Indoor Free Flight

INDOOR FREE FLIGHT

CONTEST REPORT AND RECORDS UPDATES

By Don Slusarczyk | don@slusarczyk.com

THE THIRD ANNUAL JIM RICHMOND Open Indoor Free Flight (FF) contest was held March 26-27, 2022, in the atrium of the West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick, Indiana. Attendance was excellent this year, with 37 registered participants. The outside weather was below normal for the time of year (dipping into the 30s at night) and there was concern that the conditions inside would be unflyable, similar to what was experienced during the World Championships in 2018.

When we first arrived, half of the atrium had been set up for a movie premiere that was taking place Saturday evening. There were hundreds of chairs, a stage with a movie screen, speakers, and sound boards. This would make flying a challenge because so much of the floor space was being used. We had a sectioned-off area of the floor for us to use, so there was a dedicated area from which to set up and fly.

Saturday began with an interesting flying condition that we have seen at this site in the past: air near the walls going up with a downdraft in the middle. As the day progressed, the air began to settle and the atrium started to fill with more models. Unfortunately, just as the air started to pick up, we had to stop flying early because of the final preparations that were needed for the movie premiere that was taking place later that evening.

Those who were flying at the contest and staying at the hotel were invited to be a part of the showing. The movie, So Cold the River, is based on a book of the same name and was filmed at the hotel during the COVID-19 shutdown. The premiere party included a nice array of appetizers and snacks before the movie, so it was a good opportunity to relax and chat with other Indoor FF modelers.

By Sunday morning, all of the movie premiere equipment had been removed and the atrium floor was back to normal. The sun came out early and the air was already getting good by lunchtime. The sky became filled with models and a few records were set.

Alexander Welter set the Category III Youth Junior A6 record with a 5:09 flight then went on to beat his own record two more times, ending up with a 6:09. Ross Clements set the Youth Senior record in AMA Rise-off-Ground (AROG) with a flight time of 13:34. Ross also had a great AMA Cabin flight of more than 20 minutes, but post-flight processing of the model found it to be too long in the cross-section area. Since then, Ross has built a lighter-braced model and went on to set the record and win AMA Cabin at the Indoor Nats with a 21:21.

In all, it was a great contest at the West Baden Springs Hotel. Rey Mezzacco was the contest director (CD) for the event, which ran smoothly. Many thanks to Rey for stepping up as the CD. Thanks also go to National Free Flight Society (NFFS) President Dave Lindley for the behind-the-scenes negotiating and working with the hotel to get us scheduled.

I do want to mention to those who are not CDs to please consider becoming one and helping out at the next contest. It is easy to get into a mindset of having the same people running an event repeatedly but remember that CDs want to fly too! Rotating CDs from year to year or spreading the load among multiple CDs at one event is a nice way to allow everyone a chance to fly.

AMA Records Set so Far in 2022

West Baden is not the only place where Indoor FF record setting has happened this year. Several more records fell at the Pikes Peak Ceiling Climb in Colorado, the Brookside gymnasium in Ohio, and at the Round Valley Dome in Arizona (the site of this 2022 Indoor FF Nats).

Here is a list of the new Indoor FF records that were set in the first six months of this year.

Ceiling Height, Category I

• Quinn Sorbello — Senior — F1M — 4:38 — 3/27/22
• Anjulie Sorbello — Senior — F1M — 6:15 — 3/27/22
• Liam Scott — Junior — A-6 — 3:39 — 5/14/22
• Don Slusarczyk — Adult — ROG Cabin — 17:04 — 5/14/22

Ceiling Height, Category III

• Alexander Welter — Junior — A-6 — 6:09 — 3/27/22
• Ross Clements — Senior — AROG — 13:56 — 3/27/22
• Ross Clements — Senior — ROG Cabin — 21:21 — 5/25/22
• Ross Clements — Senior — F1N Glider — 32.8 — 5/28/22
• Ross Clements — Senior — Std Catapult Glider — 2:07.8 — 5/25/22
• Ross Clements — Senior — Electric FF — 3:51 — 5/28/22
• Anjulie Sorbello — Senior — F1M — 12:19 — 4/10/22
• Odessa Wignall — Junior — F1M — 12:46 — 4/8/22
• Odessa Wignall — Junior — Limited Pennyplane — 12:46 — 4/8/22
• Odessa Wignall — Junior — Pennyplane — 12:46 — 4/8/22
• Paul Finn — Junior — Electric FF — 3:55 — 5/27/22
• Adith Alagiri — Junior — F1J — 8:43 — 5/28/22
• Caleb Finn — Junior — F1L — 8:06 — 5/27/22
• Caleb Finn — Junior — F1R — 10:37 — 5/27/22

Congratulations to all of the modelers. Well done!

SOURCES:

National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
www.freeflight.org

West Baden Springs Hotel
(888) 936-9360
www.frenchlick.com/hotels/westbaden

3rd Annual Jim Richmond Open Flickr Photo Gallery
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzHv7P

AMA Nats
https://nats.modelaircraft.org

Aeromodeling Records
www.modelaircraft.org/events/nationalrecords