Indoor week: U.S. Indoor Championships

Indoor week: U.S. Indoor Championships

What more could a flier of indoor models ask for than a week-long event (actually a combination of events) in the fabulous atrium of the Northwood Institute at West Baden? The only distressing thought was that this could be the last of these events at this location.

Bob Clemens

U.S. Indoor Championships

IT WAS high noon on Sunday, June 12, 1983. Inside the mammoth atrium of the Northwood Institute at West Baden, IN, the Second Annual U.S. Indoor Championships was underway, kicking off a seven-day extravaganza of competition among an enthusiastic turnout of Duration and Scale fliers from across the country. Contestants from Canada and England lent an international flavor.

Sponsors of USIC were the National Free Flight Society and the National Indoor Model Airplane Society. A four-man team ably handled contest director duties: Tony Italiano, Hardy Brodersen, Charlie Sostich, and Gordon Wisniewski.

Opening day — Easy B and Paper Stick

Opening the meet at noon and running until 6 p.m. were the Easy B and Paper Stick events. An unprecedented 45 contestants battled in Easy B Open and Junior/Senior classes, with 22 fliers in Paper Stick. At mid-afternoon the 100-ft.-high atrium airspace held as many as 16 models airborne at a time — an impressive spectacle that testified to the popularity of Easy B and the excellence of the flying site.

• Easy B (Open)
• 1st: Chuck Markos — 18:46
• 2nd: Walt Van Gorder — 18:20
• 3rd: Cezar Banks — 18:08
• Total official flight time for all Open-class Easy B flights: 7 hr. 12 min.; average 12 min. 44 sec. per flight.

• Easy B (Junior/Senior combined)
• 1st: Mike Van Gorder — 16:23
• 2nd: Aaron Markos — 12:45
• 3rd: Tom Norell — 12:43

• Paper Stick
• 1st: Jim Richmond — 26:57 (new national record for Cat. III sites)
• 2nd: Stan Chilton — 24:46 (flying a new high-aspect, square-tipped design)
• 3rd: Dick Obarski — 24:40
• Junior/Senior combined: 1st Paul Loucka — 19:04; 2nd Mike Van Gorder — 17:42; 3rd Bob Skrjanc — 12:38

Six p.m. signaled the end of the opening day's official flying, and the atrium was turned over to FAI fliers for F1D practice time.

Monday — Hand-Launched Glider, Pennyplane, ROG Cabin

Competition began again Monday morning at 8 a.m. with Hand-Launched Glider. Past West Baden battles in Open class have often featured Bernie Boehm (traditional fixed-wing sheet-balsa glider) and Stan Stoy (folding-wing design). With Stan missing earlier meets, Bernie used a great arm and smooth technique to put himself well out in front of the nearest competitor.

From 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., the air was turned over to swarms of Pennyplanes. Twenty-one contestants flew in the popular event.

• Pennyplane (Open)
• 1st: Dennis Jaecks — 16:00 (new national Cat. III record)
• 2nd: Gordon Wisniewski — 13:16
• 3rd: Walt Van Gorder — 12:24

ROG Cabin (combined with later microfilm FAI rounds) drew a small but skilled field.

• ROG Cabin (final standings)
• 1st: Dick Doig — 25:12
• 2nd: Ron Ganser — 24:21
• 3rd: Dan Belieff — 23:38

F1D and AMA Hand-Launched Stick

The ultra-light microfilm models made their first official appearance as FAI F1D and AMA Hand-Launched Stick competitions began. F1D was flown in six rounds of two hours each — four rounds Monday and two rounds Tuesday — serving also as a regional FAI competition for selection of the next U.S. FAI Indoor Team.

• F1D highlights
• Round One: Larry Cailliau — 33:23; Ron Higgs (Canada) — 32:51; Bill Hulbert — 31:28
• Round Two: Larry Cailliau — 32:55; Dick Doig — 32:19; Bill Hulbert — 31:02
• Round Three: Larry Cailliau — 35:32; Jim Richmond — 35:10; Stan Chilton — 32:41
• Round Four: Cezar Banks — 34:40; Stan Chilton — 32:52; Jim Richmond — 32:19; Ron Ganser — 32:10; Larry Cailliau — 31:55
• After four rounds: best two-flight totals showed Cailliau leading, followed closely by Richmond and Chilton.

Competing amidst the F1Ds were AMA Stick models (many built to the 300 sq. in. wing-area maximum). Dick Doig put up two flights over 39 minutes, the best being 39:27 for first place. Stan Chilton was second (34:49), and Dick Obarski third (32:41).

Junior/Senior combined for Stick: Tom Norell won with 21:13; Mike Clem second with 21:13; Paul Loucka third with 20:19.

As many as eight F1D ships flew simultaneously, circling slowly with long propellers turning at very low rpm — a memorable sight beneath the 81-year-old domed atrium.

Tuesday — ROG Cabin, Manhattan, Bostonian, Pennyplanes, and F1D finals

Action began at 7 a.m. on Tuesday with a 3½-hour period scheduled for ROG Cabin events Manhattan and Bostonian.

• Bostonian
• First flown at West Baden two years prior as an unofficial event, Bostonian is whimsical, low-pressure semi-scale. This year 14 contestants entered.
• 1st: Jack McGillivray (Toronto) — Yeti Bostonian — flights 2:26, 2:40, 2:46; charisma rating 1.2; total 566.4 points
• 2nd: Dave Erbach — 489.5 points
• 3rd: Ken Groves — 477.6 points

• Manhattan (minimum weight 4 g)
• 1st: Walt Van Gorder — 9:50
• 2nd: Chuck Markos — 8:56
• 3rd: Hardy Brodersen — 7:21

There were some grumblings about the 3½-hour allotment for both Bostonian and Manhattan, especially since Bostonian allows unlimited official flights and many contestants flew both classes.

The biggies of F1D resumed for the fifth round. Cezar Banks led the round with 34:46; Jim Richmond posted 33:27. Larry Cailliau had a slow round (11:15) but the sixth round produced the single highest time of the Trials: Cailliau's 37:51, which combined with an earlier 35:32 to give him 73:23 and first place overall. Final places: 1st Larry Cailliau — 73:23; 2nd Cezar Banks — 69:26; 3rd Jim Richmond — 68:37.

Shortly after the F1D/ROG Cabin competitions, contestants and guests gathered for a buffet banquet in the Northwood dining room. Guest of honor Bob Champine, a retired NASA test pilot and well-known indoor flier, gave an informal slide talk about experimental aircraft he had flown.

Wednesday — Scale events, Peanut Speed, Unlimited Speed, Kit/Plan

The final half-day of USIC competition on Wednesday featured AMA Rubber Scale, Peanut Scale, Kit/Plan Scale, Peanut Speed, and Unlimited Speed. Jim Jones and Frank Scott judged many time-consuming scale entries.

• Peanut Scale
• Open: Jack McGillivray — Volksplane — 1:52 (used only one of three official flights); static 77 points + 1.2 low-wing handicap = win
• 2nd Open: Bill Boland — 1:24
• 3rd Open: Jim Richmond — 1:20
• Junior/Senior combined: 1st Mike Van Gorder — 1:44; 2nd Aaron Markos — 1:27; 3rd Tom Norell — 1:23

• AMA Rubber Scale (Open)
• 1st: Ed Stoll — Corben Ace (best two flights 1:30 max and 1:13; static 95)
• 2nd: Bob Siedentopf — Kalinin ambulance monoplane
• 3rd: Tony Sutter — Santos-Dumont 14 bis canard

• Jr./Sr. Rubber Scale: Dave Brown — Lacey (only flier)

• Speed events (ROG around two string "pylons" 20 ft. apart; two full laps)
• Unlimited Speed: 1st Mike Arak — 8.21 sec.; 2nd Frank Kieser — 10.78; 3rd Chuck Markos
• Peanut Speed: 1st Martin (Brian?) Varney — 9.87 sec. (Folkerts racer); 2nd Butch Hadland — Heinkel HE-100 racer

• Kit/Plan Scale (presented by Calumet Aircraft Modelers)
• 15-plane field — Micro-X models strong.
• 1st: Bob Clemens — Micro-X Pilatus PC-6 Porter (best flights credited as 93 sec.)
• 2nd: Bob Siedentopf — Stinson Voyager
• 3rd: Otto Kurth — Chicago Aeronuts

A busy four days of USIC competition closed. Northwood Institute had the building up for sale and had closed its school doors; the future of USIC at this site was unresolved.

ENART (Record Trials)

No single indoor site in modern times has seen as many records fall as the Northwood atrium, and ENART (the Record Trials) continued that reputation.

• Novice Pennyplane (Cat. III)
• Mike Van Gorder: 11:41 — new Senior record
• Juniors Aaron Markos and Paul Loucka both broke the existing Junior record in Novice Pennyplane; Loucka's 11:31 stood less than an hour before Aaron Markos topped it with 12:24.

• Open Pennyplane
• Dennis Jaecks: 15:17 — broke the record (would count as 1.017 in index standings)

Thursday, June 16 (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) belonged to the lightweights. The top ENART performance that day was Larry Loucka's microfilm-covered autogyro, which set a new Open record for the class with a 9:03 flight and topped the ENART index with a 1.248 — the first time an Open-class flier led the index in the eight-year history of the West Baden Record Trials.

Other ENART records and highlights:

• Mike Van Gorder: Easy B — 16:27 — new Cat. III Senior record.
• Stan Chilton: Super-light Easy B (previously plagued by launch torque problems) finally posted an astonishing Open record flight of 22:01 after massive post-launch steering; the time even exceeds the current Cat. IV record. It was the seventh new record set during ENART.

ENART Scale events (Friday)

ENART's three Scale events were flown simultaneously on Friday with a 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. span to accommodate the required official flights. Peanut and Unlimited Speed were flown for 15 minutes each hour.

• AMA Rubber Scale (Open)
• 1st: Ken Groves (Canada) — Peanut Fike Dream — 78 static points + two-flight average 90 sec.
• 2nd: Jack McGillivray — Peanut SESA biplane — 158.5 static
• 3rd: Dr. John Martin — Martin MO-1 Navy scout bomber
• Total entries: 16

• Peanut Scale
• 1st: Ken Groves — Fike — best two flights 2:05 and 2:10
• 2nd: Les Garber — Fike — best flights 2:05 and 2:08
• 3rd: Jack McGillivray — Lacey M-10 — two highest Peanut flights of the day: 2:23 and 2:19

• Peanut Speed (15-minute windows)
• 1st: Butch Hadland — Heinkel HE-100 — only entry to complete required two laps — 8.67 sec.
• Open Unlimited Speed: 1st Mike Arak — 7.36 sec.; 2nd Chuck Markos — 9.01
• Junior-Senior Unlimited Speed: 1st Brian Varney — 5.25 sec.; 2nd Susan Arak — 14.54

• Kit/Plan Scale (Calumet Aircraft Modelers)
• 1st: Bob Clemens — Micro-X Pilatus PC-6 Porter — 290 points
• 2nd: Phil Cox — Micro-X Taylorcraft — 285
• 3rd: Don Lindley — Lacey M-10 (built from plans) — 283
• Kit/Plan emphasizes flying time, construction accuracy, and craftsmanship.

• ENART CO-2 Bash (same rules as AMA Rubber Scale; flight times limited to 90 sec. for scoring)
• 1st: Phil Cox — J-3 Cub — 178 static points (actual flight 1:51)
• 2nd: Butch Hadland — Lacey M-10 — 177 points (actual flight climbed to the dome)
• 3rd: Bob Siedentopf — Stinson Voyager — 176 points
• 4th: Bob Clemens — Farman F.60 — 174 points
• 5th: Tony Sutter — 1911 Cessna — 110.5 points

Despite the official 90-second cap, some CO-2 ships' actual durations were considerably longer; Cox's J-3 cruised 1:51, and Hadland's Lacey climbed nearly to the dome.

Peanut Grand Prix

INDOOR WEEK '83 came to a quiet end about 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, as a red Peanut biplane touched down on the floor tiles of the darkening Northwood atrium. It was the final official flight of the Peanut Scale 24-hour Grand Prix, the last of hundreds of flights since 7 p.m. Friday night as over 70 Peanut Scale models competed in six categories.

For 1983, Dr. John Martin and MIAMA Indoor club tried new categories:

• Class I: Monoplanes
• Class II: Biplanes
• Class III: Ultralights
• Class IV: Unorthodox (seaplanes, flying wings, triplanes)
• Class V: Multi-engine
• Class VI: Fikes and Laceys (neither type permitted in Monoplane event)

ROG launch was optional, but a 10-sec. bonus was given for any flight using a takeoff.

Two additional events were flown during the Grand Prix:

• No‑Cal Profile Scale (Flying Aces Club event; profile fuselages, max 16-in. wingspan)
• Pistachio Scale (tiny Scale models: either 8-in. maximum wingspan or 6-in. max overall length, excluding prop)

Most Grand Prix activity was packed into Saturday; a handful of hardy souls kept the 24-hour character alive through the night.

Grand Prix winners by category

• Monoplanes
• 1st: Jim Miller — Itoh light plane — flights 1:28 and 1:32 (static 7th, flight rank 5th; low score: 12 under 5lb Peanut rules)
• 2nd: Bob Clemens — Farman Mosquito
• 3rd: Dave Kieffer — Piper Vagabond

• Biplanes
• Tie resolved on static: 1st Chuck Markos — DH Tiger Moth (tied with Jack McGillivray's SE5A)
• 3rd: Bob Clemens — Currie Wot

• Ultralights
• 1st: Bob Clemens — Cloudbuster
• 2nd: Don Steeb — Kimberly Skybrider
• 3rd: Dr. John Martin — Boxmoth

• Unorthodox
• 1st: Lloyd Wood — Sopwith Tabloid on floats (won on higher static score, tied on points)
• 2nd: Ken Groves — Sopwith Triplane (two flights of 57 sec.)
• 3rd: Dave Kieffer — Sopwith Triplane
• 4th: Lubomir Koutny (proxy) — OS2U Vought Kingfisher floatplane (entered from Czechoslovakia)

• Multi-engine
• 1st: Jack McGillivray — Yugoslavian 45-T (also named Grand Peanut for the entire Grand Prix; flights 1:23 and 1:09)
• 2nd: Lloyd Wood — Boeing B-9
• 3rd: Dr. John Martin — Bloch MB-200 bomber

• Fikes and Laceys
• 1st: Ken Groves — Fike — flights 2:11 and 2:12 (5 points: 3rd static, 2nd flying)
• 2nd: Jim Miller — Lacey
• 3rd: Chuck Markos — Lacey
• Jack McGillivray's Lacey posted the two highest Peanut flights of the meet: 2:49 and 2:29.

Pistachio Scale and No‑Cal Profile Scale

• Pistachio Scale ("1983 Gnats")
• Nine entries: three Laceys, Santos‑Dumont 14 bis, Boxmoth ultralight, pre‑WWI Caudron, SE5 fighter, Found 100, Gangabogie home‑built, JG2U ultralight, Junkers Straptoplane.
• 1st: Butch Hadland — 8‑in. Lacey — flights 1:28 and 1:25
• 2nd: Doc Martin — 14 bis
• 3rd: Mike Arak — Lacey
• 4th: Don Steeb — (second-highest flights 1:24 and 1:21)

• No‑Cal Profile Scale
• Eight entries (up from five in 1982); duration was key.
• 1st: Larry Loucka — Lacey — one flight 5:18; three-flight total 820 sec.
• 2nd: Don Steeb — Found — 739 sec. total
• 3rd: Lou Liefer (Toronto) — Fike — 736 sec. total

Cezar Banks used a lull in Peanut flying to try for a new Open Novice Pennyplane record, winding 1,980 turns on a 19‑in. loop of .065‑in. rubber to record 13:05 — a new Cat. III record, topping the old 11:48 he had set in 1982.

Putting the questionable future availability of the Northwood arena into perspective, Grand Prix CD Doc Martin quoted a WWII-era song: "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, but I know we'll meet again some sunny day." Indeed we shall, Doctor.

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