RADIO CONTROL AEROBATICS
Greg Frohreich, 5226 W. Orchid Lane, Glendale, AZ 85302-4918
The 1994 Nats Aerobatics site was on the International Airport just outside of Lubbock. We got to use the crosswind runway, which I know is not the most desirable, especially with those famous (or maybe infamous) West Texas winds.
But the winds turned out not to be such a big factor; during the first four days the winds came from the south at about 10 to 20 mph. The last two days they were light and variable. The temperature stayed around 95–100°F with low humidity. We had one day with a little rain, which really did not hamper our flying. All in all the conditions made for a very pleasant contest.
Because of the low turnout, which was the case in most events this year, a special format had to be used to get in the amount of flying the Event Director (Paul Salverda) wanted. To provide enough workers it was decided that, as in the past, the fliers would need to work. But we were sharing our days with racing, so instead of having the morning and afternoon, we had the afternoon and the evening. This meant that the fliers would have to be split into two flying groups.
The classes were broken up, with Advanced and FAI flying the first shift and Sportsman and Masters flying the second shift. Breaking up the classes in this way provided the fliers with six preliminary rounds, and three rounds of Finals in all classes.
Everyone also knew that they would have to "volunteer" more than their assigned day, and in most cases when anyone was asked to help they stepped right up and filled that spot. We enjoyed watching Mike Klein, Gene Goldstein, and Darin Pierce have a fun time as line directors, and seeing the FAI fliers filling a lot of vacant volunteer spots, with Don Weitz, Tony Frackowiak, and Chip Hyde all being scribes on the same line at the same time. Having been in this position in the past, I know their help made Paul's life a lot easier.
As always, the first day of flying was delayed a little by logistics and set up, but the time lost was made up later in the week. With everyone's help and the cooperation of the West Texas weatherman, the first group was able to get in two rounds the first three days, while the second group got one round on Sunday, two rounds on Monday, two rounds on Tuesday, and the final round of prelims on Thursday.
The finals for both groups began on Thursday, with all three rounds in all four classes completed for a trophy presentation Thursday evening at the AMA tent.
Sportsman
Sportsman was one of the classes that got in one round on the first day, and in that round everyone found out that Kevin Nibur was going to be the one the others had to beat. Kevin won the next two rounds on Monday, and everybody else was working hard to catch him.
By Round Four, Matias Salar got it together and won the round, but Kevin came back and won Round Five. In Round Six, Matias reminded Kevin that he was still pushing hard by winning the final round of the prelims. Kevin went into the finals in first, with Matias a strong second. Andre Williams flew consistently to go into the finals in third.
The finals began with Kevin again showing better shapes and smoother patterns that put him on top, and he won Rounds One and Two. Matias and Andre were right there in the running. In the third round of the finals, Neil Udell showed that experience (age) can win out over youth by winning the third round. The best part was that Neil had no pipe, a two-stroke, and an unprogrammable radio.
When the trophies were given in Sportsman:
- 1st: Kevin Nibur of Clovis, California
- 2nd: Matias Salar of Northridge, California
- 3rd: Andre Williams of Boulder, Colorado
- 4th: Neil Udell of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
- 5th: Jeff Robeson of Moreno Valley, California
Advanced
Advanced flew two rounds on the first day of competition, with Sean McMurtry and Jonathan Roberts each winning a round. On Day Two, Mike Caglia took both rounds, followed very closely by Sean and Jonathan. Sean took the next two rounds, with Jonathan and Mike very close behind.
The top three fliers seemed to be flying at about the same distance, with Sean doing a better job handling the crosswind. This young man shows a lot of potential, and we should keep our eyes on him.
In the finals, Sean won two rounds and Jonathan took one. When the trophies were presented in the Advanced class:
- 1st: Sean McMurtry of Oklahoma City
- 2nd: Jonathan Roberts of Friant, California
- 3rd: Mike Caglia of Albuquerque, New Mexico
- 4th: B. W. Ponder of Temple, Texas
- 5th: Troy Newman of Lakewood, Colorado
Three of the young men in these two groups had been traveling for a while to get to the Nationals. Roy and Dorothy Speights had taken on the joyful task of escorting Matias Salar, Kevin Nibur, and Jonathan Roberts on a journey that none of them will soon forget. From talking to the boys, they were all having a great time. Just think of the fun Dorothy and Roy were having with one fourteen-year-old and two seventeen-year-olds going cross-country in a motor home.
Masters
This was the hardest-fought contest of the meet, with the top six fliers vying to win the prelims. Rusty Fried, Lee Atwood, and Leon Robison each won two preliminary rounds. The carryover score for these three guys was less than seven normalized points from first to third place. Going into the finals, it looked like anyone's game.
The finals started with Rusty putting in a really good flight and taking the first round. Gene Goldstein, who went into the finals in fourth place, won the second round with a really strong flight. The third round was won by Leon with another good flight. This class was really too close to call, with everyone in the top six flying and scoring very consistently.
Final results in Masters:
- 1st: Rusty Fried of Phoenix, Arizona
- 2nd: Lee Atwood of Danville, California
- 3rd: Gene Goldstein of San Antonio, Texas
- 4th: Leon Robison of Bakersfield, California
- 5th: Bruce Thompson of Denver, Colorado
FAI
Early rounds saw a couple of fliers handling the crosswind and keeping their lines between 150 and 175 meters while the rest of the field tended to be somewhat beyond this. By the second day, the rest of us got it back in where we needed to be, but by then it was a game of catch-up.
Chip Hyde won the third round of the prelims, with Bill Cunningham and Don Weitz moving up fast. Day Three saw Chip and Tony Frackowiak each take another round, and Steve Helms took the sixth round with Don Weitz close on his tail. Chip won the prelims with Tony in second and Bill Cunningham in third; fourth was Steve Helms, and in fifth was Don Weitz.
The finals showed that Chip still is a winner—he took two of the three final rounds; Tony and Chip tied in the other round.
Final results in FAI:
- 1st: Chip Hyde of Henderson, Nevada (Chip also won Quickie 500 earlier in the week)
- 2nd: Tony Frackowiak of Sierra Vista, Arizona
- 3rd: Bill Cunningham of Tulsa, Oklahoma
- 4th: Steve Helms of El Toro, California
- 5th: Steve Stricker of Baltimore, Maryland
Site and Thanks
The site was great. The problems associated with the wind and the altitude did not materialize, so the flying was great. There was plenty of time to see and meet the newcomers, and visiting with those old Nats friends was very enjoyable.
As always there are kudos and thanks to be given to the people who give up their vacations (and don't even get to fly) so we can have a good time:
- Paul Salverda for giving us a flying marathon
- Cheryl Williamson, Chief Judge, who actually filled many positions
- Mike, Vicki, and Mandy Lauman for manning the scoring computer
- Al Williamson for all his help in keeping us going
- Betty Stream, who marked her 25th anniversary as a Nats volunteer
If you missed this Nats, you missed a good one. The feeling was one of reunion and sharing, and of working together. When my wife and I were planning our trip to Lubbock, she called AAA and asked for a TripTik to Lubbock, Texas. The woman told her, "I don't think anyone has ever asked me for Lubbock, Texas before. You must have family there."
Thinking about it, she's right. That's where some of the great family of modelers met for our annual reunion—the National Model Airplane Championships.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
