Radio Control: Aerobatics
THIS MONTH'S COLUMN will be a report on the F3A Team Selection Finals. It was prepared by Gene Rodgers from Ft. Worth, Texas, who was one of the competitors. Gene flew so well that he qualified for the finals and finished sixth. When I called him to report receipt of the text and matrix, I congratulated him on his placing. He responded with something like, "It just goes to show that even a blind pig can find food once in a while."
The RC Pattern Fliers Put On Their First Pan-American International Contest: N-PAC
SUCCESS! The initial National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) Pan-American Championships (N-PAC) is history. To put it in perspective, N-PAC was the largest RC Pattern contest held in the world last year. Five classes drew 138 contestants: Novice-5, Sportsman-17, Advanced-28, Master-33, and FAI-55. The event was held at the Mid-American Air Center near Lawrenceville, Illinois, which also hosted the 1990 and 1991 AMA Nationals.
SPA: Contest
LET'S TURN BACK THE TIME. Several of us did just that. The Senior Pattern Association (SPA) held its first contest on October 12th and 13th, featuring Pattern aircraft from the 1960s. The event was the brainchild of long-time pattern flier Mickey Walker (Smyrna, Georgia). Mickey had written to me back in March 1991 to announce the formation of the SPA and its first contest. I published most of his letter in the August issue of Model Aviation and mentioned it again last month. The rules for the SPA are fairly simple. First, you must be older than 45 years. The current age groups are 45 to 54 and over 55. There are some older guys who want the senior group to start at 60.
Radio Control: Sport and Aerobatics
BOY! Did I get letters in the past month! The subjects varied substantially. Only one subject was repeated: Several letters were received about contest rules. It appears that there is a groundswell of concern on the part of contestants on the subject of competition rules. Many of the letters were about the writer's frustrations with the time it took to change rules. All rules change proposals had to be in by last fall (1988), but it won't be until 1990 that new rules can be put into the rule book. In this era of electronic mail, telefax, computer networking, and all the other communication innovations, we are chugging along with an antiquated system.
AMA Nats: RC Aerobatics
THE HYDES, Merle and Chip, established a record by being the first father-and-son duo to capture the Nats RC Pattern championships. Chip won the FAI Turnaround (F3A) event, while Merle won Advanced. This year's Nats RC Pattern events saw 202 competitors flying in five events: Sportsman-62, Advanced-35, Expert-29, Master-21, and FAI-53. It was a big Nats for RC Pattern! The Nats Pattern events were held at NALF Fentress, near Chesapeake, VA. Contrary to some confused opinions, NALF stands for Navy Auxiliary Landing Field (not others like Narly Alien Life Form, or Nearly Adult Little Fellow, or even Not Always Likely to Fly). Except for a few support buildings, and one small swimming pool, the field is vacant and only has one runway and a taxiway.
