NMPRA Formula I Champs
By Bill Hager
Here we are at the end of our 1988 racing season. We have had our Q-500 Championship Race and our Rough River Race in Quarter Midget. Just about last on the list is the NMPRA Formula One Championship Race. Participants must qualify to race in this NMPRA event. All who did so received a letter from this year's NMPRA president, Gary Hover. The letter begins, "Congratulations!"
"You have qualified for the 1988 NMPRA Formula One Championship Race. As a result of your efforts in 1988 you are invited to participate in this year's race, which is being held on October 22 and 23 in Gainesville, TX."
A lot of Formula One fliers go all-out for the most competitive, fastest model airplane racing event of the year. Nowhere else in the world is there such a competitive event. Pretty strong wording, you say? Well, why not find out for yourself? All you have to do to qualify is finish in the top 20% of your NMPRA district, be an NMPRA officer, or finish in the top 10 at the AMA Nats. Try us in 1989 and find out for yourself.
While the actual races were on Saturday and Sunday, many of us started showing up on Thursday. From sunup to about 6:00 p.m. on Friday, our flying field at the Gainesville Airport was open for practice—and wow, what a crowd! It took over an hour just to get in one two-minute flight.
Processing and static judging were scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. The appointed hour came around pretty fast, and at that hour there was a mad dash for the hotel (this year we all stayed at the Holiday Inn) to put on a coat of polish and that special prop for Scale judging. For someone without much knowledge of model airplanes, this had to be quite a sight. One motel employee commented that he didn't know where everyone was going to sleep—most of us were working on our planes on the bed.
Scale judging involves evaluating planes' workmanship and finish, comparing against scale criteria. Over 48 contestants brought two planes, so judges chose from about 90 models the one they felt was best. A very tough job indeed. For the second year straight, Rick Tocci won Best Show.
Racing got underway just after 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Phil and Jill Bussell ran the contest. Setting up a contest of this size is no easy chore, especially when you have to import help; Phil and Jill live about 60 miles away. They don't just go out and put up pylons; for a local race we have a hard time. Hats off to Phil and Jill—job well done.
Dave Shadel set the tempo early, turning 1:14.2 in Heat 11. Several others posted times of 1:16 and 1:17. In Heat Three, Round Two, Norm Johnson turned the winning time of 1:15. Richard Verano won Heat Five also with 1:15. Heat Nine saw Gary Hover run 1:15.03 to edge out Mike Heisel's 1:15.32—good race. In Heat Ten Dave Shadel's fast time dropped to 1:11.8. Heat 11 saw Brian Richmond edging out Henry Bartle with a fast time of 1:14.
Texas weather can play tricks on us; a front coming through meant stopping and moving the course. Although it helped in some respects, it also forced us to take off crosswind, creating problems for some (read on).
At processing all of our planes were measured for conformance to the rules and, most important, safety checked. We inspected control surfaces and engine installation and verified that radios were properly installed. Many of us had built new planes just for this race, and in the last-minute rush it is very easy to overlook something—maybe a screw in the output arm of a servo, or a clevis not snapped shut or not held with a piece of fuel tubing. Although most of us have been flying for many years, we can still overlook something, which caused problems for some pilots.
In Round Three, Lee Von Der Hey took Heat Four with a time of 1:17. In another heat Brian Richmond edged out Gary Hover with a 1:13. Heat Nine saw Dub Jett just beat Mike Heisel with a 1:15 time. Seeing Dave Shadel receive a zero was the shocker—defeated by the crosswinds, he nosed over on takeoff.
Dave has won the NMPRA Championships several times. He has also been National Points Champion several times and has won the FAI World Championships. Yes, Dave is the man to beat at any race he attends, and his mishap looked like an opportunity for quite a few other contestants.
Dave's was not the only disappointment in Round Three, however. Several other pilots experienced similar mishaps. Windy conditions brewed more crashes, and Round Four saw a few of the latter as well as more nose-overs.
Heat Four of Round Four was a close race, with B. Young's 1:15.7 just beating Bruce Richmond's 1:15.9. Brian Richmond won his heat with a time of 1:16.0. Dave Shadel and Paul Stenberg jostled in Heat Five, Shadel coming out on top with a 1:13 over Stenberg's 1:15. We were still seeing crashes and zeros.
Just about every race of Round Five was a nail-biter. Heat One was all Brian Richmond's with a 1:15 time—Brian was clearly on the move. Rick Tocci won Heat Two with a 1:17. Heat Four saw more great racing, with Henry Bartle edging out Lee Von Der Hey, 1:14.54 to 1:14.6. Heat Five was nearly as close. Gary Hover turned in the fast time of 1:17.1 to Richard Verano's 1:17.2. Dave Shadel won Heat Six with a time of 1:12.56. In Heat Nine Mike Heisel toppled Tony Huber, 1:16.19 to 1:16.30. Heat Ten saw Dick Ritch outscore Bruce Brown, 1:19.5 to 1:19.9.
Round Six: Heat Four went to Lee Von Der Hey, whose 1:12.74 edged out Gary Hover's 1:13. Dave Shadel's 1:12.8 took Heat Five, and Heat Ten saw Brian Richmond win with a 1:16.
When Round Six ended, so did racing for the day. Only one competitor, Brian Richmond, had a perfect score. Gary Hover and Bruce Hobbs were three points behind Richmond, while Dave Shadel, Mike Heisel, and Bruce Brown were four points down.
The annual NMPRA banquet was held on Saturday evening. We had 105 people in attendance along with such notables as Tom Fluker, Jr., Combat World Champion, and Nats event director Sandy Frank. A short business meeting after dinner announced officers for 1989: Gary Hover will be president next year. We also awarded trophies to our top 20 racers for the year. Once again our top point winner for '88 was Dave Shadel. The food was terrific; good job, Phil and Jill.
Racing resumed just after 8:00 Sunday morning. Everything went smoothly at first, and Dave Shadel racked up a 1:11.4 in Heat Four. After that, another strong front blew through with winds gusting to over 30 mph. We turned the race course around again.
In Heat Two of Round Eight a spectacular duel between Lyle Larson and Gary Hover ended abruptly in a midair, which meant two more zeros for the record. No sooner had we gotten the pieces picked up than the excitement reached a crescendo. Heat Three matched Dave Shadel, clearly the fastest person at this year's race, against Brian Richmond, the only contender with a perfect score so far and also very fast. Brian got the jump on Dave and never let up, though Dave came close a couple of times. Some race—Brian established a new fast time with his win of 1:10.61. Dave finished with a mere 1:10.82.
It was a decisive climax to two days of racing, and the timing was fortunate. After Brian Richmond's crackerjack performance, the winds grew stronger, gusting to over 35 mph and blowing things over in the pits. We took a vote and decided that eight rounds was enough, bringing our 1988 Championships and the season to a close.
A couple of flyoffs for position were held, notably between Mike Heisel and Bruce Hobbs for second place. Flyoffs begin like horse races, with both planes taking off at once. We had a perfect start, and at the first pylon Bruce had the edge over Mike. After several laps Bruce had gained a fair lead and looked like the winner. But it was not to be. Bruce suffered what we call "dumb thumbs" and cut the third pylon, so Mike cruised home as the second-place winner.
This year's contest was very well run and practically without organizational mishaps. The competition was second to none. We have, beyond a doubt, the most competitive, fastest model airplanes and pilots in the world.
Do you want in on the fun? Why not spend some time this winter building that new pylon racer and join us next year? The venue will be in California, and I'm sure that the race will be just as competitive and well run as this year's contest. Build a Formula One racer and join us in 1989. See you at next year's race.
NMPRA Formula I Championships Results
- Brian Richmond, 32, Cocoa, FL — Toni, Cosmic Wind, ST X-40
- Mike Heisel, 28, Walnut, CA — Cosmic Wind, ST X-40
- Bruce Hobbs, 28, Austin, TX — Midget Mustang, ST X-40
- Dave Shadel, 27, Carlsbad, CA — Kaze, ST X-40
- Dub Jett, 27, Humble, TX — Mustang/Denight, ST X-40
- Tom Storm, 26, Seattle, WA — Shoestring, ST X-40
- Bruce Brown, 26, San Diego, CA — Minnow, ST X-40
- Rusty Van Baren, 25, Hanford, CA — Denight/Toni, ST X-40
- Henry Bartle, 25, Santa Ana, CA — Kaze/Toni, ST X-40
- Gary Hover, 25, Visalia, CA — Kaze, ST X-40
- Richard Verano, 24, Compton, CA — Denight/Toni, ST X-40
- Rich Tocci, 23, Coppell, TX — Poledog/Mustang, ST X-40
- Paul Stenberg, 22, Escondido, CA — Denight, ST X-40
- Dick Ritch, 22, Houston, TX — Polecat, ST X-40
- Bruce Richmond, 21, Dallas, TX — Toni/Mustang, ST X-40
- Herbert Wills, 21, Dallas, TX — Denight, ST X-40
- Norm Johnson, 21, Oklahoma City, OK — Mustang/Denight, ST X-40
- Scott Manning, 20, Sepulveda, CA — Toni, ST X-40
- Lyle Larson, 20, San Juan Capistrano, CA — Mustang, ST X-40
- Lee Von Der Hey, 19, Toluca Lake, CA — Denight, ST X-40
There were 48 fliers from 12 states, as follows:
- California (19)
- Texas (17)
- Washington (3)
- Florida
- Oklahoma
- Tennessee
- Montana
- New York
- North Carolina
- Georgia
- Rhode Island
- Massachusetts
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
