CL Navy Carrier
Pete Mazur
Moored in the middle of a grassy field was where we found the Carrier deck at the 1989 Nats. In the past it has been in the middle of a concrete area. The past concern that a model with an engine flameout would land in the grass and tumble itself to destruction has diminished as more competitors build larger models for better low-speed flight — a characteristic which also makes for better behavior when landing in a grass field. The adjacent trees also provided the spectators with welcome shade from the hot desert sun.
Profile Carrier day started out breezy, but the wind got stronger as the day progressed, finally reaching about 20 mph. This resulted in many low scores and a lot of missed landings.
Open Profile
Open winner Pete Mazur flew a modified Cordes-designed Spearfish powered by a plain-bearing Tune .36. A high-speed time of 206 seconds and a low-speed time of 184 seconds resulted in a score of 2,868.
Right behind was current record holder Carlos Aloise with 2,832 points. Carlos' high-speed time was 195 seconds; bad winds prevented him from pushing low speed beyond 176 seconds. Carlos' model is larger than most at over 400 sq. in. of wing area (rules require a minimum 300 sq. in.) and has no flaps or ailerons. Slow low-speed flight is achieved by trimming the model for great stability at high angles of attack, thereby allowing continuous flight at angles of attack up to 60°. The Aloise/Tigre engine work on Carlos' Supertigre X-40 crankcase included custom-made parts such as an AAC piston sleeve, connecting rod, left-hand-rotation crankshaft, cylinder head, and throttle. The result of all this work is not only a good high speed but flawless reliability and throttle response.
Third place in Open Profile went to Melvin Schuette flying a MO-1 with a K&B .58 engine. Melvin's score of 2,637 came as a result of a high-speed time of 218 seconds and a low-speed time of 162 seconds.
Classes I and II
Classes I and II were flown in calmer weather, although there were lots of blown landings here, too.
- Class I
- Winner: Bill Melton — original 36-in. span Grumman Guardian powered by an OS .40 VRP. High speed 168 seconds, low speed 132 seconds, winning score 3,863.
- Second: Pete Mazur — original MO-1, 37-in. wingspan, K&B .40S powered. High 173 sec, low 127 sec, score 3,777.
- Third: Marc Warwashana — original-design Brewster XSBA-1 powered by an HP .40, 31-in. wingspan. Slow time 129 seconds, score 3,628.
- Class II
- Winner: Bill Melton — own-design Guardian, 40-in. span, ancient Supertigre .65. Times 158 and 124 seconds, total score 3,929.
- Second: Carlos Aloise — .43-powered Profile. High speed 203 sec, spectacular low speed 314 sec, total 3,445 points (second place even without the 100 bonus points for Scale models).
- Third: Pete Mazur — MO-Zilla, 43-in. span MO-1 using a Webra Speed 61. Times 165 and 110 seconds and a 60-point landing, total 3,359.
Juniors
The Juniors were well represented in all three classes.
- Profile (Juniors)
- Winner: Margo Carlson — modified Melton Guardian, standard wing and fuselage reduced 10%, very light 27-oz. model, OS .32 engine.
- Second: Sally Carlson — identical model with OS .25 engine.
- Third: Kevin Warwashana — Profile Bearcat.
- Class I (Juniors)
- Winner: Margo Carlson — 30-in. Guardian with an ST .40, very light weight 31 oz.
- Second: Sally Carlson — similar model using K&B .40 power.
- Second (alternate mention): Kevin Warwashana — GS Bearcat with K&B .58 (text notes Kevin as second in another Junior class).
- Third: David Reynolds — T-2 Buckeye built from plans by his dad, Bob Reynolds.
Want high scores in Carrier? Good stability over a wide speed range is an absolute necessity, says reporter Mazur.
Nats CL Carrier
Senior Class I
The Senior winner in Class I, Rick Humphries, flew a K&B .40-powered Vigilante. This unusual model is a prop-driven imitation of the Navy's jet-powered, carrier-based bomber/reconnaissance supersonic craft. It looked very sharp.
Sportsman Profile (Unofficial)
Sportsman Profile Carrier was held as an unofficial event. The rules are the same as for AMA Profile Carrier, but the event is intended for beginners and for experienced people who simply don't choose to pursue the sport to its ultimate performance levels. Entry was open to anyone who didn't enter any of the AMA Carrier events, and eight people signed up.
- Winner: Art Johnson — Melton-designed Guardian powered by a K&B .58. High speed 222 seconds; low speed 94 seconds; total 230.1 points.
- Second: Dave Carlson — lightweight Guardian using a Webra Speed .28. Total 212.8 points.
- Third: Glenn Salter — Midwest kit Airacobra with Fox Mk VI power. Total 201.5 points.
Sportsman allows contestants to innovate, and John Hall demonstrated this with an F&U Crusader featuring an all-flying tail and a wing that pops up at the leading edge to increase angle of attack for low-speed flight. It worked well enough to take fourth place and clearly has more potential.
.15 Profile (Unofficial)
The unofficial .15 Profile event was held using the Denver rules, which are similar to AMA Profile except for the .15 engine size maximum, a 75-mph cap on high-speed for scoring purposes, and a prohibition on movable devices except for the elevator and tail hook.
- Winner: Gerry Deane — original Dauntless model (published in the November 1984 issue of Model Aviation) powered by a Cox Conquest .15. High speed 24.2 seconds (very close to the 24-second/75 mph optimum), low speed 70 seconds, score 197.8.
- Second: Melvin Schuette — original Curtiss XF13C, great low-speed time 192 seconds, score 193.9.
- Third: Art Johnson — Deneau Dauntless, score 178.7.
Event Staff
It takes a lot of people to put on the Carrier events at the Nats.
- AMA event director and organizer: Joe Just — assembled the team, prepared the rules, gathered pilots and helpers, and did some scoring.
- Timers and helpers: John Hall, Bill Tucker, Don Reinhart, David Schultz.
- Workers for unofficial events: Marc Warwashana, Kevin Warwashana, Carlos Aloise, Brenda Schuette, Stan Johnson, Paul Rice, Pete Mazur.
Navy Carrier Society Meeting
After the official events were over, the Navy Carrier Society held its annual meeting in the headquarters motel, complete with a buffet dinner. The Eugene Fry Award, given annually to the person with the greatest total score in all three official Nats Carrier events regardless of age class, was presented to Pete Mazur.
Other business included thanking Joe Just and the other workers for an excellent job in running the events, a discussion of how mufflers might be included in the Carrier events where local conditions might require them, and an agreement to host the Sportsman Profile Carrier event at the 1990 Nats.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
