Control Line: Aerobatics
Wynn Paul
Here's some information on the Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association (PAMPA), as we celebrate its eighth anniversary this month, for those not yet familiar with the organization. PAMPA is the special-interest group dedicated to Precision Aerobatics in all forms, which includes Old-Time Stunt, Half-A-Stunt, profiles, and kits. Organized at the Nationals in windy Oshkosh in 1973, the association has staffed the Nationals and FAI team tryouts since 1974.
Various funds have been made available to FAI team members from the PAMPA treasury for their World Championships expenses. PAMPA also started sponsoring a Concours d'Elegance award at the Nationals in 1977 for the Most Beautiful Stunt Plane, as judged by the pilots themselves. PAMPA added a dollar to all U.S.A. members' dues — which goes directly to a PAMPA/FAI Stunt Team Fund.
Communication and the Newsletter
The most important function of PAMPA is to provide communication among Stunt fliers. The newsletter of the organization (Stunt News) has attempted to achieve this over the eight years of its existence. Although not always a monthly mailbox item, a lot of information for beginners, intermediates and even World Champions has come off the mimeograph on Maywick Drive.
Category System
Another outgrowth of PAMPA has been the category system of ability classes, which first appeared in Stunt News in December 1973. This grouping of fliers by scoring averages, rather than by the age categories of the traditional AMA plan, caught on quickly throughout the country and has become the standard way to conduct Stunt contests in many places.
The categories are:
- Beginner — under 300 points with the AMA pattern
- Intermediate — 300–399 points
- Advanced — 400–499 points
- Expert — 500 points and over
The category system probably has done almost as much for Stunt in recent years as the invention of the foam wing, which allowed almost everyone to fly with a non-warped wing (thank you Bob Hunt, Arnold Stott, and John Poynter). With the inclusion of PAMPA Stunt classes at local contests, more and more Stunters have come off the wall and out to the field.
It is logical that if a 375-point-average Stunt flier can fly in competition with others who average around that score, they are more likely to fly in the contest and perhaps come away with an award, rather than sit and watch two Nationals qualifiers and an old FAI team member cart off the trophies for Open Stunt. PAMPA, the newsletter, Richard Byron keeping score averages, and active members have championed the category system vigorously since 1973, and there is hope of getting it into the Nationals some day.
Although a formal change in the AMA rules to make the category system "legal" has not yet been achieved, the AMA staff has backed the idea all along.
Leadership and Contest Administration
Keith Trostle has been the only president of PAMPA since 1973, and he has done an exemplary job coordinating PAMPA activities with AMA headquarters, arranging administrative efforts for FAI qualifications and Nationals, working on rules proposals, coordinating the inclusion of the defending World Champion into the U.S.A. traveling team, and handling vast amounts of correspondence — often at the expense of his own flying.
He has announced that he is ready to step down at the end of 1981. Many hope that the ever-active Arlie Preszler of Lodi, CA will accept the reins of the PAMPA presidency.
Although we often complain about finding officials for the Nationals and FAI tryouts, PAMPA has managed to assemble outstanding administrators for these events. Directors and assistant directors have included:
- Arlie Preszler
- Lanny Shorts
- Keith Trostle
- Bart Klapinski
- Frank McMillan
- Jim Fasimpaur
- Bill Howe
Shareen Fancher and Joyce Shorts have been ever-present at the scoring table. The organization could still use more help in contest administration in the form of people interested in assisting regularly at the Nationals and FAI tryouts.
Equipment and Supply Problems
Besides staffing the big contests, PAMPA and Stunt fliers face faltering support from manufacturers producing the items needed to keep planes in the air.
Issues include:
- Loss of the E-Z Just Hot Rock handle due to a lawsuit initiated when a careless modeler flew too near electrical wires; legal costs put the handle manufacturer out of business.
- Many special items, such as the very beautiful Veco spinner, have become collectors' items.
- No readily available "skinny wheels and tires" for wheel pants.
- Popular control horns used by many scratch builders have been taken off the market (Dave Brown or Gene Martine: where are you?).
- The very good Martine-Baron handle is no longer produced because Gene Martine fears being drawn into a lawsuit if another negligent flier gets hurt.
- Mufflers are intermittently available; the Adamsin and Martine items appear sometimes, and the Bob Paul muffler is available only sporadically.
- Some other good mufflers exist but in limited quantities.
On the positive side, engines are still obtainable because RC-type engines are being adapted to Stunt. However, balsa wood has been harder to get lately. If RC components like glow plugs, propellers, and paint weren’t still available, we might have had to return to Champion spark plugs and ignition, carving our own props, and using plastic coverings.
It was a sad day when Bob Hunt had to close the doors of Control Line Specialties, ending production of flap horns, landing gear blocks and wires, his very good Tru-Flite handles, foam wings, and many other specialty items. Unfortunately, Bob had to feed and clothe his family.
Accomplishments and Continuing Efforts
The biggest single accomplishment of PAMPA is the ease of communication it has provided over the past eight years. The newsletter will continue to be printed, though there may occasionally be lapses due to "real job" pressures. The support of Model Aviation magazine, by allowing this writer to ramble about 1,000 words a month, is also very helpful to the individualized event of Stunt.
Please keep letters coming with ideas, questions, pictures, and hints.
For information on Stunt and PAMPA, write: Wynn Paul 1640 Maywick Drive Lexington, KY 40504
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
