in Pennyplane; first in Novice Pennyplane.
- James Buxton (Junior): won Hand-Launch Stick, Novice Pennyplane, Pennyplane, and Hand-Launch Glider; finished second in Manhattan Cabin.
Hand-Launch Glider (HLG)
While rubber motors were being wound in parts of the auditorium, HLG fliers practiced elsewhere. Although no official HLG records were set, Paul Shailor totaled 94.8 seconds (an average of 47.4 seconds per flight under the 49-ft. ceiling), coming within a tick of a record. National record holder Bernie Boehm repeatedly flew his 24½-in. glider (called My Last One) to 49+ seconds nearly every attempt, but he had not entered the event and therefore did not appear in the win column.
Day Two — More records and standout performances
Category II record rewriting continued on Day Two:
- Open ROG Cabin: Bill Shailor — 18:47, then 19:23, and finally a monster 21:57 (a truly amazing performance likely to stand for some time).
- Senior ROG Cabin: Don Slusarczyk — 17:37 (shattering the previous senior record of 7:10 by over 10 minutes).
- Senior Intermediate Stick: Don Slusarczyk — 18:49 and later 21:04 (far exceeding the previous senior best of 14:37).
- Open Intermediate Stick: Jim Grant — 17:31 (broke previous 16:20), then Stan Chilton — 21:28 (U.S. National Record), later beaten by Jack McGillivray by 4 seconds.
These results illustrated that a competitor could set a new national record in an event yet still not be assured of first place in final standings.
Other event results and highlights:
- Easy B: Don Slusarczyk won Senior Easy B; Charles and Matt Gagliano followed in that order. In Junior Easy B, Don DeLoach finished first with James Buxton second. Chuck Markos won Open Easy B, edging out Jack McGillivray and Walt Van Gorder by nearly a full minute.
- FAI Stick: Stan Chilton won with a two-flight total of 60:09. According to Indoor Director Richard Doig, this was only the fourth time the 30-minute barrier had been exceeded at a Category II site.
Summary and organization
The indoor competition at Lincoln left a strong impression: the quantity and quality of flights and records will speak for themselves. The popularity of Indoor at this Nationals may carry over to future contests and boost interest in the indoor movement.
Much of the event’s success is due to the promotion, hard work, and dedication of Richard and Melody Doig. They worked tirelessly from opening day until the last flight—often from 8 a.m. until after midnight—to ensure everything ran smoothly and to the contestants’ satisfaction. Their efforts were central to making Indoor at Lincoln about as good as you're likely to see anywhere.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
