Edition: Model Aviation - 1987/11
Page Numbers: 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134
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A Note From the Technical Director

Bob Underwood CompuServe: 761171,167

RAMBLIN'. It seems only fitting to give this title to my column this month. The Underwood family felt a little like TV's Charles Kuralt, since we spent virtually all of July and much of August on the road.

We left Washington on July 6 with a van loaded with displays and goodies for the Nats and headed to Lincoln for the Scale team selection event. Daughter Anne tabulated Scale, Mom manned the souvenir booth, and Dad served as a jury member. The Nats followed immediately thereafter, with every Underwood still working.

We returned to Washington on July 21 for four fast days in the office, during which Anne and Mom washed clothes and took a deep breath. Then we were back on the road to Oshkosh for the EAA Fly-In. We arrived July 29, set up the AMA booth on July 30, and manned it—along with Bob Vojslavek from the office—through August 7.

After Oshkosh we went south to St. Louis to drop off Anne for a few days of R&R, then on to Cincinnati for a big two-day model air show presented by the Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club. The booth went up, souvenirs came out, and we spent time answering questions like, “How much do those toy airplanes cost, anyway?”

We returned to Washington on Monday, August 17. Total travel came to about 6,600 miles — what a fantastic modeling experience!

We selected two excellent teams: Control Line and Radio Control. Scale competition will be in Kiev, Russia (CL) and Italy (RC) next year. The Scale team selection event was ably run by John Guenther and crew; the only negative factor was high winds supplied by Mother Nature. Contestants did an admirable job “making do” with the difficulties. Probably the most encouraging factor was the significant number of new faces present, especially in the Radio Control portion.

There will be much written concerning the Nats; the reports will document the details. Yes, there was wind. Yes, it was a little warm at times. But it was a great competition, well attended and well run. Everyone who was a part of it is to be congratulated.

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1987 Nats Sponsors

There are many expenses involved in a National Model Airplane Championships. In addition to over 700 competition awards, there are many other financial considerations: rental of telephones, tables, trash pickup, etc. The costs are covered by sponsorships and contest entry fees. Without sponsorships, entry costs would be so high as to discourage participation. The Nationals has for many years been the world's biggest model meet because of joint AMA–industry sharing of costs. The Academy of Model Aeronautics proudly and gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following sponsors:

  • Ace R/C, Inc.
  • Aerodrome Models
  • Airtronics, Inc.
  • Alexander & Alexander
  • Baltek Corp.
  • Carolina-Taffinder
  • Coverite
  • Crowl's Kitchen & Bath
  • Davey Systems
  • Du-Bro Products, Inc.
  • Flite Line Products
  • Fox Manufacturing
  • Futaba Corporation
  • Carl Goldberg Models
  • Gorham Model Products
  • Great Planes Model Distributors
  • Great Planes Model Manufacturing
  • Hobby Shack
  • Indy RC Sales
  • K&B Manufacturing
  • McDaniel RC, Inc.
  • Pactra
  • Peck-Polymers
  • Progress Mfg. (Rev-Up Props)
  • Quality Fiberglass
  • Satellite City (Hot Stuff)
  • SIG Manufacturing
  • Victor Stanzel Company
  • Times Printing
  • Toledo Weak Signals
  • Top Flite Models
  • Williams Brothers

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1987 Nats Statistics

  • Total Indoor Contestants: 69
  • Total RC Contestants: 501
  • Total CL Contestants: 231
  • Total FF Contestants: 175

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1987 Nats Special Awards

A number of special awards are given at the Nationals contest. Winners receive certificates and have their names engraved on trophies on display at the National Center for Aeromodeling. For 1987, the awards and winners were:

  • Sid Axelrod Memorial Scholarship: Steve Clasen
  • Hi Johnson Memorial Award: Tom Neilson — Class D, 3,483
  • Lee Renaud Memorial Award: Al Scidmore
  • Dan Pruss Memorial Award: Team Oregon — 9 points (Portland Area Sailplane Society — T. Neilson, T. Brightbill, D. Johnson)
  • Stout Indoor Trophy: William Shailor — 21:57
  • Stout Commercial Trophy: Stan Chilton — 30:23
  • Soaring Society of America Trophy (Junior FF Sailplane A‑1 or A‑2): Roderick Iger
  • Tulsa Glue Dobbers Trophy: Robert Hanford — 243 sec
  • McNeill Cup: Glenn Anderson — 801 sec
  • Mulvihill Trophy: Gunther Nowak — 369 sec
  • Dick Black Trophy: John O'Dwyer — 590 sec
  • Sig Memorial Award: Curtis Youngblood (First place, FAI Helicopter)
  • Matty Sullivan Junior Achievement Award: Don DeLoach — 36 pt
  • George W. ("Lil Toot") Meyer Craftsmanship Trophy: Charlie Chambers
  • Eugene Ely Award (highest total score for all three CL Navy Carrier events): Bill Melton
  • Jim Walker Trophy: Paul Walker

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Competition Newsletter

ACADEMY OF MODEL AERONAUTICS Note: Technical Director Bob Underwood — CompuServe 76117167

Ramblin' seems a fitting title for this column this month. (See “A Note From the Technical Director” above for the full travel narrative and summary of events.)

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Scale Team Finals — CL

Mike Gretz Photos by the author

The 1987 FAI Scale team-selection finals were held July 9–11 in Lincoln, NE, immediately preceding the AMA Nats at the same location. The contest determined the best three RC Scale and best three CL Scale modelers to represent the United States at the Scale World Championships in 1988.

Steve Ashby, Jeff Perez, and Dick Byron were the winners in the CL Scale class and will be going to Kiev, Russia next summer. By coincidence, these three men last flew together on the 1982 CL Scale team, which also went to Kiev.

Julie Abel (a member of the 1986 Scale team) finished fourth and is the alternate. There were nine competitors for the CL Scale team this year, down slightly from 12 at the 1985 trials in Louisville, KY.

Hosting the selection finals is a cooperative effort by the AMA's FAI Scale Team Selection Committee and the National Association of Scale Aeromodellers (NASA). John Guenther chaired the AMA committee and served as Contest Director. Andy Sheber, Bert Dugan, Ron Sears, Mike Stott, and the author served as static and flight judges for CL Scale.

The trials are like a miniature World Championships: a small but intensely dedicated group of Scale enthusiasts. The techniques required to build a competitive RC Scale model are essentially the same as for CL Scale; sizes, weights, and limitations are virtually identical, making it easy for contestants from both classes to discuss projects knowledgeably.

All-day Thursday was devoted to static judging, held in the lobby of a downtown Lincoln bank as a PR move. The exposure to the press and public was valuable; many spectators saw fine Scale airplanes for the first time. Static judging in a public venue worked well, and might provide future fundraising opportunities for the Scale Team Fund.

Flying took place at the Lincoln Municipal Airport on Friday and Saturday. CL models flew in the same circle to be used for the Nats CL Scale the following weekend; RC flying was about 100 ft away, allowing observation of both phases.

Friday was so windy that CL flying was canceled after only two flights. Contestants voted to discard those flights and restart Saturday at 6:30 a.m. Saturday still had more wind than preferred, but conditions improved enough for contestants to fly as many flights as they dared.

Steve Ashby won first place flying his MU-2. Previously it had scored well statically but suffered mechanical problems on the line; this year it performed well. The MU-2 has a 67‑in. wingspan, operating retracts, flaps, throttles, engine cut-off, two Super Tigre .60s, and weighs about 12 lb.

Jeff Perez placed second with a new Piper Twin Comanche (he retired his well-known B‑17). The Comanche had the highest static score; it features retractable gear, flaps, two OS .40s, an 84‑in. span, and weighs about 15 lb.

Dick Byron earned the final team spot flying his Nats-winning A6M5 Zero. His static score was low due to difficulties documenting a WWII Japanese military airplane, but his excellent flying secured the team berth. He is already building a new airplane for the World Championships.

Thanks to all competitors who battled strong winds. It was unfortunate the teams had to be selected under such conditions — congratulations to the winners and good luck at the World Championships.

Additional notes from the trials:

  • A Beechcraft King Air twin by Torres earned the highest static score. It has a fiberglass fuselage shell reinforced with Magnalite and carbon fiber, balsa-and-plywood wings and tail covered with glass cloth and epoxy, machined nylon landing-gear parts, electric-served gear actuation, redundant airborne battery packs and servos, a 91‑in. wingspan, and a 1:6.6 scale ratio. It was built up to the new 1988 weight limit of 15.4 lb.
  • Bob Hanft placed second with a Fokker E.V/D.VIII finished in Polish Air Force markings, weighing 14.25 lb and powered by an OS Gemini 1.10. It was low on static score and had a low complexity bonus, which kept it from first place.
  • Steve Sauger's Stinson A Trimotor (third place) will fly its third World Championship (Paris 1984, Oslo 1986, and next year in Italy). It features predictable performance and entertaining touch-and-go landings.
  • Bob Wischer finished fourth with a Douglas Mailplane that proved an unwise choice in strong wind; ground handling was marginal.
  • A Savoia‑Marchetti S.M.81 trimotor bomber was a contender and finished fifth, narrowly missing a higher place.
  • Skip Mast flew a Lockheed C‑130 Hercules and finished sixth after bonus reductions.
  • Tom Cizik's F‑82 Twin Mustang recorded the highest flight scores but had a low static score, which kept him off the team; its flight scores with a 15% bonus were the highest of the meet.

Judging followed the 1988 FAI rules: high and low scores of five judges were deleted for static and flight; the two best flight scores were averaged; all flights were made before the same set of judges. The “attempt” provision was eliminated; contestants had to be ready to fly when scheduled. An enlarged landing zone replaced the old spot-landing circle, improving landings. John Guenther organized a barbecue dinner for social gathering, and some competitors returned a week later for the AMA Nats.

Combining Nats and team trials seems logical when schedules permit; there should be no differences between FAI and AMA rules to prevent combining in the future.

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Nats Free Flight Results

FF 1/2A GAS

Juniors

  • 1. Troy Chamberlain — Anderson, IN — 295
  • 2. Kenny Wile — Armonk, NY — 252
  • 3. Jennette Yokel — Rochester, NY — 171

Seniors

  • 1. Matthew Gagliano — Floral Park, NY — 429
  • 2. Charles Gagliano — Floral Park, NY — 261
  • 3. Melinda Anderson — Mountaintop, PA — 215

Open

  • 1. Keith Fulmer — Mishawaka, IN — 1,050
  • 2. Durand Weller — Sycamore, IL — 637
  • 3. James Summerset — San Antonio, TX — 578
  • 4. Hank Sopczak — Belleview, OH — 475
  • 5. William Hale — Columbus, OH — 441
  • 6. Robert Pierce — Lubbock, TX — 415
  • 7. Sal Taibi — Oak Ridge, NC — 406
  • 8. Jorge Tirana — St. Paul, MN — 393
  • 9. Gilbert Morris — Columbus, OH — 363

FF A GAS

Juniors

  • 1. Jennette Yokel — Rochester, NY — 288
  • 2. Troy Chamberlain — Anderson, IN — 268
  • 3. Kenny Wile — Armonk, NY — 186

Seniors

  • 1. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 410
  • 2. D. Owens — (no city listed) — 186

Open

  • 1. Durand Weller — Sycamore, IL — 419
  • 2. James Summerset — San Antonio, TX — 350
  • 3. E. O. Schnakenberg — Santa Barbara, CA — 340
  • 4. Marvin Mace — Seguin, TX — 336
  • 5. Abram Van Dover — Newport News, VA — 325
  • 6. Robert Palomer — Chillicothe, OH — 257
  • 7. Robert Dunham — Broken Arrow, OK — 240
  • 8. William Morez — Santa Barbara, CA — 220
  • 9. Robert C. Neece — Negaunee, MI — 220

FF B GAS

No Juniors

Seniors

  • 1. Jan Langelius — White Plains, NY — 236
  • 2. Melanie Sanford — Dallas, TX — 53

Open

  • 1. James Summerset — San Antonio, TX — 347
  • 2. Marvin Mace — Seguin, TX — 338
  • 3. Charles Polensky — Caldwell, TX — 328
  • 4. Hank Sopczak — Belleview, OH — 219
  • 5. Vic Cunningham Jr. — Covina, CA — 187
  • 6. John Kouzes — Carmel, NY — 126
  • 7. Jo Darling — Carmel, NY — 120

FF C GAS

No Juniors

Seniors

  • 1. Melinda Anderson — Mountaintop, PA — 120

Open

  • 1. Marvin Mace — Seguin, TX — 1,050
  • 2. Gilbert Morris — Columbus, OH — 692
  • 3. Bill Dunlop — Greensburg, PA — 591
  • 4. Thomas Boeger — Columbia, MD — 564
  • 5. William Morez — Santa Barbara, CA — 554
  • 6. Sal Taibi — Lakewood, CA — 541

FF D GAS

No Juniors No Seniors

Open

  • 1. James Summersett — San Antonio, TX — 600
  • 2. Sal Taibi — Lakewood, CA — 415
  • 3. Marvin Mace — Seguin, TX — 403
  • 4. Bob Combs — Dallas, TX — 401
  • 5. Clark Darlins — Carmel, NY — 201

FF FAI POWER

Ages Combined

  • 1. Glenn Anderson — Mountaintop, PA — 801

Seniors

  • 1. Charles Gagliano — Floral Park, NY — 74.2
  • 2. Don Slusarczyk — Brecksville, OH — 72.2
  • 3. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 51.6

Open

  • 1. Paul Shailor — Mount Clemens, MI — 94.8
  • 2. Charles Markos — Deerfield, IL — 90.8
  • 3. Charles J. Slusarczyk — Brecksville, OH — 90.0
  • 4. William Schlarb — South Bend, IN — 84.4
  • 5. Vic Cunningham, Jr. — Covina, CA — 80.6

FF PAYLOAD

No Juniors

Seniors

  • 1. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 179
  • 2. Melinda Sanford — Dallas, TX — 72

Open

  • 1. Warren Kurh — Davenport, IA — 360
  • 2. William Hale — Columbus, OH — 280
  • 3. Robert E. Nichols — South Meriden, CT — 229
  • 4. Donald Yekl — Rochester, NY — 190
  • 5. Hank Sperzel — Bellevue, NE — 190

FF CARGO

No Juniors

Seniors

  • 1. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 390.0

Open

  • 1. Robert E. Nichols — South Meriden, CT — 1,274.5
  • 2. Duane Ronken — Ann Arbor, MI — 326.0

FF CLASS A ELECTRIC

Junior

  • 1. Jeffrey Pfeifer — Overland Park, KS — 50
  • 2. Danny Ackerman — Armonk, NY — 50
  • 3. Kenny Wile — Armonk, NY — 43

Seniors

  • 1. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 52
  • 2. Donald Hughes — Citrus Heights, CA — 50
  • 3. Robert E. Nichols — South Meriden, CT — 50
  • 4. John O'Dwyer — Arlington, TX — 50

FF CLASS B ELECTRIC

Juniors

  • 1. Jeffrey Pfeifer — Overland Park, KS — 93
  • 2. Kenny Wile — Armonk, NY — 63
  • 3. Danny Ackerman — Armonk, NY — 62

Seniors

  • 1. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 129

Open

  • 1. Donald Hughes — Citrus Heights, CA — 82
  • 2. Robert E. Nichols — South Meriden, CT — 77
  • 3. Duane Ronken — Ann Arbor, MI — 69

FF CO‑2

Juniors

  • 1. Kenny Wile — Armonk, NY — 65
  • 2. Lance Ferguson — Dallas, TX — 26
  • 3. Summer Ferguson — Dallas, TX — 31

Seniors

  • 1. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 106
  • 2. Melinda Sanford — Dallas, TX — 108

Open

  • 1. Robert E. Nichols — South Meriden, CT — 300
  • 2. George Perryman — Smyrna, GA — 209
  • 3. Arnold Wile — Armonk, NY — 171

FF MULVIHILL

Juniors

  • 1. Roderick Jeorger — Columbia, MD — 257
  • 2. Kenny Wile — Armonk, NY — 156
  • 3. Don DeLoach — Dallas, TX — 148

Seniors

  • 1. Mike M. Watson — Des Moines, IA — 115
  • 2. Matthew Gagliano — Floral Park, NY — 98
  • 3. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 93

Open

  • 1. Guenter Nowak — Chicago, IL — 389
  • 2. Frederick Bloom — Timonium, MD — 179
  • 3. Chris M. Matsuno — St. John, MO — 178
  • 4. Edward Konefes — Wauconda, IL — 172
  • 5. Jim O'Reilly — Wichita, KS — 157
  • 6. George Perryman — Smyrna, GA — 157

FF P‑30 RUBBER

Juniors

  • 1. Don DeLoach — Dallas, TX — 263
  • 2. Roderick Jeorger — Columbia, MD — 209
  • 3. Scott Rummery — Muscatine, IA — 220

Seniors

  • 1. Charles Gagliano — Floral Park, NY — 188
  • 2. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 98
  • 3. Melinda Anderson — Mountaintop, PA — 78

Open

  • 1. John O'Dwyer — Arlington, TX — 281
  • 2. Don Un? — Endwell, NY — 257
  • 3. J. O'Rielly — Wichita, KS — 241
  • 4. Aaron Petersen — St. Paul, MN — 216
  • 5. William Rogers — Stevens Point, WI — 201
  • 6. Edward Konefes — Wauconda, IL — 139
  • 7. Martin Richardson — Dayton, OH — 138
  • 8. Syl Beletz — Maplewood, MO — 132

FF COUPE D'HIVER

Juniors

  • 1. Jennette Yokel — Rochester, NY — 8
  • 2. Paul E. Wicks, Jr. — Normal, IL — 3

Seniors

  • 1. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 272

Open

  • 1. William Schlarb — South Bend, IN — 403
  • 2. Jorge Tirana — St. Paul, MN — 354
  • 3. Paul E. Wicks, Jr. — (no city listed) — 309

FF WAKEFIELD

Ages Combined

  • 1. Jim O'Reilly — Wichita, KS — 2,205
  • 2. Bill Gibbons — Waukee, IA — 1,170
  • 3. Martin Richardson — Dayton, OH — 1,158
  • 4. Charles M. Matsuno — St. John, MO — 1,000
  • 5. Carl Perkins — Prairie Village, KS — 1,127

FF A‑2 NORDIC

Ages Combined

  • 1. Andrew R. Barron — Champaign, IL — 792
  • 2. Richard Harris — Champaign, IL — 728
  • 3. Charles Matzos — San Marcos, TX — 582
  • 4. Charles Harris — Deerfield, IL — 682
  • 5. Mike M. Watson — St. Louis, MO — 652
  • 6. Richard Harris — Boca Raton, FL — 185

FF A‑1 TOWLINE

Juniors

  • 1. Roderick Jeorger — Columbia, MD — 81
  • 2. Jennette Yokel — Rochester, NY — (no seconds shown)
  • 3. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 158

Open

  • 1. William Schlarb — South Bend, IN — 483
  • 2. Jorge Tirana — St. Paul, MN — 409
  • 3. Hank Sperzel — Bellevue, NE — 389
  • 4. A. Fisher Dignar? — Hettinger, ND — 362
  • 5. Robert Hanford — Lake Katrine, NY — 322

FF HAND‑LAUNCH GLIDER

Juniors

  • 1. James Buxton — Bethel Park, PA — 142
  • 2. Don DeLoach — Dallas, TX — 123
  • 3. Troy Chamberlain — Anderson, IN — 89
  • 4. Paul E. Wicks, Jr. — Normal, IL — 89

Seniors

  • 1. Jan Langelius — White Plains, NY — 161
  • 2. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 139
  • 3. Brian Spinner — Collierville, TN — 125
  • 4. Don Hancock — Broken Arrow, OK — 243
  • 5. Robert Hanford — Broken Arrow, OK — 79
  • 6. Terry Hynes — Baldwin, FL — 64
  • 7. Kevin Anderson — Stratford, MO — 58
  • 8. Robert Dunsman — Broken Arrow, OK — 56
  • 9. Victor Ripper — Lake Katrine, NY — 55
  • 10. Paul Cournoyer — Warren, MI — 154

INDOOR HL GLIDER

Juniors

  • 1. James Buxton — Bethel Park, PA — 73.2
  • 2. Don DeLoach — Dallas, TX — 58.0

Seniors

  • 1. Charles Gagliano — Floral Park, NY — 74.2
  • 2. Don Slusarczyk — Brecksville, OH — 72.2
  • 3. David Brown — Stone Mountain, GA — 51.6

Open

  • 1. Paul Shailor — Mount Clemens, MI — 94.8
  • 2. Charles Markos — Deerfield, IL — 90.8
  • 3. Charles J. Slusarczyk — Brecksville, OH — 90.0
  • 4. William Schlarb — South Bend, IN — 84.4
  • 5. Vic Cunningham, Jr. — Covina, CA — 80.6

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Nats Control Line Results

CL 1/2A SPEED

Juniors

  • 1. Todd Lee — Topeka, KS — 75.91 MPH

Seniors

  • 1. Joe Mantol — Plantation, FL — 71.90 MPH

CL A SPEED

  • 2. Jane Johnson — Rockford, IL — 61.07

Open

  • 1. Charles Keogh — Council Bluffs, IA — 120.46
  • 2. Warren Kurtz — Davenport, IA — 114.45
  • 3. David Williams — Yorba Linda, CA — 110.79
  • 4. James Van Sant — Pennell, PA — 105.71

Juniors (other CL event)

  • 1. James Buxton — Bethel Park, PA — 81.08 MPH

Open (other CL event)

  • 1. Steve Perkins — Houston, TX — 173.67
  • 2. M.B. Team — Fremont, CA — 173.02
  • 3. Akashi Kusumoto — Minamikura, Kyoto, Japan — 172.84
  • 4. The Browns — Staten Island, NY — 169.58

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Technical Director — Continued

The decision to be represented at Oshkosh came about because this was a rare year when the two events did not overlap. Oshkosh '87 cannot be adequately described in words — there are so many people, so many planes, and so many things going on.

We were mentally prepared for problems of traffic, lines, and myriad inconveniences that occur when that many people and things congregate, but these problems didn't happen, largely due to the labors of some 3,000 volunteers and outstanding planning on the EAA's part.

Many EAA members are also AMA members. Conversations and our booth experience indicated a significant overlap: fully 3½–4 percent of the people we talked with were currently or previously members of both organizations. Many young people expressed interest; the representation at Oshkosh worked well and allowed us to sell patches, pins, and books. Great show—great opportunity!

The Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club's two-day model show was the last event in our summer odyssey. The club has produced this show for over two decades, specifically aimed at the general public with many booths, displays, and flying demonstrations that show modeling to be fun. The show stuck closely to schedule, kept something in the air at all times, and featured outstanding announcers.

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Short Shots

  • A new process is being used to certify Contest Directors (outlined in last month's column, October 1987). Completed Contest Director application forms are now mailed directly to AMA Headquarters instead of to district vice-presidents.
  • There is a new sanction card reflecting changes in sanctioning procedures and listing new events for 1988–89. This cycle adds no less than 29 new events, bringing the total to almost 150 different events in the rule book.
  • Typically, only about 50% of sanctions issued are for rule-book events. (Actual count shows 40% of the 385 events listed in the October "Calendar of Events" offer no rule-book events.) There are about 2,000 sanctions issued in any given year, meaning roughly 1,000 contests offer one or more rule-book events. Many of the remaining sanctions cover competitive events such as fun-flys that use custom local rules.

A thought to ponder: Do we have too many rule-book events? Some argue more events better satisfy competitive needs; others say some events are rarely flown and could be removed to simplify the system. There are arguments on both sides. Any thoughts?

'Nuf for now!

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.