Mike Thomas takes top honors at Johnson City
The 1998 Indoor Nats was held May 27–31 at the Johnson City (TN) Mini-Dome on the campus of East Tennessee State University. Attendance was on a par with recent years, with roughly 100 contestants.
Champions and top finishers
Mike Thomas (Canada) is the new Indoor Category Champion. He recorded wins in the following events:
- Autogiro
- Pennyplane
- Helicopter
- Peanut Scale
- No-Cal Scale
He also had a basketful of placings in other events.
Jack McGillivray continued his strong showing in the Scale events, winning:
- Kit Plan Scale
- Rubber Scale
- Dime Scale
Larry Coslick, busy preparing for the upcoming F1D World Championships, won:
- Bostonian
- Manhattan
- Rubber Speed
- Ornithopter
- HL Stick
- F1D
- Easy B
Early events and notable competitors
Competition began with the Catapult Glider and Hand-Launched Glider (HLG) events. The South Bend, IN-area crew of Bernie Boehm, Bill Schlarb Sr., Bill Schlarb Jr., and Keith Fulmer made their presence known with multiple placings in each event. Bernie Boehm won the HLG convincingly. The anticipated rematch with Australia’s Len Surtees (1997 winner) did not materialize; Len was unable to obtain corporate sponsorship for a return trip but is working on a plan to attend in 1999.
Model design and equipment notes
Little was seen in the way of radical new model designs; refinement of proven concepts seemed to be the rule. A few exceptions and notable developments included:
- Bruce Kimball (Seattle, WA) experimenting with vacuum-bagged foam wings reinforced with carbon-fiber and fiberglass. Still in the experimental stage, Bruce uses a Feather Cut machine to achieve the desired accuracy. He placed fourth in HLG with his Smoov Boy gliders, which feature removable wings for easy airline transport.
- Bernard Hunt’s distinctive models, featuring high wing posts combined with stabs mounted on the bottom of the fins to provide “clean” air, proved successful. He won Intermediate Stick and had high finishes in several other events.
Supplies, microfilm, and contacts
Film at 11: The good news from Chuck Slusarczyk for microfilm devotees is that he is now producing and selling a solution; early tests have looked good (dry and slack), though long-term effects are not yet known. Chuck also has steering poles for sale, useful for Cat. I sites. Contact: CGS Aviation Box 470635 Broadview Heights, OH 44147
Junior participation
The Smyrna (TN) Flying Aces Squadron was again present in force, with Tim Lavender and Wayne Anderson leading a dozen or so junior-age modelers. They have expanded their modeling classes to include Limited Pennyplane, and many excellent flights were noted. Look for a feature on this group in an upcoming Model Aviation.
New classes and demo events
The new F1Db (beginner’s F1D, a.k.a. FIM) class was flown as a demo event this year. Top single-flight time was 17:32 — intentionally held down to provide newcomers a non-intimidating way to get started (compared with the roughly 38-minute average flight it would have taken to place in the top three in “regular” F1D).
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
