Top Gun: Terry Nitsch does it again!

Top Gun: Terry Nitsch does it again!

By Stan Alexander

Overview

Once a year the world's best aeromodelers converge on West Palm Beach, Florida, to compete in one of the world's most prestigious scale events — the Top Gun Invitational. This international competition was held at the Palm Beach Polo Club April 27–30 and was hosted by the Palm Beach Aero Club in its fifth year at the polo field.

Contestants came from Canada, England, Germany, Brazil, Colombia, and the United States. Despite different countries of origin, competitors all spoke the same "plane" language. Nearly 15,000 spectators attended the four-day event. Rain threatened several times and a couple of downpours left the polo field wet, but flying continued with little disruption. Wind mostly behaved itself, and several biplane pilots were clearly enjoying the conditions. Vendors and manufacturers appreciated a walled exhibition tent.

Judging and schedule

Static judging began at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 27. Most Expert Class aircraft were judged that day; several late arrivals were judged on Friday, and Team Scale aircraft were judged Friday afternoon. Chief Judge George Len ran a tight ship — competitors followed a strict time schedule to keep the process moving. During judging some pilots practiced routines for the show audience.

Air shows were held Friday (allowing competitors time to make repairs and talk with friends) and again on Saturday and Sunday during halftime breaks. After the pilots' meeting on Saturday morning, opening ceremonies featured The Star-Spangled Banner with a Pitts biplane performing aerobatics overhead.

Opening and competition highlights

The first round of flying allowed pilots to work out jitters and mechanical issues and make final adjustments. Garland Hamilton's F-80 Shooting Star was the first off the runway.

Notable aircraft and happenings:

• A Messerschmitt Bf 109G built by Pat McCurry from a Dave Platt kit flew in Erich Hartmann markings. It was a study in scale detail — hatches, vents, cowl hinges and cockpit received meticulous attention. Pat scratch-built the canopy and used Dave Platt's painting technique: custom-mixed K&B epoxy, a Luftwaffe winter-camouflage scheme, several light-gray washes, and a finish rubbed with fine steel wool.
• Dave Platt returned with an OV-1D Mohawk (1/6-scale, 96-inch span, twin OS .91 four-stroke engines) replacing the Mohawk he lost in a midair collision the previous year. On his first competition flight the left engine died during a right turn and the Mohawk landed in Hamilton Lake; water minimized the damage.
• Wayne Siewert represented the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force with a WWII-era Nakajima Ki-84.
• Aero Tech Models introduced a high-tech carbon-fiber fighter with an aluminum spar running the length of an 88-inch wing. Plates epoxied to the spar leading edge were wrapped with Kevlar to support the model’s weight on landing — reportedly the first carbon-fiber kit from Aero Tech Models.

Notable competitors and aircraft

• Terry Nitsch won the Expert class flying a BVM F-86 Sabre in a USAF "Minute Men" color scheme. This is his second Expert-class Top Gun victory, making him the first two-time winner in the event’s history. He now holds first-place trophies from the AMA Nats, Scale Masters, and Top Gun — he’s won each of those competitions twice.
• Garland Hamilton finished second for the second consecutive year with his F-80 Shooting Star. His flight routine — a “bombing run over North Korea” — gave him a consistent edge.
• Ramon Torres placed third with a twin push-pull Cessna O-2A.
• Jeff Foley placed fourth flying a Jet Model Products T-33 (85-inch span, OS .91 with a Dynamax fan unit), using flying maneuvers only (no mechanical options) in his presentation.
• Three biplanes finished in the Expert top ten: Kim Foster (6th) with a 1/4-scale Sopwith Pup; Mike Barbee (8th) with a Tiger Moth; and Charlie Nelson (9th) with a WACO VKS-7F.
• Germany's Stephan Durrstein placed tenth in the Expert class with a Fiber Classics Douglas DC-3 (126-inch wingspan, finished in a San Francisco color scheme, powered by OS .91s, Fiber Classics retracts, controlled by a Multiplex radio).
• David Hayes brought a scratch-built Aires Thrush crop duster with an operational dusting system: two Robart air cylinders blow powder from a tank through a brass nozzle and out scale booms in the wing. He experimented with powders and liquids before settling on fire-extinguisher powder; compensating for powder weight loss during spraying was a major challenge. Hayes finished just outside the money in 11th place.
• Bob Underwood flew a scratch-built Hiperbipe (74-inch span, 15.5 lb) — he turned his own spinner from a balsa block and glassed it, producing two spinners (one for flight, one for static judging).
• Other notable entries included Bud Roane’s Sopwith Pup and Dennis Crooks’ Lear 35A (which Crooks managed to save after an engine seized during the first round).

Banquet and awards

Saturday night’s traditional suit-and-tie banquet for competitors, sponsors, and officials was held at the Wellington Country Club. The evening featured dinner and dancing; special awards were presented after dinner. Highlights:

• High Static Score: Sepp Uberlacher (Canada) — scratch-built 84-inch-span Hawker Tempest.
• Top Guns award (presented annually by the Top Gun Hussies): Pat McCurry.

The banquet also featured a special California red wine provided by the makers of Zap.

Results

Expert — Standings After Round 4

1. Terry Nitsch — F-86

• Static: 96.500; Flight 1: 90.750; Flight 2: 92.000; Flight 3: 96.500; Flight 4: 96.750; Total: 191.583

1. Garland Hamilton — F-80 Shooting Star

• Static: 96.083; Flight 1: 87.875; Flight 2: 92.250; Flight 3: 96.250; Flight 4: 93.000; Total: 189.916

1. Ramon Torres — Cessna O-2A

• Static: 95.917; Flight 1: 93.875; Flight 2: 93.875; Flight 3: 93.250; Flight 4: 00.000; Total: 189.584

1. Jeff Foley — T-33A

• Static: 95.500; Flight 1: 31.625; Flight 2: 93.375; Flight 3: 95.875; Flight 4: 92.750; Total: 189.500

1. Nick Ziroli Jr. — Hellcat

• Static: 95.583; Flight 1: 90.500; Flight 2: 90.500; Flight 3: 94.625; Flight 4: 95.750; Total: 189.208

1. Kim Foster — Sopwith Pup

• Static: 96.750; Flight 1: 85.625; Flight 2: 91.625; Flight 3: 89.500; Flight 4: 94.375; Total: 188.583

1. Corvin Miller — Globe Swift

• Static: 96.583; Flight 1: 90.500; Flight 2: 90.250; Flight 3: 91.750; Flight 4: 91.000; Total: 187.666

1. Mike Barbee — D.H. 82 Tiger Moth

• Static: 95.833; Flight 1: 82.375; Flight 2: 90.125; Flight 3: 90.500; Flight 4: 94.750; Total: 187.625

1. Charlie Nelson — WACO VKS-7F

• Static: 95.833; Flight 1: 91.250; Flight 2: 91.875; Flight 3: 91.375; Flight 4: 92.125; Total: 187.625

1. Stephan Durrstein — DC-3

• Static: 95.250; Flight 1: 00.000; Flight 2: 93.500; Flight 3: 91.375; Flight 4: 90.750; Total: 187.125

Team Scale — Standings After Round 4

1. Bob Violett / Jerry Caudle — P-80

• Static: 93.833; Flight 1: 85.750; Flight 2: 93.000; Flight 3: 93.375; Flight 4: 92.500; Total: 186.791

1. Dave Malchione / Tony Malchione — T-33 T-Bird

• Static: 93.500; Flight 1: 76.375; Flight 2: 92.875; Flight 3: 86.375; Flight 4: 92.000; Total: 183.917

1. Frank Tiano / Ed Newman — Ki-61 Tony

• Static: 92.250; Flight 1: 87.125; Flight 2: 91.875; Flight 3: 90.875; Flight 4: 90.000; Total: 183.167

1. Bob Fiorenze / Graeme Mears — P-38

• Static: 91.250; Flight 1: 89.500; Flight 2: 90.750; Flight 3: 93.000; Flight 4: 88.625; Total: 182.333

1. Steve Elias / Ian Richardson — T-33

• Static: 89.833; Flight 1: 87.500; Flight 2: 89.875; Flight 3: 95.375; Flight 4: 91.375; Total: 182.041

1. Jim Sandquist / Jess Larson — Super Stearman

• Static: 92.833; Flight 1: 84.875; Flight 2: 89.625; Flight 3: 82.000; Flight 4: 88.000; Total: 180.333

1. John Kohler / Fred Stagg — AT-6 Texan

• Static: 90.083; Flight 1: 77.875; Flight 2: 92.625; Flight 3: 87.875; Flight 4: 87.125; Total: 179.291

1. Geoff Combs / Alvin Brown — Douglas DC-3

• Static: 84.917; Flight 1: 90.500; Flight 2: 96.250; Flight 3: 89.250; Flight 4: 92.625; Total: 178.042

1. Bill Fuori / John Tozser — Fleet 1930

• Static: 87.583; Flight 1: 85.125; Flight 2: 86.625; Flight 3: 83.250; Flight 4: 82.625; Total: 172.583

1. Chip Hyde / Don Kanak — T-33

• Static: 91.833; Flight 1: 00.000; Flight 2: 86.250; Flight 3: 00.000; Flight 4: 00.000; Total: 120.583

Team Scale winners and highlights

• Team Scale winner: F-80 Shooting Star built by Jerry Caudle and flown by Bob Violett (80-inch span, 16 lb, BVM .91 ducted fan, Violett pylon).
• Second: Dave and Tony Malchione — T-33 (father-son team).
• Third: Frank Tiano — Ki-61 Tony (Ed Newman build).
• Fourth: Bob Fiorenze — P-38 Lightning (Graeme Mears build, D-Day markings "Mama's Boy", two Moki 1.5 glow engines, four pneumatic systems for gear/doors/tank drop/brakes/Fowler flaps, Endura paint, rudder gyro).

Other events and organization

• Free‑Flight Mass Launch: started by Dave Platt in previous years; this year Steve Sauger won flying a de Havilland Hornet Mk. 10.
• Palm Beach Aero Club (PBAC) has hosted Top Gun at the Polo Club for five years. PBAC members handled flight-line duties, parking, admittance, and behind-the-scenes work.
• Contest Director: Kevin Clark. The club has about 130 members and is pursuing a new field; Top Gun helps promote that effort.
• Scorekeeping: Rosella Curry used a new scoring program developed by Cliff Tace (Vice President, National Association of Scale Aeromodelers). Final results were printed 10 minutes after the end of Round Four. Cliff’s program, "Simply Scale Scoremaster," is available from Seneca Ridge Products (Ocean City, MD).

Sponsors

Sponsors were generous with prize money and merchandise. Among them:

• Pacer Technology, Model Airplane News, Airtronics, Aeroplane Works, BOCA Bearing, Bob Violett Models, Dave Platt Models, Dry‑Set Markings, Eagle Editions, Futaba, Glen Torrance Models, Hitec Inc., JR Radios, Lanier R/C, Madden Model Productions, McDaniel RC, Moki/Gerard Enterprises, Precision Eagle, R/C Report, Robart Manufacturing, Saito Engines, Scale Model Research, Super Tigre Engines, Top Flite Models, Jan Dee Jewelers, Air Flair, Midwest Model Products, Frank Tiano Enterprises, Model Aviation Tech, Top Gun Hobbies, Herr Engineering, Aeroloft Designs.

Looking ahead

As always, Top Gun continues to grow and evolve. If you're interested in attending next year’s event, make your reservations early. See you there!

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