Dick Korda Commemorative SAM Champs
By Jim Haught
One of aeromodeling's most famous moments occurred at Bendix, New Jersey in August 1939: Cleveland's Dick Korda won the Wakefield trophy with a three‑flight average of 950.2 seconds, including a first flight of 43:29. The Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) chose its 1994 Championships to honor that achievement and its influence on the sport.
Overview
Some 250 contestants gathered at the National Flying Site in Muncie, Indiana, September 12–16, 1994, for the Dick Korda Commemorative SAM Champs. The meet featured:
- 21 free‑flight events and 19 radio‑control (RC) events
- 1,414 event entries and 2,189 official flights
- A special 1939 Korda event that attracted 76 entries; Korda himself flew and placed tenth
Weather and field issues
Weather affected competition several days. Wind was present for longer than usual at Muncie: it reduced heat problems but made handling tricky.
- RC events suffered considerable drift.
- Free‑flight crews found ROG (rise‑off‑ground) takeoffs difficult in the breeze, especially for rubber models that experience high torque/power bursts.
- 1/2A Texaco and 1/2A Scale models, limited in power, also struggled in the wind.
- As a Cat. III free‑flight site, three‑minute maxes in thermal conditions proved hazardous because flights could not be contained within the field boundaries.
- Small Rubber Fuselage fliers experienced models landing in surrounding crops. Reportedly, someone drove a chase vehicle through a farmer’s crops.
FF Contest Director Bill Prensky called a contestant meeting, admonished attendees, and suspended flying for the day. The decisive action stopped further incidents.
Events, models, and notable flying
Seeing RC Limited Engine Run (LER) events up close was eye‑opening: 1930s style models with Schnuerle‑ported engines climb and move much faster than many expect. The Lanzo Bomber was the dominant airplane choice across many RC events.
Observations and trends:
- Lanzo Bombers placed highly across many classes: A Glow LER, Electric Texaco, B‑Ignition LER, Class Texaco, and others.
- LER models often displayed rapid climbs and aggressive performance, changing some pilots’ expectations of “Old‑Timer” flying.
Results and highlights
- Eut Tileston (Carmichael, CA) — Radio Control Grand Champion. His 1/2A Texaco entry placed third in the flyoff. (Radio: two‑channel JR.)
- Mitch Post — Free Flight Power Grand Champion, edging out Harry Murphy by a very small margin.
- Harry Murphy — Close contender for Free Flight Power Grand Champion.
- Joe Williams (Pennsylvania) — FF Rubber/HLG Grand Champion; noted for consistent excellence and wide contest travel.
- Don Bekins — Winner of Glow LER (flying an Ohlsson .23). Bombers featured strongly in Pure Antique and other classes where he placed well.
- Jim Lobb — Winner of Class A Texaco (first year held), flying a Lanzo Bomber.
- Ed Shilen — Runner‑up in Class A Texaco (using an Ed Shilen .19 engine).
- Norm Rosenstock — Qualified for flyoffs with a Miss America 700 powered by an Irvine engine; notable long engine runs on the fuel allotment.
- Dick Korda — Placed tenth in the special 1939 Korda event.
Additional notes:
- Six fliers qualified for certain flyoffs in Class A Texaco.
- Bombers were well represented among top finishers across multiple categories (e.g., four of the top five in Pure Antique Bombers; six of the top eight in Electric Texaco).
Special events and social
A Thursday‑evening reception at the Frank V. Ehling Museum honored Dick Korda. The low‑key gathering attracted friends, associates, and admirers of Korda’s Wakefield accomplishments.
Crossover fliers and attendees
The meet featured several "crossover" competitors who flew both FF and RC events:
- Jim Kutkuhn and Ben Cleveland — normally FF fliers who entered RC events
- Larry Davidson — worked on the RC flightline yet flew the 1939 Korda event
- Jim Adams — outgoing SAM president who flew both FF and RC events
Familiar names from earlier eras (Sal Canino, Don Wensel, Carl Redlin) appeared on RC contestant lists, answering "whatever happened to..." questions for many attendees.
Closing
As a first‑time observer of the SAM Champs, the combination of old‑timer aesthetics and contemporary RC techniques left a strong impression. The organization and decisive officiating were notable, and competitors are now looking ahead to the 1995 SAM Champs in Colorado Springs.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
