Control Line: Aerobatics
Wynn Paul
1982 FAI C.L. World Championships
The FAI C.L. World Championships will be held in late July 1982 in Sweden. The U.S.A. has the defending individual champion in Les McDonald (who also won in 1976). McDonald will be competing as an individual, a privilege allowed defending World Champions. The U.S. team is the defending World Champion team (1980 members were Les McDonald, Bill Werwage, and Wynn Paul). The 1982 team members are Bill Werwage, Bob Baron, and Ted Fancher.
U.S. participation history
Multiple appearances:
- Lew McFarland ('64, '66)
- Bob Hunt ('78, '80) — won in 1978 and placed second in 1980
- Gene Schaffer ('74, '76)
- Jerry Phelps ('70, '72)
Single appearances:
- Bob Gialdini ('64)
- Don Still ('60)
- Bob Palmer ('60)
- Wynn Paul ('80)
- Al Rabe ('78)
- Ed Southwick ('62)
- Dick Williams ('62)
Bob Baron and Ted Fancher will be representing the U.S.A. for the first time in 1982.
Team selection and tryouts
The U.S. Team Selection Finals have not often favored newly crowned National Champions. Many times the reigning National Champion in July or August was eliminated at the team trials in September. This happened repeatedly to Al Rabe and also affected Bob Gialdini, Jim Silhavy, and Bob Lampione.
Early tryouts were sometimes held in unusual ways and places. In 1960 the tryouts were held in three separate locations over the July 4 weekend, with the World Championships in battle-scarred Budapest in September. In 1964 tryouts were in May in Milwaukee, the Nationals were in Dallas in early August, and the World Championships followed in August — a hectic year for stunt fliers. That year Jim Silhavy placed fourth in the FAI tryouts but later won the Nationals. In 1965 the team tryouts were held a year before the World Championships for the first time; over Labor Day weekend, new National Champion Bob Gialdini finished fifth in the highly contested tryouts — leaving out his triangles!
Making the U.S.A. team is a great honor, and it is the result of lots of work, waiting, practice, and persistence. Since the U.S. first sent a team to the World Championships in 1960, only 18 individuals have represented the red, white, and blue in the 11 championships.
U.S. dominance in team competition
The United States stunt fliers have dominated the World Championships like no other U.S. team in any sport or hobby. Of the 11 World Championships the U.S. has entered, the stunt team has returned victorious 10 times, losing only in Kiev, Russia in 1962, when the team of Silhavy, Southwick, and Williams finished third.
Since 1976 this record is even more impressive because the defending individual champion has sometimes elected to compete as an individual, allowing one more competitor to make the trip. In 1976 Gieseke, the defending individual champion, was third overall while the third team member, Gene Schaffer, placed sixth. In 1978 Les McDonald competed as an individual and finished fourth; the third team member, Gieseke, finished fifth. In 1980 Bob Hunt competed independently and finished second, while the third team member, Wynn Paul, placed tenth. Actually, the U.S.A. finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in 1976 and 1980, achieving a sweep of the event.
Individual champions and notable competitors
- Bob Gieseke: seven appearances (leading the list)
- Bill Werwage: six appearances
- Les McDonald: four appearances (counting 1982) with two wins and a fourth-place finish so far
- Jim Silhavy: National Champion in 1960 and 1964; team member in '62, '66, and '68
- Steve Wooley: team member in '60, '66, and '68; team manager in 1964
- Bob Hunt: made the team for the first time in 1978 and won the World Championship that year
The number of entrants in the World Championships has grown since 1960. In 1970 there were 11 countries with 45 competitors; in 1980 there were 26 countries with 68 competitors.
The 1982 U.S. team
The 1982 delegation blends seasoned FAI veterans (Les McDonald and Bill Werwage) with eager, competent newcomers (Bob Baron and Ted Fancher). Bob and Ted finished first and second in the tryouts. Any one of the four could return as World Champion, and this may be the strongest U.S. effort ever assembled. Sweden should be a good site for the Championships—best of luck to the team.
Costs, logistics, and preparation
Making the team is only the beginning. Beyond preparing an airplane, team members must manage many details:
- Arranging time off from work.
- Shipping model airplane fuel to Europe (you can't just carry airline amounts of fuel like four gallons of Duke's onboard).
- Transporting airplane boxes and equipment.
- Renting local transportation (vans) between living quarters and flying sites.
- Missing team meals and other incidental expenses.
Costs to competitors can exceed $1,000 in personal money for travel within the U.S., site travel, and other incidentals. The AMA helps by paying travel from New York to Europe, entry fees at the World Championships (which covers lodging and food at the championship site), some transport fees for the airplane box, and limited funds for U.S. practice-time travel. Even with this support, many expenses come out of team members' pockets.
A personal note: the writer tried six times before finally making the team in 1980; it was worth every minute spent.
International experience at the Championships
The Championships are a great experience for meeting modelers worldwide.
- The Italian team is friendly and known for great food in their pit area (and spaghetti back in their rooms).
- The Polish team hosted a memorable cocktail party in 1980.
- The Chinese team showed up in 1980 with promising fliers who are likely to improve.
- The Japanese team is fun and has several good fliers.
- The Canadian team, led by Fred Tellier, probably has the most fun of any team and keeps improving.
- Other strong competitors come from Czechoslovakia, the United Kingdom, Hungary, and France.
- Rodrigues from Brazil is young and eager to learn.
And, of course, there are countless pictures posed and snapped at a World Championships.
Contact
For more information on Precision Aerobatics or PAMPA contact: Wynn Paul 1640 Maywick Dr. Lexington, KY 40504
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
