CONTROL LINE NAVY CARRIER
Dick Perry, 427 Live Oak Lane NE, Albuquerque, NM 87122
There hasn't been a Nationals Control Line (CL) Navy Carrier competition like this one in quite a few years. The weather was about as close to perfect as it could get; the competition was outstanding; there were Carrier modelers that hadn't been seen for a while — a few new models and some very old ones (in Class I and Nostalgia); and there was lots of excitement, including two records.
Profile (Thursday, July 16)
Navy Carrier flying started on Thursday, July 16 with Profile.
Terry Herron of Paola, Kansas presented a new Judy, which had shown great high speeds in competition earlier in the year. Dave Rolley Jr. (Bennett, CO) and Terry Kirby (Farmers Branch, TX) had a couple of F4F Wildcats, and Ted Kraver (Phoenix, AZ) brought out the only twin entry, a Grumman Tigercat. Many of the models had been seen at previous Nationals.
Winds were relatively light — nearly ideal five knots and steady. They were a little bit off the right wing for takeoff, but the crosswind didn't seem to have any adverse effect on takeoffs.
That's not to say all went well, however; it seemed that the only luck was bad luck during the early flights. Some were accusing Bill Calkins of Sugar Grove, Illinois of using up all the good luck for the week with a rather miraculous save when he lost control of his Class I Sea Fury during a practice flight a few days earlier.
The first flights of the day were scored as attempts, with balky engines refusing to start, hesitating at critical times, or failing completely. A tailhook didn't release; a bellcrank or leadout failed during high speed; and one contestant forgot to put on the safety thong. Gilbert Ruiz of Phoenix, Arizona finally achieved the first official flight, but he ended up in the drink before he could complete a landing. The first complete flight was by Pete Mazur of Aurora, IL, but it was the ninth flight of the morning.
Even so, the bad luck wasn't finished: crashes claimed another two aircraft before the day was through. Ted Kraver lost his Tigercat to a stall on takeoff, and Mike Shull (Tarpon Springs, FL) lost an XF5U-1 when an elevator hinge failed during high speed.
As the day progressed, the luck — and the scores — started to improve. Terry Herron proved that reports of his new Judy's outstanding high-speed capability were not exaggerated. His best high speed (113 mph) was more than 2.5 seconds better than his closest competitor. Terry had built his Judy very light and very clean to take advantage of the output of the Nelson engine. The wide-blade 8-1/4-inch-diameter propeller designed by Tom Gillott allowed the engine to turn 24,000 rpm in flight.
As the morning progressed, most of the contestants were able to post scores. Bill Bischoff from Dallas, Texas took first place on his initial flight, then Bill Melton (Las Cruces, NM) and Marc Warwashana (Whitmore Lake, MI) overcame the problems of their first flights to move into first and second.
Almost all of the contestants took advantage of the continuing good weather and the confidence of having posted a score, and improved their performances on their second official flights. Pete bettered his score enough to move into third place; Bill Bischoff's attempt to move up in the standings fell short, and he remained in fourth; and Marc Warwashana posted the best low speed of the day — just short of five minutes — but his high speed was not quite as good as Bill Melton's, and he remained in second.
Andy Westerheim of Garland, Texas returned as a Senior this year and continued his winning ways with 314 points.
At the end of the day, only 15 points separated first and fourth places in the Open category:
- Bill Melton — 360.9
- Marc Warwashana — 355.4
- Pete Mazur — 351.6
- Bill Bischoff — 346.6
These four were in close contention for the Eugene Ely Award as the best Carrier flier at the Nationals.
Class I and Class II (Friday)
For the Class I and Class II events on Friday, there was a large number of entries compared to recent years. Many new models had been prepared for the Nationals, but some were not completed in time for test-flying. Still, there were 24 entries.
The usual MO-1s were present, but some other familiar models from prior years were there to challenge them. In addition to the veterans, Bill Calkins' Sea Fury and Terry Kirby's Seafire were entered in Class I in their first Nationals competition.
There was quite a bit of excitement surrounding Ted Kraver's Class I entry; he brought out his Curtiss Pusher biplane, modeled after the aircraft that Eugene Ely used for the first feasibility demonstrations of shipboard operations in 1910 and 1911. Even Ted's structure was authentic; he used bamboo for the booms that held the canard and tail surfaces — just as on the original.
The weather was ideal for the second day of competition, and many contestants took advantage of the conditions to post personal best scores. Among them was Pete Mazur, who did more than achieve a personal best — he set two national records. Pete's low-speed scores were the top in Class I and in Class II, and his high-speed time was the best in Class II; it was close behind Marc Warwashana, whose Class II speed of 110 mph was the best of the day.
The excellent performances resulted in four of the five trophies in Class I and in Class II being won with scores exceeding 400 points. Overall, the scores have not been that high since the change to the current scoring system in 1976.
Five modelers shared the 400+ honors:
- Pete Mazur
- Bill Melton
- Bill Bischoff
- Dale Gleason
- Dick Perry
Mike Greb was just a few points off the pace in Class I. Bill Melton, a traditional 400+ performer, suffered equipment problems in Class II, so it was very close to being a 400-point sweep.
With Pete's two records and his strong finish in Profile the day before, there was little doubt about who would win the Eugene Ely Award.
Seniors
In the Senior age category, D.J. Parr (Auburn, KS) and Andy Westerheim battled it out; Andy once again won first place.
Ted Kraver's Curtiss Pusher
The anticipation of Ted Kraver's Curtiss Pusher caused all other action to cease when it came time for him to fly. Everyone came out of the pits to cheer Ted on, and he didn't disappoint them; the takeoff was flawless, and the model looked great in flight.
True to the prototype, high and low speeds were not much different, but that didn't lessen the spectators' enthusiasm. They all joined in counting laps during slow flight, and the applause following Ted's 100-point landing was spontaneous and genuine. The model may not be the optimum configuration for competition, but it sure was fun to watch.
Banquet and Awards
The Navy Carrier Society's annual banquet and awards presentation was held on Friday night. High on the order of business was recognition of the officials who made it possible for the rest of us to enjoy the competition.
Officials:
- John "Doc" Holliday — Carrier Event Director
- Art Johnson — center judge both days
- Jan Westerheim — scorekeeper/tabulator
- Art White — pits and pull-test
- Chip Largent, Linda Gleason, John Vina — flight timers
The Navy Carrier Society presents the Carol Johnson Spirit of Volunteerism Award to a volunteer whose enthusiasm, dedication, and selflessness helps make it possible for the Nationals CL Navy Carrier events to be held. This year's recipient was Art White.
Unofficial Carrier Events (Saturday)
The unofficial Carrier events were flown on Saturday. Sponsored by the Navy Carrier Society, Sportsman Profile Carrier was for contestants who did not enter the official Carrier events. Sig Manufacturing Co. sponsored the Skyraider Carrier event, and an anonymous donor contributed the .15 Carrier trophies. The Nostalgia Carrier event was flown with merchandise awards donated by Ted Kraver and Brodak's Distributing Co., Inc.
Results:
- Sportsman Profile Carrier
- 1st: Chip Largent
- 2nd: Skip Spoula
- 3rd: Art White
- .15 Carrier
- 1st: Bill Bischoff
- 2nd: D.J. Parr (he was quite excited about beating his dad, Melvin Schuette)
- 3rd: Melvin Schuette
- Skyraider Carrier
- 1st: Bill Bischoff
- 2nd: Art Johnson
- 3rd: Melvin Schuette (beat D.J. by only 1.2 points)
Nostalgia Carrier uses the scoring and models of the period prior to the 1976 change in rules. John Vina won Nostalgia Profile Carrier with a Howard Motin XPC-1 Starjet, and he won Class I with a Douglas Skyraider, another Motin design. Ted Kraver was second with a Short Seamew.
The Roland Baltes Award goes to the contestant whose model and flight best exemplify the spirit of the Nostalgia Carrier event. The winner is selected by a vote of the officials and contestants, and the award is a framed print of one of the prototypes modeled by Roland Baltes. This year's winner was John Vina.
Conclusion
As usual, the competition and camaraderie were outstanding, and this year the weather cooperated. If you weren't at the CL Nationals this year, you missed a great week. We're looking forward to gathering in Muncie again next year, and hope to see you there.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
