Andrew “Animal” Jesky flew his 40-
pound Composite-ARF Extra 260
with great precision; he likes the
precision part of Aerobatics. He uses
JR guidance and a DA-150 engine.
THE 2006 DON Lowe Masters, held October 4-7, is history, but
those who attended the event will remember some of the best flying
by some of the greatest pilots in the world.
The Masters has replaced the Tournament of Champions, in a
different location. With high-dollar cash prizes offered, it is bound
to attract the best aerobatic pilots and hopefully survive.
The weather during the four-day event was perfect. The first
two days were almost windless but in the mid-80s during the
middle of the day—perfect for flying and good, tight scores. A
small front moved in on the third day and the temperature dropped,
but the wind held off until the end of the day. Weather on the last
day was iffy but had a tolerable wind and cloudy skies. The fifth
day was Sunday—a rain day just in case—and it rained just like it
was supposed to: a rain day after all.
The first two days of flying included all 18 pilots. At the end of
the second day, when two rounds of Known Pattern, Unknown
Pattern, and Freestyle were completed, the competitor list was cut
to the top 14 pilots. A round was flown the third day, and another
cut was made to include the top-scoring seven.
The last day the lucky seven flew two rounds to determine the
winner. It was a hard-fought battle for that first-place $25,000
prize.
The Triple Tree Aerodrome has been under development for the
last eight years and continues to be developed by owner Pat
Hartness. The site is located a few miles east of the sleepy little
town of Woodruff, South Carolina, in the thinly populated
countryside.
This venue is ideal for the Masters, with a long, wide runway,
open on both ends, and a broad expanse of well-manicured
Bermuda grass. A long, white fence with shade trees offers
protection for spectators and allows them to get up close to the pits
and watch the flying.
The large gazebo is the focal point of all the action. It is where
friends meet to enjoy the day to watch the flying. Triple Tree
IMAC National Champion Bill Hempel shows daring skill with a low
knife edge all the way down the runway. His Wild Hare Extra 300 is
powered by a 3W engine.
provides overnight parking for many RVs and
has a shower and bathrooms. It’s the perfect
place.
Past AMA president Don Lowe is the chief
judge, and throughout the years of this event
he has pulled together the patterns to be flown
and picked the judges and pilots. However,
because of recent health problems Don turned
his responsibilities over to his assistant chief
judge, Tom Miller. Tom worked out the
patterns to be flown this year, contacted
people for judging, conferred with Don, and
did a fine job of pulling it all together.
The judges, each with a great deal of
experience, consisted of two groups of seven,
with scribes, alternating between rounds
flown. Each group had two jury judges. Two
of the judges were from Europe: the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
According to Don Lowe:
“The task of the jury judge is to determine
the technical correctness of the maneuver
only; i.e., they look for correct direction,
attitude and sequence but do not rule on the
quality of the maneuver. If they determine
that a maneuver was performed incorrectly,
that maneuver will be given a zero, overriding
(possibly) the judge’s score.”
“This was done since often the judge is
concentrating so hard to judge quality that he
may not be aware that the maneuver was
wrong—a Snap Roll performed as an inside
snap instead of an outside (easy to confuse) or
a roll performed in the wrong direction, etc.
To my knowledge this system is a first and I
feel has contributed significantly to the
quality of judging.”
Judging was difficult, especially in the
morning with the sun in the judges’ eyes—the
only downside to Triple Tree. Because of the
high altitude of some of the maneuvers, the
airplanes become small silhouettes in the sky,
making it harder to score them. I often
wondered if the judges could separate name
recognition and presence; that’s not an easy
job.
Early on Pat Hartness invoked a noiseabatement
policy of 94 decibels maximum for
all pilots. They all seem to have complied. It
was extremely quiet out on the flightline,
requiring one to talk in a hushed voice during
the Known and Unknown patterns.
The Masters is set up as an invitational
with a total of 20 pilots. Ten competitors from
the 2004 Masters were automatically invited,
and 10 more were picked for their flying
ability and accomplishments.
Three pilots were from Europe: Marco
Benincasa and Sebastiano Silvestri of Italy
and Bernd Beschorner of Germany. Canadian
Ivan Kristensen was also invited. All the
pilots had plenty of experience in aerobatic
competition and had placed high in many
events across their countries.
The maneuver caller, who stands behind
Mark Leseberg’s Extra 260 requires plenty of servo power; note the aileron deflection
and the servos to move it. His Freestyle rolling maneuvers are blindingly fast.
Jason Noll changed to a Quique Yak during the Freestyle event,
which moved him closer to the winner slot. Note the control
mixing to hold knife edge.
German Bernd Beschorner flew his 40% Raven E well. It’s guided
by a Multiplex radio and powered with an outrunner motor
mounted in the spinner.
David Moser—who is 16—shows what youth can do. Winner of
the 2006 JR Challenge, he parks his 40% 3W Votec in a hover over
the Masters welcome banner.
Sebastiano Silvestri came from Italy to compete with his 39%
Katana. He wowed the crowd with his colorful smoke trails and
3W 212-powered aerobatics.
Chip Hyde’s electric-powered Extra 330 is powered with a four-motor
Hacker system and guided with Futaba equipment. He’s proud of the
graphics on the top of his cowl.
Photos by the author
the pilot, is an all-important member of the flying team.
This person reminds the pilot of the next maneuver in a
calming, rational voice. He or she also sees that the airplane
is ready for flight and sometimes helps start the engine.
Four of the callers this year were fathers of the pilots:
Julius Benincasa, Tony Szczur, Mike McMurtry, and Peter
Glezellis. It is wonderful when a father takes enough
interest in his son’s sport to participate in it with him.
The Freestyle element of the Masters has the best
spectator appeal. I was impressed with the show Mark
Leseberg presented; he was awesome with his controlled
gyrations. His airplane was not still for a second, moving
through the sky with graceful and wild maneuvers yet
keeping it close in all the time.
All the Freestyle routines were choreographed to music,
which set the stage for the mood and style of flying
presented by the pilot.
All airplanes flown were approximately 39%-41% scale,
weighing roughly 38-40 pounds. They were quite large and
beautifully finished. I saw Extra 300s, 260s, Katanas, Yaks,
and a Raven. All pilots ran three-blade propellers except the
colorful and outspoken Chip Hyde, who ran a special twoblade
APC propeller.
Most of the airplanes were powered with Desert Aircraft
150 engines except a few that had Aircraft International
3Ws. I noticed that two of the aircraft were electric
powered and offered impressive performance. Some of the
pilots built their own models. Others oversaw or took part
in the design phase or purchased a ready-built airplane.
All pilots have backup airplanes in case of unexpected
trouble. This paid off for Kurt Koelling, who lost a model
because of an unexpected meeting with a tree.
Bernd Beschorner of Germany flew his electric-
powered 40%, 39-pound Raven. Most
interesting was the motor, which was
mounted in the propeller spinner. The
prototype Plettenberg Predator 37-6 (“37” is
the length of the magnet—37mm—and “6” is
the number of turns in the winding) is a highend
brushless motor running on 52 volts from
a 42-cell battery pack. It draws 320 amps and
produces roughly 16 kilowatts, which is close
to 21 horsepower.
Bernd’s caller Mr. Plettenberg said he
mounted the motor in the spinner for cooling.
A large hole in the front of the spinner
allowed airflow through the motor, which
exited behind the spinner plate and through
the cowl.
The spinner cone and propeller were fixed
to the outrunner side of the motor. The
propeller blades could shift forward and aft
slightly to counteract the gyroscopic forces,
allowing it to be moved from its plane. This
produced a quieter motor in Rolls and Rolling
Circles, according to Bernd.
Oh, did I mention that the battery pack
weighed 13-14 pounds? That’s 34% of the
airplane’s weight.
The other electric-powered airplane—
flown by Chip Hyde—was a DR Hobbies
Extra 300 with four Hacker German motors
tied into an Inner Demon gearbox unit. The
motors required four battery packs and 168
volts, and they drew roughly 240 amps
swinging a specially molded APC 34 x 17
propeller at 6,000 rpm. The Thunder Power
batteries Chip used were rated for a 50C
discharge.
I asked Chip what he liked most about
flying in aerobatic contests, and he replied:
“The competition; I thrive on it.”
Three-time F3A Italian Champion
Sebastiano Silvestri flew a colorful Freestyle
pattern with his own-design 39% Krill Model
Katana. He used JR radio gear and a fourcylinder
3W-212 engine.
Sebastiano is a hard-core patriot who
showed his Italian colors. His airplane was
red, white, and green, and the jugs and
crankcase on his engine were painted the
same. His model’s smoke trail in the air was
also red, white, and green.
Can you imagine a 14-pound battery pack in the front of your
airplane? This battery weighed 35% of the total airplane weight,
yet Bernd Beschorner’s Raven came in at 40 pounds.
Six-time IMAC National Champion Mark Leseberg with his Dalton Aviation Extra 260.
Mark flew two models: one with a DA-150 and the other with a DA-200.
Don Szczur (sitting) waits his turn to fly while his dad Tony checks out the flightmaneuver
order. Don placed second in the 2003 Don Lowe Masters.
Inside the fuselage of Sabastiano Silvestri’s Katana is the heart of
control distribution: the power box. Most of the pilots’ models
had them.
The final cut was made to seven for the last day. L-R: Mark Leseberg, Chip Hyde, Bernd
Beschorner, Quique Somenzini, Jason Shulman, Jason Noll, Sean McMurtry.
Quique Somenzini (Springfield OH) took home the big paycheck of $12,000 for first
place. His composite 37% Yak is available from Aircraft International.
Masters winners (L-R): Quique Somenzini, who holds the heavy trophy over his head, Jason
Noll, Jason Shulman, Mark Leseberg, Bernd Beschorner, Chip Hyde, Sean McMurtry.
The last round was an extremely close
shoot-out. Quique basically had it in the bag
from the start. The real surprise was Jason
Noll, who at one time was in fifth place and
ended in second. The scores vacillated
considerably throughout the rounds.
During one round Bernd Beschorner was
in second place, Mark Leseberg was in third,
and Jason Shulman was in seventh. In the final
round Jason Noll nosed out Jason Shulman by
.07 point, moving Mark Leseberg to fourth
place. It was very exciting to watch.
The Don Lowe Masters’ primary sponsor was
JR, with contributions from Pat and Mary Lou
Hartness, Mr. Robert Shaw, and Dalton
Aviation, making a total prize purse of
$70,000—the largest ever for this contest.
There was a raffle for a Dalton Aviation
42% Extra 260 that Tony Russo built and
donated. The model had subsidized equipment
such as a JR radio, transmitter, receiver, and
servos; a Desert Aircraft DA-150 engine;
Carden wing bags; and much more. It brought
in more than $10,000 to add to the purse.
Special thanks to all who helped make the
Don Lowe Masters a success: CD Warren
Thomas, Assistant Chief Judge Tom Miller,
Field Coordinator Kirby McKinney, Event
Secretary Carol McKinney (great job on the
book, Carol), and Mike LeTourneau Scoring
(a high five to Mike for fast computation and
posting).
Jon Leyland (Doylestown PA) was the
warm-up pilot, and he flew each day. A
special thanks to all the judges who endured
the sun in the morning.
The Don Lowe Masters will happen again
in 2008. Look for top pilots with aerobatic
skills that have never been seen before. I plan
to be there. MA
Jerry Smith
[email protected]
Place/Pilot Prize Money
1. Quique Somenzini $25,000
2. Jason Noll $17,000
3. Jason Shulman $12,000
4. Mark Leseberg $5,000
5. Bernd Beschorner $3,500
6. Gordon “Chip” Hyde $2,000
7. Sean McMurtry $2,000
8. David Moser $1,500
9. Sebastiano Silvestri $1,000
10. Andrew Jesky $500
Visit www.joenall.com for more
information. MA
Don Lowe Masters
Prize Winners
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 17,18,19,20,21
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 17,18,19,20,21
Andrew “Animal” Jesky flew his 40-
pound Composite-ARF Extra 260
with great precision; he likes the
precision part of Aerobatics. He uses
JR guidance and a DA-150 engine.
THE 2006 DON Lowe Masters, held October 4-7, is history, but
those who attended the event will remember some of the best flying
by some of the greatest pilots in the world.
The Masters has replaced the Tournament of Champions, in a
different location. With high-dollar cash prizes offered, it is bound
to attract the best aerobatic pilots and hopefully survive.
The weather during the four-day event was perfect. The first
two days were almost windless but in the mid-80s during the
middle of the day—perfect for flying and good, tight scores. A
small front moved in on the third day and the temperature dropped,
but the wind held off until the end of the day. Weather on the last
day was iffy but had a tolerable wind and cloudy skies. The fifth
day was Sunday—a rain day just in case—and it rained just like it
was supposed to: a rain day after all.
The first two days of flying included all 18 pilots. At the end of
the second day, when two rounds of Known Pattern, Unknown
Pattern, and Freestyle were completed, the competitor list was cut
to the top 14 pilots. A round was flown the third day, and another
cut was made to include the top-scoring seven.
The last day the lucky seven flew two rounds to determine the
winner. It was a hard-fought battle for that first-place $25,000
prize.
The Triple Tree Aerodrome has been under development for the
last eight years and continues to be developed by owner Pat
Hartness. The site is located a few miles east of the sleepy little
town of Woodruff, South Carolina, in the thinly populated
countryside.
This venue is ideal for the Masters, with a long, wide runway,
open on both ends, and a broad expanse of well-manicured
Bermuda grass. A long, white fence with shade trees offers
protection for spectators and allows them to get up close to the pits
and watch the flying.
The large gazebo is the focal point of all the action. It is where
friends meet to enjoy the day to watch the flying. Triple Tree
IMAC National Champion Bill Hempel shows daring skill with a low
knife edge all the way down the runway. His Wild Hare Extra 300 is
powered by a 3W engine.
provides overnight parking for many RVs and
has a shower and bathrooms. It’s the perfect
place.
Past AMA president Don Lowe is the chief
judge, and throughout the years of this event
he has pulled together the patterns to be flown
and picked the judges and pilots. However,
because of recent health problems Don turned
his responsibilities over to his assistant chief
judge, Tom Miller. Tom worked out the
patterns to be flown this year, contacted
people for judging, conferred with Don, and
did a fine job of pulling it all together.
The judges, each with a great deal of
experience, consisted of two groups of seven,
with scribes, alternating between rounds
flown. Each group had two jury judges. Two
of the judges were from Europe: the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
According to Don Lowe:
“The task of the jury judge is to determine
the technical correctness of the maneuver
only; i.e., they look for correct direction,
attitude and sequence but do not rule on the
quality of the maneuver. If they determine
that a maneuver was performed incorrectly,
that maneuver will be given a zero, overriding
(possibly) the judge’s score.”
“This was done since often the judge is
concentrating so hard to judge quality that he
may not be aware that the maneuver was
wrong—a Snap Roll performed as an inside
snap instead of an outside (easy to confuse) or
a roll performed in the wrong direction, etc.
To my knowledge this system is a first and I
feel has contributed significantly to the
quality of judging.”
Judging was difficult, especially in the
morning with the sun in the judges’ eyes—the
only downside to Triple Tree. Because of the
high altitude of some of the maneuvers, the
airplanes become small silhouettes in the sky,
making it harder to score them. I often
wondered if the judges could separate name
recognition and presence; that’s not an easy
job.
Early on Pat Hartness invoked a noiseabatement
policy of 94 decibels maximum for
all pilots. They all seem to have complied. It
was extremely quiet out on the flightline,
requiring one to talk in a hushed voice during
the Known and Unknown patterns.
The Masters is set up as an invitational
with a total of 20 pilots. Ten competitors from
the 2004 Masters were automatically invited,
and 10 more were picked for their flying
ability and accomplishments.
Three pilots were from Europe: Marco
Benincasa and Sebastiano Silvestri of Italy
and Bernd Beschorner of Germany. Canadian
Ivan Kristensen was also invited. All the
pilots had plenty of experience in aerobatic
competition and had placed high in many
events across their countries.
The maneuver caller, who stands behind
Mark Leseberg’s Extra 260 requires plenty of servo power; note the aileron deflection
and the servos to move it. His Freestyle rolling maneuvers are blindingly fast.
Jason Noll changed to a Quique Yak during the Freestyle event,
which moved him closer to the winner slot. Note the control
mixing to hold knife edge.
German Bernd Beschorner flew his 40% Raven E well. It’s guided
by a Multiplex radio and powered with an outrunner motor
mounted in the spinner.
David Moser—who is 16—shows what youth can do. Winner of
the 2006 JR Challenge, he parks his 40% 3W Votec in a hover over
the Masters welcome banner.
Sebastiano Silvestri came from Italy to compete with his 39%
Katana. He wowed the crowd with his colorful smoke trails and
3W 212-powered aerobatics.
Chip Hyde’s electric-powered Extra 330 is powered with a four-motor
Hacker system and guided with Futaba equipment. He’s proud of the
graphics on the top of his cowl.
Photos by the author
the pilot, is an all-important member of the flying team.
This person reminds the pilot of the next maneuver in a
calming, rational voice. He or she also sees that the airplane
is ready for flight and sometimes helps start the engine.
Four of the callers this year were fathers of the pilots:
Julius Benincasa, Tony Szczur, Mike McMurtry, and Peter
Glezellis. It is wonderful when a father takes enough
interest in his son’s sport to participate in it with him.
The Freestyle element of the Masters has the best
spectator appeal. I was impressed with the show Mark
Leseberg presented; he was awesome with his controlled
gyrations. His airplane was not still for a second, moving
through the sky with graceful and wild maneuvers yet
keeping it close in all the time.
All the Freestyle routines were choreographed to music,
which set the stage for the mood and style of flying
presented by the pilot.
All airplanes flown were approximately 39%-41% scale,
weighing roughly 38-40 pounds. They were quite large and
beautifully finished. I saw Extra 300s, 260s, Katanas, Yaks,
and a Raven. All pilots ran three-blade propellers except the
colorful and outspoken Chip Hyde, who ran a special twoblade
APC propeller.
Most of the airplanes were powered with Desert Aircraft
150 engines except a few that had Aircraft International
3Ws. I noticed that two of the aircraft were electric
powered and offered impressive performance. Some of the
pilots built their own models. Others oversaw or took part
in the design phase or purchased a ready-built airplane.
All pilots have backup airplanes in case of unexpected
trouble. This paid off for Kurt Koelling, who lost a model
because of an unexpected meeting with a tree.
Bernd Beschorner of Germany flew his electric-
powered 40%, 39-pound Raven. Most
interesting was the motor, which was
mounted in the propeller spinner. The
prototype Plettenberg Predator 37-6 (“37” is
the length of the magnet—37mm—and “6” is
the number of turns in the winding) is a highend
brushless motor running on 52 volts from
a 42-cell battery pack. It draws 320 amps and
produces roughly 16 kilowatts, which is close
to 21 horsepower.
Bernd’s caller Mr. Plettenberg said he
mounted the motor in the spinner for cooling.
A large hole in the front of the spinner
allowed airflow through the motor, which
exited behind the spinner plate and through
the cowl.
The spinner cone and propeller were fixed
to the outrunner side of the motor. The
propeller blades could shift forward and aft
slightly to counteract the gyroscopic forces,
allowing it to be moved from its plane. This
produced a quieter motor in Rolls and Rolling
Circles, according to Bernd.
Oh, did I mention that the battery pack
weighed 13-14 pounds? That’s 34% of the
airplane’s weight.
The other electric-powered airplane—
flown by Chip Hyde—was a DR Hobbies
Extra 300 with four Hacker German motors
tied into an Inner Demon gearbox unit. The
motors required four battery packs and 168
volts, and they drew roughly 240 amps
swinging a specially molded APC 34 x 17
propeller at 6,000 rpm. The Thunder Power
batteries Chip used were rated for a 50C
discharge.
I asked Chip what he liked most about
flying in aerobatic contests, and he replied:
“The competition; I thrive on it.”
Three-time F3A Italian Champion
Sebastiano Silvestri flew a colorful Freestyle
pattern with his own-design 39% Krill Model
Katana. He used JR radio gear and a fourcylinder
3W-212 engine.
Sebastiano is a hard-core patriot who
showed his Italian colors. His airplane was
red, white, and green, and the jugs and
crankcase on his engine were painted the
same. His model’s smoke trail in the air was
also red, white, and green.
Can you imagine a 14-pound battery pack in the front of your
airplane? This battery weighed 35% of the total airplane weight,
yet Bernd Beschorner’s Raven came in at 40 pounds.
Six-time IMAC National Champion Mark Leseberg with his Dalton Aviation Extra 260.
Mark flew two models: one with a DA-150 and the other with a DA-200.
Don Szczur (sitting) waits his turn to fly while his dad Tony checks out the flightmaneuver
order. Don placed second in the 2003 Don Lowe Masters.
Inside the fuselage of Sabastiano Silvestri’s Katana is the heart of
control distribution: the power box. Most of the pilots’ models
had them.
The final cut was made to seven for the last day. L-R: Mark Leseberg, Chip Hyde, Bernd
Beschorner, Quique Somenzini, Jason Shulman, Jason Noll, Sean McMurtry.
Quique Somenzini (Springfield OH) took home the big paycheck of $12,000 for first
place. His composite 37% Yak is available from Aircraft International.
Masters winners (L-R): Quique Somenzini, who holds the heavy trophy over his head, Jason
Noll, Jason Shulman, Mark Leseberg, Bernd Beschorner, Chip Hyde, Sean McMurtry.
The last round was an extremely close
shoot-out. Quique basically had it in the bag
from the start. The real surprise was Jason
Noll, who at one time was in fifth place and
ended in second. The scores vacillated
considerably throughout the rounds.
During one round Bernd Beschorner was
in second place, Mark Leseberg was in third,
and Jason Shulman was in seventh. In the final
round Jason Noll nosed out Jason Shulman by
.07 point, moving Mark Leseberg to fourth
place. It was very exciting to watch.
The Don Lowe Masters’ primary sponsor was
JR, with contributions from Pat and Mary Lou
Hartness, Mr. Robert Shaw, and Dalton
Aviation, making a total prize purse of
$70,000—the largest ever for this contest.
There was a raffle for a Dalton Aviation
42% Extra 260 that Tony Russo built and
donated. The model had subsidized equipment
such as a JR radio, transmitter, receiver, and
servos; a Desert Aircraft DA-150 engine;
Carden wing bags; and much more. It brought
in more than $10,000 to add to the purse.
Special thanks to all who helped make the
Don Lowe Masters a success: CD Warren
Thomas, Assistant Chief Judge Tom Miller,
Field Coordinator Kirby McKinney, Event
Secretary Carol McKinney (great job on the
book, Carol), and Mike LeTourneau Scoring
(a high five to Mike for fast computation and
posting).
Jon Leyland (Doylestown PA) was the
warm-up pilot, and he flew each day. A
special thanks to all the judges who endured
the sun in the morning.
The Don Lowe Masters will happen again
in 2008. Look for top pilots with aerobatic
skills that have never been seen before. I plan
to be there. MA
Jerry Smith
[email protected]
Place/Pilot Prize Money
1. Quique Somenzini $25,000
2. Jason Noll $17,000
3. Jason Shulman $12,000
4. Mark Leseberg $5,000
5. Bernd Beschorner $3,500
6. Gordon “Chip” Hyde $2,000
7. Sean McMurtry $2,000
8. David Moser $1,500
9. Sebastiano Silvestri $1,000
10. Andrew Jesky $500
Visit www.joenall.com for more
information. MA
Don Lowe Masters
Prize Winners
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 17,18,19,20,21
Andrew “Animal” Jesky flew his 40-
pound Composite-ARF Extra 260
with great precision; he likes the
precision part of Aerobatics. He uses
JR guidance and a DA-150 engine.
THE 2006 DON Lowe Masters, held October 4-7, is history, but
those who attended the event will remember some of the best flying
by some of the greatest pilots in the world.
The Masters has replaced the Tournament of Champions, in a
different location. With high-dollar cash prizes offered, it is bound
to attract the best aerobatic pilots and hopefully survive.
The weather during the four-day event was perfect. The first
two days were almost windless but in the mid-80s during the
middle of the day—perfect for flying and good, tight scores. A
small front moved in on the third day and the temperature dropped,
but the wind held off until the end of the day. Weather on the last
day was iffy but had a tolerable wind and cloudy skies. The fifth
day was Sunday—a rain day just in case—and it rained just like it
was supposed to: a rain day after all.
The first two days of flying included all 18 pilots. At the end of
the second day, when two rounds of Known Pattern, Unknown
Pattern, and Freestyle were completed, the competitor list was cut
to the top 14 pilots. A round was flown the third day, and another
cut was made to include the top-scoring seven.
The last day the lucky seven flew two rounds to determine the
winner. It was a hard-fought battle for that first-place $25,000
prize.
The Triple Tree Aerodrome has been under development for the
last eight years and continues to be developed by owner Pat
Hartness. The site is located a few miles east of the sleepy little
town of Woodruff, South Carolina, in the thinly populated
countryside.
This venue is ideal for the Masters, with a long, wide runway,
open on both ends, and a broad expanse of well-manicured
Bermuda grass. A long, white fence with shade trees offers
protection for spectators and allows them to get up close to the pits
and watch the flying.
The large gazebo is the focal point of all the action. It is where
friends meet to enjoy the day to watch the flying. Triple Tree
IMAC National Champion Bill Hempel shows daring skill with a low
knife edge all the way down the runway. His Wild Hare Extra 300 is
powered by a 3W engine.
provides overnight parking for many RVs and
has a shower and bathrooms. It’s the perfect
place.
Past AMA president Don Lowe is the chief
judge, and throughout the years of this event
he has pulled together the patterns to be flown
and picked the judges and pilots. However,
because of recent health problems Don turned
his responsibilities over to his assistant chief
judge, Tom Miller. Tom worked out the
patterns to be flown this year, contacted
people for judging, conferred with Don, and
did a fine job of pulling it all together.
The judges, each with a great deal of
experience, consisted of two groups of seven,
with scribes, alternating between rounds
flown. Each group had two jury judges. Two
of the judges were from Europe: the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
According to Don Lowe:
“The task of the jury judge is to determine
the technical correctness of the maneuver
only; i.e., they look for correct direction,
attitude and sequence but do not rule on the
quality of the maneuver. If they determine
that a maneuver was performed incorrectly,
that maneuver will be given a zero, overriding
(possibly) the judge’s score.”
“This was done since often the judge is
concentrating so hard to judge quality that he
may not be aware that the maneuver was
wrong—a Snap Roll performed as an inside
snap instead of an outside (easy to confuse) or
a roll performed in the wrong direction, etc.
To my knowledge this system is a first and I
feel has contributed significantly to the
quality of judging.”
Judging was difficult, especially in the
morning with the sun in the judges’ eyes—the
only downside to Triple Tree. Because of the
high altitude of some of the maneuvers, the
airplanes become small silhouettes in the sky,
making it harder to score them. I often
wondered if the judges could separate name
recognition and presence; that’s not an easy
job.
Early on Pat Hartness invoked a noiseabatement
policy of 94 decibels maximum for
all pilots. They all seem to have complied. It
was extremely quiet out on the flightline,
requiring one to talk in a hushed voice during
the Known and Unknown patterns.
The Masters is set up as an invitational
with a total of 20 pilots. Ten competitors from
the 2004 Masters were automatically invited,
and 10 more were picked for their flying
ability and accomplishments.
Three pilots were from Europe: Marco
Benincasa and Sebastiano Silvestri of Italy
and Bernd Beschorner of Germany. Canadian
Ivan Kristensen was also invited. All the
pilots had plenty of experience in aerobatic
competition and had placed high in many
events across their countries.
The maneuver caller, who stands behind
Mark Leseberg’s Extra 260 requires plenty of servo power; note the aileron deflection
and the servos to move it. His Freestyle rolling maneuvers are blindingly fast.
Jason Noll changed to a Quique Yak during the Freestyle event,
which moved him closer to the winner slot. Note the control
mixing to hold knife edge.
German Bernd Beschorner flew his 40% Raven E well. It’s guided
by a Multiplex radio and powered with an outrunner motor
mounted in the spinner.
David Moser—who is 16—shows what youth can do. Winner of
the 2006 JR Challenge, he parks his 40% 3W Votec in a hover over
the Masters welcome banner.
Sebastiano Silvestri came from Italy to compete with his 39%
Katana. He wowed the crowd with his colorful smoke trails and
3W 212-powered aerobatics.
Chip Hyde’s electric-powered Extra 330 is powered with a four-motor
Hacker system and guided with Futaba equipment. He’s proud of the
graphics on the top of his cowl.
Photos by the author
the pilot, is an all-important member of the flying team.
This person reminds the pilot of the next maneuver in a
calming, rational voice. He or she also sees that the airplane
is ready for flight and sometimes helps start the engine.
Four of the callers this year were fathers of the pilots:
Julius Benincasa, Tony Szczur, Mike McMurtry, and Peter
Glezellis. It is wonderful when a father takes enough
interest in his son’s sport to participate in it with him.
The Freestyle element of the Masters has the best
spectator appeal. I was impressed with the show Mark
Leseberg presented; he was awesome with his controlled
gyrations. His airplane was not still for a second, moving
through the sky with graceful and wild maneuvers yet
keeping it close in all the time.
All the Freestyle routines were choreographed to music,
which set the stage for the mood and style of flying
presented by the pilot.
All airplanes flown were approximately 39%-41% scale,
weighing roughly 38-40 pounds. They were quite large and
beautifully finished. I saw Extra 300s, 260s, Katanas, Yaks,
and a Raven. All pilots ran three-blade propellers except the
colorful and outspoken Chip Hyde, who ran a special twoblade
APC propeller.
Most of the airplanes were powered with Desert Aircraft
150 engines except a few that had Aircraft International
3Ws. I noticed that two of the aircraft were electric
powered and offered impressive performance. Some of the
pilots built their own models. Others oversaw or took part
in the design phase or purchased a ready-built airplane.
All pilots have backup airplanes in case of unexpected
trouble. This paid off for Kurt Koelling, who lost a model
because of an unexpected meeting with a tree.
Bernd Beschorner of Germany flew his electric-
powered 40%, 39-pound Raven. Most
interesting was the motor, which was
mounted in the propeller spinner. The
prototype Plettenberg Predator 37-6 (“37” is
the length of the magnet—37mm—and “6” is
the number of turns in the winding) is a highend
brushless motor running on 52 volts from
a 42-cell battery pack. It draws 320 amps and
produces roughly 16 kilowatts, which is close
to 21 horsepower.
Bernd’s caller Mr. Plettenberg said he
mounted the motor in the spinner for cooling.
A large hole in the front of the spinner
allowed airflow through the motor, which
exited behind the spinner plate and through
the cowl.
The spinner cone and propeller were fixed
to the outrunner side of the motor. The
propeller blades could shift forward and aft
slightly to counteract the gyroscopic forces,
allowing it to be moved from its plane. This
produced a quieter motor in Rolls and Rolling
Circles, according to Bernd.
Oh, did I mention that the battery pack
weighed 13-14 pounds? That’s 34% of the
airplane’s weight.
The other electric-powered airplane—
flown by Chip Hyde—was a DR Hobbies
Extra 300 with four Hacker German motors
tied into an Inner Demon gearbox unit. The
motors required four battery packs and 168
volts, and they drew roughly 240 amps
swinging a specially molded APC 34 x 17
propeller at 6,000 rpm. The Thunder Power
batteries Chip used were rated for a 50C
discharge.
I asked Chip what he liked most about
flying in aerobatic contests, and he replied:
“The competition; I thrive on it.”
Three-time F3A Italian Champion
Sebastiano Silvestri flew a colorful Freestyle
pattern with his own-design 39% Krill Model
Katana. He used JR radio gear and a fourcylinder
3W-212 engine.
Sebastiano is a hard-core patriot who
showed his Italian colors. His airplane was
red, white, and green, and the jugs and
crankcase on his engine were painted the
same. His model’s smoke trail in the air was
also red, white, and green.
Can you imagine a 14-pound battery pack in the front of your
airplane? This battery weighed 35% of the total airplane weight,
yet Bernd Beschorner’s Raven came in at 40 pounds.
Six-time IMAC National Champion Mark Leseberg with his Dalton Aviation Extra 260.
Mark flew two models: one with a DA-150 and the other with a DA-200.
Don Szczur (sitting) waits his turn to fly while his dad Tony checks out the flightmaneuver
order. Don placed second in the 2003 Don Lowe Masters.
Inside the fuselage of Sabastiano Silvestri’s Katana is the heart of
control distribution: the power box. Most of the pilots’ models
had them.
The final cut was made to seven for the last day. L-R: Mark Leseberg, Chip Hyde, Bernd
Beschorner, Quique Somenzini, Jason Shulman, Jason Noll, Sean McMurtry.
Quique Somenzini (Springfield OH) took home the big paycheck of $12,000 for first
place. His composite 37% Yak is available from Aircraft International.
Masters winners (L-R): Quique Somenzini, who holds the heavy trophy over his head, Jason
Noll, Jason Shulman, Mark Leseberg, Bernd Beschorner, Chip Hyde, Sean McMurtry.
The last round was an extremely close
shoot-out. Quique basically had it in the bag
from the start. The real surprise was Jason
Noll, who at one time was in fifth place and
ended in second. The scores vacillated
considerably throughout the rounds.
During one round Bernd Beschorner was
in second place, Mark Leseberg was in third,
and Jason Shulman was in seventh. In the final
round Jason Noll nosed out Jason Shulman by
.07 point, moving Mark Leseberg to fourth
place. It was very exciting to watch.
The Don Lowe Masters’ primary sponsor was
JR, with contributions from Pat and Mary Lou
Hartness, Mr. Robert Shaw, and Dalton
Aviation, making a total prize purse of
$70,000—the largest ever for this contest.
There was a raffle for a Dalton Aviation
42% Extra 260 that Tony Russo built and
donated. The model had subsidized equipment
such as a JR radio, transmitter, receiver, and
servos; a Desert Aircraft DA-150 engine;
Carden wing bags; and much more. It brought
in more than $10,000 to add to the purse.
Special thanks to all who helped make the
Don Lowe Masters a success: CD Warren
Thomas, Assistant Chief Judge Tom Miller,
Field Coordinator Kirby McKinney, Event
Secretary Carol McKinney (great job on the
book, Carol), and Mike LeTourneau Scoring
(a high five to Mike for fast computation and
posting).
Jon Leyland (Doylestown PA) was the
warm-up pilot, and he flew each day. A
special thanks to all the judges who endured
the sun in the morning.
The Don Lowe Masters will happen again
in 2008. Look for top pilots with aerobatic
skills that have never been seen before. I plan
to be there. MA
Jerry Smith
[email protected]
Place/Pilot Prize Money
1. Quique Somenzini $25,000
2. Jason Noll $17,000
3. Jason Shulman $12,000
4. Mark Leseberg $5,000
5. Bernd Beschorner $3,500
6. Gordon “Chip” Hyde $2,000
7. Sean McMurtry $2,000
8. David Moser $1,500
9. Sebastiano Silvestri $1,000
10. Andrew Jesky $500
Visit www.joenall.com for more
information. MA
Don Lowe Masters
Prize Winners
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 17,18,19,20,21
Andrew “Animal” Jesky flew his 40-
pound Composite-ARF Extra 260
with great precision; he likes the
precision part of Aerobatics. He uses
JR guidance and a DA-150 engine.
THE 2006 DON Lowe Masters, held October 4-7, is history, but
those who attended the event will remember some of the best flying
by some of the greatest pilots in the world.
The Masters has replaced the Tournament of Champions, in a
different location. With high-dollar cash prizes offered, it is bound
to attract the best aerobatic pilots and hopefully survive.
The weather during the four-day event was perfect. The first
two days were almost windless but in the mid-80s during the
middle of the day—perfect for flying and good, tight scores. A
small front moved in on the third day and the temperature dropped,
but the wind held off until the end of the day. Weather on the last
day was iffy but had a tolerable wind and cloudy skies. The fifth
day was Sunday—a rain day just in case—and it rained just like it
was supposed to: a rain day after all.
The first two days of flying included all 18 pilots. At the end of
the second day, when two rounds of Known Pattern, Unknown
Pattern, and Freestyle were completed, the competitor list was cut
to the top 14 pilots. A round was flown the third day, and another
cut was made to include the top-scoring seven.
The last day the lucky seven flew two rounds to determine the
winner. It was a hard-fought battle for that first-place $25,000
prize.
The Triple Tree Aerodrome has been under development for the
last eight years and continues to be developed by owner Pat
Hartness. The site is located a few miles east of the sleepy little
town of Woodruff, South Carolina, in the thinly populated
countryside.
This venue is ideal for the Masters, with a long, wide runway,
open on both ends, and a broad expanse of well-manicured
Bermuda grass. A long, white fence with shade trees offers
protection for spectators and allows them to get up close to the pits
and watch the flying.
The large gazebo is the focal point of all the action. It is where
friends meet to enjoy the day to watch the flying. Triple Tree
IMAC National Champion Bill Hempel shows daring skill with a low
knife edge all the way down the runway. His Wild Hare Extra 300 is
powered by a 3W engine.
provides overnight parking for many RVs and
has a shower and bathrooms. It’s the perfect
place.
Past AMA president Don Lowe is the chief
judge, and throughout the years of this event
he has pulled together the patterns to be flown
and picked the judges and pilots. However,
because of recent health problems Don turned
his responsibilities over to his assistant chief
judge, Tom Miller. Tom worked out the
patterns to be flown this year, contacted
people for judging, conferred with Don, and
did a fine job of pulling it all together.
The judges, each with a great deal of
experience, consisted of two groups of seven,
with scribes, alternating between rounds
flown. Each group had two jury judges. Two
of the judges were from Europe: the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
According to Don Lowe:
“The task of the jury judge is to determine
the technical correctness of the maneuver
only; i.e., they look for correct direction,
attitude and sequence but do not rule on the
quality of the maneuver. If they determine
that a maneuver was performed incorrectly,
that maneuver will be given a zero, overriding
(possibly) the judge’s score.”
“This was done since often the judge is
concentrating so hard to judge quality that he
may not be aware that the maneuver was
wrong—a Snap Roll performed as an inside
snap instead of an outside (easy to confuse) or
a roll performed in the wrong direction, etc.
To my knowledge this system is a first and I
feel has contributed significantly to the
quality of judging.”
Judging was difficult, especially in the
morning with the sun in the judges’ eyes—the
only downside to Triple Tree. Because of the
high altitude of some of the maneuvers, the
airplanes become small silhouettes in the sky,
making it harder to score them. I often
wondered if the judges could separate name
recognition and presence; that’s not an easy
job.
Early on Pat Hartness invoked a noiseabatement
policy of 94 decibels maximum for
all pilots. They all seem to have complied. It
was extremely quiet out on the flightline,
requiring one to talk in a hushed voice during
the Known and Unknown patterns.
The Masters is set up as an invitational
with a total of 20 pilots. Ten competitors from
the 2004 Masters were automatically invited,
and 10 more were picked for their flying
ability and accomplishments.
Three pilots were from Europe: Marco
Benincasa and Sebastiano Silvestri of Italy
and Bernd Beschorner of Germany. Canadian
Ivan Kristensen was also invited. All the
pilots had plenty of experience in aerobatic
competition and had placed high in many
events across their countries.
The maneuver caller, who stands behind
Mark Leseberg’s Extra 260 requires plenty of servo power; note the aileron deflection
and the servos to move it. His Freestyle rolling maneuvers are blindingly fast.
Jason Noll changed to a Quique Yak during the Freestyle event,
which moved him closer to the winner slot. Note the control
mixing to hold knife edge.
German Bernd Beschorner flew his 40% Raven E well. It’s guided
by a Multiplex radio and powered with an outrunner motor
mounted in the spinner.
David Moser—who is 16—shows what youth can do. Winner of
the 2006 JR Challenge, he parks his 40% 3W Votec in a hover over
the Masters welcome banner.
Sebastiano Silvestri came from Italy to compete with his 39%
Katana. He wowed the crowd with his colorful smoke trails and
3W 212-powered aerobatics.
Chip Hyde’s electric-powered Extra 330 is powered with a four-motor
Hacker system and guided with Futaba equipment. He’s proud of the
graphics on the top of his cowl.
Photos by the author
the pilot, is an all-important member of the flying team.
This person reminds the pilot of the next maneuver in a
calming, rational voice. He or she also sees that the airplane
is ready for flight and sometimes helps start the engine.
Four of the callers this year were fathers of the pilots:
Julius Benincasa, Tony Szczur, Mike McMurtry, and Peter
Glezellis. It is wonderful when a father takes enough
interest in his son’s sport to participate in it with him.
The Freestyle element of the Masters has the best
spectator appeal. I was impressed with the show Mark
Leseberg presented; he was awesome with his controlled
gyrations. His airplane was not still for a second, moving
through the sky with graceful and wild maneuvers yet
keeping it close in all the time.
All the Freestyle routines were choreographed to music,
which set the stage for the mood and style of flying
presented by the pilot.
All airplanes flown were approximately 39%-41% scale,
weighing roughly 38-40 pounds. They were quite large and
beautifully finished. I saw Extra 300s, 260s, Katanas, Yaks,
and a Raven. All pilots ran three-blade propellers except the
colorful and outspoken Chip Hyde, who ran a special twoblade
APC propeller.
Most of the airplanes were powered with Desert Aircraft
150 engines except a few that had Aircraft International
3Ws. I noticed that two of the aircraft were electric
powered and offered impressive performance. Some of the
pilots built their own models. Others oversaw or took part
in the design phase or purchased a ready-built airplane.
All pilots have backup airplanes in case of unexpected
trouble. This paid off for Kurt Koelling, who lost a model
because of an unexpected meeting with a tree.
Bernd Beschorner of Germany flew his electric-
powered 40%, 39-pound Raven. Most
interesting was the motor, which was
mounted in the propeller spinner. The
prototype Plettenberg Predator 37-6 (“37” is
the length of the magnet—37mm—and “6” is
the number of turns in the winding) is a highend
brushless motor running on 52 volts from
a 42-cell battery pack. It draws 320 amps and
produces roughly 16 kilowatts, which is close
to 21 horsepower.
Bernd’s caller Mr. Plettenberg said he
mounted the motor in the spinner for cooling.
A large hole in the front of the spinner
allowed airflow through the motor, which
exited behind the spinner plate and through
the cowl.
The spinner cone and propeller were fixed
to the outrunner side of the motor. The
propeller blades could shift forward and aft
slightly to counteract the gyroscopic forces,
allowing it to be moved from its plane. This
produced a quieter motor in Rolls and Rolling
Circles, according to Bernd.
Oh, did I mention that the battery pack
weighed 13-14 pounds? That’s 34% of the
airplane’s weight.
The other electric-powered airplane—
flown by Chip Hyde—was a DR Hobbies
Extra 300 with four Hacker German motors
tied into an Inner Demon gearbox unit. The
motors required four battery packs and 168
volts, and they drew roughly 240 amps
swinging a specially molded APC 34 x 17
propeller at 6,000 rpm. The Thunder Power
batteries Chip used were rated for a 50C
discharge.
I asked Chip what he liked most about
flying in aerobatic contests, and he replied:
“The competition; I thrive on it.”
Three-time F3A Italian Champion
Sebastiano Silvestri flew a colorful Freestyle
pattern with his own-design 39% Krill Model
Katana. He used JR radio gear and a fourcylinder
3W-212 engine.
Sebastiano is a hard-core patriot who
showed his Italian colors. His airplane was
red, white, and green, and the jugs and
crankcase on his engine were painted the
same. His model’s smoke trail in the air was
also red, white, and green.
Can you imagine a 14-pound battery pack in the front of your
airplane? This battery weighed 35% of the total airplane weight,
yet Bernd Beschorner’s Raven came in at 40 pounds.
Six-time IMAC National Champion Mark Leseberg with his Dalton Aviation Extra 260.
Mark flew two models: one with a DA-150 and the other with a DA-200.
Don Szczur (sitting) waits his turn to fly while his dad Tony checks out the flightmaneuver
order. Don placed second in the 2003 Don Lowe Masters.
Inside the fuselage of Sabastiano Silvestri’s Katana is the heart of
control distribution: the power box. Most of the pilots’ models
had them.
The final cut was made to seven for the last day. L-R: Mark Leseberg, Chip Hyde, Bernd
Beschorner, Quique Somenzini, Jason Shulman, Jason Noll, Sean McMurtry.
Quique Somenzini (Springfield OH) took home the big paycheck of $12,000 for first
place. His composite 37% Yak is available from Aircraft International.
Masters winners (L-R): Quique Somenzini, who holds the heavy trophy over his head, Jason
Noll, Jason Shulman, Mark Leseberg, Bernd Beschorner, Chip Hyde, Sean McMurtry.
The last round was an extremely close
shoot-out. Quique basically had it in the bag
from the start. The real surprise was Jason
Noll, who at one time was in fifth place and
ended in second. The scores vacillated
considerably throughout the rounds.
During one round Bernd Beschorner was
in second place, Mark Leseberg was in third,
and Jason Shulman was in seventh. In the final
round Jason Noll nosed out Jason Shulman by
.07 point, moving Mark Leseberg to fourth
place. It was very exciting to watch.
The Don Lowe Masters’ primary sponsor was
JR, with contributions from Pat and Mary Lou
Hartness, Mr. Robert Shaw, and Dalton
Aviation, making a total prize purse of
$70,000—the largest ever for this contest.
There was a raffle for a Dalton Aviation
42% Extra 260 that Tony Russo built and
donated. The model had subsidized equipment
such as a JR radio, transmitter, receiver, and
servos; a Desert Aircraft DA-150 engine;
Carden wing bags; and much more. It brought
in more than $10,000 to add to the purse.
Special thanks to all who helped make the
Don Lowe Masters a success: CD Warren
Thomas, Assistant Chief Judge Tom Miller,
Field Coordinator Kirby McKinney, Event
Secretary Carol McKinney (great job on the
book, Carol), and Mike LeTourneau Scoring
(a high five to Mike for fast computation and
posting).
Jon Leyland (Doylestown PA) was the
warm-up pilot, and he flew each day. A
special thanks to all the judges who endured
the sun in the morning.
The Don Lowe Masters will happen again
in 2008. Look for top pilots with aerobatic
skills that have never been seen before. I plan
to be there. MA
Jerry Smith
[email protected]
Place/Pilot Prize Money
1. Quique Somenzini $25,000
2. Jason Noll $17,000
3. Jason Shulman $12,000
4. Mark Leseberg $5,000
5. Bernd Beschorner $3,500
6. Gordon “Chip” Hyde $2,000
7. Sean McMurtry $2,000
8. David Moser $1,500
9. Sebastiano Silvestri $1,000
10. Andrew Jesky $500
Visit www.joenall.com for more
information. MA
Don Lowe Masters
Prize Winners
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 17,18,19,20,21
Andrew “Animal” Jesky flew his 40-
pound Composite-ARF Extra 260
with great precision; he likes the
precision part of Aerobatics. He uses
JR guidance and a DA-150 engine.
THE 2006 DON Lowe Masters, held October 4-7, is history, but
those who attended the event will remember some of the best flying
by some of the greatest pilots in the world.
The Masters has replaced the Tournament of Champions, in a
different location. With high-dollar cash prizes offered, it is bound
to attract the best aerobatic pilots and hopefully survive.
The weather during the four-day event was perfect. The first
two days were almost windless but in the mid-80s during the
middle of the day—perfect for flying and good, tight scores. A
small front moved in on the third day and the temperature dropped,
but the wind held off until the end of the day. Weather on the last
day was iffy but had a tolerable wind and cloudy skies. The fifth
day was Sunday—a rain day just in case—and it rained just like it
was supposed to: a rain day after all.
The first two days of flying included all 18 pilots. At the end of
the second day, when two rounds of Known Pattern, Unknown
Pattern, and Freestyle were completed, the competitor list was cut
to the top 14 pilots. A round was flown the third day, and another
cut was made to include the top-scoring seven.
The last day the lucky seven flew two rounds to determine the
winner. It was a hard-fought battle for that first-place $25,000
prize.
The Triple Tree Aerodrome has been under development for the
last eight years and continues to be developed by owner Pat
Hartness. The site is located a few miles east of the sleepy little
town of Woodruff, South Carolina, in the thinly populated
countryside.
This venue is ideal for the Masters, with a long, wide runway,
open on both ends, and a broad expanse of well-manicured
Bermuda grass. A long, white fence with shade trees offers
protection for spectators and allows them to get up close to the pits
and watch the flying.
The large gazebo is the focal point of all the action. It is where
friends meet to enjoy the day to watch the flying. Triple Tree
IMAC National Champion Bill Hempel shows daring skill with a low
knife edge all the way down the runway. His Wild Hare Extra 300 is
powered by a 3W engine.
provides overnight parking for many RVs and
has a shower and bathrooms. It’s the perfect
place.
Past AMA president Don Lowe is the chief
judge, and throughout the years of this event
he has pulled together the patterns to be flown
and picked the judges and pilots. However,
because of recent health problems Don turned
his responsibilities over to his assistant chief
judge, Tom Miller. Tom worked out the
patterns to be flown this year, contacted
people for judging, conferred with Don, and
did a fine job of pulling it all together.
The judges, each with a great deal of
experience, consisted of two groups of seven,
with scribes, alternating between rounds
flown. Each group had two jury judges. Two
of the judges were from Europe: the United
Kingdom and Ireland.
According to Don Lowe:
“The task of the jury judge is to determine
the technical correctness of the maneuver
only; i.e., they look for correct direction,
attitude and sequence but do not rule on the
quality of the maneuver. If they determine
that a maneuver was performed incorrectly,
that maneuver will be given a zero, overriding
(possibly) the judge’s score.”
“This was done since often the judge is
concentrating so hard to judge quality that he
may not be aware that the maneuver was
wrong—a Snap Roll performed as an inside
snap instead of an outside (easy to confuse) or
a roll performed in the wrong direction, etc.
To my knowledge this system is a first and I
feel has contributed significantly to the
quality of judging.”
Judging was difficult, especially in the
morning with the sun in the judges’ eyes—the
only downside to Triple Tree. Because of the
high altitude of some of the maneuvers, the
airplanes become small silhouettes in the sky,
making it harder to score them. I often
wondered if the judges could separate name
recognition and presence; that’s not an easy
job.
Early on Pat Hartness invoked a noiseabatement
policy of 94 decibels maximum for
all pilots. They all seem to have complied. It
was extremely quiet out on the flightline,
requiring one to talk in a hushed voice during
the Known and Unknown patterns.
The Masters is set up as an invitational
with a total of 20 pilots. Ten competitors from
the 2004 Masters were automatically invited,
and 10 more were picked for their flying
ability and accomplishments.
Three pilots were from Europe: Marco
Benincasa and Sebastiano Silvestri of Italy
and Bernd Beschorner of Germany. Canadian
Ivan Kristensen was also invited. All the
pilots had plenty of experience in aerobatic
competition and had placed high in many
events across their countries.
The maneuver caller, who stands behind
Mark Leseberg’s Extra 260 requires plenty of servo power; note the aileron deflection
and the servos to move it. His Freestyle rolling maneuvers are blindingly fast.
Jason Noll changed to a Quique Yak during the Freestyle event,
which moved him closer to the winner slot. Note the control
mixing to hold knife edge.
German Bernd Beschorner flew his 40% Raven E well. It’s guided
by a Multiplex radio and powered with an outrunner motor
mounted in the spinner.
David Moser—who is 16—shows what youth can do. Winner of
the 2006 JR Challenge, he parks his 40% 3W Votec in a hover over
the Masters welcome banner.
Sebastiano Silvestri came from Italy to compete with his 39%
Katana. He wowed the crowd with his colorful smoke trails and
3W 212-powered aerobatics.
Chip Hyde’s electric-powered Extra 330 is powered with a four-motor
Hacker system and guided with Futaba equipment. He’s proud of the
graphics on the top of his cowl.
Photos by the author
the pilot, is an all-important member of the flying team.
This person reminds the pilot of the next maneuver in a
calming, rational voice. He or she also sees that the airplane
is ready for flight and sometimes helps start the engine.
Four of the callers this year were fathers of the pilots:
Julius Benincasa, Tony Szczur, Mike McMurtry, and Peter
Glezellis. It is wonderful when a father takes enough
interest in his son’s sport to participate in it with him.
The Freestyle element of the Masters has the best
spectator appeal. I was impressed with the show Mark
Leseberg presented; he was awesome with his controlled
gyrations. His airplane was not still for a second, moving
through the sky with graceful and wild maneuvers yet
keeping it close in all the time.
All the Freestyle routines were choreographed to music,
which set the stage for the mood and style of flying
presented by the pilot.
All airplanes flown were approximately 39%-41% scale,
weighing roughly 38-40 pounds. They were quite large and
beautifully finished. I saw Extra 300s, 260s, Katanas, Yaks,
and a Raven. All pilots ran three-blade propellers except the
colorful and outspoken Chip Hyde, who ran a special twoblade
APC propeller.
Most of the airplanes were powered with Desert Aircraft
150 engines except a few that had Aircraft International
3Ws. I noticed that two of the aircraft were electric
powered and offered impressive performance. Some of the
pilots built their own models. Others oversaw or took part
in the design phase or purchased a ready-built airplane.
All pilots have backup airplanes in case of unexpected
trouble. This paid off for Kurt Koelling, who lost a model
because of an unexpected meeting with a tree.
Bernd Beschorner of Germany flew his electric-
powered 40%, 39-pound Raven. Most
interesting was the motor, which was
mounted in the propeller spinner. The
prototype Plettenberg Predator 37-6 (“37” is
the length of the magnet—37mm—and “6” is
the number of turns in the winding) is a highend
brushless motor running on 52 volts from
a 42-cell battery pack. It draws 320 amps and
produces roughly 16 kilowatts, which is close
to 21 horsepower.
Bernd’s caller Mr. Plettenberg said he
mounted the motor in the spinner for cooling.
A large hole in the front of the spinner
allowed airflow through the motor, which
exited behind the spinner plate and through
the cowl.
The spinner cone and propeller were fixed
to the outrunner side of the motor. The
propeller blades could shift forward and aft
slightly to counteract the gyroscopic forces,
allowing it to be moved from its plane. This
produced a quieter motor in Rolls and Rolling
Circles, according to Bernd.
Oh, did I mention that the battery pack
weighed 13-14 pounds? That’s 34% of the
airplane’s weight.
The other electric-powered airplane—
flown by Chip Hyde—was a DR Hobbies
Extra 300 with four Hacker German motors
tied into an Inner Demon gearbox unit. The
motors required four battery packs and 168
volts, and they drew roughly 240 amps
swinging a specially molded APC 34 x 17
propeller at 6,000 rpm. The Thunder Power
batteries Chip used were rated for a 50C
discharge.
I asked Chip what he liked most about
flying in aerobatic contests, and he replied:
“The competition; I thrive on it.”
Three-time F3A Italian Champion
Sebastiano Silvestri flew a colorful Freestyle
pattern with his own-design 39% Krill Model
Katana. He used JR radio gear and a fourcylinder
3W-212 engine.
Sebastiano is a hard-core patriot who
showed his Italian colors. His airplane was
red, white, and green, and the jugs and
crankcase on his engine were painted the
same. His model’s smoke trail in the air was
also red, white, and green.
Can you imagine a 14-pound battery pack in the front of your
airplane? This battery weighed 35% of the total airplane weight,
yet Bernd Beschorner’s Raven came in at 40 pounds.
Six-time IMAC National Champion Mark Leseberg with his Dalton Aviation Extra 260.
Mark flew two models: one with a DA-150 and the other with a DA-200.
Don Szczur (sitting) waits his turn to fly while his dad Tony checks out the flightmaneuver
order. Don placed second in the 2003 Don Lowe Masters.
Inside the fuselage of Sabastiano Silvestri’s Katana is the heart of
control distribution: the power box. Most of the pilots’ models
had them.
The final cut was made to seven for the last day. L-R: Mark Leseberg, Chip Hyde, Bernd
Beschorner, Quique Somenzini, Jason Shulman, Jason Noll, Sean McMurtry.
Quique Somenzini (Springfield OH) took home the big paycheck of $12,000 for first
place. His composite 37% Yak is available from Aircraft International.
Masters winners (L-R): Quique Somenzini, who holds the heavy trophy over his head, Jason
Noll, Jason Shulman, Mark Leseberg, Bernd Beschorner, Chip Hyde, Sean McMurtry.
The last round was an extremely close
shoot-out. Quique basically had it in the bag
from the start. The real surprise was Jason
Noll, who at one time was in fifth place and
ended in second. The scores vacillated
considerably throughout the rounds.
During one round Bernd Beschorner was
in second place, Mark Leseberg was in third,
and Jason Shulman was in seventh. In the final
round Jason Noll nosed out Jason Shulman by
.07 point, moving Mark Leseberg to fourth
place. It was very exciting to watch.
The Don Lowe Masters’ primary sponsor was
JR, with contributions from Pat and Mary Lou
Hartness, Mr. Robert Shaw, and Dalton
Aviation, making a total prize purse of
$70,000—the largest ever for this contest.
There was a raffle for a Dalton Aviation
42% Extra 260 that Tony Russo built and
donated. The model had subsidized equipment
such as a JR radio, transmitter, receiver, and
servos; a Desert Aircraft DA-150 engine;
Carden wing bags; and much more. It brought
in more than $10,000 to add to the purse.
Special thanks to all who helped make the
Don Lowe Masters a success: CD Warren
Thomas, Assistant Chief Judge Tom Miller,
Field Coordinator Kirby McKinney, Event
Secretary Carol McKinney (great job on the
book, Carol), and Mike LeTourneau Scoring
(a high five to Mike for fast computation and
posting).
Jon Leyland (Doylestown PA) was the
warm-up pilot, and he flew each day. A
special thanks to all the judges who endured
the sun in the morning.
The Don Lowe Masters will happen again
in 2008. Look for top pilots with aerobatic
skills that have never been seen before. I plan
to be there. MA
Jerry Smith
[email protected]
Place/Pilot Prize Money
1. Quique Somenzini $25,000
2. Jason Noll $17,000
3. Jason Shulman $12,000
4. Mark Leseberg $5,000
5. Bernd Beschorner $3,500
6. Gordon “Chip” Hyde $2,000
7. Sean McMurtry $2,000
8. David Moser $1,500
9. Sebastiano Silvestri $1,000
10. Andrew Jesky $500
Visit www.joenall.com for more
information. MA
Don Lowe Masters
Prize Winners