CONTROL LINE AEROBATICS
Frank McMillan, 12106 Gunter Grove, San Antonio TX 78231
The US Control Line Precision Aerobatics community has a new international F2B team. As has become customary, the members were selected at the International Aeromodeling Center, Muncie, Indiana, during Labor Day weekend. Operating according to published rules for team selection using AMA guidelines, the team selection committee chose the judges from a highly experienced cadre. Head Judge was Chief National Judge Gary McClellan, with previous Head Judge Dave Cook in attendance to assist in training and tabulating. Warren Tiahrt, Event Director and Nationals Event Director, ensured strict adherence to FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) rules.
This was a superbly administered event, run smoothly and fairly by the best personnel. Many AMA staff members did a super job supporting the event; AMA president Dave Brown offered wise words at the pilots' meeting; and Technical Director Steve Kaluf responded rapidly to every problem.
Trials format
The trials format is similar to that of the Nationals. There is a qualifying day for the Senior participants to provide the 10 best for the team selection round. Four flights were flown against two sets of judges, and the top flight against each set counted to determine the finalists. On the final day, three rounds were flown before one set of judges, and the top two were counted. There was no carryover of scores.
The US will be represented by world and national champions, backed by former national champions as alternates. The trials had some of the best flying in many years. As the airplane packages get better, flying is elevated to a higher level.
Senior team and alternates
- Bill Werwage — Team member (top position)
- Bill flew exceptionally well. He was focused, had his patterns and geometry honed, and the airplane was driving through the maneuvers as no other on the field.
- He flew one of the P-47s, powered by the Precision Aero .61. At 55 ounces, the package delivered exceptional performance. The P-47 twins are configured for retracts.
- Paul Walker — Team member
- Many-time National Champion and former World Champion, Paul can be a dominant flier. This year he flew a superlight (55-ounce) version of his Impact design.
- The model was constructed from one of Dave Trible's Heartbeat Models kits, with molded carbon-fiber landing gear. The fuselage-mounted gear weighed approximately one ounce—about half that of comparable aluminum gear. The gear was made from a mold by Howard Rush and heat-tempered (reported at 2500°F).
- Paul used a Precision Aero engine.
- David Fitzgerald — Team member
- Two-time team member and current national champion, David continued his accurate pattern presentation, ably coached by his dad, many-time Nats judge Bill Fitzgerald.
- His airplane was the Star Gazer version of the Ted Fancher Trivial Pursuit model, upgraded with the Precision Aero .61, the Werwage diamondback tuned pipe, and the Eather three-blade, heavily undercambered propellers.
- David's setup differs from common practice: while most set the PA .61 pipe at 16 3/4 inches from the plug to the first baffle, David's is at about 17 3/4–17 1/2 inches. His launch RPM is 9,600–9,800, versus the more typical 10,200–10,600 range, due to the increased load of the undercambered props. The performance and pipe "rattle" indicated it was hard on tune.
First alternate
- Ted Fancher
- Ted fills the important first-alternate slot and must be ready to respond if any primary team member cannot fulfill their obligation (as happened last year when Bill Werwage stepped in for Bob Hunt).
- Ted demonstrated world-class consistency, flying the veteran Trivial Pursuit with the PA .61 set up similar to David Fitzgerald.
Second alternate
- Bob Baron
- The 1996 National Champion took the second-alternate position flying his Pattern Master design by "Big Jim" Greenaway, powered by a Big Jim ST .60.
- Bob's pattern was classic, with the motor cycling in the right places.
Other Senior qualifiers (finalists)
- 6th: Frank McMillan — Super Caudron 5, powered by a PA .61 on the Werwage pipe.
- 7th: Bill Rich — Randy Smith SV Astro on a PA .51.
- 8th: Windy Urtnowski — Seafire on an old-style, non-PDP ST .60.
- 9th: Bob Gieseke — Bear on a PA .61.
- 10th: Randy Smith — Dreadnaught on a PA .40.
Competition among the Senior qualifiers was extremely close—more so than in many past trials.
Junior competition
You might think Junior F2B competition would be less intense than the Senior contest. Wrong. It was wonderful to watch Juniors fight tooth-and-nail for the honor of representing their country. Head Judge Gary McClellan commented numerous times about how much fun it was to see the fliers going at it.
- Dondi Garrison — Top Junior
- Dondi has grown during the last few years and no longer uses the two-handed style that earned him attention early on. He is more polished and flies his new model professionally.
- He used a new SV Randy Smith design with a Precision Aero engine on a pipe. After early teething problems, he and his dad had it singing for the competition.
- Brian Kieffer — Second Junior
- Brian has been to many national events and is a seasoned competitor. When he's in the center of the circle he looks like a future champion, with strong body position and aggressive aircraft control.
- He flew a proven ST .60 Urtnowski/Griffin design.
Other
- Kyle Freeman acquitted himself well in his first team trials.
What's great is to see the father-and-son teams together; that's what model aviation is all about.
Rule changes in effect
- Once the judges were positioned prior to a flight, they were not allowed to adjust their positions if the wind changed.
- There was a large increase in the required pull-test weight for models weighing more than 71 ounces.
Acknowledgments
The 1997 F2B trials ran smoothly because of highly competent, experienced, professional individuals who donate their time and expenses to make this a pleasurable experience and to select the correct F2B team. They deserve sincere thanks.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
