Author: Joe Daly

Edition: Model Aviation - 2024/10
Page Numbers: 88, 89, 90
Three control line aerobatics pilots holding model airplanes on a grass field

CONTROL LINE AEROBATICS

THE START OF THE CONTEST SEASON

By Joe Daly | stunt38060@gmail.com

Three control line aerobatics pilots holding model airplanes on a grass field
The top three in Profile at Joe Nall (L-R): Gerry Glier, third place; John Simpson, first place; and Angstrom Eberenz, second place.

SPRING IS THE START of the contest season for many of us. The first big contest of the year is in May during Joe Nall Week at Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff, South Carolina, and the second is the Brodak Fly-In in June in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania. If you haven’t attended either of these contests, put them on your list!

Control Line (CL) flying at Joe Nall was started a few years ago by Mark Weiss and Will Davis. They began holding Stunt Camp and a contest on Friday and Saturday. It is really neat to see all disciplines of model aviation in action and get to fly off of some of the nicest grass circles in the world. They are like putting greens!

This year, Stunt Camp was held on Thursday and ran by Derek Berry and Dave Fitzgerald. They had quite a few people to work with, critiquing their flying and trimming their airplanes. After a long day of trimming and flying for many of the contestants, they were all ready for Friday and Saturday.

Classic/Nostalgia 30 (N-30) and Profile were flown on Friday. There were eight contestants in Classic/N-30 events and six contestants in Profile. Craig Gunder took the win by 1.5 points in Classic/N-30.

Classic/N-30

  1. Craig Gunder
  2. John Simpson
  3. Kermit Payne
Triple Crown Winner Award plaque with a propeller
Will Davis created the Triple Crown Winner Award, which goes to anyone who wins the Triple Tree, Brodak, and Nats events in the same year! Brandon Eberenz has won two out of three so far! Photo by Will Davis.
Control line model airplane flying across a grass field
Dave Fitzgerald flew Derek Berry’s Matrix during the Joe Nall event and finished just behind Derek!

Profile

  1. John Simpson
  2. Angstrom Eberenz
  3. Gerry Glier

Beginner

  1. Brandon Eberenz
  2. Connor Smith

Intermediate

  1. Angstrom Eberenz
  2. Paul Kobe
  3. Wesley Smith

Expert

  1. Derek Berry
  2. Dave Fitzgerald
  3. Joe Daly

On Saturday, it was Precision Aerobatics Model Pilots Association (PAMPA) classes. There were two contestants in Beginner, three in Intermediate, and 10 in Expert. In Expert, after a very long and frustrating week that was filled with several motor and tank changes, Derek finally solved his motor run issue and won first place, outclassing us all.

This year’s Expert field had four top-five pilots who were all US team members, with a couple of world and national champions!

Brodak Fly-In

The Brodak Fly-In was up next! This event has just about everything CL that you can think of. It is a week of events and fun. If you have never been, I highly recommend going and flying in Buzz Brodak’s backyard! Once again, Mark and Will were the contest directors, and they did a great job of keeping it moving.

Here are the winners for each event:

Profile

  1. Beginner: Brandon Eberenz
  2. Intermediate: Angstrom Eberenz
  3. Advanced: Frank Donnelly
  4. Expert: Joe Gilbert

Classic

  1. Beginner: Fred DiMaria
A father and son standing with a yellow model airplane
Mike and Kyle Palko are shown at the Brodak Fly-In. Mike is holding his Pilot’s Choice Award-winning P-51. It is always great to see this father/son team in action!
Pilot’s Choice winners at the Brodak Fly-In holding awards
The Pilot’s Choice winners at the Brodak Fly-In (L-R): Buzz Brodak, Chris Fretz, Bruce Jennings Juno, and Mike Palko.
Todd Lee practicing with a red P-51 model airplane
Todd Lee practices at Triple Tree Aerodrome for the Joe Nall Week event with his gorgeous P-51!

Tom Dixon holding his Black Tiger model airplane
Tom Dixon, the Brodak Fly-In OTS Phase 2 winner, holds his Black Tiger.

OTS Phase 2

  1. Advanced: Rick Osborn
  2. Expert: Tom Dixon

CL Precision Aerobatics

  1. Beginner: Brandon Eberenz
  2. Intermediate: Leroy Polk
  3. Advanced: Kermit Payne
  4. Expert: Joe Daly

For full results, visit the Brodak Manufacturing website, listed in “Sources.” There were 84 entrants and 467 official flights flown during the week. The highlight of the week for me was when Will won the Spirit of the Sport Award, which was well deserved!

Again, if you haven’t attended either of these events, put them on your bucket list to attend! Special thanks go out to Mark and Will, who put on these great events year after year, and the many volunteers who support these events. Without those people, none of this is possible!

2. Advanced: Jim Vigani

3. Expert: Joe Gilbert

4. Expert: John Saunders

N-30

  1. Beginner: Todd Gunder
  2. Intermediate: Angstrom Eberenz
  3. Advanced: Kermit Payne

Old-Time Stunt (OTS)

  1. Intermediate: Angstrom Eberenz
  2. Advanced: Brian Miller
  3. Expert: Joe Gilbert

Sources:

PAMPA
www.pampacl.org

Triple Tree Aerodrome
https://tta.aero

Brodak Manufacturing & Distributing Company, Inc.
(724) 966-2726
www.brodak.com