1985 NATS: CL Speed
Gene Hempel
Site, thanks, and overview
This year's Nats site was the historic Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts. The base's primary mission is to support the 439th Tactical Airlift Wing, an Air Force Reserve wing headquartered at Westover. Colonel James H. Handy, base commander, and his staff helped make our stay at the Nats special — my thanks to them.
Control Line Speed drew the third-largest number of entries at the Nats with 175 contestants. This was due in part to many fliers coming from the eastern U.S. and to the emergence of several newcomers. Special thanks to Event Director George McGinnis and his staff of volunteers for the excellent job they performed — the Nats would not exist without their dedication.
The weather was nice the first two days; Wednesday started raining about 10:00 a.m., and the remainder of the week was partly cloudy and warm. Upon arriving at the speed circles Monday morning, I was stunned by the number of people already lined up in the pits preparing to fly — an encouraging sign for the future of Speed events.
There were quite a few Junior and Senior participants in 1/2A Speed and Proto Speed. Many used their 1/2A Mouse Racers for these events.
Open 1/2A Speed
- 1st: Nick Sher (Langhorne, PA) — 122.90 mph
- Equipment: modified Cox TD .049 with pipe, metal suction tank
- Fuel: 78% nitro, 2% methanol, 20% oil
- Prop: single-blade
- 2nd: Dave Williams (Yorba Linda, CA) — 120.761 mph
- Equipment: own-design ZIT .049 with fuel regulator and pipe
- Prop: single-blade
- 3rd: Al Stegens (Cleveland, OH) — 120.760 mph
- Equipment: open-faced, modified Cox .049 tuned precisely
- Prop: Cox gray 5¼ x 4 clipped to ~4.7 in. (one blade slightly longer)
Senior 1/2A Speed
- 1st: Karyn Foster (Advance, NC) — 76.18 mph
- 2nd: Rodney Thibault (Hudson, NH) — 67.90 mph
- 3rd: Joe Gruber (Glendale, NY) — 67.69 mph
Junior 1/2A Speed
- 1st: Peter Sutton (West Hurley, NY) — 76.50 mph
- 2nd: Sharon Ybanez (Roanoke, VA) — 74.10 mph
- 3rd: Jennifer Berner — 68.88 mph
There were quite a few young women flying in 1/2A; notably, juniors generally turned faster speeds than seniors.
FAI Speed
- 1st: Carl Dodge (Richmond Heights, OH) — 162.150 mph
- Note: past member of the U.S. FAI Speed team; used a homebuilt .15
- 2nd: Cliff Norman (Philadelphia, PA) — 146.16 mph
- Note: past member of the U.S. FAI Speed team
- 3rd: Chris Sackett — 140.56 mph
Most FAI entrants used the old-style Rossi .15 engines (I did not see any Nelson .15s). Single-blade props were common. A growing selection of .15-size engines on the market should help new fliers interested in FAI Speed.
Open A Speed
- 15 entries this year.
- 1st: George Brown, Jr. (Staten Island, NY) — 171.20 mph
B Speed (including midweek weather impact)
Wednesday started with heavy overcast and a cool 68°F; many tried to fly before the rain at 12:30 p.m. Nick Sher set the pace with a record speed of 213.45 mph before the rain prevented backing it up for a National Record.
- 1st: Nick Sher — 213.45 mph (flight affected by weather; record attempt not backed up)
- Equipment: ST X-29 engine with 7 x 10½ Rev-Up prop; piston/sleeve by Gene Hempel
- Fuel: 78% nitro, 2% alcohol, 20% Ucon oil
- 2nd: Chris Sackett — 172.40 mph
- 3rd: James VanSant (Penndel, PA) — 171.02 mph
Most B Speed models used metal suction tanks and the Super Tigre X-29 engine. Rev-Up 7 x 10½ props were common; Bill Hughes is experimenting with molding glass props using that Rev-Up as a master.
Junior B Speed:
- 1st: David Silversmith (Woodhaven, NY) — 84.18 mph
No seniors entered B Speed.
Formula "40"
- Entries: 22 Open, 3 Senior.
- Open results:
- 1st: Wisniewski team (Bellflower, CA) — 163.72 mph
- 2nd: Carl Schaefer (Westfield, NJ) — 154.17 mph
- 3rd: Frank Garzon (Central Islip, NY) — 152.55 mph
- Notes: K&B 6.5 cc engine dominated. Most fliers used various glass props; some still used Rev-Up 8 x 9N wood props pitched down to 8 x 8.
- Senior results:
- 1st: Joe Gruber (Glendale, NY) — 145.57 mph
- 2nd: James Rickeits (Sioux Falls, SD) — 138.25 mph
Formula "40" is one of the easiest Speed events to fly: fuel is furnished by contest management, it's a two-line event with no wing area restrictions, and there are many 6.5 cc engines available. Modelers are encouraged to join.
D Speed (Thursday)
Thursday had a cool morning with lingering thunderstorms; many waited until later to fly official attempts. There were 25 D Speed entries — the largest number I've seen, with many entries over 200 mph (top six above 200).
- 1st: Frank Garzon (Central Islip, NY) — 209.95 mph (present D Speed record-holder)
- 2nd: Don Benech (Copiague, NY) — 209.46 mph (past record-holder)
- Note: Don used a piston/sleeve setup by Gene Hempel
- 3rd: Nick Aprino (East Patchogue, NY) — 208.73 mph
- Note: Nick still casts speed pans for interested fliers
Frank and Don used O.S. Max .65 engines with 9 x 12 glass props. Their fuel was 78% nitro, 3% alcohol, and 19% synthetic oil. This engine will turn ~200 mph out of the box.
Jet Speed
Jets were not the fastest this year but produced respectable speeds and a variety of models.
- 1st: Team Davis & Hempel — 199.25 mph (after hitting the ground three times during the flight)
- 2nd: Chris Sackett — 191.61 mph
- 3rd: Joe Kirn (Anaheim, CA) — 181.19 mph
Aimee Olson flew her Hoyt upright design to first place in the Senior category with 122.31 mph. Many different types of jet models were on the flight line. (Jet engines and parts available from P&C Metal Products, Garland, TX.)
Social, awards, and closing
There was an excellent get-together for refreshments and dinner at the Parwich Restaurant, sponsored by the North American Speed Society (NASS) and headed by Chris Sackett. Highlights included awarding the NASS Perpetual Speed Trophy and the High Time Trophies for Junior-Senior and Open flights at the 1985 Nats.
Awards:
- NASS Perpetual Speed Trophy: Nick Sher
- Junior-Senior High Time Trophy: Joe Gruber (Glendale, NY)
- High Time Open Trophy: Nick Sher
Throughout the meet, modelers said this year's shootout had the "Nats feeling" again. For Speed modelers who missed this Nats — you missed one of the highlights of the year. Congratulations to the winners, and let's keep Speed moving ahead!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
