1985 NATS: FF Indoor Duration
Ray Harlan
The bright sun served as a signal that great flying might be in the offing for the first day of Indoor events. The only remaining question was the condition of the hanging lights. On entering the Base Hangar the relief was immediate—the lights had been removed— and Colonel Handy's crew had even covered the connection-box outlets with foam rubber to soften any blows to models. That extra care helped avert many hang-ups on nearby I-beam ledges.
Sunday — Easy B, Pennyplane, Manhattan Cabin
By 9:00 a.m. the air was active as the meet opened with Easy B, Pennyplane, and Manhattan Cabin. Contestants tested and trimmed models, learning how much power was needed to reach the top of the hangar.
Because the hangar runs generally east–west, the morning sun heated one end and produced a strong lengthwise jet stream in the top 10 feet. Models could be carried the length of the building in about three minutes until the sun moved and the drift subsided. The calmest conditions generally didn’t occur until about 2:00 p.m., near the end of official flying for those events. By noon the air had warmed and become buoyant, and the drift began to subside.
- Manhattan Cabin: Walter Van Gorder broke his own Cat. III national record with a flight of 9:23. The class encouraged novel designs; many contestants used new polyester films for coverings.
- Pennyplane: Biplanes dominated Open. Top results included:
- Gordon Wisniewski — Open winner, 13:00
- Dave Barber — second place (fragile model, trim-sensitive)
- Seniors: Chris Bonais (Gresham, OR) won, less than 30 seconds ahead of Brian Fulmer; Charles Gagliano trailed by six seconds
- Junior: Aaron Markos used the Cat. II record holder to win with an 8:39 flight (margin 2:25 over runners-up)
Open Easy B drew 30 entrants. Notable results:
- Ray Harlan — 1st, 16:19 (flight bumped girders at least seven times and passed between several other models)
- Walter Van Gorder — 2nd, 15:17
- Tony Becker (returned after 20 years) earned a trophy with 11:35
Monday — Hand-Launched Glider (HLG)
HLG occupied the morning and is always tightly contested; the super-sensitive models are unforgiving of misadjustment or imperfect launch. Toward noon, after many mistakes and repairs, an exciting sequence unfolded:
- Junior Aaron Markos put up a 55-second official flight; his all-balsa backup recorded 53 seconds, giving a two-flight total of 108.6 seconds—over 5 seconds better than the top Open total. A truly remarkable Junior performance.
- Dan Domina demonstrated consistent excellence in Open HLG, winning both All-Balsa and High-Tech divisions.
- Control-line stunt flier Steve Buso showed how to use light balsa (and carbon fiber) to his advantage, placing second in High-Tech, edging Mike Langlois by 0.2 second.
Paper Stick and Junior/Senior Events
Paper Stick entries were fewer than expected in the Junior and Senior classes. Paul Loucka won Junior Paper Stick with 14:08.
Open Paper Stick saw tight competition:
- Ron Ganser — 1st, 18:00
- Larry Loucka — 2nd, 18:34 (he waited until outside doors were shut before launching)
- Dan Belieff — 3rd, 18:55
Paul Loucka (Junior) also posted an 11:06 Easy B flight that exceeded all Senior times; both he and Aaron Markos are experienced indoor fliers who adapt quickly to new sites.
FAI Competition and Indoor Team Selection Regional Meet
The Indoor Team Selection Regional Meet ran concurrently with the Nats; Loucka, Mizik, Radoff, and Van Gorder were among those trying to qualify for the team finals at Akron, OH.
Early rounds were cautious and plagued by hang-ups. Highlights:
- Round 1: Only half the contestants got official flights; Dan Domina broke 20 minutes with 23:55.
- Round 2: Several hang-ups; Walt Van Gorder posted 23:46.
- Round 3: Ray Harlan had a rafter banger landing with 28:37, then made a carbon-prop flight of 28:30 to pressure the field. That round saw multiple hang-ups and only two flights over 20 minutes.
- After day one Harlan led; Van Gorder had a pair totaling 46:42.
On the following day FAI continued:
- Larry Loucka — 26:06 (moved into contention)
- Dan Domina — 26:29 (moved into second)
- Walt Van Gorder remained consistent (22:32) but didn’t improve
- Manny Radoff improved with a 21:41 in Round 6
Final standings:
- Ray Harlan — 1st (first-day pair held up)
- Dan Domina — 2nd
- Walter Van Gorder — 3rd
Walter Van Gorder won the Regional Team Selection Meet and earned 100 points toward a berth on the 1986 U.S. Indoor Team. Paul Loucka flew a pair of 14-minute flights to become Junior FAI Stick champion.
AMA Stick and Cabin
AMA Stick was held earlier in the day. The morning jet stream was in force; reasonable conditions didn’t emerge until after noon. Several fliers attempted full-size Class D ships despite the small site.
- Ron Ganser mastered the tricky air (using a variable-pitch prop) to win AMA Stick with 26:22.
- Dan Domina and Larry Loucka followed in the placings, both flying FAI ships.
Cabin had seen little interest historically, so it was notable when three planes were airborne simultaneously. There was a rare collision between Dan Domina and Ron Ganser, but fortunately little damage.
For all its low profile, Cabin provided dramatic competition:
- Dan Belieff (listed earlier as Dan Belieff) flew a beautiful no-touch 21:38.
- Ron Ganser, after breaking his best "disk" model, flew his backup without testing and came within a second of Domina; a timer issue may have affected the recorded margin.
Notes and Acknowledgments
- The Base Hangar proved a very nice indoor site despite its morning jet stream orientation.
- Volunteers processed and recorded hundreds of flights over the three days, a job appreciated by all competitors.
(End of article)
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
