RADIO CONTROL: AEROBATICS
Ron Van Putte — 111 Sleepy Oaks Road, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
Event overview
The 1997 RC Aerobatics Nats were conducted July 20–24 at AMA's International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. The event was organized and directed by the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) with assistance from AMA managers, staff, and maintenance crews. This joint effort put responsibility for various event aspects in the hands of those best qualified to handle them.
National champions:
- Sportsman: Bill Pritchett (Yorktown, IN)
- Advanced: Kevin Proodian (Margate, FL)
- Masters: Greg Grigsby (Mary Esther, FL)
- FAI: Sean McMurtry (Oklahoma City, OK)
July 20 was setup, practice, and processing day. Contestants practiced at three sites in light, variable winds. A 5 p.m. pilots' meeting closed the day; Rick Allison, the scheduled event director, could not attend and asked me to replace him on two weeks' notice.
After processing, 100 pilots were in attendance:
- Sportsman: 17
- Advanced: 16
- Masters: 35
- FAI: 32
Sportsman and Advanced competitors flew six flights. Masters and FAI pilots flew six qualifying flights, with the top 20% advancing to finals.
Format: the Matrix
We used a Matrix format for Masters and FAI at Sites Two and Three. Reasons:
- Reduce judging load.
- Reduce weather effects on scoring.
- Allow daily standings to be reported.
Format details:
- Masters and FAI pilots were divided into four groups.
- On each of the first three days, groups flew two flights in a half-day session against another group from the two flightlines at Sites Two and Three.
- Each group flew before two different sets of judges per half-day, allowing scores to be normalized twice per day.
- After three days each pilot had flown six qualifying flights.
- Four of the six flight scores were used for final qualifying—each pilot kept at least one score from each day plus the best unused score. This rewarded consistency and reduced the chance of two bad scores on the same day eliminating a competitor.
Because the Matrix allowed normalization twice per half-day, daily standings could be produced even though pilots flew against different opponents throughout qualifying.
Judging and scoring
Judging assignments:
- Virtually all pilots judged another class for one half-day: Advanced judged Sportsman, Masters judged Advanced, and FAI judged Masters. Masters also judged FAI because many maneuvers are identical or equivalent.
- Selected Sportsman pilots judged other classes based on judging experience indicated on entry forms.
- Full-time volunteer judges: Bob Noll, Cheryl Williamson, Jim Johns, and Dorothy Speights. They judged morning and afternoon for three days and provided critical support.
One notable enforcement: on the third day of competition, an FAI pilot refused an assigned judging task; as stated in the pilots' meeting, his highest flight score was changed to zero.
Scoring system:
- Scoring was done by Philip Benford and Maureen Dunphy using Derek Koopowitz's scoring program. Derek (Benicia, CA) also assisted with printing glitches and helped when scoring complications arose.
- The program interfaces with two Scantron scanners previously purchased by AMA and NSRCA.
- A scoresheet printing error caused the program to treat the second day as a new contest and reassigned some contestant numbers. With Derek's patch and Herb Kurlan's help, the standings were restored.
Scribes:
- Scribes were provided through a coordinated effort by NSRCA president Tony Stillman and Muncie band director Bill Pritchett (also a Sportsman pilot and the eventual Sportsman champion). The band members were paid to scribe and performed admirably.
Weather and schedule
Monday: Good flying conditions. Many pilots commented positively on being able to fly six times.
Tuesday morning: Rain delayed flying, but it stopped mid‑to‑late morning. By minimizing the lunch break and extending the day to 6:15 p.m., we completed scheduled flying.
Wednesday: Fog and low clouds delayed the start until about lunchtime. With cooperation from participants, Sportsman, Advanced, and Masters flying (but not FAI) were completed by 6:15 p.m. The Sportsman/Advanced awards banquet was held at the Radisson Hotel Roberts in downtown Muncie that evening.
Thursday: Fog and low clouds again delayed flying; rescheduling and volunteer judge adjustments freed Masters finalists from earlier judging duties. After the ceiling lifted just after lunch, FAI third-day qualifying flights and Masters finals were completed. FAI qualifying finished about 3:20 p.m., and the finals began roughly an hour later. The Masters finals finished just before 5:30 p.m. FAI finals were shortened to two rounds due to time constraints; final rankings used the best two of three scores (prelim + finals).
Despite weather and scoresheet problems, the contest was completed without using a rain day.
Results
Qualifying, leaders, and finals highlights:
Sportsman top finishers:
- 1st: Bill Pritchett (Yorktown, IN)
- 2nd: Lamar Blair (Decatur, AL)
- 3rd: Ramon Fairchild (Coral Springs, FL)
- 4th: Paul Kirsch (Fredericksburg, VA)
- 5th: Marion Thomson (Lexington, NC)
Advanced top finishers:
- 1st: Kevin Proodian (Margate, FL)
- 2nd: Rick Sweeney (Charlotte, NC)
- 3rd: Chris Dansereau Jr. (North Providence, RI)
- 4th: Mike McCormick (Clayton, NC)
- 5th: James Hubbard (Bartlett, IL)
Masters:
- Qualifiers for finals (top 8): Greg Grigsby, Jeff Aranyos, Allen Eklund, Earl Vincent, Joey Hayes, Robert Hartwig, Dan Hart, Matt Vastine.
- Masters finalists and trophies (top 6): 1. Greg Grigsby, 2. Jeff Aranyos, 3. Earl Vincent, 4. Allen Eklund, 5. Joey Hayes, 6. Robert Hart.
- Greg Grigsby won convincingly, taking each finals flight.
FAI:
- Qualifiers for finals (top 7): Sean McMurtry, Ivan Kristensen, Dave von Linsowe, Geoff Combs, Dave Patrick, Todd Blosé, Mike Harrison.
- FAI finalists and trophies (top 6): 1. Sean McMurtry, 2. Ivan Kristensen, 3. Dave von Linsowe, 4. Dave Patrick, 5. Geoff Combs, 6. Todd Blosé.
- Sean McMurtry won both finals rounds after leading qualifying. McMurtry emerged strongly after an impressive season that included an eighth-place Nats finish the previous year and sixth at the F3A Team Selection Finals in June.
Notable competitors mentioned during qualifying rounds:
- Sportsman leaders at one point included Ramon Fairchild, Lamar Blair, and Bill Pritchett.
- Advanced leaders included Kevin Proodian, Chris Dansereau Jr., and Rick Sweeney.
- Masters leaders included Greg Grigsby, Joey Hayes, Allen Eklund, Jeff Aranyos, and Earl Vincent.
- FAI leaders included Sean McMurtry, Ivan Kristensen, Geoff Combs, Dave von Linsowe, and Dave Patrick.
Personnel and acknowledgments
Key contributors:
- Scoring program and assistance: Derek Koopowitz (Benicia, CA)
- Scorers: Philip Benford and Maureen Dunphy
- Volunteers and judges: Bob Noll, Cheryl Williamson, Jim Johns, Dorothy Speights
- NSRCA coordination: Tony Stillman
- Scribe coordination: Bill Pritchett (band director)
- AMA support: Technical Director Steve Kaluft, Nats General Manager Ron Morgan, RC Category Manager Al Williamson, staffers Teresa McKee and Randa Coats, and the AMA maintenance crew
Special notes:
- The dedication of volunteer judges, band-member scribes, and AMA staff made it possible to finish the contest despite weather delays and scoresheet issues.
- Thanks to everyone who assisted — and a reminder to Rick Allison: you missed a great contest!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
