CL Racing
Dave McDonald Box 384, Daleville IN 47334 E-mail: DMcD143@aol.com
Doug Mayer sent me a report on this year's Northwest Regionals, so I thought I would share it. Thanks, Doug.
Overview
Each year the Northwest Regionals is held Memorial Day weekend. This event is probably the second biggest control line (CL) contest in the United States, just behind the Nationals (Nats) in Muncie, Indiana. Three full days of all the CL events are held, including:
- Stunt
- Speed
- Carrier
- Scale
- Combat
- Racing
This year there was a smaller turnout than usual, but the level of racing was still top-notch. Many thanks go out to John Thompson, who was the event director and ran a smooth contest. John has been the event director for many years and always does a good job.
Mouse II
Mouse II has become many racers' favorite event in the past few years, thanks to the introduction of the Cyclon power plant. All seven entries were Cyclon-powered airplanes. Mike McCarthy showed up Friday morning with a new mini-Shark inverted pan—a perfectly scaled-down version of the original Fast Rat Shark that he called the Piranha.
The competition looked stiff. Todd Ryan attended with his inverted half-pan Speed Mouse. Doug Mayer had his half-cowled sidewinder Mouse that placed second at last year's Nats and first in Tucson. Team S&S—Tom Strom and Bobby Arledge—Vic Garner, Bill Cave, and Rich McIntyre fielded standard exposed-engine-and-tank aircraft.
An amazing fast heat time was posted by Team S&S at 3:01.02.
Final results (Mouse II):
- Doug Mayer — 6:10.95 (winner)
- Mike McCarthy — 6:20.57 (second)
- Team S&S — 6:31.41 (third)
The final was exciting: Mike McCarthy had the airspeed advantage, but Bill Cave performed flawless pitting for Doug Mayer. A few miscues happened as pilot Rich McIntyre seemed to get out of place in the pilots' circle during passing.
AMA Slow Rat
AMA Slow Rat had only four entries. In the finals, Doug Mayer ballooned his airplane in the wind and had a big nose bonk, which took his Slow Rat out of the race. Rich McIntyre finished third with his third-fastest heat time of 2:59.04. Doug was second in the final with 36 laps, and Mike McCarthy won with 61 laps.
Final placements (Slow Rat):
- Mike McCarthy — 61 laps
- Doug Mayer — 36 laps
- Rich McIntyre — third (heat time 2:59.04)
Mouse I
A light rain and ominous black skies loomed over the first few Mouse I heats. Vic Garner dominated the early heats with his hybrid Cyclon-front/Cox-tank model, posting a 2:20.71. Mouse I superstar Paul Gibeault of Canada posted the fastest heat time of the day at 2:15.63. Bill Cave posted 2:24.80 to make the finals.
The final between Vic, Paul, and Bill had a large cheering section behind Paul's pit area. With every fire on the plug and every spin of the propeller, a loud "hurrah" echoed from the crowd. After the race, Vic beat Paul.
Final results (Mouse I):
- Vic Garner — 5:09.26
- Paul Gibeault — 5:17.89
- Bill Cave — 7:37.96 (plug problems)
Fast Rat
Bob Fogg showed up with three impressive Fast Rat models. His airplanes are fiberglass construction on the wings, fuselage, and tail sections—you can see the guts when you hold them up to the sun. Bob was the man to beat in Fast Rat, and Todd Ryan did the flying for him.
There were five entries. The first heat was Todd versus Jim Holland. The other three entries—Bill Cave, Bob Fogg, and Mike McCarthy—ran in a round-robin so that all two-up races were equal. Bob and Todd dominated the event. Todd logged a 2:24.21 heat time. Bob logged the fastest heat of the day at 2:18.21. Bill Cave had a respectable 2:31.27.
Since Fogg/Ryan won both first- and second-fastest heat times, one of its entries had to be scratched for the final. Bob took his fast entry to the final against Bill Cave, with Doug Mayer as pilot for the Bill entry. The final was tough; Fogg/Ryan was working Cave/Mayer. Halfway through the final, Doug shut down Bill's model and glided into a pit stop, quitting the race.
I am not in good enough physical condition to fly 140 laps safely. I decided it was better to admit I was in a difficult position and quit before I made a mistake and hurt somebody or crashed an expensive airplane. It was a humbling experience, and everybody was sympathetic. Now I can appreciate why everyone has difficulties with an event such as Fast Rat, and why the event needs to be modified if it is going to survive.
Final results (Fast Rat):
- Bob Fogg — 4:45.50 (winner)
- Bill Cave — 65 short laps (second)
AMA Scale Racing
AMA Scale Racing had nine entries. The key word for Goodyear was consistency. Vic Garner had the fastest heat at 2:56.91, putting him in the final and making him the man to beat. Mac Ryan was consistent, logging the second- and third-fastest heat times at 2:58.72 and 3:00.87. Rich McIntyre also proved consistent with the fourth- and fifth-fastest heat times at 3:11.63 and 3:12.66. Mike McCarthy made the final with a 3:19.27 heat time.
Some teams had great airspeed but suffered bad starts, bad restarts, plug issues, and pitting problems. The top four heat times led to two two-up finals. Mike and Rich had good starts and pitting and average airspeed, but consistency proved their key to success: they didn't miss a heat and had quick in-and-out pits. They won the two finals in the pits.
Final results (AMA Scale Racing):
- Rich McIntyre — 6:26.56
- Mike McCarthy — 7:00.92
- Vic Garner — 7:17.32
- Mac Ryan — 10:29.37
Mac had a tough time in the heats but put on a really good show despite the final result.
NCLRA Quickie Rat
There were eight entries in NCLRA Quickie Rat. John Thompson decided to run two-up heats with a three-up final. The two-up format, or perhaps the weather, contributed to very fast heat times.
Heat highlights:
- Jim Holland (Heat 1) — 3:03.20
- Vic Garner (Heat 2) — 3:02.47
- Doug Mayer (Heat 3) — 3:04.06
- Bill Cave (Heat 4) — 2:59.41 (after needle problems in his first run)
I was on the handle for Bill, and I have to say that was the fastest Quickie heat I've ever witnessed. The final teams were Cave/Mayer, Garner/Ryan, and Holland/McCarthy. The final was just as intense: the signalman shot all three airplanes into the air immediately as pilots jockeyed into position.
Final results (Quickie Rat):
- Jim Holland (with Mike McCarthy pitting) — 6:19.70 (winner)
- Bill Cave — 6:25.11
- Vic Garner — 6:57.53
Junior Races
Junior races were my favorite part of the weekend. Sisters Maria and Melissa Huber were on the scene Sunday morning, hanging out with Team S&S. This was the first official CL Racing event for both. They patiently watched the Goodyear event, then Tom Strom and Bobby Arledge walked them through the finer points of the pilots' circle and the pitting circle, and they were off to the races.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
