CONTROL LINE AEROBATICS
Curt Contrata, 6783 Nightwind Cir., Orlando FL 32818; E-mail: RyanSV@aol.com
Team Selection Overview
The United States F2B Team Selection was held Labor Day weekend at the AMA National Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana. As with the Nationals, there was speculation about who would make the trip and who would not. As in July, situations at home kept some competitors away, and it had been a while since this group had flown together. With a few new faces in the Top 5 in recent years, it was interesting to see where everyone stood.
The Team Selection is a two-day contest in which every flight counts. Competitors take it seriously, and many began practice the Monday before the contest. With pilots arriving all week, it was unclear who would enter until the weigh-in.
Practice and Notable Models
The week of practice was relaxed for most competitors, with six practice circles and 24 fliers. Weather was warm, windy, and stormy, with less rain than during July's Nationals. The biggest concern was a front expected to pass through and bring cooler air.
Notable fliers and models:
- Bob Hunt: RO-Jett .40-powered, modernized Genesis. Bob worked hard all week, assisted by his son Robbie. He last flew this contest in 1995 and made the team that year but lost both airplanes before the World Championships and had to relinquish his spot.
- Paul Walker: Second Miss America P-51 Mustang, lighter than his previous one and powered by a Saito 72 (the only four-stroke-powered model in the contest). Don McClave coached Paul, who improved throughout the week.
- Frank McMillan: Older Caudron with a piped PA .61. He had placed second at the Nationals a few years earlier and felt this version was the easiest to fly in the series.
- Bill Rich and Randy Smith: Both flew extremely well-trimmed Katanas (Bill on a piped PA .61; Randy on a piped PA .51). Bill was still upset about not getting a wind flight at the Nationals; Randy was still sore about sticky lines keeping him off the previous team.
- Curt Contrata (author): Flew the Satona with a piped PA .40 after a year off for a wrist injury.
- David Fitzgerald, Ted Fancher, Brett Buck: Practiced together and coached each other. David and Ted flew piped PA .61s; Brett ran a piped RO-Jett .61. David flew a yellow Star Gazer; Ted a purple Final Edition; Brett flew a repaired Infinity.
- Kent Tysor and Windy Urtnowski: RO-Jett .61-powered models; Kent flew a Strega and Windy flew his Miss Ashley on a pipe.
- Bill Werwage: Flew a P-47 with a piped PA .61. From his arrival he put up beautiful, consistent flights and looked certain to make the team.
- Rob Gruber: Consistent, seemingly locked-in patterns, flying a piped PA .61-powered Dreadnought. He continued to improve through the week.
Weather, Scoring, and Contest Format
At Friday's weigh-in and pilots' meeting, a front moved through bringing the worst storm of the week, and no flying occurred that evening. The meeting announced that the contest would not stop for rain unless there was lightning, and the weekend's conditions were expected to be poor.
Before the first flight on Saturday, Event Director Warren Taitt called a pilots' meeting and explained that a storm was forecast for the afternoon, with worse weather expected the following days. We were told to fly each flight as if it could be our last; if the contest had to be stopped for weather, the scores would stand and the team would be chosen by the flights completed. This added extra pressure.
The air was cool with more bite and corner than the practice week, and the second corner of the Wingover surprised several fliers. Fourteen of the 24 contestants would be eliminated on Saturday, with 10 fliers advancing to Sunday's finals.
Scoring change: With five judges, the high and low scores would be thrown out and the three remaining scores added (rather than averaged). Since a single flight score typically exceeded 3,000 points, this took some getting used to. The contest ran smoothly through two rounds on Saturday without weather being a factor.
Finals and Results
Saturday saw Bill Werwage and Paul Walker easily advance to Sunday. The third team slot was wide open among several contenders, and Sunday’s flying started early because of an approaching storm. Models in the pits were covered in plastic, ponchos were passed around, and flying continued, with some late flights made in the rain. The best two of three flights would be added, and it was not over until the last score was posted.
Going into the final flights, four fliers had a realistic shot at making the team: Ted Fancher, David Fitzgerald, Bob Hunt, and Bill Rich. After the final round, three of those four posted good scores, changing the order but leaving Ted's placing intact.
Final standings (top 10):
- Bill Werwage
- Paul Walker
- Ted Fancher
- Rob Gruber (Junior team member)
- Bill Rich
- David Fitzgerald
- Brett Buck
- Richard Oliver
- Randy Smith
- Windy Urtnowski
- Team members selected: Bill Werwage, Paul Walker, Ted Fancher, Rob Gruber (Junior team member).
- Alternate: Bob Hunt.
Congratulations to Bill, Paul, Ted, and junior team member Rob Gruber. With Rob on the team, we have four talented fliers to represent the United States at next year's F2B World Championships in Muncie. If you plan to attend, make your hotel reservations early.
In Memoriam
On September 23 we lost another friend: Roger Barrett. My best memories of Roger are the times we spent going through his countless photos and hearing the stories about each one. He will be missed.
MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
