2016 IRCHA Jamboree
Chris Mulcahy
cspaced@gmail.com
When August 2016 rolled around, it was time to head north to the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana—home of the AMA—for the International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association (IRCHA) Jamboree.
The IRCHA Jamboree is an event like no other, and the largest annual helicopter gathering. People travel from around the world to attend the IRCHA Jamboree, to compete in the various contests that happen during the event, and, of course, to hang out with old friends and make some new ones along the way.
The 1,000-plus-acre flying site features several designated flying areas, as well as camping locations (some with electrical hookups) and a bath house. The main IRCHA flightline is set up to the south, along the back of the property at Site 4, and spans nearly the width of the property. Several flight stations are spread out along this line, with a “Show Center” in the middle for vendor demonstrations.
Vendor tents are spread out from Show Center and behind the vendor pit area, where companies display and/or sell their products. To each side of the vendor tents, pilots set up their own pit areas, resulting in a line of tents as far as the eye can see.
Several events occurred during the IRCHA Jamboree, including a Scale contest, a speed competition, the new Battle of the Brands contest, and the first FPV racing competition called SmackFest.
The Scale contest was well attended. I even got to help out a little by calling for my friend, Mike Zaborowski. He flew his beautiful Eurocopter EC145 to a second-place finish. Darrell Sprayberry did an excellent job of running the contest. Emile Sheriff took first place.
Vario Helicopter was generous with prizes for the top three competitors in the Scale contest. Kirsten Zodtner of Vario Helicopter was there to give the awards to the winners.
Scale pilots are a friendly group, and they put together some amazing-looking helicopters. It was a lot of fun hanging out with them.
The IRCHA Speed Cup is another event that brings people in from all over. You will see some of the fastest helicopters in the world. Speed helicopters tend to be slim, and there are several classes in which to compete.
Miles Dunkel, from Germany, won the Speed Cup with an average speed of 161.7 mph. The speed is averaged from an upswing and downwind pass (or left and right). His fastest pass was an astonishing 168.7 mph.
Meanwhile, a little farther down the road, but still on AMA’s property, the SmackFest FPV course was in full swing. The pit area had a huge tent under which FPV racers could prepare, and each of the four pilot stations had a specially built ground station on the other side of a safety net. The course consisted of the usual cones, flags, and a three-story gate that racers had to crisscross through as they raced around.
There was a great turnout, and I got to see some of the best FPV racing I’ve ever viewed in person. At the end of the event, it was Dunkan Bossion, from France, who took first place. What an incredible flight!
In previous years, The One competition was held at Show Center, and pilots competed for a cash prize. Some of the most insane flying I had ever seen took place during this contest, and it was always a crowd pleaser. Throughout the years, the event had become more theatrical, with more
The new SAB Heli Division Goblin Comet helicopter is built for Speed competition.
The flipside of the Comet shows the mechanics.
props utilized. Each contestant flew multiple helicopters. It was a lot of fun to watch, but this year things were done a little differently.
This year’s contest was called Battle of the Brands. It was all about one machine, one pilot, and one flight. Each contestant (approximately 17 pilots competed) got to perform a single flight to music, and the spectators voted for their favorite pilots via a smartphone app. Every flight was absolutely amazing, but in the end, only one pilot could win it. In this case, it was Kyle Stacy.
Kyle’s flight was off the hook! In my opinion, it was clearly a notch above every other flight—not to knock the other pilots, because the level of their flying was insanely good. It was a much-deserved win for Kyle.
Saturday was the pilots’ dinner, awards, raffle, and the night-fly competition. The night-fly winner was determined by voting for a pilot’s number rather than a name via a smartphone app, so there was some anonymity for the pilots. Mitch Marozas won the competition.
After the night-fly contest was over, it was time for the famous fireworks show. This year did not disappoint! Sponsored by Switch Blades, the fireworks show was epic, and it felt like it went on for at least 10 minutes. Just when we thought it was over, it continued!
Several of the night-fly competition pilots put their helis back up in the air and flew among the fireworks. It looked fantastic. Overall, it was an amazing IRCHA Jamboree and I can’t wait to see what happens next year!
Be sure to check out the full report on this year’s IRCHA Jamboree in the December issue of Model Aviation.
SOURCES:
IRCHA
www.ircha.org
