Control Line: Aerobatics
By
Frank McMillan 12106 Gunter Grove San Antonio, TX 78231
Event
The F2B Team Trials are history. Once again Mt. Comfort Airport on the outskirts of Indianapolis provided a virtually ideal venue for what has become more than just a contest. In many ways the team selection has taken on a character of its own, much the same as the Nationals and the Vintage Stunt Championships in Tucson, Arizona. For the serious flier this is a gathering place to work hard, share experiences, and finish the week in the toughest competition in the country.
The highlight of the social scene was the party at Jack Sheeks' house. Piles of old photos and memorabilia brought back fond memories of Nostalgia days. V.P. Dave Brown, representing the AMA at the team selection, had many tales of his modeling travels around the world.
Scoring
There were a couple of additions to the trials this year. The international scoring system was used — a system that involves a "K" factor, i.e., a degree of difficulty applied to a one-to-ten score for each maneuver. Those numbers require a lot of calculations, which has been a sticking point in past years. This year Dave Copok did some programming and brought a Mac. After a steep learning curve the system was producing scores by Sunday. Bill Durr was the unsung hero, inputting most of the large volume of numbers virtually by himself.
Competition format and conditions
The competition was typically tight across two days, with the four-flights-per-day format pushing fliers hard. The weather ranged from cool and breezy to warm and calm. It was a real test to adjust to varying conditions while maintaining the high level of performance necessary to make the team.
Team selection and results
No strangers to international competition, all our team members are veterans, with two former world champions on the roster. Paul Walker was once again the clear winner, as he was at the last two Nationals. After passing up this year's Nationals, Billy Werwage pushed harder throughout the round to finish a solid second. The bubble position was, as usual, a rough spot.
Bob Hunt established himself on the first day and made the cut for a well-deserved spot on the team. Close behind was Ted Fancher, who earned a deserved alternate role.
- Winner: Paul Walker
- 2nd: Billy Werwage
- Team spot: Bob Hunt
- Alternate: Ted Fancher
Aircraft, engines, and tuned pipes
This event demonstrated the performance potential and maturity of the tuned-pipe system. The entire team and the alternate used tuned .40-size aircraft, and they handled the variety of conditions better than any other setups. The airplanes represented three different design approaches yet all were reliable. Two used O.S. .40 VF and two used O.S. .40 SPP engines, with little to choose between them. The once-unusual sound of prop whine has moderated; now the few who use the system have developed it into a real edge.
The combination of a nominal four-inch-pitch prop spinning up to ten thousand rpm, plus the higher resultant horsepower these potent engines produce, really powers through marginal conditions. There is little, if any, acceleration on the wind, and the consistent solid line tension above 45° elevation is impressive. That said, not everyone can make the system work — details are critically important: sufficient cooling, no air leaks in the system, and so on. Many competitors went home and ordered pipes. I did too.
Top combinations and performances
Paul Walker's "Totally Bad," aside from its fluorescent color scheme, was dynamite. Since Paul migrated to the O.S. .40 VF the performance envelope expanded dramatically; he has yet another exceptional U.S.A.-1/Junar. The O.S. ran like a new Porsche, with a sense of unlimited horsepower and a memorable sound. Some of his triangles were among the best I've ever seen.
Bob Hunt flew a relatively new ship and had everything come together at the right time. He made it perform, and he will definitely be a real force at the Worlds.
Bob Baron suffered bad luck on the morning of the second day. While sitting in third and scoring well, a cable in his handle broke and he totaled his plane. That crash cost him his chance for another team place. He had been flying a very good ST .60 Avanti — probably the best of the .60 ships there.
Other notable performances
- Windy Urtnowski had another strong performance, backing up his second place at the Nationals.
- Dave Fitzgerald worked hard and flew consistently throughout the meet to finish a very credible sixth; I haven't seen a better-flying ST .46 ship in years.
- Mike Rogers finished in a familiar number seven spot with his silver-and-blue Pattern Master, again delivering a solid performance.
- Bill Rich had a strong showing, supporting his third place at the Nationals.
- Frank Williams followed with his unusual, short-coupled ST .60 ship; many competitors commented they'd like to try his approach.
In summary, it was a hard-fought trials. Warren Tiahrt did a solid job as Contest Director, and again Dave Cook kept us in line as head judge. I must admit the official flights were physically demanding, so we may need to consider reducing fatigue on the second day of the trials.
Support Your Team
If you're a wool T-shirt collector you'll love the 1992 F2B shirt. At the annual meeting held at the Nationals, the decision was made to support the team by selling a uniquely designed shirt. The executive committee took a conservative approach and had forty made to offer at the team trials. When everyone saw the design, the supply lasted only a couple of hours. This is one of the best logos I've seen, and it's for a worthy cause to support our team overseas.
There will be a second offering available through PAMPA at $10.00 each. Contact: Tom Morris, PAMPA 1019 Creek Trail Anniston, AL 36206
Proceeds will be donated to the F2B team to defray expenses, which can be considerable since only the transportation is funded.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
