January 2009 189
AS WE REACH the Christmas Season, I
hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday
season and New Year! I have a couple of
reports sent in to me to include this month.
The first is Bushwhacked ’081/2: The Fall
Furball, a Combat contest event report. For
weeks leading up to this contest, the weather
was so bad that everyone was pleasantly
shocked when all the tropical systems passed
just in time to grant two beautiful days of
perfect blue skies and light winds.
Contestants began arriving early on
Saturday morning, including two from out of
state, coming all the way from Ohio and
Georgia, who drove in Friday afternoon.
The RC Bush Pilots, located in the Dyer
Park recreational facility in West Palm Beach,
Florida, hosted the club’s third annual fall
Combat contest. Twelve contestants competed
across a field that included three separate
classes of RC Combat: Open B, SSC [Slow
Survivable Combat], and 2548 Scale Combat.
While the parameters for each class are
different, they share the same general
directive: cut your opponent’s streamer off!
The fast-paced action was exciting for
pilots and spectators, and two rookie
contestants were flying in their first-ever
Combat event! At halftime a demonstration
flight by Tom Jenkins piloting a fast electricpowered,
ducted-fan jet was impressive.
Scale Combat participants.
Open B contestants.
The SSC group.
One outstanding result was 14-year-old
Eric Laukien’s win in Open B. He has been
flying Combat for three years now.
When the Combat flying concluded at
mid-afternoon each day, normal sport flying
resumed at the field. Awards were presented
and donated merchandise was given away.
Special thanks to our sponsors, 3G’s Hobby
and Radio Controlled Revolution, for
generously donating merchandise.
For more information about RC Combat
and an event debriefing including results and
many more photos, go to the RCCA [Radio
Control Combat Association] Web site at
www.rccombat.com and read all about it in
the Combat Forums under Event Reports.
The Flying Griffins hosted the club’s firstever
IMAC [International Miniature
Aerobatic Club] event, named in honor of the
late Allen Taylor, on March 28-30, 2008. This
short article is almost as much about the
young man pictured, Kevin Garland (below),
as it is about the event itself.
At the
time of the
event, Kevin
was
finishing his
senior year
in high
school.
Kevin made
time to serve
as CD for
this inaugural event, and was also slated to be
one of the contestants at the 2008 Extreme
Flight Championships in Muncie, Indiana.
By the time this report is printed, Kevin
will have matriculated to Embry-Riddle
University. Kevin had plenty of help from his
Flying Griffin clubmates.
The event was held at a huge ultra light
flying site owned by club member Mark
Murdock. By huge, I mean big enough to run
multiple, fully independent, flightlines with no
overlapping flight patterns. Roughly 30 pilots
and even more models attended.
The pictures can give you an idea of the
size of the venue. the house in the background
is more than 1/4 mile toward the west, and
there are no other homes in sight except for
Mark Murdock’s humble abode; his house is a
hangar. No walls. Really. If you get up from
the dinner table you can walk right over to the
vertical milling machine (or the lathe, or
pedestal grinder, or any of the other modelbuilding
necessities). Mark said his home is
“modestly equipped for the model builder.”
Yeah, right ...
Many more photos of this event can be
seen at www.flyinggriffins.org/
allenimac08/allen_taylor_imac.htm.
Look for future IMAC events hosted by
the Flying Griffins of Griffin, Georgia. Also
look for more modeling accomplishments
from Kevin Garland, even though his future
will be filled with full-scale aircraft.
District V
Tony Stillman, District V Vice President; [email protected]
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
Tony Stillman
Vice President
102 Cherrywood Ct.
Brunswick GA 31525;
(912) 242-2407
www.amadistrict-v.org
Contest Coordinators
RC: Dick Tonan, 639
Knollwood Dr., La Vergne
TN 37086;
[email protected]
FF: Bob Thoren, 10002 Bluff Dr.,
Huntsville AL 35803; (256) 726-
1051; [email protected]
CL: Gene Martine, 11248 Martin
Lakes Dr. No., Jacksonville FL
32220; [email protected]
Associate Vice Presidents
Alabama:
Lamar Blair, Decatur AL; (256)
303-8349; [email protected]
Florida:
Jim Saiff, Tampa FL; (813)
969-4262; jsaiffchipmunkrc1@
verizon.net
Ron Van Putte, Ft. Walton Bch. FL;
(850) 243-0207; [email protected]
Georgia:
Bob Dixon, Macon GA; rldixon3@
cox.net
Mississippi:
Paul Verger, Vancleave MS;
(228) 826-4892;
[email protected]
Puerto Rico:
Richard Prann, San Juan PR; (787)
777-2143; [email protected]
South Carolina:
Jim Fender, Batesburg SC; (803)
532-0270; [email protected]
Roger Marshall, Camden SC;
(803) 432-2347;
[email protected]
Tennessee:
Dick Tonan, La Vergne TN;
[email protected]
For additional district officers and
volunteers, please see a previous
issue of MA or visit the District V
Web site.
D i s t r i c t V V o l u n t e e r s
01amanews.qxp 11/25/2008 9:49 AM Page 189
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/01
Page Numbers: 189