FREE FLIGHT INDOOR
Ken Johnson, 16728 Bermuda Street, Granada Hills, CA 91344
Overview
It has been said that great things come in small packages. Although this was a small Indoor Nationals, it was special to me—like a diamond. Diamonds have many beautiful facets, and so did this meet.
The flying site is one of the best in the country, situated in a beautiful area of the Northwest. The university was shut down for the summer, so there was no crowding in stores and restaurants. Many of the workers in the restaurants were university students who chose to stay over during the summer and fill various jobs.
Senior Competitors
Two senior‑citizen fliers did very well.
- Earl Hoffman (age 82): 1st, 2nd, two 3rds, 4th, and 5th. Earl is a wonder, performing at a top caliber at his age.
- Warren Williams (age 81): two 3rds, a 4th, and a 5th. Warren is a complete indoor modeler, respected in the indoor community and long a mentor and inspiration to many. He has given dozens of ornithopters away to friends and interested spectators over the years.
Scale and Peanut Models
Many beautiful Scale and Peanut models were entered.
- Miss Los Angeles Racer featured retractable wheels that came up after six seconds; it was damaged during test flights.
- A Fokker D.VII was finished just prior to the contest, trimmed during the meet, and flew very well from a hand launch toward the completion of the Scale portion.
- My 25‑inch Cessna Bird Dog won AMA Scale.
- My 13‑inch FacetMobile lifting body was first in Peanut Scale.
Larry Coslick placed first in Manhattan Cabin with 11:06; he was expected to do well in several events and did not disappoint.
Records and Major Winners
Steve Brown topped all others with a 45:49 in HL Stick during the Kibbie Dome annual. At the Nats he won F1D and set a new record with a 49:23 flight (his raw time was 49:46; after a 23‑second steer deduction this topped the old record of 49:00). Steve’s two‑flight total was 98:05.
Two‑flight totals (top three):
- Steve Brown — 98:05
- Darryl Stevens — 72:30
- Edmond Liem (Canada) — 69:52
Junior and youth records:
- Jake Palmer (16, Salem, Oregon) won Pennyplane and set a new national record of 15:09. Jake contacted Ed Whitten in New York after reading about indoor modeling; Mr. Whitten referred him to Lew Gitlow in the area. Jake now works for Indoor Model Supply assembling kits and helping others.
- Junior Nick Leonard (Texas) posted 8:47 in Junior Pennyplane; winner John Schaff posted 11:45.
HLG and Catapult Results
- HLG: 1st John Alling; 2nd Darryl Stevens; 3rd Bruce Kimball.
- Standard Catapult: 1st Edmond Liem — 10:34; 2nd Charles Dorsett — 10:21; 3rd Mike Pairand — 7:30.
- Unlimited Catapult: 1st Herb Robbins; 2nd Bruce Kimball; 3rd Charles Dorsett.
Facility Notes and Model Retrievals
Two retractable curtains separate the Kibbie Dome floor area into thirds, lengthwise. The curtains roll on long pipes and hang down wires below the ceiling arch. Several times models lodged in the rolled‑up curtain wires. Kibbie Dome workers lowered curtains about 20 feet to the floor; a motor‑driven forklift with a basket lifted fliers up to the curtain to retrieve models. Earl Hoffman went aloft in the basket twice to retrieve models. The Kibbie crew also sent a worker up a steel ladder to the lofty catwalk several times to send airplanes back down to their owners.
Children's AMA Racer
An AMA Racer contest was held for area children. Forty youngsters took part in flying heats for various prizes. Many people helped kids trim Racers. One little boy, disappointed and in tears because it looked like his airplane would not do well and he didn’t win a prize, was elated when his model finally performed like the others.
Other Standouts
There were many standouts at Kibbie, including:
- Larry Coslick
- Steve Brown
- Jake Palmer
- Earl Hoffman
- Gene Joshu
- Bud Tenny
- Jim Clem (a first, second, and third to his credit)
- Andrew Tagliafico
- Wally Miller
- John Lenderman
Personal Note
I placed sixth in Ornithopter this year. After the three trophies were handed out for this event, the remaining fliers were called to the table for merchandise prizes. I noted four .020 engines had gone uncollected. It seems engines are not a cherished item with indoor modelers. I took one of them as my prize — the first time I won an engine for being last in an event.
Thanks and Contact
Our thanks to the contest directors: Bob Stalick, Herb Robbins, Scale director Ed Lamb, Abram Van Dover, Andrew Tagliafico, Wally Miller, and Larry Coslick.
If you wanted to attend but couldn't, the five‑day Kibbie Dome Annual is tentatively scheduled for August 4–8. Contact Andrew Tagliafico at (503) 452‑0546 when the time approaches. It's a great site and a super group of fliers. Don't miss it in '96.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
