Old-Timer Nats
WELL, THE DENVER version of "Can You Top This" is over; Tim Daniels and associates hosted the best ever S.A.M. Champs—July 29–31—and that says quite a lot. The Old-Timer Nats, if you will, is always a super event, but the Denver bunch has a knack for putting it altogether like nobody else can. There was something for everybody four days starting with a M.E.C.A. engine "Collectogether" and bean feed on Monday through the Victory Banquet on Thursday night. There were planned programs for contestants' wives and children while the jousting was going on at the field, a family night at Coors Brewery (the Mecca of the West), the S.A.M. meeting and finally that excellent banquet at the Lowry AFB Officers' Club. I can't say enough to describe the excellent results of what must have been an enormous amount of planning and work.
The competition began on Tuesday and saw more cars, campers, tents, and contestants on the field than ever before. Forty states, plus Canada and England, were represented between the M.E.C.A. members and the 123 fliers. There were 424 event entries of which 347 were Free Flight and 77 were RC assist. Tim and Betty Daniels ran the FF show while Woody Woodman of N.J. took care of the RC activities. I don't recall having to wait for a timer for more than a couple of minutes and usually got one right away. We were a bit surprised when it was announced that 3-min. maxes would be in effect for FF. This was done due to the unpredictable winds in Denver. There are times when a 5-min. flight lands in Utah. As it turned out, the 3-min. decision was a good one as maxes weren't cheap. Hand launching was permitted with a 5-sec. engine run penalty and the great majority made use of the old heave-ho.
The Ninth S.A.M. Championships, July 29 through 31 drew 123 fliers who accounted for 424 event entries — nostalgia is still booming.
Bob Oslan who had forgotten what Denver's mile‑high altitude can do to engine power got quickly reminded. My Anderson Spitfire powered Powerhouse which stands on its tail at Taft, mowed a large swath through the weeds before lumbering into the thin air at Denver. I hand launched thereafter. The thin air makes needle valve settings leaner and the best way I found to get
power was to reduce prop diameter and let the engine wind up. The .020 fuel that is super hot at sea level wasn't so hot at the high altitude. Stock Cox racing fuel was best for the .020 Replica event.
Thermal picking was very chancy, particularly in the mornings, and some of the downers were fantastic. Late afternoon saw fairly steady lift, but it was usually accompanied by wind. The net result of the weather was that maxing out was limited to three airplanes out of the 347 FF entries. First place in C pylon went to three maxes and first and second place in rubber went to maxes with a fly‑off deciding the winner.
Danny Sheelds of Randallstown, Md., gave us all a treat and a lesson in twin-
RESULTS
Pl. Contestant Model Engine Secs.
A Cabin—31 entries
- Bill Hale Brooklyn Dodger O&R 19 454
- Jim Robinson So Long Bantam 19 448
- Larry Boyer Skyrocket O&R 19 414
B Cabin—21 entries
- Bill Hale Brooklyn Dodger Forster 29 490
- Al White So Long O&R 23 332
- Larry Boyer Clipper MK I Forster 29 304
C Cabin—47 entries
- Herb Wahl Clipper MK II Hurleman 472
- Mark Fechner Bombshell Anderson 65 426
- Karl Spielmacker Clipper Golden Eagle 53 416
A Pylon—42 entries
- Bruno Markiewicz Arrow O&R 19 443
- Bill Hale Ranger Arden 19 412
- Larry Boyer Ranger O&R 19 387
B Pylon—41 entries
- Phil McCrary Zipper Forster 29 498
- Sal Taibi Alert OS25 459
- Mitch Post Alert Delong 29 445
C Pylon—30 entries
- Guy Kirkwood Playboy Sr. K&B 35 540
- Bob Oslan Playboy Sr. Super Cyke 512
- Ted Patrolia Sailplane ST 35 463
Combined Rubber—26 entries
- Bob Oslan Flying Cloud 1275
- Phil McCrary Lanzo 1140
- Donny Sheelds Burnham Twin Pusher 423
Towline—14 entries
- Les Payne Thermic 70 207
- George Moreland, Sr. Jasco Floater 176
- Chet Barkowski Albatros 144
Scale—9 entries
- Phil McCrary 1938 Cub O&R 60 867
- Bruce Chandler Fokker El Taipan .15 638
- Al White Corben Super Ace Mills .06 263
30 Sec. Antique—33 entries
- Warren Avis Lanzo O&R 60 534
- Jay Boehm Powerhouse O&R 60 458
- Sal Taibi Powerhouse Forster 99 447
Fuel Allotment Antique—21 entries
- Jay Boehm Powerhouse O&R 60 1800
- F. L. Swaney Lanzo Orwick 64 1054
- Warren Avis Lanzo O&R 60 867
.020 Replica—73 entries
- Bob Bicknell Strato Streak Cox .02 513
- Ed Collins Strato Streak Cox .02 474
- Bob Oslan Strato Streak Cox .02 428
A RC—10 entries
- Mark Patrolia Sailplane 11.80
- Jim Clark Megow Cadet K&B 15 9.88
- Woody Woodman Zipper Veco 19 7.79
B RC—12 entries
- Al Schwankert Zipper 21 25.69
- Joe Beshar Fox 150 ST-29 22.42
- Al Place Ranger ST-29 18.29
C RC—22 entries
- Al Schwankert Playboy Sr. .35 15.19
- Ted Patrolia Sailplane .35 14.10
- Jack Strickland Sailplane HP 40 9.9
Antique RC—19 entries
- Al Schwankert Cloud Cruiser Fox 45 17.60
- Don Lamkin Trenton Terror .35 15.13
- Harold Hadley Cloud Cruiser Fox 45 15.01
Texaco RC—14 entries
- John Pond Dallaire Veco 50 18.17
- Don Lamkin Cloud Cruiser Fox 45 13.05
- Al Schwankert Cloud Cruiser Fox 45 12.37
Old-Timer Nats
pusher flying with his "Burnham Twin Pusher." He wound it with an egg beater and, when fully wound, the A-frame fuselage bent into a slight bow. Looked like it should have crashed but it went straight up for a max on its first flight. He missed maxing on the next two flights but ran up enough time to place third in rubber. Danny also flew RC O.T. with a Boehle "Giant." He must have used all the balsa on the East Coast to build this 14-ft. monster—it appeared to be tail heavy and dorked in after a few flights.
This was the first time that many westerners had an opportunity to see RC assisted limited engine ships in action. It was a jolt to see a Megow Cadet, which flew with an Ohlsson 19 in its day, go shrieking straight up with a K & B schnurle .15 up front. The RC ships ran the gamut from the Cadet to sailplanes and Playboy Seniors in A, B and C. Antique and Texaco events saw the usual lineup of Powerhouses, Tanzos, Dallaires, Cloud Cruisers, etc. The main difference was that they had radio gear in them and, as usual, the FF unlimited ships posted longer time than the RC ships did. A Jersey Javelin was noted in "A" RC and it was worth your life to be in the vicinity when it flew—very fast, very squirrelly.
Wednesday saw some light wind with the usual spotty lift early in the day. Thermals and stronger winds came in the afternoon and inspired Jerry Vernon of Huntington Beach, Cal., to put up a test flight with his Forster 29 powered Zipper. As he launched we noted that he had neglected to fuse the DT. "It's only a test" he said as the ship latched onto a boomer. Five minutes later, the Zipper zipped out of sight. We chased the rapidly drifting plane for 2½ miles on a motorcycle but lost it—next time he'll use a fuse. Sound familiar?
Threatening rain clouds had been hovering near the distant mountains for the better part of the afternoon and they reached the field at 3 p.m. Jack Jella had his glider on the end of the towline when the rain came—he kept right on towing—the rest of us headed for tents or cars. That pretty well put an end to the day's events except for a few who waited for the skies to clear and put up a few flights late in the day.
Thursday saw strong winds in the early morning and we were beginning to worry when it got almost dead calm and stayed that way for a couple of hours. .020 activity got into high gear taking advantage of the weather. A 3-minute flight landed about 150 yards from the launch site and .020 ships were up like flak at the battle of Midway. The amazing thing was that nobody maxed out. Later in the day, the wind and lift came in and a 3-min. max in "C" pylon was good for a mile chase—bikes were really an asset.
Throughout the meet, there was next to no problem with models being lost due to being hidden by the terrain or vegetation. The surrounding wheat fields had all been mowed and their main contribution to the meet.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
