Nats Notes
Dick Nutting Nats Publicity and Promotion
By this time we hope a significant part of the AMA membership is packing up to head for Ohio and the 1980 Nats.
The Nats Executive Committee remains virtually unchanged from past years, but the local committee is somewhat more prominent than usual. Nats Committee chairman Bill Elliott asked me to take this last pre‑Nats chance to introduce them. Throw this magazine in the front seat of the car so you can identify us, and by all means bring us your problems and comments.
Bill Elliott — Overall Nats Staff Chairman
Bill is overall Nats staff chairman for the WORKS Club operation. A past president of the club and a laborer in the vineyards of the 1976 Nats, Bill got involved full time after some late‑’78 conversations with Chuck Shade and me. He seems to thrive on it, though his flying has suffered. When not running the Nats Bill makes a feeble stab at Pattern flying. He is a plant layout engineer for the Standard Register Company in Dayton.
Chuck Shade — Nats Staff Vice‑Chairman
Chuck is a personable Masters‑class Pattern flier, long‑time newsletter editor, past officer of the WORKS Club, designer of RC systems, Model Aviation reporter on Pattern flying and aircraft designer. When not involved with modeling, Chuck is an electrical technician with Mound Laboratories (a division of Monsanto Corporation), involved with nuclear research and production work. Chuck has done much of the legwork at the Wilmington site and has coordinated various RC events.
Steve Webendorfer — Facilities Manager
A fairly recent recruit to modeling, Steve joined the WORKS Club a few years ago and soon took charge of improving its Student Pilot Training Program—rewriting and revamping it and continuing to run it. On the Nats staff he is boss of the myriad of details surrounding the Nats sites. Steve is a field engineer for the Standard Register Company in Dayton and is a top‑notch organizer.
John Markunes — Manpower Manager
“The Dude” is manpower manager for the Nats. An imposing figure with a drooping moustache and six‑foot‑plus height, John has a tough, no‑nonsense phone manner and has handled the manpower job for about a year. In his non‑modeling life John is plant manager for Kemp Precision Circuits in Dayton.
Walt Akridge — Camping and Housing Coordinator
Walt is undertaking the thankless job of camping and housing coordinator. This year close‑in housing has been hard to find and difficult to distribute equitably; Walt’s quiet charm and human‑relations savvy have been essential. Like Steve and Bill, Walt works for Standard Register Company in Dayton, where he is manager of customer engineering.
Bob Christopher — Finance Chairman
Bob is finance chairman for the Ohio Nats staff and currently president of the Western Ohio Radio Kontrol Society. He has been twice past treasurer and under his stewardship the club built up its investment portfolio. Bob is coordinating financial matters between AMA Headquarters in Washington and the Nats operation in Ohio. By day he is a senior designer for the Concrete Technology Corporation of Dayton.
Bill Keller — Concessions Manager
Bill needs little introduction. A longtime Control Line Rat Race hot‑shot, Bill has flown Pattern, raced RC boats and cars, and now flies RC Combat. Owner of W‑K Hobbies in Centerville, OH and a manufacturer of model kits, Bill is also a successful salesman for Sequoia Building Supply Company.
Dick Nutting — Publicity & Promotion (local)
I handle publicity and promotion for the Nats on the local level. I dabble in Pattern flying and Stand‑Off Scale, am a former Free Flight competitor and Control Line flier, and am a member of the Hawks Hurricanes Show Team in the Greater Cincinnati area. When not doing modeling business I produce news and documentaries for WLWT Television in Cincinnati.
That's the local gang, and we welcome you to Ohio in advance. We firmly believe we have a great Nats in store. You will find some things different this time around, but we hope you are adventurous enough to give new things a whirl. Have fun and say hello when we meet.
This column will have another go‑round or two after the Nats. In late fall we will report on the end of the meet and tell you what worked and what didn't. Till then — see you in Ohio. It's a new decade, and a new Nats.
---
Contest Roundup
Engine note
A.D. engines are extremely hard to get and are expensive—no help there. We suggest trying to stay with .15 displacement engines simply because that is the World Championships displacement in Combat, Speed, Team Racing and Free Flight Power. Use alcohol‑and‑lubricant‑only fuels.
Scale Racing / Slow Combat
- Scale Racing was on the agenda at 8:30 a.m.
- Junior‑Senior Slow Combat: Ricky Hummer defeated Sexton, Hartlaub and Reedy to take first place. Reedy was second and Hartlaub third.
- Open Slow: Large entry of 20, ably bossed in the pit by Howard Shenton. Dave Owen (senior) defeated Gary Fentress in the finals. Owen used an old K&B .35 which ran exceptionally well. Paul Curtis later won Fast Combat.
Junior‑Senior Goodyear
- Sheldon Yohanes (Roanoke, VA) won with a time of 7:59.8.
- Stuart Henderson (Toronto) took second; John Denny was third.
60‑ft Lines Event
- The new 60‑ft lines of .014‑in. diameter did not slow speeds much. Last year Ballard took first with 5:51; this year John Wahl took first with 5:49, followed by Harold Lambert (5:54) and Steve Reece (5:59). Steve posted the fastest heat time of 2:53.
- Nineteen entries—several fliers suggested the new .21 engine would be a good replacement since multiple manufacturers make them for car and boat racing.
- The new A.D. .15 showed up but blew a bearing, as it did previously.
Navy Carrier
- Excellent turnout: 18 contestants.
- Peter Mazur won Profile, Carrier I and Carrier II.
- George Cox was second in Profile; Steve Dimehnan third.
- Bob Whitfield and Joe Cservenko were second and third in Carrier I.
- Brian Silversmith and Derek Siegel were second and third in Carrier II.
- Navy Carrier holds spectator interest second only to Combat.
FAI Combat
- Far‑flung competitors included Paul Gibeault from Edmonton, Canada.
- FAI Combat was flown double‑elimination. Phil Cartier emerged the overall victor, Reedy second, Paul Seguin third.
Slow Rat
- The Nashville Kats still dominate. Larry Hill flew the fastest Slow Rat final in the event’s history: 5:01.06.
- Paul Tune and Driskell took second and third respectively, at 5:33 and 5:30.
- Jr.‑Sr. Slow Rat: Ken Hicks first, John Denny second, John Edesbach third.
Show (2 p.m.)
Junior‑Senior Show results:
- 1st: Bryan Reynolds (Advance, N.C.), age 11
- 2nd: Karyn Foster, age 12
- 3rd: Chris Scott
- 4th: Sheldon Vance
Open Mouse CL
- 15 entries. Norfolk, VA group swept the trophies:
- 1st: Willis Sewell
- 2nd: John Tate
- 3rd: George Caldwell (Rockville, MD)
Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced Precision Aerobatics
- Beginner‑Intermediate: 11 entrants; Roger Armstrong placed first.
- Advanced (flown Sunday): Rolland McDonald placed first, Mike Mustain second, Scott Blair third (moved up from 2nd in the Beginner Class last year).
Precision Expert
- 11 entries. Dave Hemstrought won Expert (was second in ’79). Dennis Adamisin took second; Stan Powell (last year’s winner) was third.
Sport Scale
- Ed Rhodes placed first with a Douglas AD‑6 Skyraider (flaps, dive brakes, retractable gear and arresting gear operated by three lines).
- Clement Caddell was second with a Zero built from an early Royal kit.
- Richard Schneider was third with a P‑51 Mustang.
- Notable: Dale Campbell entered a very large P‑47 despite having built only one previous plastic scale model.
Rat, Goodyear and Team Race Records
- Two new Senior records were set: Formula 40 — 148.46 mph, and Class B — 160.54 mph.
- Frank Garzon missed the Class D record by 0.2 mph at 201.26 mph but took first place and had the fastest time of the meet.
- Les Bear posted 185.75 mph on new Class B 65'‑3.25" lines in Open but could not back it up for a record.
AMA Fast Combat
- Favorite spectator event: 23 contestants and about five‑and‑a‑half hours of Combat on Sunday.
- Paul Curtis emerged victor in a great match with David Owen. Forrest Atkins was third; Gary Fentress was fourth.
FAI Team Racing
- Started Sunday at 8:30 a.m. The first heat had two DNFs.
- Baker/Kerr (Canada) had a relay in the first heat. Kelly/Parent (Canada) won the second heat in 4:07.
- Brian Fairey and son Richard edged the Vassants 4:13 to 4:15.
- Perkins/Albritton blasted 100 laps in 3:33.06.
- In the second round Kelly/Parent improved to 4:05.12. Perkins/Albritton (the Shadow Racing Team) showed consistency with 3:34.09.
- Finals: Perkins/Albritton, Kelly/Parent and Fairey/Fairey. The Shadow team flew cleanly and fast—10 laps at 19.45 sec (11.6 mph). Their retractable‑gear Shadow model with a Nelson .15 diesel made five pit stops and covered 20 km in 7:19.00—the fastest time reported for a competition.
- This performance puts the American World Champs Team in real contention for international competition. Congratulations to Walter and J.E., and best of luck in Poland in July.
1/2A Scale Racing
- Chris Scott won with 6:45.42.
- Jr.‑Sr.: Bryan Reynolds was second at 7:00; Karen Foster third at 7:25.
- Open: Swindell won the event in 4:05.38. Greg Crotts second (5:12.09); Gene Daniels third (5:27.09).
Fast Rat
- The event remains fast despite an added mandatory pit stop in the finals last year.
- Top qualifier Larry Hill posted two back‑to‑back 70‑lap heats of 2:12.35 and 2:13.76.
- Dick Lambert: 2:15.48 and 2:18.39.
- Harold Lambert: 2:25.45 and 2:22.24.
- The Nashville pit crew of Tune and Driskell consistently ran two seconds faster on pit stops.
---
A good meet—run by champions for champions—and managed by one of the smallest clubs around, the Golden Triad Model Club. Kudos to Contest Director Dick Hunt and his event directors: Hayes (Combat), Martin and Cleveland (Racing), Pardue (Carrier), Robinson (Aerobatics) and Payne (Scale). Ms. Lois Martin and Debbie Cleland kept the racing events going, as usual.
Can't wait ’til next year!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
