Author: J. Haught
Edition: Model Aviation - 1997/07
Page Numbers: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
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Florida Jets

Jim Haught

Overview

The inaugural Florida Jets took place February 25–28, 1997, at Flagler County Airport in Bunnell, Florida. More than 180 pilots registered, with entries from Canada, England, France, Norway, Puerto Rico and other countries. Major sponsors were ZAP and RC Jet International. Organizer Frank Tiano noted that Florida Jets was not intended to compete with the established Jets Over DeLand event held about a month earlier; many pilots attended both events.

Sunny skies and mid-80s temperatures prevailed, though a gusty crosswind from behind the pit area was present throughout much of the flying. More than 500 flights were logged during the three days of official flying, with nearly two dozen turbine-powered models drawing much of the attention.

Operations and Safety

Nearly all major jet-model manufacturers displayed products or offered support from tents adjacent to the flightline. With multiple models in the air for much of the day, the flightline crew and public-address announcer Bernie Oldenburgh were kept busy. A couple of radio glitches were promptly handled by shutting down the flightline until the sources were found and resolved.

Notable Flights and Competitors

  • Geoffrey Wallace (England) amazed spectators with slow-flight passes in his Ramtec-powered Viggen; the model’s stall speed appeared so low it nearly hovered when heading upwind.
  • Chris Slade’s Harrier won the Engineering Excellence award.
  • Kerry Sterner’s Rutan-designed Ares, soon to be kitted by Jet Stream Hobbies, was judged Best Civilian Jet.
  • Garland Hamilton performed rail-smooth flights and high-speed passes in excess of 200 mph, winning Critics’ Choice (Turbine). He flew a Bandit powered by a JPX T-260P turbine and an F-80C Aggressor III powered by a BVM .91 R.
  • A large contingent of pilots came from Puerto Rico. Jack Diaz Sr.’s F-4 (25 pounds) won Best Multiengine Performance and Critics’ Choice (Ducted Fan). It was powered by twin BVM .91s on Wildcat fuel, used Graupner radio gear with JR servos, and made its 100th flight at the event.
  • Ducted-fan pilot Anthony Wiencek (Winston-Salem, NC) trimmed his BVM Aggressor models to match Jeff Gordon’s race-car color scheme (one wing was signed by Gordon) and won Best Sport Jet (Ducted Fan). His Aggressor II weighed 12 pounds and was powered by a stock BVM .91 with JR PCM10 radio, PowerMaster fuel and BVM retracts. Flying buddy Keith Horton (Raleigh, NC) flew a model trimmed in Mike Mast (Hooters) team colors.
  • Joe Pasztor (Lake Jackson, TX), age 73, won Best Military Jet (turbine) with a Jet Hangar Hobbies F9F Cougar powered by a Golden West turbine. He has been modeling since 1941.
  • Lewis Patton (Louisville, KY) flew an impressive 1/4-scale Century Jet F-4. The 28-pound model used twin K&B 100s with a Ramtec fan and Magnum fuel, and featured a drag chute, scale cockpit with fiber-optic lighting, fuel and water dump, flaps, spoilers and retracts.
  • Other award winners included Mike Kulczyk’s Yak 3.

Awards

Event organizer Frank Tiano addressed pilots at the Friday morning meeting. Awards included:

  • Achievement / Best Sport Jet Performance (Ducted Fan): Bernard Guerette’s Panther
  • Best Military Jet (Ducted Fan): Vernon Montgomery’s F-4
  • Best Military Jet (pre-1960): Per Strømmen’s F-86F Sabre
  • Best Military Jet (post-1960): Eric Rantet’s Mirage
  • Engineering Excellence: Chris Slade’s Harrier
  • Best Civilian Jet: Kerry Sterner’s Ares
  • Critics’ Choice (Turbine): Garland Hamilton
  • Best Sport Jet (Ducted Fan): Anthony Wiencek’s BVM Aggressor II
  • Best Military Jet (turbine): Joe Pasztor’s F9F Cougar
  • Best Multiengine Performance / Critics’ Choice (Ducted Fan): Jack Diaz Sr.’s F-4

A number of other class and performance awards were presented, and Mike Kulczyk’s Yak 3 was among additional winners.

Observations

  • Scale subjects were popular (T-33s, F-4s, F-86s, F-15s, F-16s).
  • Sport jets were dominated by Bob Violett Models (BVM) designs—Aggressor, Maverick, Viper, Bandit and similar models—earning the Manufacturer’s Achievement Award.
  • There was also room for unusual subjects like the Harrier and Viggen.

One of the classiest moments took place at the Saturday evening awards banquet when England’s Malcolm Kay, whose AMT-turbine-powered T-33 had crashed on the runway after an inverted pass earlier in the day, recovered sufficiently to accept a pair of crystal goblets as mementos.

Public Support and Future

Frank Tiano emphasized that public support—paid admissions from the community as well as fliers—would likely determine the event’s future. He estimated needing roughly 650 paid admissions on the final day to reach the break-even point. The event approached that figure but fell short; Tiano said, “Don’t know what happened; we’ll try again next year.” The 1998 edition of Florida Jets was scheduled for February 26–March 1 at the same location.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.